1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1982 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
	Rankings from AP Poll

1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football
1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Consensus national champion; Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 27–23 vs. Georgia
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
1982 record	11–1
Head coach	Joe Paterno (17th season);
Offensive coordinator	Dick Anderson
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium; (Capacity: 83,770)
	Seasons ← 1981 1983 →

The 1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University during the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season.^[1] Penn State defeated the Georgia Bulldogs, 27–23, in the Sugar Bowl to win Joe Paterno's first consensus national championship. The team was selected national champion by AP, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Litkenhous, Matthews, NCF, NFF, The New York Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), Sporting News, UPI/coaches, and USA/CNN, while named co-champion by Helms.^[2]

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	1:30 p.m.	Temple	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ESPN (tape delay)	W 31–14	80,000
September 11	1:30 p.m.	Maryland	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	TCS	W 39–31	84,597
September 18	1:30 p.m.	Rutgers	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	TCS	W 49–14	83,268
September 25	3:50 p.m.	No. 2 Nebraska	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	CBS	W 27–24	85,304
October 9	1:30 p.m.	at No. 4 Alabama	No. 3	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (rivalry)	CBS	L 21–42	76,821
October 16	1:30 p.m.	Syracuse	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	TCS	W 28–7	84,762
October 23	1:30 p.m.	at No. 13 West Virginia	No. 9	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	USA	W 24–0	60,958
October 30	1:30 p.m.	at Boston College	No. 8	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	TCS	W 52–17	33,205
November 6	1:30 p.m.	NC State	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	TCS	W 54–0	84,837
November 13	3:50 p.m.	at No. 13 Notre Dame	No. 5	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	ABC	W 24–14	59,075
November 26	12:30 p.m.	No. 5 Pittsburgh	No. 2	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 19–10	85,522
January 1, 1983	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 1 Georgia	No. 2	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	W 27–23	78,124
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster[]

1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`14`	Todd Blackledge	Sr
TE	`80`	Kirk Bowman	Jr
T	`79`	Bill Contz	Sr
T	`72`	Ron Heller	Jr
WR	`19`	Gregg Garrity	Sr
C	`58`	Nick Haden	So
WR	`82`	Kenny Jackson	Jr
G	`60`	Dave Laube	Sr
TE	`81`	Mike McCloskey	Sr
RB	`29`	Tony Mumford	So
G	`56`	Pete Speros	Jr
FB	`43`	Jon Williams	So
RB	`25`	Curt Warner	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`39`	Dan Biondi	Sr
CB	`23`	Alvin Cunningham	So
DT	`70`	Greg Gattuso	Jr
Hero	`17`	Harry Hamilton	Jr
CB	`49`	Roger Jackson	Sr
LB	`98`	Ken Kelley	Sr
LB	`37`	Walker Lee Ashley	Sr
DT	`65`	Dave Opfar	Sr
LB	`33`	Dave Paffenroth	Sr
CB	`92`		Sr
LB	`55`	Rodger Puz	Sr
LB	`97`	Scott Radecic	Jr
S	`32`	Mark Robinson	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
PK	`13`	Nick Gancitano	So
P	`21`	Ralph Giacomarro	Sr
PK	`10`	Massimo Manca	Fr

Head coach

Joe Paterno

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Rankings[]

AP Poll[]

Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
8	7	8	8	3	3	8	9	8	7	5	3	2	2	2	1

UPI Poll[]

Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
5	8	5	3	3	10	8	7	6	4	3	2	2	2	1

Game summaries[]

Temple[]

Temple vs. Penn State – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Temple	0	7	0	7	14
#8 Penn State	21	3	0	7	31

at Beaver Stadium

Date: September 4
Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
Game attendance: 80,000
Referee: William Parkinson
TV announcers (ESPN): Jim Simpson, Bud Wilkinson

Game information

First Quarter

PSU – Warner, 40-yard TD pass from Blackledge, Manca kick good, (PSU 7–0)
PSU – Baugh, 31-yard TD pass from Blackledge, Manca kick good, (PSU 14–0)
PSU – Williams, 16-yard TD pass from Blackledge, Manca kick good, (PSU 21–0)

Second Quarter

TU – Slade, 1-yard TD pass from Riordan, Clauser kick good, (PSU 21–7)
PSU – Manca, 37-yard field goal, (PSU 24–7)

Third Quarter

No scoring

Fourth Quarter

PSU – Williams, 4-yard TD pass from Blackledge, Manca kick good, (PSU 31–7)
TU – Brown, 14-yard TD pass from Riordan, Clauser kick good, (PSU 31–14)

Top passers

TU –
PSU –

Top rushers

TU –
PSU –

Top receivers

TU –
PSU –

Top defenders

TU –
PSU –

Maryland[]

Maryland vs. Penn State – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Maryland	3	7	14	7	31
#7 Penn State	3	17	9	10	39

at Beaver Stadium

Date: September 11
Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
Game attendance: 84,597
Referee: J. Vincent Price
TV announcers (TCS): Stan Savran, George Paterno

Game information

First Quarter

PSU –
MD –

Second Quarter

PSU –
PSU –
MD –
PSU –

Third Quarter

MD –
PSU –
MD –
PSU –

Fourth Quarter

PSU –
MD –
PSU –

Top passers

MD –
PSU –

Top rushers

MD –
PSU –

Top receivers

MD –
PSU –

Top defenders

MD –
PSU –

Rutgers[]

Rutgers vs. Penn State – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rutgers	7	7	0	0	14
#5 Penn State	7	14	14	14	49

at Beaver Stadium

Date: September 18
Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
Game attendance: 83,268
Referee: Thomas Thamert
TV announcers (TCS): Stan Savran, George Paterno

Game information

First Quarter

PSU –
RUT –

Second Quarter

PSU –
PSU –
RUT –

Third Quarter

PSU –
PSU –

Fourth Quarter

PSU –
PSU –

Top passers

RUT –
PSU –

Top rushers

RUT –
PSU –

Top receivers

RUT –
PSU –

Top defenders

RUT –
PSU –

#2 Nebraska[]

Nebraska vs. Penn State – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
#2 Nebraska	0	7	7	10	24
#8 Penn State	7	7	7	6	27

at Beaver Stadium

Date: September 25
Game time: 3:50 PM EDT
Game attendance: 85,304
Referee: William Parkinson
TV announcers (CBS): Gary Bender, Pat Haden

Game information

First Quarter

PSU –

Second Quarter

PSU –
NEB –

Third Quarter

PSU –
NEB –

Fourth Quarter

NEB –
NEB –
PSU –

Top passers

NEB –
PSU –

Top rushers

NEB –
PSU –

Top receivers

NEB –
PSU –

Top defenders

NEB –
PSU –

#4 Alabama[]

Penn State vs. Alabama – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
#3 Penn State	7	0	7	7	21
#4 Alabama	7	14	3	18	42

at Legion Field

Date: October 9
Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
Game attendance: 76,821
TV announcers (CBS): Gary Bender, Pat Haden

Game information

First Quarter

ALA –
PSU –

Second Quarter

ALA –
ALA –

Third Quarter

PSU –
ALA –

Fourth Quarter

PSU –
ALA –
ALA –
ALA –

Top passers

PSU –
ALA –

Top rushers

PSU –
ALA –

Top receivers

PSU –
ALA –

Top defenders

PSU –
ALA –

Syracuse[]

Syracuse vs. Penn State – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Syracuse	0	7	0	0	7
#8 Penn State	7	14	0	7	28

at Beaver Stadium

Date: October 16
Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
Game attendance: 84,762
TV announcers (TCS): Stan Savran, George Paterno

Game information

First Quarter

PSU –

Second Quarter

PSU –
SU –
PSU –

Third Quarter

No scoring

Fourth Quarter

PSU –

Top passers

SU –
PSU –

Top rushers

SU –
PSU –

Top receivers

SU –
PSU –

Top defenders

SU –
PSU –

#13 West Virginia[]

Penn State vs. West Virginia – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
#9 Penn State	3	7	0	14	24
#13 West Virginia	0	0	0	0	0

at Mountaineer Field

Date: October 23
Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
Game attendance: 60,958
TV: USA

Game information

First Quarter

PSU – Gancitano, 31-yard field goal, 6:14 (PSU 3–0)

Second Quarter

PSU – Williams, 4-yard TD run, Gancitano kick good, 1:57 (PSU 10–0)

Third Quarter

No scoring

Fourth Quarter

PSU – Radecic 85-yard interception return for TD, Gancitano kick good, 11:29 (PSU 17–0)
PSU – Jackson, 9-yard TD run, Gancitano kick good, 2:42 (PSU 24–0)

Top passers

PSU –
WVU –

Top rushers

PSU –
WVU –

Top receivers

PSU –
WVU –

Top defenders

PSU –
WVU –

Boston College[]

Penn State vs. Boston College – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
#8 Penn State	14	17	7	14	52
Boston College	7	3	0	7	17

at Alumni Stadium

Date: October 30
Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
Game attendance: 33,205
TV announcers (TCS): Stan Savran, George Paterno

Game information

First Quarter

BC –
PSU –
PSU –

Second Quarter

PSU –
PSU –
BC –
PSU –

Third Quarter

PSU –

Fourth Quarter

BC –
PSU –
PSU –

Top passers

PSU –
BC –

Top rushers

PSU –
BC –

Top receivers

PSU –
BC –

Top defenders

PSU –
BC –

North Carolina State[]

North Carolina State vs. Penn State – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
North Carolina State	0	0	0	0	0
#7 Penn State	17	9	21	7	54

at Beaver Stadium

Date: November 6
Game time: 1:30 PM EST
Game attendance: 84,762
Referee: Thomas Thamert
TV announcers (TCS): Stan Savran, George Paterno

Game information

First Quarter

PSU –
PSU –
PSU –

Second Quarter

PSU –
PSU –

Third Quarter

PSU –
PSU –
PSU –

Fourth Quarter

PSU –

Top passers

NCST –
PSU –

Top rushers

NCST –
PSU –

Top receivers

NCST –
PSU –

Top defenders

NCST –
PSU –

#13 Notre Dame[]

Penn State vs. Notre Dame – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
#5 Penn State	0	13	0	11	24
#13 Notre Dame	7	7	0	0	14

at Notre Dame Stadium

Date: November 13
Game time: 3:50 PM EST
Game attendance: 59,075
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Frank Broyles, Tim Brant
^[3]

Game information

First Quarter

ND – C. Smith, 8-yard TD pass from Karcher, Johnston kick good (ND 7–0)

Second Quarter

PSU – Blackledge, 1-yard TD run, Jancitano kick good (TIE 7–7)
PSU – Jancitano 41-yard field goal (PSU 10–7)
PSU – Jancitano 29-yard field goal (PSU 13–7)
ND – Pinkett, 93-yard TD kickoff return, Johnston kick good (ND 14–13)

Third Quarter

No scoring

Fourth Quarter

PSU – Warner, 48-yard TD pass from Blackledge, pass failed (PSU 19–14)
PSU – Safety, Pinkett tackled by Ashley in end zone (PSU 21–14)
PSU – Jancitano 27-yard field goal (PSU 24–14)

Top passing

PSU –
ND –

Top rushers

PSU –
ND –

Top receivers

PSU –
ND –

Top defenders

PSU –
ND –

#5 Pittsburgh[]

Pittsburgh vs. Penn State – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
#5 Pittsburgh	0	7	0	3	10
#2 Penn State	3	0	10	6	19

at Beaver Stadium

Date: November 26
Game time: 12:30 PM EST
Game attendance: 85,722
Referee: Raymond Bower
TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Lee Grosscup, Tim Brant

Game information

First Quarter

PSU –

Second Quarter

PITT –

Third Quarter

PSU –
PSU –

Fourth Quarter

PSU –
PITT –
PSU –

Top passers

PITT –
PSU –

Top rushers

PITT –
PSU –

Top receivers

PITT –
PSU –

Top defenders

PITT –
PSU –

#1 Georgia (Sugar Bowl)[]

Overall Record	Previous Meeting	Previous Winner
First meeting

Penn State vs. Georgia – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
#2 Penn State	7	13	0	7	27
#1 Georgia	3	7	7	6	23

at Louisiana Superdome

Date: January 1, 1983
Game time: 8:00 PM EST
Game attendance: 78,127
Referee: Vance Carlson
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Frank Broyles, Jim Lampley

Game information

First Quarter

PSU –
UGA –

Second Quarter

PSU –
PSU –
PSU –
UGA –

Third Quarter

UGA –

Fourth Quarter

PSU –
UGA –

Top passers

PSU –
UGA –

Top rushers

PSU –
UGA –

Top receivers

PSU –
UGA –

Top defenders

PSU –
UGA –

Awards[]

Todd Blackledge

Davey O'Brien Award

Joe Paterno

Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year

NFL Draft[]

Nine Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1983 NFL Draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
1st	3	3	Curt Warner	Running back	Seattle Seahawks
1st	7	7	Todd Blackledge	Quarterback	Kansas City Chiefs
3rd	17	73	Walker Lee Ashley	Linebacker	Minnesota Vikings
4th	4	88	Mike McCloskey	Tight end	Houston Oilers
5th	10	122	Bill Contz	Offensive tackle	Cleveland Browns
5th	28	140	Gregg Garrity	Wide receiver	Pittsburgh Steelers
10th	8	261		–	Detroit Lions
10th	10	263		–	Seattle Seahawks
10th	15	268	Ralph Giacomarro	Punter	Atlanta Falcons

Media[]

Radio[]

Flagship station	Play-by-play	Color commentator	Sideline reporter	Studio host
WMAJ AM 1450	Fran Fisher	John Grant

References[]

^ "Penn State Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
^ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. p. 114. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. November 14, 1982. Retrieved December 15, 2014.

[1] "Penn State Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.

[2018ncaabook-2] 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. p. 114. Retrieved December 10, 2018.

[3] Eugene Register-Guard. November 14, 1982. Retrieved December 15, 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t Penn State Nittany Lions football
Venues	Old Main lawn (until 1891) Beaver Field (1892–1908) New Beaver Field (1909–1959) Beaver Stadium (1960–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama Maryland Michigan State Minnesota Ohio State Pittsburgh Syracuse Temple West Virginia
Culture & lore	Nittany Lion "Fight On, State" Penn State Blue Band Uplifting Athletes Joe Paterno statue Something for Joey 1982 Nebraska game Penn State child sex abuse scandal 2016 Ohio State game Paterno White Out 2021 Illinois game
People	Head coaches All-Americans Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
National championship seasons in bold

v t College football national champions (poll era)
1936–1949	1936: Minnesota (AP) 1937: Pittsburgh 1938: TCU 1939: Texas A&M 1940: Minnesota 1941: Minnesota 1942: Ohio State 1943: Notre Dame 1944: Army 1945: Army (AP) / Oklahoma A&M (Coaches) 1946: Notre Dame 1947: Notre Dame 1948: Michigan 1949: Notre Dame
1950s	1950: Oklahoma (AP, Coaches) 1951: Tennessee 1952: Michigan State 1953: Maryland 1954: Ohio State (AP) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches) 1955: Oklahoma 1956: Oklahoma 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, FWAA) 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches) / Iowa (FWAA) 1959: Syracuse (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1960s	1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA) 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA) 1962: USC 1963: Texas 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF) 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF) 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF) 1967: USC 1968: Ohio State 1969: Texas
1970s	1970: Nebraska (AP, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF) 1971: Nebraska 1972: USC 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches) 1974: Oklahoma (AP) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches) 1975: Oklahoma 1976: Pittsburgh 1977: Notre Dame 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches) 1979: Alabama
1980–1991	1980: Georgia 1981: Clemson 1982: Penn State 1983: Miami (FL) 1984: BYU 1985: Oklahoma 1986: Penn State 1987: Miami (FL) 1988: Notre Dame 1989: Miami (FL) 1990: Colorado (AP, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches) 1991: Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FWAA, UPI/NFF)

1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Consensus national champion Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 27–23 vs. Georgia
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
1982 record	11–1
Head coach	Joe Paterno (17th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dick Anderson
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium (Capacity: 83,770)
Seasons ← 1981 1983 →

1982 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Penn State		–		–		11	–	1	–	0
No. 10 Pittsburgh		–		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. 13 Florida State		–		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. 19 West Virginia		–		–		9	–	3	–	0
Boston College		–		–		8	–	3	–	1
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–		7	–	3	–	1
East Carolina		–		–		7	–	4	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		–		7	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–		7	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–		7	–	4	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–		6	–	4	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Navy		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Louisville		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Rutgers		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Army		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
South Carolina		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Temple		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Syracuse		–		–		2	–	9	–	0
Memphis State		–		–		1	–	10	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll