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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-

Team Home Summary  Coaches Games by Year Opponents Rankings Bowls Conference


Select Year:    
1881  <-- 1976 <- 1977 -> 1978 --> 2024
1977 Season Highlights
 Joe Paterno enters his 12th season as Head Coach at Penn State.
 
1977 Season
 Date   Opponent  Score   
 Fri., Sep. 2  @ Rutgers  45   7   W    @ East Rutherford, NJ   
 Sat., Sep. 17  vs. Houston  31   14   W       
 Sat., Sep. 24  vs. Maryland  27   9   W       
 Sat., Oct. 1  vs. Kentucky  20   24   L       
 Sat., Oct. 8  vs. Utah State  16   7   W       
 Sat., Oct. 15  @ Syracuse  31   24   W       
 Sat., Oct. 22  vs. West Virginia  49   28   W       
 Sat., Oct. 29  vs. Miami (Florida)  49   7   W       
 Sat., Nov. 5  @ North Carolina State  21   17   W       
 Sat., Nov. 12  vs. Temple  44   7   W       
 Sat., Nov. 19  @ Pittsburgh  15   13   W       
 Sun., Dec. 25   Arizona State  42   30   W    @ Tempe, AZ   Fiesta Bowl
 
1977 Season Totals
  Record11-1
  Points Scored390
  Scoring Average32.5
  Points Allowed187
  Defense Average15.6
  Opponents Record78-45
  Conference Record0-0
  Home Record6-1
  Away Record4-0
1977 NCAA Final Rankings
 Rank   Record   Source 
5 11-1-0 AP
4 11-1-0 Coaches
4 11-1-0 UPI
  
1977 Independent- Standings
  Season   Bowls   Conference 
 Team  W/L/T  PF  PA    W/L/T  PF  PA   Coach 
Louisiana Monroe 2-9122297   John David Crow
Notre Dame 11-1420139Won  38-10  Dan Devine
Penn State 11-1390187Won  42-30  Joe Paterno
Florida State 10-2314170Won  40-17  Bobby Bowden
North Texas 10-1320179   Hayden Fry
San Diego State 10-1349165   Claude Gilbert
Nevada Las Vegas 9-2300243   Tony Knap
Pittsburgh 9-2-1428134Won  34-3  Jackie Sherrill
East Carolina 8-3268154   Pat Dye
Nevada 8-3421154   Chris Ault
Rutgers 8-3291181   Frank R. Burns
Army 7-4287245   Homer Smith
Louisville 7-4-1291194Lost  14-24  Vince Gibson
Akron 6-4-1234170   Jim Dennison
Boston College 6-5242269   Joseph Joe Yukica
Georgia Tech 6-5224221   Pepper Rodgers
Memphis 6-5228194   Richard Williamson
Southern Mississippi 6-6215250   Bobby Collins
Syracuse 6-5218234   Frank Maloney
Cincinnati 5-4-2250121   Ralph Staub
James Madison 5-5146172   Challace McMillin
Navy 5-6229230   George Welsh
South Carolina 5-7215202   Jim Carlen
Temple 5-5-1229286   Wayne Hardin
West Virginia 5-6244264   Frank Cignetti
Liberty 3-7167260   Tom Dowling
Miami 3-8125245   Louis H. Lou Saban
Tulane 3-8181289   Larry Smith
Virginia Tech 3-7-1174210   Jimmy Sharpe
Air Force 2-8-1114296   Ben Martin
Buffalo 0-3-13687   Bill Dando

1977 All American Awards
 Player   Position   Class   Ht.   Wt.   Award   Team   Source 
 Coming Someday 

1977 All Independent Conference Players
 Player   Position   Class   Ht.   Wt.   Team   Source 
 Coming Someday 


Some records may be incomplete.


Great Moments in College Football History

The biggest crowd for a college football game was 114,000 for the 1926 Army-Navy Game. The game ended in a tie when it became too dark to play.