1990 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1990 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy
Blockbuster Bowl, L 17–24 vs. Florida State
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 11
1990 record	9–3
Head coach	Joe Paterno (25th season)
Offensive coordinator	Fran Ganter
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium (Capacity: 83,370)
Seasons ← 1989 1991 →

1990 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 14 Louisville			–					10	–	1	–	1
No. 3 Miami (FL)			–					10	–	2	–	0
No. 4 Florida State			–					10	–	2	–	0
No. 6 Notre Dame			–					9	–	3	–	0
No. 11 Penn State			–					9	–	3	–	0
Louisiana Tech			–					8	–	3	–	1
Southern Miss			–					8	–	4	–	0
Temple			–					7	–	4	–	0
Syracuse			–					7	–	4	–	2
Army			–					6	–	5	–	0
Northern Illinois			–					6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina			–					6	–	5	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					6	–	5	–	0
East Carolina			–					5	–	6	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana			–					5	–	6	–	0
Navy			–					5	–	6	–	0
Memphis State			–					4	–	6	–	1
Boston College			–					4	–	7	–	0
Tulane			–					4	–	7	–	0
West Virginia			–					4	–	7	–	0
Akron			–					3	–	7	–	1
Pittsburgh			–					3	–	7	–	1
Rutgers			–					3	–	8	–	0
Tulsa			–					3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati			–					1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1990 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1990 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 8	Texas	No. 21	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	Raycom	L 13–17	85,973
September 15	at No. 6 USC		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	L 14–19	70,594
September 22	Rutgers		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 28–0	85,194
October 6	Temple		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 48–10	85,874
October 13	Syracuse		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	CBS	W 27–21	86,002
October 20	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	CBS	W 40–21	32,000
October 27	at Alabama		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 9–0	70,123
November 3	at West Virginia	No. 24	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		W 31–19	66,461
November 10	Maryland	No. 21	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 24–10	83,000
November 17	at No. 1 Notre Dame	No. 18	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	ESPN	W 24–21	59,075
November 24	Pittsburgh	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	CBS	W 22–17	85,180
December 28	vs. No. 11 Florida State	No. 7	Joe Robbie Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (Blockbuster Bowl)	Raycom	L 17–24	75,129
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster[]

1990 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 8 Terry Smith Jr QB 12 Tom Bill FB 27 Gary Brown Sr WR 26 David Daniels Sr QB 19 Tony Sacca Jr T 76 Paul Siever Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 38 Mark D'Onofrio Jr LB 42 Keith Goganious Jr DT 85 Frank Giannetti Sr LB 58 Reggie Givens So CB 6 Leonard Humphries Jr LB 99 Rich McKenzie So S 9 Darren Perry Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Season summary[]

at USC[]

1 2 3 4 Total Penn State 0 7 0 7 14 • USC 7 6 6 0 19 Date: September 15 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Scoring summary Q1 USC Griffin 5 yard pass from Marinovich (Rodriguez kick) USC 7–0 Q2 PSU Golden 8 yard pass from Sacca (Fayak kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 USC Rodriguez 26 yard field goal USC 10–7 Q2 USC Rodriguez 46 yard field goal USC 13–7 Q3 USC Ervins 1 yard run (run failed) USC 19–7 Q4 PSU Thompson 2 yard run (Fayak kick) USC 19–14

at West Virginia[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Penn State 7 7 7 10 31 West Virginia 3 3 6 7 19 Date: November 3 Location: Mountaineer Field Game attendance: 66,461

Scoring summary Q1 PSU Perry 30 yard interception return (Fayak kick) PSU 7–0 Q1 WVU Johnson 20 yard field goal PSU 7–3 Q2 PSU T. Smith 9 yard pass from Bill (Fayak kick) PSU 14–3 Q2 WVU Carroll 39 yard field goal PSU 14–6 Q3 WVU Ford 11 yard run (run failed) PSU 14–12 Q3 PSU Bill 5 yard run (Fayak kick) PSU 21–12 Q4 PSU Collins 19 yard run (Fayak kick) PSU 28–12 Q4 PSU Fayak 37 yard field goal PSU 31–12 Q4 WVU Statten 5 yard pass from Jones (Johnson kick) PSU 31–19

^[2]

Notre Dame[]

vs. Florida State (Blockbuster Bowl)[]

NFL Draft[]

Six Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1991 NFL Draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
3rd	19	74	David Daniels	Wide receiver	Seattle Seahawks
6th	19	158	Leroy Thompson	Running back	Pittsburgh Steelers
8th	19	214	Gary Brown	Running back	Houston Oilers
10th	13	263	Frank Giannetti	Defensive end	Indianapolis Colts
10th	14	264	Sean Love	Offensive guard	Dallas Cowboys
12th	13	319		–	Indianapolis Colts

References[]