1975 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1975 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion
Sugar Bowl, L 6–13 vs. Alabama
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 10
Record	9–3
Head coach	Joe Paterno (10th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jim O'Hora (10th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Greg Buttle John Quinn Tom Rafferty
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ←  1974 1976  →

1975 NCAA Division I independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Rutgers			–					9	–	2	–	0
No. 10 Penn State			–					9	–	3	–	0
No. 20 West Virginia			–					9	–	3	–	0
Notre Dame			–					8	–	3	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 15 Pittsburgh			–					8	–	4	–	0
Boston College			–					7	–	4	–	0
Georgia Tech			–					7	–	4	–	0
Memphis State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Navy			–					7	–	4	–	0
North Texas State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss			–					7	–	4	–	0
South Carolina			–					7	–	5	–	0
Colgate			–					6	–	4	–	0
Cincinnati			–					6	–	5	–	0
Hawaii			–					6	–	5	–	0
Syracuse			–					6	–	5	–	0
Temple			–					6	–	5	–	0
Utah State			–					6	–	5	–	0
Indiana State			–					5	–	5	–	0
Dayton			–					5	–	6	–	0
Northeast Louisiana			–					4	–	6	–	1
Tulane			–					4	–	7	–	0
Villanova			–					4	–	7	–	0
Florida State			–					3	–	8	–	0
Air Force			–					2	–	8	–	1
Houston			–					2	–	8	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					2	–	8	–	0
Army			–					2	–	9	–	0
Marshall			–					2	–	9	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					1	–	9	–	1
Holy Cross			–					1	–	10	–	0
Louisville			–					1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1975 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1975 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 6	at Temple	No. 6	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA (rivalry)		W 26–25	57,112
September 13	Stanford	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 34–14	61,325
September 20	at No. 3 Ohio State	No. 7	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)		L 9–17	88,093
September 27	at Iowa	No. 12	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 30–10	52,780
October 4	Kentucky	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 10–3	60,225	[2]
October 11	No. 10 West Virginia	No. 9	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 39–0	59,658	[3]
October 18	at Syracuse	No. 9	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)		W 19–7	28,153
October 25	Army	No. 9	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 31–0	59,381
November 1	at No. 14 Maryland	No. 9	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)		W 15–13	59,973	[4]
November 8	NC State	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 14–15	59,536	[5]
November 22	at No. 17 Pittsburgh	No. 10	Three Rivers Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 7–6	46,846
December 31	vs. No. 4 Alabama	No. 8	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl, rivalry)	ABC	L 6–13	75,212	[6] [7]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1975 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 18 John Andress Jr WR 16 Dick Barvinchak Sr OT 71 Brad Benson Jr WR 44 Jimmy Cefalo So OT 71 Keith Dorney Fr WR 46 Scott Fitzkee Fr QB 14 Chuck Fusina Fr G 72 Tom Rafferty Sr OT 68 George Reihner Jr TE 82 Mickey Shuler So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 53 Kurt Allerman Jr DE 51 Dave Brockway Jr DB 25 Tom Bradley Fr LB 67 Greg Buttle Sr DT 65 Ron Coder Sr DE 64 Ron Crosby Jr DT 93 Eric Cummingham So LB 95 Tom DePaso So LB 38 Ron Hostetler So LB 33 Jim Rosecrans Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 99 Chris Bahr Sr	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Dick Anderson Booker Brooks John Chuckran Gregg Ducatte Fran Ganter Jim O'Hora Bob Phillips John Rosenberg Jerry Sandusky J. T. White Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Post season

NFL Draft

Four Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1976 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
2nd	23	51	Chris Bahr	Kicker	Cincinnati Bengals
3rd	7	67	Greg Buttle	Linebacker	New York Jets
3rd	10	70	Ron Coder	Defensive tackle	Pittsburgh Steelers
4th	27	119	Tom Rafferty	Center	Dallas Cowboys

References

1. "Penn State Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
2. "Defense carries Penn State". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 5, 1975. Retrieved October 28, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Penn State destroys error-prone Mountaineers". Beckley Post-Herald & Register. October 12, 1975. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Penn State victory string over Maryland still intact". The News and Observer. November 2, 1975. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Lions upset, 15–14, as Bahr misfires". The Pittsburgh Press. November 9, 1975. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Tide breaks the drought on 13–6 win over Lions". The Ledger. Associated Press. January 1, 1976. p. 2B. Retrieved August 25, 2014– via Google News Archives.
7. "Bear finds winning secret". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. January 1, 1976. p. 16. Retrieved August 25, 2014– via Google News Archives.