1990 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1990 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion
Blockbuster Bowl, L 17–24 vs. Florida State
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 11
Record	9–3
Head coach	Joe Paterno (25th season)
Offensive coordinator	Fran Ganter (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky (14th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Matt McCartin Willie Thomas Leroy Thompson
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ←  1989 1991  →

1990 Major eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 Penn State $	6	–	0	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Syracuse	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	4	–	2
Temple	3	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
West Virginia	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Pittsburgh	2	–	3	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Boston College	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Rutgers	0	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

1990 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 14 Louisville			–					10	–	1	–	1
No. 3 Miami (FL)			–					10	–	2	–	0
No. 4 Florida State			–					10	–	2	–	0
No. 6 Notre Dame			–					9	–	3	–	0
No. 11 Penn State			–					9	–	3	–	0
Louisiana Tech			–					8	–	3	–	1
Southern Miss			–					8	–	4	–	0
Temple			–					7	–	4	–	0
Syracuse			–					7	–	4	–	2
Army			–					6	–	5	–	0
Northern Illinois			–					6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina			–					6	–	5	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					6	–	5	–	0
East Carolina			–					5	–	6	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana			–					5	–	6	–	0
Navy			–					5	–	6	–	0
Memphis State			–					4	–	6	–	1
Boston College			–					4	–	7	–	0
Tulane			–					4	–	7	–	0
West Virginia			–					4	–	7	–	0
Akron			–					3	–	7	–	1
Pittsburgh			–					3	–	7	–	1
Rutgers			–					3	–	8	–	0
Tulsa			–					3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati			–					1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1990 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 25th-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 9–3. Penn State was invited to the Blockbuster Bowl, where the Nittany Lions lost to Florida State. The team played home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	12:10 p.m.	Texas	No. 21	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	Raycom	L 13–17	85,973	[1]
September 15	3:30 p.m.	at No. 6 USC		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	L 14–19	70,594	[2]
September 22	1:00 p.m.	Rutgers		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 28–0	85,194	[3]
October 6	1:00 p.m.	Temple		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 48–10	85,874	[4]
October 13	2:30 p.m.	Syracuse		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	CBS	W 27–21	86,002	[5]
October 20	12:10 p.m.	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	CBS	W 40–21	32,000	[6]
October 27	5:00 p.m.	at Alabama		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 9–0	70,123	[7]
November 3	1:00 p.m.	at West Virginia	No. 24	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		W 31–19	66,461	[8]
November 10	1:00 p.m.	Maryland	No. 21	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 24–10	83,000	[9]
November 17	4:00 p.m.	at No. 1 Notre Dame	No. 18	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ESPN	W 24–21	59,075	[10]
November 24	2:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	CBS	W 22–17	85,180	[11]
December 28	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 6 Florida State	No. 7	Joe Robbie Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (Blockbuster Bowl)	Raycom	L 17–24	75,129	[12]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

At USC

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn State	0	7	0	7	14
•USC	7	6	6	0	19

• Date: September 15
• Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Scoring summary

Q1		USC	Griffin 5 yard pass from Marinovich (Rodriguez kick)	USC 7–0
Q2		PSU	Golden 8 yard pass from Sacca (Fayak kick)	Tie 7–7
Q2		USC	Rodriguez 26 yard field goal	USC 10–7
Q2		USC	Rodriguez 46 yard field goal	USC 13–7
Q3		USC	Ervins 1 yard run (run failed)	USC 19–7
Q4		PSU	Thompson 2 yard run (Fayak kick)	USC 19–14

See also: 1990 USC Trojans football team

At West Virginia

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Penn State	7	7	7	10	31
West Virginia	3	3	6	7	19

• Date: November 3
• Location: Mountaineer Field
• Game attendance: 66,461

Scoring summary

Q1		PSU	Perry 30 yard interception return (Fayak kick)	PSU 7–0
Q1		WVU	Johnson 20 yard field goal	PSU 7–3
Q2		PSU	T. Smith 9 yard pass from Bill (Fayak kick)	PSU 14–3
Q2		WVU	Carroll 39 yard field goal	PSU 14–6
Q3		WVU	Ford 11 yard run (run failed)	PSU 14–12
Q3		PSU	Bill 5 yard run (Fayak kick)	PSU 21–12
Q4		PSU	Collins 19 yard run (Fayak kick)	PSU 28–12
Q4		PSU	Fayak 37 yard field goal	PSU 31–12
Q4		WVU	Statten 5 yard pass from Jones (Johnson kick)	PSU 31–19

^[13]

Notre Dame

See also: 1990 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

Vs. Florida State (Blockbuster Bowl)

Main article: 1990 Blockbuster Bowl

See also: 1990 Florida State Seminoles football team

Roster

1990 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 8 Terry Smith Jr QB 12 Tom Bill FB 27 Gary Brown Sr WR 26 David Daniels Sr QB 19 Tony Sacca Jr C E. J. Sandusky Jr OT 76 Paul Siever Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 38 Mark D'Onofrio Jr LB 42 Keith Goganious Jr DT 85 Frank Giannetti Sr LB 58 Reggie Givens So CB 6 Leonard Humphries Jr LB 99 Rich McKenzie So S 9 Darren Perry Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

NFL draft

Six Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1991 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
3rd	19	74	David Daniels	Wide receiver	Seattle Seahawks
6th	19	158	Leroy Thompson	Running back	Pittsburgh Steelers
8th	19	214	Gary Brown	Running back	Houston Oilers
10th	13	263	Frank Giannetti	Defensive end	Indianapolis Colts
10th	14	264	Sean Love	Offensive guard	Dallas Cowboys
12th	13	319	Rob Luedeke	Center	Indianapolis Colts

References

1. "Texas upsets Penn State, 17–13, as faulty kicking game hurts Nittany Lions". The Baltimore Sun. September 9, 1990. Retrieved June 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Marinovich and Trojans drop Penn State to 0–2". The Daily News. September 16, 1990. Retrieved June 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Thompson, Lions run over Knights". The Times Leader. September 23, 1990. Retrieved June 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Penn State's running game fattend up on Temple". Press of Atlantic City. October 7, 1990. Retrieved June 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "State buries Orange, 27–21". Sunday News. October 14, 1990. Retrieved June 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Penn State backup kills BC in 40–21 tilt". The Berkshire Eagle. October 21, 1990. Retrieved June 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Alabama shut out by Penn State 9–0". Sunday News. October 28, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Bill pulls Penn State past West Virginia". The Courier-Post. November 4, 1990. Retrieved February 2, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Confidence in Sacca pays for Lions, 24–10". The Pittsburgh Press. November 11, 1990. Retrieved February 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Penn State shocks Irish". The State. November 18, 1990. Retrieved June 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Sacca rallies Penn State by Pitt, 22–17". The Star-Ledger. November 25, 1990. Retrieved June 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "FSU holds off Penn St". St. Petersburg Times. December 29, 1990. Retrieved June 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. Gainesville Sun. 1990 Nov 4. Retrieved 2018-Dec-15.