1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football
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);
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium; (Capacity: 76,639)
	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 the Pennsylvania State University in the 1979 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	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 15	Rutgers	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 45–10	77,309
September 22	Texas A&M	No. 6	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 14–27	77,575
September 29	at No. 6 Nebraska	No. 18	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	ABC	L 17–42	76,151
October 6	at Maryland		Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)		W 27–7	52,348
October 13	Army		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 24–3	77,157
October 20	vs. Syracuse		Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (rivalry)		W 35–7	53,789
October 27	West Virginia		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 31–6	77,923
November 3	Miami (FL)	No. 19	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	TCS	L 10–26	75,332
November 10	at North Carolina State		Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC		W 9–7	51,200
November 17	Temple	No. 18	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 22–7	76,000
December 1	No. 11 Pittsburgh	No. 19	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–29	76,958
December 22	vs. No. 15 Tulane		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ABC	W 9–6	50,021
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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
DE	`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
LB	`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

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Season summary

Rutgers

Texas A&M

at Nebraska

at Maryland

Army

Army Cadets (2–1–1) at Penn State Nittany Lions (2–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Army	0	0	3	0	3
Penn State	7	10	0	7	24

at Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania

Date: October 13
Game attendance: 77,157
^[2]

Game information

First quarter

PSU – Booker Moore 1-yard run (Herb Menhardt kick). Penn State 7–0. Drive: 6 plays, 38 yards.

Second quarter

PSU – Matt Suhey 17-yard run (Herb Menhardt kick), 7:06. Penn State 14–0. Drive: 4 plays, 57 yards.
PSU – Herb Menhardt 24-yard field goal, 2:36. Penn State 17–0. Drive:

Third quarter

ARMY – Dave Aucoin 44-yard field goal. Penn State 17–3. Drive:

Fourth quarter

PSU – Matt Suhey 61-yard run (Herb Menhardt kick). Penn State 24–3. Drive:

Top passers

ARMY – Jerryl Bennett – 7/26, 120 yards, INT
PSU – Dayle Tate – 6/14, 51 yards, 3 INT

Top rushers

ARMY – Jimmy Hill – 23 rushes, 43 yards
PSU – Matt Suhey – 23 carries, 225 yards, 2 TD

Top receivers

ARMY – Kevin Kullander – 3 receptions, 89 yards
PSU – Booker Moore – 3 receptions, 28 yards

Homecoming
Matt Suhey – 4th highest single game rushing total in school history, broke school record for career rushing attempts, moved into 4th place on all-time school rushing list
Booker Moore – 24 rushes, 103 yards

vs. Syracuse

West Virginia

Miami (FL)

at NC State

Temple

Pittsburgh

Liberty Bowl (vs. Tulane)

Post season

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

^ "Penn State Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
^ "Penn State unleashes infantry on Army." Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 Oct 14. Pg. 8B. Retrieved 2020-Dec-15.

[1] "Penn State Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 26, 2015.

[2] "Penn State unleashes infantry on Army." Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 Oct 14. Pg. 8B. Retrieved 2020-Dec-15.

[1]

[2]

v t e Penn State Nittany Lions football
Venues	Old Main lawn (until 1891) Beaver Field (1892–1908) New Beaver Field (1909–1959) Beaver Stadium (1960–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama Maryland Michigan Michigan State Minnesota: Governor's Victory Bell Ohio State Old Ironsides Pittsburgh Syracuse West Virginia
Culture & lore	Nittany Lion "Fight On, State" Penn State Blue Band Uplifting Athletes Joe Paterno statue Something for Joey 1982 Nebraska game Child sex abuse scandal 2016 Ohio State game Paterno White Out 2021 Illinois game
People	Head coaches All-Americans Statistical leaders NFL draftees
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National championship seasons in bold