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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 <-- 1970 <- 1971 -> 1972 --> 2024

1971 Season Highlights

Joe Paterno enters his 6th season as Head Coach at Penn State.

1971 Season

Date	Opponent	Score
Sat., Sep. 18	@ Navy	56	3	W
Sat., Sep. 25	@ Iowa	44	14	W
Sat., Oct. 2	vs. Air Force	16	14	W
Sat., Oct. 9	vs. Army	42	0	W
Sat., Oct. 16	@ Syracuse	31	0	W
Sat., Oct. 23	vs. Texas Christian	66	14	W
Sat., Oct. 30	@ West Virginia	35	7	W
Sat., Nov. 6	vs. Maryland	63	27	W
Sat., Nov. 13	vs. North Carolina State	35	3	W
Sat., Nov. 20	@ Pittsburgh	55	18	W
Sat., Dec. 4	@ Tennessee	11	31	L
Sat., Jan. 1	Texas	30	6	W	@ Dallas, TX	Cotton Bowl

1971 Season Totals
Record	11-1
Points Scored	484
Scoring Average	40.3
Points Allowed	137
Defense Average	11.4
Opponents Record	60-69
Conference Record	0-0
Home Record	5-0
Away Record	5-1

1971 NCAA Final Rankings
Rank	Record	Source
5	11-1-0	AP
11	10-1-0	Coaches
11	10-1-0	UPI

1971 Independent- Standings
	Season			Bowls	Conference
Team	W/L/T	PF	PA		W/L/T	PF	PA	Coach
Louisiana Monroe	4-6-1	122	208					Dixie B. White
Penn State	11-1	484	137	Won 30-6				Joe Paterno
Boston College	9-2	259	117					Joseph Joe Yukica
Houston	9-3	339	199	Lost 17-29				Bill Yeoman
Florida State	8-4	309	174	Lost 38-45				Larry Jones
Notre Dame	8-2	225	86					Ara R. Parseghian
Utah State	8-3	243	183					Chuck Mills
Cincinnati	7-4	225	188					Ray Callahan
Eastern Michigan	7-1-2	228	85					Dan Boisture
West Virginia	7-4	280	220					Bobby Bowden
Air Force	6-4	187	187					Ben Martin
Army	6-4	146	206					Tom Cahill
Georgia Tech	6-6	207	207	Lost 18-41				Bud Carson
Southern Mississippi	6-5	202	192					P.W. Bear Underwood
Temple	6-2-1	248	136					Wayne Hardin
Central Michigan	5-5	183	181					Roy Kramer
Nevada	5-5	181	165					Jerry Scattine
Nevada Las Vegas	5-4-1	257	171					Bill Ireland
Northern Illinois	5-5-1	202	232					Jerry Ippoliti
Syracuse	5-5-1	197	179					Floyd B. Ben Schwartzwalder
Ball State	4-5-1	136	155					Dave McClain
Miami	4-7	174	221					Fran Curci
Virginia Tech	4-7	249	272					Charlie Coffey
Navy	3-8	146	331					Richard Rick Forzano
Pittsburgh	3-8	216	388					Carl A. DePasqua
Tulane	3-8	152	215					Bennie Ellender
Marshall	2-8	57	299					Jack Lengyel

1971 All American Awards
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Award	Team	Source
Coming Someday

1971 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 first bowl game, later known as The Rose Bowl, was played on January 1st, 1902 between the Michigan Wolverines and Stanford Cardinals. Michigan won 49-0.