1953 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1953 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–3
Head coach	Rip Engle (4th season)
Captains	Don Malinak Tony Rados
Home stadium	New Beaver Field
Seasons ←  1952 1954  →

1953 Eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Westminster (PA)			–					8	–	0	–	0
Juniata			–					7	–	0	–	0
No. 14 Army			–					7	–	1	–	1
Harvard			–					6	–	2	–	0
Franklin & Marshall			–					5	–	2	–	0
Hofstra			–					6	–	3	–	0
Penn State			–					6	–	3	–	0
Yale			–					5	–	2	–	2
Carnegie Tech			–					5	–	3	–	0
Boston College			–					5	–	3	–	1
Boston University			–					5	–	3	–	1
Syracuse			–					5	–	3	–	1
Princeton			–					5	–	4	–	0
Tufts			–					4	–	3	–	0
Cornell			–					4	–	3	–	2
Holy Cross			–					5	–	5	–	0
Temple			–					4	–	4	–	1
Colgate			–					3	–	4	–	2
Columbia			–					4	–	5	–	0
Fordham			–					4	–	5	–	0
Villanova			–					4	–	6	–	0
Drexel			–					2	–	3	–	1
Brown			–					3	–	5	–	1
Penn			–					3	–	5	–	1
Pittsburgh			–					3	–	5	–	1
Dartmouth			–					2	–	7	–	0
Buffalo			–					1	–	5	–	1
Bucknell			–					1	–	8	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1953 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1953 college football season. The team was coached by Rip Engle and played its home games in New Beaver Field in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 0–20	48,374
October 3	at Penn	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	L 7–13	51,000	[1]
October 10	at Boston University	Braves Field Boston, MA	W 35–13	12,338	[2] [3]
October 17	Syracuse	New Beaver Field University Park, PA (rivalry)	W 20–14	20,712
October 24	TCU	New Beaver Field University Park, PA	W 27–21	27,966	[4]
October 31	West Virginia	New Beaver Field University Park, PA (rivalry)	L 19–20	24,670	[5]
November 7	Fordham	New Beaver Field University Park, PA	W 28–21	13,897	[6]
November 14	at Rutgers	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 54–26	9,500	[7]
November 21	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	W 17–0	39,642
Homecoming

References

1. Smith, Chester L. (October 4, 1953). "Fourth-Quarter Pass Beats Penn State, 13-7". The Pittsburgh Press . Pittsburgh, Pa. sect. 4, p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
2. Nason, Jerry (October 11, 1953). "B. U. Crushed By Penn State, 35 to 13". The Boston Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. p. 57. Retrieved June 1, 2021– via Newspapers.com .
3. "Penn State Wins, 35-13". Knoxville News Sentinel . Knoxville, Tennessee. United Press. October 11, 1953. p. 25. Retrieved June 1, 2021– via Newspapers.com .
4. "Penn State defeats Horned Frogs, 27–21". San Angelo Standard-Times. October 25, 1953. Retrieved March 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "West Virginia blocks punt to win 20–19". The Jackson Sun. November 1, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. Keck, Harry (November 8, 1953). "Penn State Squeaks Past Fordham in 28-21 Thriller". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph . Pittsburgh, Pa. sect. 3, p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Burns, Joe (November 15, 1953). "Penn State Thumps Rutgers, 54-26, in Free Scoring Game". The Sunday Times . New Brunswick, N.J. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.