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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 <-- 1984 <- 1985 -> 1986 --> 2024

1985 Season Highlights

Joe Paterno enters his 20th season as Head Coach at Penn State.

1985 Season

Date	Opponent	Score
Sat., Sep. 7	@ Maryland	20	18	W
Sat., Sep. 14	vs. Temple	27	25	W
Sat., Sep. 21	vs. East Carolina	17	10	W
Sat., Sep. 28	@ Rutgers	17	10	W	@ East Rutherford, NJ
Sat., Oct. 12	vs. Alabama	19	17	W
Sat., Oct. 19	@ Syracuse	24	20	W
Sat., Oct. 26	vs. West Virginia	27	0	W
Sat., Nov. 2	vs. Boston College	16	12	W
Sat., Nov. 9	@ Cincinnati	31	10	W	@ Cincinnati, OH
Sat., Nov. 16	vs. Notre Dame	36	6	W
Sat., Nov. 23	@ Pittsburgh	31	0	W
Wed., Jan. 1	Oklahoma	10	25	L	@ Miami, FL	Orange Bowl

1985 Season Totals
Record	11-1
Points Scored	275
Scoring Average	22.9
Points Allowed	153
Defense Average	12.8
Opponents Record	70-63
Conference Record	0-0
Home Record	6-0
Away Record	5-0

1985 NCAA Final Rankings
Rank	Record	Source
3	11-1-0	AP
3	11-1-0	Coaches
3	11-1-0	UPI
2	11-1-0	USA Today/CNN

1985 Independent- Standings
	Season			Bowls	Conference
Team	W/L/T	PF	PA		W/L/T	PF	PA	Coach
Georgia Southern	13-2	460	293					Erk Russell
Penn State	11-1	275	153	Lost 10-25				Joe Paterno
Army	9-3	396	232	Won 31-29				Jim Young
Florida State	9-3	402	258	Won 34-23				Bobby Bowden
Akron	8-4	258	186					Jim Dennison
Southern Mississippi	7-4	255	159					Jim Carmody
Syracuse	7-5	284	195	Lost 18-35				Dick MacPherson
West Virginia	7-3-1	189	158					Don Nehlen
Virginia Tech	6-5	274	219					Bill Dooley
Cincinnati	5-6	199	261					Dave Currey
James Madison	5-6	163	177					Joe Purzycki
Notre Dame	5-6	230	234					Gerry Faust
Pittsburgh	5-5-1	202	187					Serafino Foge Fazio
South Carolina	5-6	269	290					Joe Morrison
Boston College	4-8	222	307					Jack Bicknell, Sr.
Buffalo	4-6	188	206					Bill Dando
Central Florida	4-7	266	386					Gene McDowell
Louisiana	4-7	162	306					Sam Robertson
Navy	4-7	253	239					Gary Tranquill
Temple	4-7	233	223					Bruce Arians
Western Kentucky	4-7	232	313					Dave Roberts
Liberty	3-4-1	121	103					Morgan Hout
East Carolina	2-9	161	281					Art Baker
Louisville	2-9	199	429					Howard Schnellenberger
Memphis	2-7-2	180	243					Rey Dempsey
Rutgers	2-8-1	149	266					Dick Anderson
Tulane	1-10	166	334					Mack Brown

1985 All American Awards
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Award	Team	Source
Coming Someday

1985 All Independent Conference Players
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Team	Source
Coming Someday

Some records may be incomplete.

Great Moments in College Football History

College football's largest margin of victory came in 1916, when Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland by a score of 222 to 0. The game was cut short by 15 minutes.