1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 6 Florida State – – 11–1–0
No. 7 Pittsburgh – – 11–1–0
UNLV – – 9–1–2
No. 17 Temple – – 10–2–0
Tulane – – 9–3–0
Rutgers – – 8–3–0
Tennessee State – – 8–3–0
East Carolina – – 7–3–1
No. 20 Penn State – – 8–4–0
South Carolina – – 8–4–0
Navy – – 7–4–0
Notre Dame – – 7–4–0
Southern Miss – – 6–4–1
Syracuse – – 7–5–0
Colgate – – 5–4–1
Boston College – – 5–6–0
Holy Cross – – 5–6–0
Memphis State – – 5–6–0
Miami (FL) – – 5–6–0
North Texas State – – 5–6–0
Villanova – – 5–6–0
Virginia Tech – – 5–6–0
West Virginia – – 5–6–0
Georgia Tech – – 4–6–1
Louisville – – 4–6–1
William & Mary – – 4–7–0
Illinois State – – 3–8–0
Northeast Louisiana – – 3–8–0
Army – – 2–8–1
Air Force – – 2–9–0
Cincinnati – – 2–9–0
Richmond – – 0–11–0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 14th-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 8–4 with a win over Tulane in the Liberty Bowl. Penn State played home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 15RutgersNo. 7
W 45–1077,309[1]
September 22Texas A&MNo. 6
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
L 14–2777,575[2]
September 29at No. 6 NebraskaNo. 18
ABCL 17–4276,151[3]
October 6at Maryland
W 27–752,348[4]
October 13Armydagger
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 24–377,157[5]
October 20at Syracuse
W 35–753,789[6]
October 27West Virginia
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 31–677,923[7]
November 3Miami (FL)No. 19
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
TCSL 10–2675,532[8]
November 10at NC State
W 9–751,200[9]
November 17No. 18 Temple
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 22–776,000[10]
December 1No. 11 PittsburghNo. 19
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ABCL 14–2976,958[11]
December 22vs. No. 15 Tulane
ABCW 9–650,021[12]
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[13]

Roster

1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 14 Todd Blackledge Fr
WR 29 Mark Cherewka Jr
WR 19 Tom Donovan Sr
OT 77 Bill Dugan Jr
G 62 Sean Farrell So
RB 24 Mike Guman Sr
WR 41 Tracy Hall Jr
QB 15 Jeff Hostetler Fr
TE 85 Vyto Kab So
TE 90 Ron LaPointe Sr
RB 38 Mike Meade So
RB 48 Booker Moore Jr
G 78 Mike Munchak So
OT 70 Irv Pankey Sr
QB Frank Rocco Fr
C 53 Jim Romano Jr
TE 80 Brad Scovill Jr
RB 32 Matt Suhey Sr
QB 17 Dayle Tate Jr
WR 13 Kip Vernaglia Sr
RB 25 Curt Warner Fr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DT 86 Jeff Bergstrom So
DB 30 Matt Bradley So
DT[14] 54 Bruce Clark Sr
CB 20 Joel Coles So
DE 74 Larry Kubin Jr
DT 57 Pete Kugler Jr
CB 12 Jon Lebo So
LB 37 Walker Lee Ashley Fr
LB 56 Lance Mehl Sr
DT[15] 60 Matt Millen Sr
LB 94 Chet Parlavecchio So
CB 47 Danny Rocco Fr
LB 89 Carlos Quirch Sr
S 23 John Walsh Jr
CB 49 Tom Wise Jr
DT 61 Leo Wisniewski So
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 10 Brian Franco So
P 21 Ralph Giacomarro Fr
K 31 Herb Menhardt Jr
LS 97 Brian Hand Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

NFL draft

Seven Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1980 NFL draft.

RoundPickOverallNamePositionTeam
1st44Bruce ClarkDefensive tackleGreen Bay Packers
2nd1543Matt MillenLinebackerOakland Raiders
2nd1846Matt SuheyRunning backChicago Bears
2nd2250Irv PankeyOffensive tackleLos Angeles Rams
3rd1369Lance MehlLinebackerNew York Jets
6th16154Mike GumanRunning backLos Angeles Rams
9th9230Tom DonovanWide receiverKansas City Chiefs

References

  1. ↑ "Freshman paces Lions". The Sunday Times. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Texas A&M upsets 6th-ranked Penn State 27–14". Sunday Call-Chronicle. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Cornhuskers shuck Penn State, 42–17". Asbury Park Press. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Penn State's defense throttles Terps". Courier-Post. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Penn State rips Army". Wisconsin State Journal. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Orangemen no match for Penn St". The Miami Herald. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "West Virginia beaten, 31–6, by Penn State". The Des Moines Register. October 28, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Hurricanes blow away Penn State". Sunday News. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Menhardt's late field goal lifts Penn State by 'Pack". Daily Press. November 11, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Suhey's 2 TDs key Penn State". Star-Gazette. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "McMillan leads Pitt to victory over Penn State". Lincoln Journal Star. December 2, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Lions dip into magic bag, pull out a Liberty Bowl win". Sunday News. December 23, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "1979 Penn State Nittany Lions Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  14. ↑ "The story behind the Bruce Clark bombshell".
  15. ↑ "1979 Penn State Nittany Lions Roster".
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Penn_State_Nittany_Lions_football_team