1977 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

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1977 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 42–30 vs. Arizona State
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 5
1977 record11–1
Head coach
  • Joe Paterno (12th season)
Defensive coordinatorJerry Sandusky (1st season as DC; 9th overall season)
Captains
  • John Dunn
  • Steve Geise
  • Ron Hostetler
  • Randy Sidler
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
(Capacity: 60,203)
Seasons
← 1976
1978 →
1977 NCAA Division I independents football records
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Notre Dame   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
No. 5 Penn State   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
Colgate   –   –   10 – 1 – 0
North Texas State *   –   –   10 – 1 – 0
No. 16 San Diego State   –   –   10 – 1 – 0
Tennessee State   –   –   8 – 1 – 1
No. 14 Florida State   –   –   10 – 2 – 0
No. 8 Pittsburgh   –   –   9 – 2 – 1
East Carolina   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
Rutgers   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
Army   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Louisville   –   –   7 – 4 – 1
Boston College   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Cincinnati   –   –   5 – 4 – 2
Georgia Tech   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Memphis State   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Northwestern State   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Syracuse   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
William & Mary   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Temple   –   –   5 – 5 – 1
Hawaii   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Navy   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
West Virginia   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
South Carolina   –   –   5 – 7 – 0
Utah State   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Villanova   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Illinois State   –   –   3 – 7 – 1
Virginia Tech   –   –   3 – 7 – 1
Miami (FL)   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Richmond   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Tulane   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Air Force   –   –   2 – 8 – 1
Holy Cross   –   –   2 – 8 – 0
Northeast Louisiana   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
  • North Texas State (originally 9–2) awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 2at RutgersNo. 13
  • Giants Stadium
  • East Rutherford, NJ
W 45–764,790
September 17No. 9 HoustonNo. 10
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 31–1462,554
September 24MarylandNo. 5
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ABCW 27–962,079
October 1KentuckyNo. 4
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
L 20–2462,196
October 8Utah StatedaggerNo. 10
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 16–762,015
October 15at SyracuseNo. 10
W 31–2427,029
October 22West VirginiaNo. 10
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 49–2862,108
October 29Miami (FL)No. 9
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 49–761,853
November 5at NC StateNo. 9
W 21–1744,800
November 12TempleNo. 9
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 44–761,327
November 26at No. 10 PittsburghNo. 9
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ABCW 15–1356,500
December 25vs. No. 15 Arizona StateNo. 8
CBSW 42–3057,766
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster[]

1977 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 81 Bob Bassett Jr
WR 44 Jimmy Cefalo Sr
WR 19 Tom Donovan So
OT 68 Eric Cummingham Jr
OT 71 Keith Dorney Jr
WR 46 Scott Fitzkee Jr
QB 14 Chuck Fusina Jr
RB 24 Mike Guman So
TE 82 Mickey Shuler Sr
RB 32 Matt Suhey So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 25 Tom Bradley Jr
DE 54 Bruce Clark So
LB 95 Tom DePaso Sr
S 27 Pete Harris So
DE 74 Larry Kubin Fr
DT 57 Pete Kugler Fr
LB 56 Lance Mehl So
LB 60 Matt Millen So
DE 28 Rich Milot Jr
DT 78 Randy Sidler Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 10 Matt Bahr Jr
Head coach
  • Joe Paterno
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries[]

Miami (FL)[]

1 234Total
Miami (FL) 0 007 7
• Penn St 7 28140 49
  • Date: October 29
  • Location: Beaver Stadium • University Park, Pennsylvania
  • Game attendance: 61,853

[2]

Fiesta Bowl[]

Fiesta Bowl
#15 Arizona State vs. #8 Penn State
1 234Total
Arizona St 0 14016 30
• Penn St 14 3718 42
  • Date: December 25
  • Location: Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ
  • Game attendance: 57,727
  • Television network: CBS

[3]

Post season[]

NFL Draft[]

Seven Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1978 NFL Draft.

Round Pick Overall Name Position Team
3rd 5 61 Mickey Shuler Tight end New York Jets
3rd 25 81 Jimmy Cefalo Wide receiver Miami Dolphins
5th 4 113 Randy Sidler – New York Jets
6th 17 155 – Cincinnati Bengals
9th 5 227 – New York Jets
10th 17 267 Tom DePaso Linebacker Cincinnati Bengals
11th 25 303 – Los Angeles Rams

References[]

  1. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
  2. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1977 Oct 29.
  3. ^ "Penn State runs mark to 11-1." Eugene Register-Guard. 1977 Dec 26.
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