American college football season
1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football Conference Independent Coaches No. 18 AP No. 20 1979 record 8–4 Head coach Joe Paterno (14th season)Defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky Home stadium Beaver Stadium (Capacity: 76,639)Seasons
The 1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season .[1] The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania .
Schedule [ ]
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 15 Rutgers No. 7 Beaver Stadium University Park, PA W 45–1077,309
September 22 Texas A&M No. 6 Beaver Stadium University Park, PA L 14–2777,575
September 29 at No. 6 Nebraska No. 18 Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE ABC L 17–4276,151
October 6 at Maryland Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry )W 27–752,348
October 13 Army Beaver Stadium University Park, PA W 24–377,157
October 20 vs. Syracuse Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (rivalry )W 35–753,789
October 27 West Virginia Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry ) W 31–677,923
November 3 Miami (FL) No. 19 Beaver Stadium University Park, PA TCS L 10–2675,332
November 10 at NC State W 9–751,200
November 17 Temple No. 18 Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry ) W 22–776,000
December 1 No. 11 Pittsburgh No. 19 Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry ) ABC L 14–2976,958
December 22 vs. No. 15 Tulane ABC W 9–650,021
HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Roster [ ]
1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster
Season summary [ ]
Rutgers [ ]
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Texas A&M [ ]
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at Nebraska [ ]
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at Maryland [ ]
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Army [ ]
Army Cadets (2–1–1) at Penn State Nittany Lions (2–2)
1
2
3 4 Total
Army
0
0
3 0 3
Penn State
7
10
0 7 24
at Beaver Stadium , University Park, Pennsylvania
Date : October 13Game attendance : 77,157[4]
Game information
First quarter
PSU – Booker Moore 1-yard run (Herb Menhardt kick). Penn State 7–0. Drive: 6 plays, 38 yards.
Second quarter
PSU – Matt Suhey 17-yard run (Herb Menhardt kick), 7:06. Penn State 14–0. Drive: 4 plays, 57 yards.
PSU – Herb Menhardt 24-yard field goal, 2:36. Penn State 17–0. Drive:
Third quarter
ARMY – Dave Aucoin 44-yard field goal. Penn State 17–3. Drive:
Fourth quarter
PSU – Matt Suhey 61-yard run (Herb Menhardt kick). Penn State 24–3. Drive:
Top passers
ARMY – Jerryl Bennett – 7/26, 120 yards, INT
PSU – Dayle Tate – 6/14, 51 yards, 3 INT
Top rushers
ARMY – Jimmy Hill – 23 rushes, 43 yards
PSU – Matt Suhey – 23 carries, 225 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
ARMY – Kevin Kullander – 3 receptions, 89 yards
PSU – Booker Moore – 3 receptions, 28 yards
Homecoming
Matt Suhey – 4th highest single game rushing total in school history, broke school record for career rushing attempts, moved into 4th place on all-time school rushing list
Booker Moore – 24 rushes, 103 yards
vs. Syracuse [ ]
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West Virginia [ ]
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Miami (FL) [ ]
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at NC State [ ]
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Temple [ ]
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Pittsburgh [ ]
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Liberty Bowl (vs. Tulane) [ ]
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Post season [ ]
NFL Draft [ ]
Seven Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1980 NFL Draft .
Round
Pick
Overall
Name
Position
Team
1st
4
4
Bruce Clark
Defensive tackle
Green Bay Packers
2nd
15
43
Matt Millen
Linebacker
Oakland Raiders
2nd
18
46
Matt Suhey
Running back
Chicago Bears
2nd
22
50
Irv Pankey
Offensive tackle
Los Angeles Rams
3rd
13
69
Lance Mehl
Linebacker
New York Jets
6th
16
154
Mike Guman
Running back
Los Angeles Rams
9th
9
230
Tom Donovan
Wide receiver
Kansas City Chiefs
References [ ]
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold