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Penn State Football Team History

Penn State Nittany Lions

The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA
Founded: 1855
Stadium: Beaver Stadium
Capacity: 106,537
Colors: Blue & White
Coach: Joe Paterno
Conference: Independent-

Select Year:

1881 <-- 1975 <- 1976 -> 1977 --> 2024

1976 Season Highlights

Joe Paterno enters his 11th season as Head Coach at Penn State.

1976 Season

Date	Opponent	Score
Sat., Sep. 11	vs. Stanford	15	12	W
Sat., Sep. 18	vs. Ohio State	7	12	L
Sat., Sep. 25	vs. Iowa	6	7	L
Sat., Oct. 2	@ Kentucky	6	22	L
Sat., Oct. 9	vs. Army	38	16	W
Sat., Oct. 16	vs. Syracuse	27	3	W
Sat., Oct. 23	@ West Virginia	33	0	W
Sat., Oct. 30	@ Temple	31	30	W
Sat., Nov. 6	vs. North Carolina State	41	20	W
Sat., Nov. 13	@ Miami (Florida)	21	7	W
Fri., Nov. 26	@ Pittsburgh	7	24	L	@ Pittsburgh, PA
Mon., Dec. 27	Notre Dame	9	20	L	@ Jacksonville, FL	Gator Bowl

1976 Season Totals
Record	7-5
Points Scored	241
Scoring Average	20.1
Points Allowed	173
Defense Average	14.4
Opponents Record	70-52
Conference Record	0-0
Home Record	4-2
Away Record	3-2

1976 NCAA Final Rankings
Rank	Record	Source
was not ranked.

1976 Independent- Standings
	Season			Bowls	Conference
Team	W/L/T	PF	PA		W/L/T	PF	PA	Coach
Louisiana Monroe	2-9	206	321					John David Crow
Pittsburgh	12-0	381	133	Won 27-3				Johnny Majors
Rutgers	11-0	287	81					Frank R. Burns
Akron	10-3	281	144					Jim Dennison
San Diego State	10-1	197	125					Claude Gilbert
Nevada Las Vegas	9-3	359	287					Tony Knap
Notre Dame	9-3	294	158	Won 20-9				Dan Devine
Boston College	8-3	239	125					Joseph Joe Yukica
Cincinnati	8-3	204	114					Tony Mason
Memphis	8-3	241	182					Richard Williamson
Nevada	8-3	409	243					Chris Ault
James Madison	7-4	249	198					Challace McMillin
North Texas	7-4	232	145					Hayden Fry
Penn State	7-5	241	173	Lost 9-20				Joe Paterno
South Carolina	6-5	195	143					Jim Carlen
Virginia Tech	6-5	223	176					Jimmy Sharpe
Army	5-6	201	267					Homer Smith
Florida State	5-6	205	258					Bobby Bowden
Liberty	5-4-1	263	196					John Cartwright
Louisville	5-6	177	234					Vince Gibson
West Virginia	5-6	184	202					Frank Cignetti
Air Force	4-7	180	273					Ben Martin
Georgia Tech	4-6-1	221	267					Pepper Rodgers
Marshall	4-7	151	243					Frank Ellwood
Navy	4-7	187	257					George Welsh
Temple	4-6	196	216					Wayne Hardin
Miami	3-8	207	213	Lost 10-19				Carl Selmer
Southern Mississippi	3-8	145	296					Bobby Collins
Syracuse	3-8	154	263					Frank Maloney
Utah State	3-8	170	263					Bruce Snyder
Tulane	2-9	149	228					Larry Smith

1976 All American Awards
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Award	Team	Source
Coming Someday

1976 All Independent Conference Players
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Team	Source
Coming Someday

Some records may be incomplete.

Great Moments in College Football History

Quarterbacks from Alabama won the first three Super Bowls. They also have more Super Bowl wins than quarterbacks from any other school (Kenny Stabler 1, Joe Namath 1 and Bart Starr 2).