1974 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1974 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion Cotton Bowl champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 41–20 vs. Baylor
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 7
Record	10–2
Head coach	Joe Paterno (9th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jim O'Hora (9th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Jack Baiorunos Jim Bradley
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ←  1973 1975  →

1974 NCAA Division I independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Notre Dame			–					10	–	2	–	0
No. 7 Penn State			–					10	–	2	–	0
Temple			–					8	–	2	–	0
Boston College			–					8	–	3	–	0
Utah State			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 19 Houston			–					8	–	3	–	1
Rutgers			–					7	–	3	–	1
Cincinnati			–					7	–	4	–	0
Memphis State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					7	–	4	–	0
Georgia Tech			–					6	–	5	–	0
Hawaii			–					6	–	5	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss			–					6	–	5	–	0
Tampa			–					6	–	5	–	0
Holy Cross			–					5	–	5	–	1
Tulane			–					5	–	6	–	0
Colgate			–					4	–	6	–	0
Northern Illinois			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					4	–	7	–	0
South Carolina			–					4	–	7	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					4	–	7	–	0
West Virginia			–					4	–	7	–	0
Army			–					3	–	8	–	0
Dayton			–					3	–	8	–	0
Villanova			–					3	–	8	–	0
Air Force			–					2	–	9	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					2	–	9	–	0
Syracuse			–					2	–	9	–	0
Florida State			–					1	–	10	–	0
Marshall			–					1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1974 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. ^[1] The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	No. 20 Stanford	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	W 24–20	58,200
September 21	Navy	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 6–7	42,000
September 28	at Iowa	No. 19	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 27–0	46,500
October 5	at Army	No. 15	Michie Stadium West Point, NY		W 21–14	41,221
October 12	Wake Forest	No. 15	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 55–0	56,500	[2]
October 19	Syracuse	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 30–14	59,100
October 26	at West Virginia	No. 10	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		W 21–12	34,500	[3]
November 2	No. 15 Maryland	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 24–17	60,125	[4]
November 9	at NC State	No. 7	Carter Stadium Raleigh, NC		L 7–12	47,700	[5]
November 16	Ohio	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 35–16	58,700
November 28	at No. 18 Pittsburgh	No. 10	Three Rivers Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 31–10	48,895
January 1, 1975	vs. No. 12 Baylor	No. 7	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	W 41–20	67,500
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1974 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 18 John Andress So QB 16 Dick Barvinchak Jr OT 71 Brad Benson So OT 74 Jeff Bleamer Sr G 65 Ron Coder So RB 32 Tom Donchez Sr G 61 John Nessel Sr G 72 Tom Rafferty Jr QB 12 Tom Shuman Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 53 Kurt Allerman So LB 67 Greg Buttle Jr LB 66 Chris Devlin Sr DE 85 Dave Graf Sr DE 79 Mike Hartenstine Sr LB 33 James Rosecrans Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 99 Chris Bahr Jr	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Dick Anderson Booker Brooks John Chuckran Gregg Ducatte Fran Ganter Jim O'Hora Bob Phillips Jerry Sandusky J. T. White Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Post season

NFL Draft

Ten Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1975 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
2nd	5	31	Mike Hartenstine	Defensive end	Chicago Bears
4th	3	81	John Nessel	Offensive guard	Atlanta Falcons
4th	24	102	Tom Donchez	Running back	Buffalo Bills
6th	12	142	Tom Shuman	Quarterback	Cincinnati Bengals
7th	14	170	Chris Devlin	Linebacker	Cincinnati Bengals
8th	16	198	Jeff Bleamer	Offensive tackle	Philadelphia Eagles
9th	15	223	Dan Natale	Tight end	San Francisco 49ers
10th	22	256	Joe Jackson	Linebacker	Miami Dolphins
12th	16	312	Greg Murphy	Defensive end	Pittsburgh Steelers
17th	5	421	Dave Graf	Linebacker	Cleveland Browns

References

1. "Penn State Yearly Results (1970-1974)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
2. "Penn State rolls up 55–0 win". Sunday Call-Chronicle. October 13, 1974. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Penn State again". Beckley Post-Herald & Register. October 27, 1974. Retrieved October 18, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Terp mistakes give Penn State 24–17 victory". The Baltimore Sun. November 3, 1974. Retrieved January 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Pack stuns Lions 12–7". Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel. November 10, 1974. Retrieved January 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.