1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 9–6 vs. Tulane
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
AP	No. 20
Record	8–4
Head coach	Joe Paterno (14th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Lance Mehl Matt Millen Irv Pankey
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ←  1978 1980  →

1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Florida State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 7 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
UNLV		–		–				9	–	1	–	2
No. 17 Temple		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
Tulane		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				7	–	3	–	1
No. 20 Penn State		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Navy		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Syracuse		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Colgate		–		–				5	–	4	–	1
Boston College		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
North Texas State		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Villanova		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Louisville		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
William & Mary		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Army		–		–				2	–	8	–	1
Air Force		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Richmond		–		–				0	–	11	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 14th-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 8–4 with a win over Tulane in the Liberty Bowl. Penn State played home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	Rutgers	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 45–10	77,309	[1]
September 22	Texas A&M	No. 6	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 14–27	77,575	[2]
September 29	at No. 6 Nebraska	No. 18	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	ABC	L 17–42	76,151	[3]
October 6	at Maryland		Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)		W 27–7	52,348	[4]
October 13	Army		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 24–3	77,157	[5]
October 20	at Syracuse		Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (rivalry)		W 35–7	53,789	[6]
October 27	West Virginia		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 31–6	77,923	[7]
November 3	Miami (FL)	No. 19	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	TCS	L 10–26	75,532	[8]
November 10	at NC State		Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC		W 9–7	51,200	[9]
November 17	No. 18 Temple		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 22–7	76,000	[10]
December 1	No. 11 Pittsburgh	No. 19	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–29	76,958	[11]
December 22	vs. No. 15 Tulane		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ABC	W 9–6	50,021	[12]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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Roster

1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 14 Todd Blackledge Fr WR 29 Mark Cherewka Jr WR 19 Tom Donovan Sr OT 77 Bill Dugan Jr G 62 Sean Farrell So RB 24 Mike Guman Sr WR 41 Tracy Hall Jr QB 15 Jeff Hostetler Fr TE 85 Vyto Kab So TE 90 Ron LaPointe Sr RB 38 Mike Meade So RB 48 Booker Moore Jr G 78 Mike Munchak So OT 70 Irv Pankey Sr QB Frank Rocco Fr C 53 Jim Romano Jr TE 80 Brad Scovill Jr RB 32 Matt Suhey Sr QB 17 Dayle Tate Jr WR 13 Kip Vernaglia Sr RB 25 Curt Warner Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 86 Jeff Bergstrom So DB 30 Matt Bradley So DT [14] 54 Bruce Clark Sr CB 20 Joel Coles So DE 74 Larry Kubin Jr DT 57 Pete Kugler Jr CB 12 Jon Lebo So LB 37 Walker Lee Ashley Fr LB 56 Lance Mehl Sr DT [15] 60 Matt Millen Sr LB 94 Chet Parlavecchio So CB 47 Danny Rocco Fr LB 89 Carlos Quirch Sr S 23 John Walsh Jr CB 49 Tom Wise Jr DT 61 Leo Wisniewski So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 10 Brian Franco So P 21 Ralph Giacomarro Fr K 31 Herb Menhardt Jr LS 97 Brian Hand Sr	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Dick Anderson John Bove Booker Brooks Fran Ganter Bob Phillips John Rosenberg Jerry Sandusky J. T. White Jim Williams Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

NFL draft

Seven Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1980 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
1st	4	4	Bruce Clark	Defensive tackle	Green Bay Packers
2nd	15	43	Matt Millen	Linebacker	Oakland Raiders
2nd	18	46	Matt Suhey	Running back	Chicago Bears
2nd	22	50	Irv Pankey	Offensive tackle	Los Angeles Rams
3rd	13	69	Lance Mehl	Linebacker	New York Jets
6th	16	154	Mike Guman	Running back	Los Angeles Rams
9th	9	230	Tom Donovan	Wide receiver	Kansas City Chiefs

References

1. "Freshman paces Lions". The Sunday Times. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Texas A&M upsets 6th-ranked Penn State 27–14". Sunday Call-Chronicle. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Cornhuskers shuck Penn State, 42–17". Asbury Park Press. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Penn State's defense throttles Terps". Courier-Post. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Penn State rips Army". Wisconsin State Journal. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Orangemen no match for Penn St". The Miami Herald. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "West Virginia beaten, 31–6, by Penn State". The Des Moines Register. October 28, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Hurricanes blow away Penn State". Sunday News. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Menhardt's late field goal lifts Penn State by 'Pack". Daily Press. November 11, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Suhey's 2 TDs key Penn State". Star-Gazette. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "McMillan leads Pitt to victory over Penn State". Lincoln Journal Star. December 2, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Lions dip into magic bag, pull out a Liberty Bowl win". Sunday News. December 23, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "1979 Penn State Nittany Lions Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
14. "The story behind the Bruce Clark bombshell".
15. "1979 Penn State Nittany Lions Roster".