1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

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Wikipedia

1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football
National champion (Dunkel)
Eastern champion
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 26–10 vs. USC
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 3
Record10–2
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDick Anderson (1st season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorJerry Sandusky (5th season)
Base defense4–3
Captains
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 Major eastern college football independents records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 3 Penn State $5–0–010–2–0
No. 4 Pittsburgh5–1–011–1–0
No. 17 West Virginia3–3–09–3–0
Temple2–3–05–5–0
Syracuse2–4–04–6–1
Boston College1–4–05–6–0
Rutgers1–4–05–6–0
Rankings from AP Poll
1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Pittsburgh – – 11–1–0
No. 3 Penn State – – 10–2–0
No. 8 Miami (FL) – – 9–2–0
Southern Miss – – 9–2–1
No. 17 West Virginia – – 9–3–0
Colgate – – 7–3–0
Virginia Tech – – 7–4–0
Navy – – 7–4–1
Cincinnati – – 6–5–0
Florida State – – 6–5–0
Holy Cross – – 6–5–0
Tulane – – 6–5–0
UNLV – – 6–6–0
South Carolina – – 6–6–0
Temple – – 5–5–0
Boston College – – 5–6–0
East Carolina – – 5–6–0
Northeast Louisiana – – 5–6–0
Louisville – – 5–6–0
Notre Dame – – 5–6–0
Rutgers – – 5–6–0
William & Mary – – 5–6–0
Syracuse – – 4–6–1
Richmond – – 4–7–0
Army – – 3–7–1
North Texas State – – 2–9–0
Georgia Tech – – 1–10–0
Memphis State – – 1–10–0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 16th-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 10–2. Penn State was invited to the Fiesta Bowl, where the Nittany Lions defeated USC. The team was selected national champion by Dunkel, an NCAA-designated major selector,[1] while Clemson, who finished the season 12–0, was the consensus national champion.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 121:30 p.m.CincinnatiNo. 9
ESPN (tape delay)W 52–084,342[2]
September 262:30 p.m.at No. 15 NebraskaNo. 3
ESPN (tape delay)W 30–2476,308[3]
October 31:30 p.m.TempleNo. 2
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 30–084,562[4]
October 101:30 p.m.Boston CollegedaggerNo. 2
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
ESPN (tape delay)W 38–784,473[5]
October 171:30 p.m.at SyracuseNo. 2
W 41–1650,037[6]
October 241:30 p.m.West VirginiaNo. 1
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ESPN (tape delay)W 30–785,012[7]
October 314:00 p.m.at Miami (FL)No. 1
ABCL 14–1732,117[8]
November 71:00 p.m.at NC StateNo. 6
W 22–1548,800[9]
November 1412:20 p.m.No. 6 AlabamaNo. 5
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ABC regionalL 16–3185,133[10]
November 211:00 p.m.Notre DameNo. 13
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ESPN (tape delay)W 24–2184,175[11]
November 2812:25 p.m.at No. 1 PittsburghNo. 11
ABCW 48–1460,260[12]
January 1, 19821:30 p.m.vs. No. 8 USCNo. 7
NBCW 26–1071,053[13]

Game summaries

At Nebraska

Penn State at #15 Nebraska
Team 1 234Total
• #3 Penn State 3 14310 30
#15 Nebraska 0 10140 24

Boston College

Team 1 234Total
Boston College 0 007 7
• Penn St 10 1477 38
Scoring summary
Q1PSUWarner 7 yard run (Franco kick)PSU 7–0
Q1PSUFranco 33 yard field goalPSU 10–0
Q2PSUMeade 1 yard run (Franco kick)PSU 17–0
Q2PSUJackson 39 yard pass from Blackledge (Franco kick)PSU 24–0
Q3PSUWarner 1 yard run (Franco kick)PSU 31–0
Q4PSUWilliams 36 yard run (Franco kick)PSU 38–0
Q4BCNizolek 23 yard pass from Flutie (Cooper kick)PSU 38–7

[14]

Notre Dame

Notre Dame at #13 Penn St
Team 1 234Total
Notre Dame 7 770 21
• Penn St 14 307 24
Scoring summary
1PSUWilliams 4-yard run (Franco kick)PSU 7–0
1NDCarter 1-yard run (Oliver kick)Tied 7–7
1PSUBlackledge 1-yard run (Franco kick)PSU 14–7
2PSUFranco 27-yard field goalPSU 17–7
2NDHunter 17-yard pass from Kiel (Oliver kick)PSU 17–14
3NDSweeney 4-yard pass from Kiel (Oliver kick)ND 21–17
43:48PSUBlackledge 1-yard run (Franco kick)PSU 24–21

Following the game, Penn State accepted an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl.

Pittsburgh

#11 Penn St at #1 Pittsburgh
Team 1 234Total
• Penn St 0 141717 48
Pittsburgh 14 000 14
  • Source:

The Nittany Lions snapped the Panthers' 17-game winning streak in convincing fashion.[15]

Vs. USC (Fiesta Bowl)

#7 Penn State vs. #8 USC
Team 1 234Total
• No. 7 Nittany Lions 7 1090 26
No. 8 Trojans 7 030 10
  • Source:

Roster

1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 14 Todd Blackledge Jr
TE 80 Kirk Bowman So
OT 79 Bill Contz Jr
G 62 Sean Farrell Sr
WR 19 Gregg Garrity Jr
OT 72 Ron Heller So
WR 82 Kenny Jackson So
TE 85 Vyto Kab Sr
TE 81 Mike McCloskey Jr
RB 38 Mike Meade Sr
G 78 Mike Munchak Sr
C 53 Jim Romano Sr
FB 43 Jon Williams So
RB 25 Curt Warner Jr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 30 Matt Bradley Sr
Hero 17 Harry Hamilton So
CB 49 Roger Jackson Jr
LB 98 Ken Kelley Jr
CB 12 Paul Lankford Sr
LB 37 Walker Lee Ashley Jr
LB 94 Chet Parlavecchio Jr
LB 97 Scott Radecic So
DT 61 Leo Wisniewski Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 10 Brian Franco Sr
P 21 Ralph Giacomarro Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Awards

NFL draft

Ten Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1982 NFL draft.

RoundPickOverallNamePositionTeam
1st88Mike MunchakOffensive guardHouston Oilers
1st1717Sean FarrellOffensive guardTampa Bay Buccaneers
2nd128Leo WisniewskiNose tackleBaltimore Colts
2nd1037Jim RomanoCenterLos Angeles Raiders
3rd2378Vyto KabTight endPhiladelphia Eagles
3rd2580Paul LankfordDefensive backMiami Dolphins
5th15126Mike MeadeRunning backGreen Bay Packers
6th13152Chet ParlavecchioLinebackerGreen Bay Packers
9th11234Matt BradleyLinebackerHouston Oilers
10th12263Rich D'AmicoLinebackerLos Angeles Raiders

References

  1. ↑ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. p. 114. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Lions impressive in 1981 opener". The Sunday Times. September 13, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Penn State tailback runs over Nebraska". The Kansas City Star. September 27, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "State stuffs Owls in 'funny game'". The Patriot-News. October 4, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Penn St. Crushes B.C. 38–7". The Palm Beach Post. October 11, 1981. p. E6. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Penn St. wallops Syracuse 41–16". The Journal News. October 18, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Warner substitute leads Penn State past W. Va". Sunday News Journal. October 25, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Miami upsets Penn State, 17–14". Sunday News. November 1, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Lions stave off Wolfpack". The Tampa Tribune. November 8, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Penn State falls to Alabama, 31–16". Sunday News. November 15, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Notre Dame inches and 3 points shy at Penn State". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 22, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Penn State stuns top-ranked Pitt". The Times and Democrat. November 29, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Penn State pounds USC in Fiesta Bowl". The Arizona Republic. January 2, 1982. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Eugene-Register Guard. 1981 Oct 11.
  15. ↑ John Feinstein (November 29, 1981). "Penn State Stuns No. 1 Pitt. 48-14. Bryant Wins No. 315". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 29, 2017.