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1977 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

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1977 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 42–30 vs. Arizona State
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 5
Record11–1
Head coach
Offensive schemeI formation
Defensive coordinatorJerry Sandusky (1st season)
Base defense4–3
Captains
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
Seasons
← 1976
1978 →
1977 NCAA Division I independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Notre Dame       11 1 0
No. 5 Penn State       11 1 0
Colgate       10 1 0
North Texas State *       10 1 0
No. 16 San Diego State       10 1 0
Tennessee State       8 1 1
No. 14 Florida State       10 2 0
No. 8 Pittsburgh       9 2 1
East Carolina       8 3 0
Rutgers       8 3 0
Army       7 4 0
Louisville       7 4 1
Boston College       6 5 0
Cincinnati       5 4 2
Georgia Tech       6 5 0
Memphis State       6 5 0
Northwestern State       6 5 0
Syracuse       6 5 0
William & Mary       6 5 0
Southern Miss       6 5 0
Temple       5 5 1
Hawaii       5 6 0
Navy       5 6 0
West Virginia       5 6 0
South Carolina       5 7 0
Utah State       4 7 0
Villanova       4 7 0
Illinois State       3 7 1
Virginia Tech       3 7 1
Miami (FL)       3 8 0
Richmond       3 8 0
Tulane       3 8 0
Air Force       2 8 1
Holy Cross       2 8 0
Northeast Louisiana       2 9 0
  • North Texas State (originally 9–2) awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 2at RutgersNo. 13W 45–764,790
September 17No. 9 HoustonNo. 10W 31–1462,554
September 24MarylandNo. 5
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ABCW 27–962,079[2]
October 1KentuckyNo. 4
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
L 20–2462,196[3]
October 8Utah StatedaggerNo. 10
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 16–762,015
October 15at SyracuseNo. 10W 31–2427,029
October 22West VirginiaNo. 10
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 49–2862,108[4]
October 29Miami (FL)No. 9
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 49–761,853
November 5at NC StateNo. 9W 21–1744,800[5]
November 12TempleNo. 9
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 44–761,327
November 26at No. 10 PittsburghNo. 9ABCW 15–1356,500
December 25vs. No. 15 Arizona StateNo. 8CBSW 42–3057,766[6]
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

[edit]

Miami (FL)

[edit]
1 234Total
Miami (FL) 0 007 7
Penn St 7 28140 49
  • Date: October 29
  • Location: Beaver Stadium • University Park, Pennsylvania
  • Game attendance: 61,853

[7]

Fiesta Bowl

[edit]
Fiesta Bowl
#15 Arizona State vs. #8 Penn State
1 234Total
Arizona St 0 14016 30
Penn St 14 3718 42

[8]

Roster

[edit]
1977 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 81 Bob Bassett Jr
WR 44 Jimmy Cefalo Sr
WR 19 Tom Donovan So
OT 68 Eric Cummingham Jr
OT 71 Keith Dorney Jr
WR 46 Scott Fitzkee Jr
QB 14 Chuck Fusina Jr
RB 24 Mike Guman So
TE 82 Mickey Shuler Sr
RB 32 Matt Suhey So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 25 Tom Bradley Jr
DE 54 Bruce Clark So
LB 95 Tom DePaso Sr
S 27 Pete Harris So
DE 74 Larry Kubin Fr
DT 57 Pete Kugler Fr
LB 56 Lance Mehl So
LB 60 Matt Millen So
DE 28 Rich Milot Jr
DT 78 Randy Sidler Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 10 Matt Bahr Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

NFL draft

[edit]

Seven Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1978 NFL draft.

Round Pick Overall Name Position Team
3rd 5 61 Mickey Shuler Tight end New York Jets
3rd 25 81 Jimmy Cefalo Wide receiver Miami Dolphins
5th 4 113 Randy Sidler Defensive tackle New York Jets
6th 17 155 Steve Geise Running back Cincinnati Bengals
9th 5 227 Neil Hutton Running back/Defensive back New York Jets
10th 17 267 Tom DePaso Linebacker Cincinnati Bengals
11th 25 303 Ron Hostetler Linebacker/Defensive back Los Angeles Rams

References

[edit]
  1. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
  2. ^ "State passes Maryland for easy 27–9 victory". Sunday Call-Chronicle. September 25, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Kentucky shocks Penn State". The Tennessean. October 2, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Lions crush Mountaineers". The Times Recorder. October 23, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Penn State improvises, beats Pack". The Roanoke Times. November 6, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Lions outpoint Arizona State, 42–30, in Fiesta". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 26, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1977 Oct 29.
  8. ^ "Penn State runs mark to 11-1." Eugene Register-Guard. 1977 Dec 26.