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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 <-- 1988 <- 1989 -> 1990 --> 2024

1989 Season Highlights

Joe Paterno enters his 24th season as Head Coach at Penn State.

1989 Season

Date	Opponent	Score
Sat., Sep. 9	vs. Virginia	6	14	L
Sat., Sep. 16	vs. Temple	42	3	W
Sat., Sep. 23	vs. Boston College	7	3	W
Sat., Sep. 30	@ Texas	16	12	W
Sat., Oct. 7	@ Rutgers	17	0	W	@ East Rutherford, NJ
Sat., Oct. 14	@ Syracuse	34	12	W
Sat., Oct. 28	vs. Alabama	16	17	L
Sat., Nov. 4	vs. West Virginia	19	9	W
Sat., Nov. 11	@ Maryland	13	13	T	@ Baltimore, MD
Sat., Nov. 18	vs. Notre Dame	23	34	L
Sat., Nov. 25	@ Pittsburgh	16	13	W
Fri., Dec. 29	Brigham Young	50	39	W	@ San Diego, CA	Holiday Bowl

1989 Season Totals
Record	8-3 -1
Points Scored	259
Scoring Average	21.6
Points Allowed	169
Defense Average	14.1
Opponents Record	79-58
Conference Record	0-0
Home Record	3-3
Away Record	4-0 -1

1989 NCAA Final Rankings
Rank	Record	Source
15	8-3-1	AP
14	8-3-1	Coaches
14	8-3-1	UPI
15	8-3-1	USA Today/CNN

1989 Independent- Standings
	Season			Bowls	Conference
Team	W/L/T	PF	PA		W/L/T	PF	PA	Coach
Georgia Southern	15-0	584	221					Erk Russell
Notre Dame	12-1	427	189	Won 21-6				Lou Holtz
Florida State	10-2	424	199	Won 41-17				Bobby Bowden
Northern Illinois	9-2	344	269					Jerry Pettibone
Penn State	8-3-1	259	169	Won 50-39				Joe Paterno
Pittsburgh	8-3-1	333	268	Won 31-28				Mike Gottfried
Syracuse	8-4	286	242	Won 19-18				Dick MacPherson
West Virginia	8-3-1	339	221	Lost 7-27				Don Nehlen
Central Florida	7-3	256	168					Gene McDowell
Liberty	7-3	287	226					Sam Rutigliano
Louisiana	7-4	241	232					Nelson Stokley
Army	6-5	316	212					Jim Young
Louisville	6-5	312	222					Howard Schnellenberger
South Carolina	6-4-1	228	250					Sparky Woods
Tulsa	6-6	302	271	Lost 24-27				Dave Rader
Virginia Tech	6-4-1	203	180					Frank Beamer
Western Kentucky	6-5	279	238					Jack Harbaugh
Arkansas State	5-6	261	265					Larry Lacewell
East Carolina	5-5-1	301	286					Bill Lewis
James Madison	5-4-1	267	159					Joe Purzycki
Louisiana Tech	5-4-1	283	265					Joe Peace
Southern Mississippi	5-6	240	252					Curley Hallman
Buffalo	4-6	198	217					Bill Dando
Tulane	4-8	247	337					Greg Davis
Navy	3-8	145	272					Elliot Uzelac
Boston College	2-9	207	253					Jack Bicknell, Sr.
Memphis	2-9	174	338					Charles R. Chuck Stobart
Rutgers	2-7-2	245	319					Dick Anderson
Cincinnati	1-9-1	111	379					Timothy Tim Murphy
Temple	1-10	141	387					Jerry Berndt

1989 All American Awards
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Award	Team	Source
Coming Someday

1989 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).