1983 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1983 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Aloha Bowl champion
Aloha Bowl, W 13–10 vs. Washington
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
Record	8–4–1
Head coach	Joe Paterno (18th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dick Anderson (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky (7th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ←  1982 1984  →

1983 Major eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Penn State	4	–	1	–	1			8	–	4	–	1
No. 16 West Virginia	4	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Pittsburgh	2	–	1	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
No. 19 Boston College $	3	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Syracuse	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Temple	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Rutgers	0	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Miami (FL)		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Boston College		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 16 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 20 East Carolina		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Pittsburgh		–		–				8	–	3	–	1
Florida State		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Penn State		–		–				8	–	4	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Notre Dame		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	6	–	1
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				4	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Army		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. ^[1] The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 29	9:00 p.m.	vs. No. 1 Nebraska	No. 4	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic)	KATZ	L 6–44	71,123	[2]
September 10	1:30 p.m.	Cincinnati	No. 20	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 3–14	83,683	[3]
September 17	1:30 p.m.	No. 13 Iowa		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 34–42	84,628	[4]
September 24	1:30 p.m.	at Temple		Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA		W 23–18	35,760	[5]
October 1	1:30 p.m.	at Rutgers		Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ		W 36–25	32,804	[6]
October 8	3:45 p.m.	No. 3 Alabama		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	CBS	W 34–28	85,614	[7]
October 15	1:30 p.m.	at Syracuse		Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)		W 17–6	50,010	[8]
October 22	1:30 p.m.	No. 4 West Virginia		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 41–23	86,309	[9]
October 29	3:50 p.m.	at No. 19 Boston College		Sullivan Stadium Foxborough, MA	ABC	L 17–27	56,605	[10]
November 5	1:00 p.m.	Brown		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 38–21	84,670	[11]
November 12	1:00 p.m.	Notre Dame		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ESPN (tape delay)	W 34–30	85,899	[12]
November 19	1:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Pittsburgh		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)		T 24–24	60,283	[13]
December 26	8:00 p.m.	vs. Washington		Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI (Aloha Bowl)	ESPN	W 13–10	37,212	[14]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1983 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class C 58 Nick Haden Jr OT 72 Ron Heller Sr WR 82 Kenny Jackson Sr RB 29 Tony Mumford Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 95 Rogers Alexander Jr LB 31 Shane Conlan So LB 53 Don Graham So S 22 Ray Isom So LB 55 Tim Johnson So LB 97 Scott Radecic Sr S 32 Mark Robinson Sr DB 43 Mike Zordich So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 10 Massimo Manca Fr	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Dick Anderson John Bove Tom Bradley Booker Brooks Randy Crowder Fran Ganter Bob Phillips Jerry Sandusky Jim Williams Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Post season

NFL Draft

Eight Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1984 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
1st	4	4	Kenny Jackson	Wide receiver	Philadelphia Eagles
2nd	6	34	Scott Radecic	Linebacker	Kansas City Chiefs
3rd	14	70	Jon Williams	Running back	New England Patriots
4th	6	90	Mark Robinson	Defensive back	Kansas City Chiefs
4th	28	112	Ron Heller	Offensive tackle	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7th	8	176	Harry Hamilton	Defensive back	New York Jets
8th	1	197	Kevin Baugh	Wide receiver	Houston Oilers
9th	18	242	George Reynolds	Punter	Los Angeles Rams

References

1. "Penn State Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
2. "Nebraska breezes in Classic, 44–6". The Star-Ledger. August 30, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Penn State shocked by Cincinnati, 14–3". The Miami Herald. September 11, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Iowa hands Penn State 3rd loss in seesaw game, 42–34". Courier-Post. September 18, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Finally, Penn St. 'gets one'". The Akron Beacon Journal. September 25, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Lions' back credits line in victory over Rutgers". The Daily Register. October 2, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Penn State holds off furious Alabama rally, 34–28". The Pittsburgh Press. October 9, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Nittany Lions struggle but get past Orangemen". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 16, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Rebounding Penn State rips fourth-rated West Virginia". The Courier-Post. October 23, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "The surgeon; BC's Flutie operates on Penn State, 27–17". The Day. October 30, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. Freligh, Sarajane (November 6, 1983). "Despite a Second-Quarter Sputter, Penn State Trounces Brown, 38–21". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. pp. 1-G, 13-G – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Strang runs Lions past Fighting Irish, 34–30". Centre Daily Times. November 13, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Last-second field goal lifts Penn State into tie". Sunday Press. November 20, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Defense does it for Penn State". Honolulu Star-Bulletin & Advertiser. December 27, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.