1977 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

Last updated

1977 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 42–30 vs. Arizona State
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 5
Record11–1
Head coach
Offensive scheme I formation
Defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky (1st season)
Base defense 4–3
Captains
Home stadium Beaver Stadium
Seasons
←  1976
1978  →
1977 NCAA Division I independents football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Notre Dame  – – 11 –1 –0
No. 5 Penn State  – – 11 –1 –0
Colgate  – – 10 –1 –0
North Texas State *  – – 10 –1 –0
No. 16 San Diego State  – – 10 –1 –0
Tennessee State  – – 8 –1 –1
No. 14 Florida State  – – 10 –2 –0
No. 8 Pittsburgh  – – 9 –2 –1
East Carolina  – – 8 –3 –0
Rutgers  – – 8 –3 –0
Army  – – 7 –4 –0
Louisville  – – 7 –4 –1
Boston College  – – 6 –5 –0
Cincinnati  – – 5 –4 –2
Georgia Tech  – – 6 –5 –0
Memphis State  – – 6 –5 –0
Northwestern State  – – 6 –5 –0
Syracuse  – – 6 –5 –0
William & Mary  – – 6 –5 –0
Southern Miss  – – 6 –5 –0
Temple  – – 5 –5 –1
Hawaii  – – 5 –6 –0
Navy  – – 5 –6 –0
West Virginia  – – 5 –6 –0
South Carolina  – – 5 –7 –0
Utah State  – – 4 –7 –0
Villanova  – – 4 –7 –0
Illinois State  – – 3 –7 –1
Virginia Tech  – – 3 –7 –1
Miami (FL)  – – 3 –8 –0
Richmond  – – 3 –8 –0
Tulane  – – 3 –8 –0
Air Force  – – 2 –8 –1
Holy Cross  – – 2 –8 –0
Northeast Louisiana  – – 2 –9 –0
  • North Texas State (originally 9–2) awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player. [1]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Contents

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 2at Rutgers No. 13
W 45–764,790
September 17No. 9 Houston No. 10
W 31–1462,554
September 24 Maryland No. 5
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
 ABC W 27–962,079 [2]
October 1 Kentucky No. 4
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
L 20–2462,196 [3]
October 8 Utah State Dagger-14-plain.pngNo. 10
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 16–762,015
October 15at Syracuse No. 10
W 31–2427,029
October 22 West Virginia No. 10
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 49–2862,108 [4]
October 29 Miami (FL) No. 9
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 49–761,853
November 5at NC State No. 9
W 21–1744,800 [5]
November 12 Temple No. 9
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 44–761,327
November 26at No. 10 Pittsburgh No. 9
ABCW 15–1356,500
December 25vs. No. 15 Arizona State No. 8
 CBS W 42–3057,766 [6]
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Miami (FL)

1234Total
Miami (FL)00077
•Penn St72814049
  • Date: October 29
  • Location: Beaver Stadium • University Park, Pennsylvania
  • Game attendance: 61,853
Scoring summary
1PSUGuthrie 56-yard pass from Fusina (Bahr kick)Penn St 7-0
2PSUSuhey 1-yard run (Bahr kick)Penn St 14-0
2PSUTorrey 3-yard run (Bahr kick)Penn St 21-0
2PSUSuhey 3-yard run (Bahr kick)Penn St 28-0
2PSUSuhey 1-yard run (Bahr kick)Penn St 35-0
3PSUFitzkee 72-yard pass from Fusina (Bahr kick)Penn St 42-0
3PSULaPointe 17-yard pass from Capozzolli (Bahr kick)Penn St 49-0
4MIAHobbs 3-yard pass from McMillian (Dennis kick)Penn St 49-7

[7]

Fiesta Bowl

Fiesta Bowl
#15 Arizona State vs. #8 Penn State
1234Total
Arizona St01401630
•Penn St14371842
Scoring summary
1PSULally 21-yard blocked punt return (Bahr kick)Penn St 7-0
1PSUTorrey 3-yard pass from Fusina (Bahr kick)Penn St 14-0
2ASULane 11-yard pass from Sproul (Hicks kick)Penn St 14-7
2PSUBahr 23-yard field goalPenn St 17-7
2ASUWashington 13-yard pass from Sproul (Hicks kick)Penn St 17-14
3PSUGeise 18-yard run (Bahr kick)Penn St 24-14
4PSUSuhey 3-yard run (Bahr kick)Penn St 31-14
4ASUWashington 30-yard pass from Sproul (Hicks kick)Penn St 31-21
4PSUBahr 32-yard field goalPenn St 34-21
4ASUPerry 1-yard run (Hicks kick)Penn St 34-28
4PSUSuhey 2-yard run (Geise run)Penn St 42-28
4ASUSafety, Fitzkee runs out of end zonePenn St 42-30

[8]

Roster

1977 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
WR 81Bob BassettJr
WR 44 Jimmy Cefalo Sr
WR 19Tom DonovanSo
OT 68Eric CumminghamJr
OT 71 Keith Dorney Jr
WR 46 Scott Fitzkee Jr
QB 14 Chuck Fusina Jr
RB 24 Mike Guman So
TE 82 Mickey Shuler Sr
RB 32 Matt Suhey So
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 25 Tom Bradley Jr
DE 54 Bruce Clark So
LB 95 Tom DePaso Sr
S 27 Pete Harris So
DE 74 Larry Kubin Fr
DT 57 Pete Kugler Fr
LB 56 Lance Mehl So
LB 60 Matt Millen So
DE 28 Rich Milot Jr
DT 78 Randy Sidler Sr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 10 Matt Bahr Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Roster

NFL draft

Seven Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1978 NFL draft.

RoundPickOverallNamePositionTeam
3rd561 Mickey Shuler Tight end New York Jets
3rd2581 Jimmy Cefalo Wide receiver Miami Dolphins
5th4113 Randy Sidler Defensive tackle New York Jets
6th17155 Steve Geise Running back Cincinnati Bengals
9th5227 Neil Hutton Running back/Defensive back New York Jets
10th17267 Tom DePaso Linebacker Cincinnati Bengals
11th25303 Ron Hostetler Linebacker/Defensive back Los Angeles Rams

Related Research Articles

The 1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University during the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. Penn State defeated the Georgia Bulldogs, 27–23, in the Sugar Bowl to win Joe Paterno's first consensus national championship. The team was selected national champion by AP, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Litkenhous, Matthews, NCF, NFF, The New York Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), Sporting News, UPI/coaches, and USA/CNN, while named co-champion by Helms.

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 1993 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. This was Penn State's first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

The 1967 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1967 NCAA University Division football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

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.

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.

The 1973 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Penn State's third undefeated season under Joe Paterno was led by John Cappelletti who would become the first Penn State player to win the Heisman Trophy.

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

The 1975 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 1976 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 1978 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 1980 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was selected national champion by Dunkel, an NCAA-designated major selector, while Clemson, who finished the season 12–0, was the consensus national champion.

The 1984 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 1985 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 1988 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 1989 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 1991 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 1979 Army Cadets football team represented the United States Military Academy during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Lou Saban in his first and only season as head coach, Army finished the season with a record of 2–8–1.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
  2. ↑ "State passes Maryland for easy 27–9 victory". Sunday Call-Chronicle. September 25, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Kentucky shocks Penn State". The Tennessean. October 2, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Lions crush Mountaineers". The Times Recorder. October 23, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Penn State improvises, beats Pack". The Roanoke Times. November 6, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Lions outpoint Arizona State, 42–30, in Fiesta". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 26, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Eugene Register-Guard. 1977 Oct 29.
  8. ↑ "Penn State runs mark to 11-1." Eugene Register-Guard. 1977 Dec 26.
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