1972 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

Last updated

1972 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Sugar Bowl, L 0–14 vs. Oklahoma
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 8
APNo. 10
Record10–2
Head coach
Offensive scheme I formation
Defensive coordinator Jim O'Hora (7th season)
Base defense 4–3
Captains
Home stadium Beaver Stadium
Seasons
  1971
1973  
1972 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 10 Penn State   10 2 0
No. 14 Notre Dame   8 3 0
Utah State   8 3 0
West Virginia   8 4 0
Florida State   7 4 0
Northern Illinois   7 4 0
Rutgers   7 4 0
No. 20 Georgia Tech   7 4 1
Air Force   6 4 0
Army   6 4 0
Virginia Tech   6 4 1
Houston   6 4 1
Tulane   6 5 0
Temple   5 4 0
Colgate   5 4 1
Holy Cross   5 4 1
Syracuse   5 6 0
Miami (FL)   5 6 0
Dayton   4 6 1
Boston College   4 7 0
Navy   4 7 0
South Carolina   4 7 0
Southern Miss   3 7 1
Xavier   3 8 0
Marshall   2 8 0
Cincinnati   2 9 0
Villanova   2 9 0
Pittsburgh   1 10 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 Penn State Nittany Lions represented Pennsylvania State University in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. As a result of using ineligible players, the Oklahoma Sooners were ordered to forfeit seven wins from their 1972 season, including their on-field win over the Nittany Lions. However, Paterno and Penn State refused to accept the forfeit, and the bowl game is officially recorded as a loss. [1]

Contents

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 16at No. 7 Tennessee No. 6L 21–2871,647
September 23 Navy No. 11W 21–1050,547
September 30 Iowa No. 13
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 14–1058,065
October 7at Illinois No. 16W 35–1760,349
October 14at Army No. 15W 45–042,352
October 21 Syracuse Dagger-14-plain.pngNo. 12
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 17–060,465
October 28at No. 18 West Virginia No. 11 ABC W 28–1937,000 [2]
November 4 Maryland No. 10
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 46–1658,171 [3]
November 11 NC State No. 10
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 37–2254,274 [4] [5]
November 18at Boston College No. 6W 45–2623,119
November 25 Pittsburgh No. 6
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 49–2738,600
December 31vs. No. 2 Oklahoma No. 5ABCL 0–1480,123
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
AP 56 (1)1113161512111010665510
Coaches 6714 т161917131011118778Not released

Roster

1972 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
OT 74 Jeff Bleamer So
C 50Rick BrownSr
RB 22 John Cappelletti Jr
OT 77 Charlie Getty Jr
WR 28 Gary Hayman Jr
QB 16 John Hufnagel Sr
C 51 Bill Johnson So
OT 65 Phil LaPorta Jr
C 54 Mark Markovich Jr
G 69 Carl Schaukowitch Sr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 68 Doug Allen Jr
DE 83 Bruce Bannon Sr
DT 53 Randy Crowder Jr
LB 66 Chris Devlin So
DE 85 Dave Graf So
DT 79 Mike Hartenstine So
LB 41 Tom Hull Jr
LB 47 Jim Laslavic Sr
LB 89 Ed O'Neil Jr
LB 81 John Skorupan Sr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Roster

Awards

Walter Camp Coach of the Year

NFL draft

Five Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1973 NFL draft.

RoundPickOverallNamePositionTeam
3rd1971 Jim Laslavic Linebacker Detroit Lions
5th12116 Bruce Bannon Linebacker New York Jets
6th6136 John Skorupan Linebacker Buffalo Bills
14th10348 John Hufnagel Quarterback Denver Broncos
15th17381 Carl Schaukowitch Offensive guard New York Giants

References

  1. Brant, Tim (January 11, 2008). "After Further Review... The NCAA Weighs-In". ABC 7 News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
  2. "Penn St. rallies to nip WVa". The Sacramento Bee. October 29, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Penn St. rips Terps, 46–16". The News and Observer. November 5, 1972. Retrieved January 25, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Penn State mauls N.C. State". The Pittsburgh Press. November 12, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Penn State Halts Wolfpack". Asheville Citizen-Times . Asheville, North Carolina. Associated Press. November 12, 1972. p. 2B. Retrieved January 26, 2024 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .