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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 <-- 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
Record	11-1
Points Scored	390
Scoring Average	32.5
Points Allowed	187
Defense Average	15.6
Opponents Record	78-45
Conference Record	0-0
Home Record	6-1
Away Record	4-0

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	2-9	122	297					John David Crow
Notre Dame	11-1	420	139	Won 38-10				Dan Devine
Penn State	11-1	390	187	Won 42-30				Joe Paterno
Florida State	10-2	314	170	Won 40-17				Bobby Bowden
North Texas	10-1	320	179					Hayden Fry
San Diego State	10-1	349	165					Claude Gilbert
Nevada Las Vegas	9-2	300	243					Tony Knap
Pittsburgh	9-2-1	428	134	Won 34-3				Jackie Sherrill
East Carolina	8-3	268	154					Pat Dye
Nevada	8-3	421	154					Chris Ault
Rutgers	8-3	291	181					Frank R. Burns
Army	7-4	287	245					Homer Smith
Louisville	7-4-1	291	194	Lost 14-24				Vince Gibson
Akron	6-4-1	234	170					Jim Dennison
Boston College	6-5	242	269					Joseph Joe Yukica
Georgia Tech	6-5	224	221					Pepper Rodgers
Memphis	6-5	228	194					Richard Williamson
Southern Mississippi	6-6	215	250					Bobby Collins
Syracuse	6-5	218	234					Frank Maloney
Cincinnati	5-4-2	250	121					Ralph Staub
James Madison	5-5	146	172					Challace McMillin
Navy	5-6	229	230					George Welsh
South Carolina	5-7	215	202					Jim Carlen
Temple	5-5-1	229	286					Wayne Hardin
West Virginia	5-6	244	264					Frank Cignetti
Liberty	3-7	167	260					Tom Dowling
Miami	3-8	125	245					Louis H. Lou Saban
Tulane	3-8	181	289					Larry Smith
Virginia Tech	3-7-1	174	210					Jimmy Sharpe
Air Force	2-8-1	114	296					Ben Martin
Buffalo	0-3-1	36	87					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

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.