1970 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

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1970 Penn State Nittany Lions football
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 18
Record7–3
Head coach
Offensive scheme I formation
Defensive coordinator Jim O'Hora (5th season)
Base defense 4–3
Captains
Home stadium Beaver Stadium
Seasons
  1969
1971  
1970 NCAA University Division independents football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 2 Notre Dame   10 1 0
Villanova   9 2 0
No. 16 Air Force   9 3 0
No. 13 Georgia Tech   9 3 0
Boston College   8 2 0
No. 19 Houston   8 3 0
West Virginia   8 3 0
No. 17 Tulane   8 4 0
No. 18 Penn State   7 3 0
West Texas State   7 3 0
Cincinnati   7 4 0
Florida State   7 4 0
Virginia Tech   5 6 0
Syracuse   6 4 0
Dayton   5 4 1
Pittsburgh   5 5 0
Rutgers   5 5 0
Utah State   5 5 0
Colgate   5 6 0
Southern Miss   5 6 0
New Mexico State   4 6 0
Miami (FL)   3 8 0
Northern Illinois   3 7 0
Marshall   3 6 0
Buffalo   2 9 0
Navy   2 9 0
Army   1 9 1
Xavier   1 9 0
Holy Cross   0 10 1
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. The team was led by fifth-year head coach Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Contents

The Nittany Lions entered the season with a 22-game winning streak, unbeaten (29–0–1) in their last thirty games. [1] [2] By mid-season, they had dropped three (including one at home), then won the last five to finish at 7–3 and climbed to No. 18 in the final AP poll. [3]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 19 Navy No. 7W 55–748,566
September 26at No. 18 Colorado No. 4 ABC L 13–4142,850
October 3at Wisconsin No. 16L 16–2955,204
October 10at Boston College W 28–325,252
October 17 Syracuse Dagger-14-plain.png
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
L 7–2450,540
October 24at Army ABCW 38–1441,062
October 31 West Virginia
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 42–849,932 [4]
November 7at Maryland W 34–023,400 [5]
November 14 Ohio
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 32–2243,000
November 21 Pittsburgh No. 20
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 35–1550,017
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

Notable players included senior linebacker Jack Ham and junior running backs Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris.

1970 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 25Mike CooperSr
WR 88Greg EdmondsSr
RB Fran Ganter Sr
RB 34 Franco Harris Jr
QB 16 John Hufnagel So
C 56 Warren Koegel  (C)Sr
RB 23 Lydell Mitchell Jr
OT 78Vic SurmaSr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DE 83 Bruce Bannon So
DT 37Rick BrownSo
LB 33 Jack Ham  (C)Sr
LB 80Gary HullSr
LB 15Mark KoiwaiSr
LB 47 Jim Laslavic So
DE 81 John Skorupan So
LB 60 Charlie Zapiec Sr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P/QB 13 Bob Parsons Jr
LB/PK/P 80Gary HullSr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Roster

Post season

After three consecutive bowl appearances, Penn State stayed home this year, but went to a bowl in each of the next thirteen seasons.

NFL Draft

Four Nittany Lions were selected in the 1971 NFL Draft.

RoundPickOverallNamePositionTeam
2nd834 Jack Ham Linebacker Pittsburgh Steelers
3rd2173 Warren Koegel Center Oakland Raiders
11th22282 Vic Surma Wide receiver Miami Dolphins
16th24414 Greg Edmonds Wide receiver/Tight end Minnesota Vikings

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References

  1. "Colorado ends Penn State victory string, 41-13". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press.
  2. Harral, Paul K. (September 27, 1970). "23-game Penn State string halted by Colorado, 41-13". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). UPI. p. D1.
  3. Franke, Russ (November 22, 1970). "Lions thunder past Pitt, 35-15". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, section 4.
  4. "West Virginia routed by Penn State, 42–8". The Greenville News. November 1, 1970. Retrieved January 22, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Inartistic quarterback leads Penn St. to 34–0 victory". Beckley Post-Herald & The Raleigh Register. November 8, 1970. Retrieved January 22, 2024 via Newspapers.com.