1964 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1964 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
Record	6–4
Head coach	Rip Engle (15th season)
Captain	Bill Bowes
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ←  1963 1965  →

1964 NCAA University Division independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Notre Dame			–					9	–	1	–	0
Florida State			–					9	–	1	–	1
Colgate			–					7	–	2	–	0
Georgia Tech			–					7	–	3	–	0
Syracuse			–					7	–	4	–	0
Villanova			–					6	–	2	–	0
Boston College			–					6	–	3	–	0
Southern Miss			–					6	–	3	–	0
New Mexico State			–					6	–	4	–	0
Penn State			–					6	–	4	–	0
Memphis State			–					5	–	4	–	0
Utah State			–					5	–	4	–	1
Holy Cross			–					5	–	5	–	0
Buffalo			–					4	–	4	–	1
Colorado State			–					5	–	6	–	0
Air Force			–					4	–	5	–	1
Miami (FL)			–					4	–	5	–	1
Xavier			–					4	–	5	–	1
Army			–					4	–	6	–	0
West Texas State			–					4	–	6	–	0
San Jose State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					3	–	5	–	2
Navy			–					3	–	6	–	1
Dayton			–					3	–	7	–	0
Detroit			–					3	–	7	–	0
Boston University			–					2	–	7	–	0
Houston			–					2	–	6	–	1
Texas Western			–					0	–	8	–	2
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1964 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1964 NCAA University Division football season. The team was coached by Rip Engle and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The team started the season poorly, giving up more than 20 points in each of four losses in their first five games before coming together defensively in the second half of the season. A total of just 24 points were given up in the final five games, helping the Nittany Lions to win out and finish the year with a winning record.

Particularly notable for the Nittany Lions in 1964 would be a 27–0 upset shutout of #2 ranked Ohio State at Columbus.

Penn State lineman Glenn Ressler, a particularly stout defender who would go on to have a 10-year career in the National Football League, would receive the Maxwell Award as college football's best all-around player of 1964. ^[1]

Penn State's strong play down the stretch against top-level competition was sufficient to secure for it the 1964 Lambert Trophy, awarded annually to the top collegiate football team in the East despite the school's 6–4 season record. ^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19		No. 10 Navy	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	L 8–21	44,800
September 26		at UCLA	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 14–21	34,636
October 3		Oregon	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	L 14–22	44,803	[3]
October 10		at Army	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	W 6–2	32,268
October 17		No. 7 Syracuse	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	L 14–21	47,998
October 24		at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	W 37–8	26,000	[4]
October 31		Maryland	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	W 17–9	33,500	[5]
November 7		at No. 2 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	W 27–0	84,279	[6]
November 14	9:00 p.m.	at Houston	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 24–7	25,000	[7]
November 21		Pittsburgh	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	W 28–0	50,144
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

References

1. "Ressler Gains Maxwell Honors," Sunbury [PA] Daily Item, Nov. 17, 1964, p. 18.
2. "Penn State Wins Lambert Trophy as Football Titleholder of East," Lancaster [PA] Intelligencer Journal, Nov. 24, 1964, p. 26.
3. Uhrhammer, Jerry (October 4, 1964). "Berry passes Oregon by Penn State, 22-14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
4. "Penn State romps over WVA, 37–8". The Danville Register. October 25, 1964. Retrieved January 20, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Penn State downs Terps, 17–9". Daily Press. November 1, 1964. Retrieved January 20, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Penn State Dumps OSU From Unbeaten Ranks, 27-0". The Sunday Times Recorder. November 8, 1964. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Lions Seek 4 Straight At Houston". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. November 14, 1964. p. 12. Retrieved June 3, 2021– via Newspapers.com .