AHSFHS.org

Search Site

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 <-- 1981 <- 1982 -> 1983 --> 2024

1982 Season Highlights

Joe Paterno enters his 17th season as Head Coach at Penn State.

The Nittany Lions won the National Championship.

1982 Season

Date	Opponent	Score
Sat., Sep. 4	vs. Temple	31	14	W
Sat., Sep. 11	vs. Maryland	39	31	W
Sat., Sep. 18	vs. Rutgers	49	14	W
Sat., Sep. 25	vs. Nebraska	27	24	W
Sat., Oct. 9	@ Alabama	21	42	L	@ Birmingham, AL
Sat., Oct. 16	vs. Syracuse	28	7	W
Sat., Oct. 23	@ West Virginia	24	0	W
Sat., Oct. 30	@ Boston College	52	17	W
Sat., Nov. 6	vs. North Carolina State	54	0	W
Sat., Nov. 13	@ Notre Dame	24	14	W
Fri., Nov. 26	vs. Pittsburgh	19	10	W
Sat., Jan. 1	Georgia	27	23	W	@ New Orleans, LA	Sugar Bowl

1982 Season Totals
Record	11-1
Points Scored	395
Scoring Average	32.9
Points Allowed	196
Defense Average	16.3
Opponents Record	88-50
Conference Record	0-0
Home Record	7-0
Away Record	3-1

1982 NCAA Final Rankings
Rank	Record	Source
1	11-1-0	AP
1	11-1-0	Coaches
1	11-1-0	UPI
1	11-1-0	USA Today/CNN

1982 Independent- Standings
	Season			Bowls	Conference
Team	W/L/T	PF	PA		W/L/T	PF	PA	Coach
Penn State	11-1	395	196	Won 27-23				Joe Paterno
Florida State	9-3	419	254	Won 31-12				Bobby Bowden
Pittsburgh	9-3	300	129	Lost 3-7				Serafino Foge Fazio
West Virginia	9-3	284	182	Lost 12-31				Don Nehlen
Boston College	8-3-1	294	219	Lost 26-33				Jack Bicknell, Sr.
James Madison	8-3	283	229					Challace McMillin
East Carolina	7-4	259	228					Ed Emory
Georgia Southern	7-3-1	290	190					Erk Russell
Liberty	7-4	251	214					Tom Dowling
Louisiana	7-3-1	248	197					Sam Robertson
Southern Mississippi	7-4	304	180					Jim Carmody
Virginia Tech	7-4	211	141					Bill Dooley
Akron	6-5	188	144					Jim Dennison
Cincinnati	6-5	281	206					Mike Gottfried
Navy	6-5	230	196					Gary Tranquill
Notre Dame	6-4-1	206	174					Gerry Faust
Buffalo	5-5	291	180					Bill Dando
Louisville	5-6	220	355					Bob Weber
Rutgers	5-6	180	278					Frank R. Burns
Western Kentucky	5-5	186	200					Jimmy Feix
Army	4-7	164	271					Ed Cavanaugh
South Carolina	4-7	224	259					Richard Bell
Temple	4-7	220	202					Wayne Hardin
Tulane	4-7	201	271					Vince Gibson
North Texas	2-9	179	283					Corky Nelson
Syracuse	2-9	159	244					Dick MacPherson
Memphis	1-10	129	284					Rex Dockery
Central Florida	0-10	109	356					Sam Weir

1982 All American Awards
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Award	Team	Source
Coming Someday

1982 All Independent Conference Players
Player	Position	Class	Ht.	Wt.	Team	Source
Coming Someday

Some records may be incomplete.

Great Moments in College Football History

During the 1990s, Prairie View College put together an 80-game losing streak. One season, they were outscored each game by an average margin of 56 to 4.