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1978 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

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1978 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Sugar Bowl, L 7–14 vs. Alabama
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
Record11–1
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorJerry Sandusky
Captains
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
(Capacity: 76,639)
Seasons
← 1977
1979 →
1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Penn State   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
North Texas State   –   –   9 – 2 – 0
East Carolina   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Navy   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 7 Notre Dame   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Rutgers   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Florida State   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
Tennessee State   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
Temple   –   –   7 – 3 – 1
Pittsburgh   –   –   8 – 4 – 0
Holy Cross   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Louisville   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
UNLV   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Northeast Louisiana   –   –   6 – 4 – 1
Georgia Tech   –   –   7 – 5 – 0
Hawaii   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
South Carolina   –   –   5 – 5 – 1
William & Mary   –   –   5 – 5 – 1
Cincinnati   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Villanova   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Army   –   –   4 – 6 – 1
Memphis State   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Tulane   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Air Force   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Colgate   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Richmond   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Syracuse   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Illinois State   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
West Virginia   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Boston College   –   –   0 – 11 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 1at TempleNo. 3
W 10–753,103
September 9RutgersNo. 3
W 26–1077,154
September 16at No. 6 Ohio StateNo. 5
ABCW 19–088,202
September 23SMUNo. 3
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 26–2177,704
September 30TCUNo. 5
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 58–076,832
October 7at KentuckyNo. 5
W 30–058,068
October 21SyracusedaggerNo. 2
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 45–1577,827
October 28at West VirginiaNo. 2
W 49–2134,010
November 4No. 5 MarylandNo. 2
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ABCW 27–378,019
November 11North Carolina StateNo. 2
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 19–1077,043
November 24No. 15 PittsburghNo. 1
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ABCW 17–1077,465
January 1, 1979vs. No. 2 AlabamaNo. 1
ABCL 7–1476,824
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1978 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OT 68 Eric Cummingham Sr
WR 19 Tom Donovan Jr
OT 71 Keith Dorney Sr
WR 46 Scott Fitzkee Sr
QB 14 Chuck Fusina Sr
RB 24 Mike Guman Jr
TE 85 Vyto Kab Fr
RB 38 Mike Meade Fr
OT 70 Irv Pankey Jr
RB 32 Matt Suhey Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 30 Matt Bradley Fr
DB 25 Tom Bradley Sr
DE 54 Bruce Clark Jr
DE 74 Larry Kubin So
DT 57 Pete Kugler So
LB 56 Lance Mehl Jr
LB 60 Matt Millen Jr
LB 94 Chet Parlavecchio Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 10 Matt Bahr Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

Temple

#3 Penn State at Temple
1 234Total
• Penn St 0 073 10
Temple 0 007 7
Scoring summary
Q3:56PSUBooker Moore 26 yard run (Matt Bahr kick)PSU 7–0
Q410:49TEMZachary Dixon 21 yard pass from Brian Broomell (Firovanti kick)Tie 7–7
Q4:10PSUMatt Bahr 23 yard field goalPSU 10–7

[1]

Ohio State

1 234Total
• Penn St 3 079 19
Ohio St 0 000 0
  • Date: September 18
  • Location: Ohio Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Elapsed time: 2:48
  • Game attendance: 88,202
  • Game weather: Cloudy; 80°F; wind 10 SW
  • Television network: ABC
Scoring summary
Q19:52PSUBahr 30 yard field goalPSU 3–0
Q34:52PSUSuhey 3 yard run (Bahr kick)PSU 10–0
Q413:12PSUBahr 41 yard field goalPSU 13–0
Q46:45PSUBahr 25 yard field goalPSU 16–0
Q42:53PSUBahr 30 yard field goalPSU 19–0

[2]

Maryland

1 234Total
Maryland 0 300 3
• Penn State 3 1077 27
Scoring summary
1PSUBahr 33-yard field goalPSU 3-0
2PSUFusina 1-yard run (Bahr kick)PSU 10-0
2MDLoncar 39-yard field goalPSU 10-3
2PSUBahr 44-yard field goalPSU 13-3
3PSUDonovan 63-yard pass from Fusina (Bahr kick)PSU 20-3
4PSUMoore 4-yard run (Bahr kick)PSU 27-3

[3][4]

Syracuse

Chuck Fusina threw four touchdown passes, including two to Scott Fitzkee as second-ranked Penn State extended its win streak to 15 games. Fusina finished 15 of 27 for 293 yards.[5]

Post season

NFL Draft

Nine Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1979 NFL Draft.

Round Pick Overall Name Position Team
1st 10 10 Keith Dorney Offensive tackle Detroit Lions
4th 14 96 Eric Cunningham Offensive guard New York Jets
5th 16 126 Scott Fitzkee Wide receiver Philadelphia Eagles
5th 23 133 Chuck Fusina Quarterback Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6th 8 145 Bob Torrey Runningback New York Giants
6th 28 165 Matt Bahr Kicker Pittsburgh Steelers
7th 17 182 Rich Milot Linebacker Washington Redskins
8th 4 196 Chuck Correal Center Philadelphia Eagles
10th 6 265 Tony Petruccio – San Diego Chargers

Awards

A football signed by the 1978 Penn State Nittany Lions football team, including Chuck Fusina, Matt Millen, and head coach Joe Paterno.
Lombardi Award
Maxwell Award
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year

References

  1. ^ "Field goal gives Penn State win." Eugene Register-Guard. 1978 Sept 2. Retrieved 2014-Jan-05.
  2. ^ "'Ready' Penn State Stuns No. 6 Bucks." Palm Beach Post. 1978 Sept 17.
  3. ^ "Penn State's Defense Smothers Terps." Palm Beach Post. 1978 Nov 5.
  4. ^ Underwood, John (November 13, 1978). "A Lionized Defense". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
  5. ^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1978 Oct 22.
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