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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-

Team Home Summary  Coaches Games by Year Opponents Rankings Bowls Conference


Select Year:    
1881  <-- 1985 <- 1986 -> 1987 --> 2024
1986 Season Highlights
 Joe Paterno enters his 21st season as Head Coach at Penn State.
 The Nittany Lions won the National Championship.
 
1986 Season
 Date   Opponent  Score   
 Sat., Sep. 6  vs. Temple  45   15   W       
 Sat., Sep. 20  @ Boston College  26   14   W    @ Foxboro, MA   
 Sat., Sep. 27  vs. East Carolina  42   17   W       
 Sat., Oct. 4  vs. Rutgers  31   6   W       
 Sat., Oct. 11  vs. Cincinnati  23   17   W       
 Sat., Oct. 18  vs. Syracuse  42   3   W       
 Sat., Oct. 25  @ Alabama  23   3   W       
 Sat., Nov. 1  @ West Virginia  19   0   W       
 Sat., Nov. 8  vs. Maryland  17   15   W       
 Sat., Nov. 15  @ Notre Dame  24   19   W       
 Sat., Nov. 22  vs. Pittsburgh  34   14   W       
 Fri., Jan. 2   Miami (Florida)  14   10   W    @ Tempe, AZ   Fiesta Bowl
 
1986 Season Totals
  Record12-0
  Points Scored340
  Scoring Average28.3
  Points Allowed133
  Defense Average11.1
  Opponents Record58-63
  Conference Record0-0
  Home Record7-0
  Away Record4-0
1986 NCAA Final Rankings
 Rank   Record   Source 
112-0-0 AP
112-0-0 Coaches
112-0-0 UPI
112-0-0 USA Today/CNN
  
1986 Independent- Standings
  Season   Bowls   Conference 
 Team  W/L/T  PF  PA    W/L/T  PF  PA   Coach 
Georgia Southern 13-2619382   Erk Russell
Penn State 12-0340133Won  14-10  Joe Paterno
Virginia Tech 10-1-1286208Won  25-24  Bill Dooley
Boston College 9-3338233Won  27-24  Jack Bicknell, Sr.
Buffalo 9-2264182   Bill Dando
Akron 7-4291188   Gerry Faust
Florida State 7-4-1393218Won  27-13  Bobby Bowden
Tulsa 7-4293186   Don Morton
Army 6-5276292   Jim Young
Central Florida 6-5310227   Gene McDowell
Louisiana 6-5242204   Nelson Stokley
Pittsburgh 6-4-1253209   Mike Gottfried
Rutgers 6-4-1221189   Dick Anderson
Southern Mississippi 6-5198252   Jim Carmody
Cincinnati 5-6267345   Dave Currey
James Madison 5-5-1299178   Joe Purzycki
Notre Dame 5-6299219   Lou Holtz
Syracuse 5-6241266   Dick MacPherson
Tulane 4-7265334   Mack Brown
West Virginia 4-7210286   Don Nehlen
Western Kentucky 4-6-1228258   Dave Roberts
East Carolina 3-8187364   Art Baker
Louisville 3-8179303   Howard Schnellenberger
Navy 3-8238306   Gary Tranquill
South Carolina 3-6-2313286   Joe Morrison
Liberty 1-9150229   Morgan Hout
Memphis 1-10104292   Charlie Bailey
Temple 0-11308271   Bruce Arians

1986 All American Awards
 Player   Position   Class   Ht.   Wt.   Award   Team   Source 
 Coming Someday 

1986 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 biggest crowd for a college football game was 114,000 for the 1926 Army-Navy Game. The game ended in a tie when it became too dark to play.