1966 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

American college football season

1966 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–5
Head coach	Joe Paterno (1st season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jim O'Hora (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Mike Irwin John Runnells
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons← 1965 1967 →

1966 NCAA University Division independents football records
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame		–		–		9	–	0	–	1
Colgate		–		–		8	–	1	–	1
No. 8 Georgia Tech		–		–		9	–	2	–	0
Army		–		–		8	–	2	–	0
Dayton		–		–		8	–	2	–	0
Houston		–		–		8	–	2	–	0
Memphis State		–		–		7	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Miami (FL)		–		–		8	–	2	–	1
Virginia Tech		–		–		8	–	2	–	1
Syracuse		–		–		8	–	3	–	0
Colorado State		–		–		7	–	3	–	0
New Mexico State		–		–		7	–	3	–	0
West Texas State		–		–		7	–	3	–	0
Villanova		–		–		6	–	3	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–		6	–	3	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–		6	–	4	–	0
Texas Western		–		–		6	–	4	–	0
Tulane		–		–		5	–	4	–	1
Florida State		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Buffalo		–		–		5	–	5	–	0
Penn State		–		–		5	–	5	–	0
Air Force		–		–		4	–	6	–	0
Boston College		–		–		4	–	6	–	0
Navy		–		–		4	–	6	–	0
Utah State		–		–		4	–	6	–	0
Xavier		–		–		4	–	6	–	0
Pacific		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
San Jose State		–		–		3	–	7	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		–		1	–	9	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1966 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Penn State University during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. It was Joe Paterno's first season as head coach of Penn State.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 17	Maryland	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 15–7	40,911
September 24	at No. 1 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)		L 8–42	64,860
October 1	at Army	Michie Stadium West Point, NY		L 0–11	31,112
October 8	Boston College	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 30–21	30,924
October 15	at No. 4 UCLA	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		L 11–49	37,271
October 22	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		W 38–6	15,835–30,000
October 29	California	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 33–15	33,332
November 5	Syracuse	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC regional	L 10–12	45,126
November 12	at No. 5 Georgia Tech	Grant Field Atlanta, GA		L 0–21	50,172
November 19	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)		W 48–24	30,467
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Maryland

	1	2	3	4	Total
Maryland	7	0	0	0	7
• Penn St	11	0	0	4	15

Date: September 17
Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
Game attendance: 40,911

Scoring summary

Q1	MD	Torain 15 yard run (Bramson kick)	MD 7–0

Q1	PSU	Safety, Carlson forced out of end zone	MD 7–2

Q1	PSU	White 2 yard run (pass failed)	PSU 8–7

Q1	PSU	Sherman 23 yard field goal	PSU 11–7

Q4	PSU	Safety, Pastrana tackled in end zone	PSU 13–7

Q4	PSU	Safety, Petry illegal pass from end zone	PSU 15–7

Michigan State

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2014)

Army

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2014)

Boston College

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (June 2014)

UCLA

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (June 2014)

West Virginia

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (June 2014)

Roster

1966 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OT	`73`	Dave Bradley	So
OT	`77`	Rich Buzin	Jr
WR	`23`	Bob Campbell	So
C	`53`	Bill Lenkaitis	So
QB	`25`	Tom Sherman	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DT	`79`	Mike McBath	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Joe Paterno

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Earl Bruce
Freshman coach/Assistant varsity coach
Joe McMullen
Offensive line
Jim O'Hora
Defensive line/Overall defense
Frank Patrick
Defensive backfield/Kickers
Bob Phillips
Offensive ends
Dan Radakovich
Linebackers
George Welsh
Offensive backfield
J. T. White
Defensive ends

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

1967 NFL/AFL draftt

Three Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1967 NFL/AFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
2nd	27	53	Dave Rowe	Defensive tackle	New Orleans Saints
10th	20	257	John Runnells	Linebacker	Boston Patriots
16th	22	415	Mike Irwin	Defensive back/Running back	Buffalo Bills

References

"Penn State Yearly Results (1965-1969)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
"Penn State's 'safety blitz' ruins Maryland in opener". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 18, 1966. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Nittany Lions handily defeat Mountaineers, 38–6". Beckley Post-Herald & The Raleigh Register. October 23, 1966. Retrieved January 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Ga. Tech notches 9th straight, 21–0". Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel. November 13, 1966. Retrieved July 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Penn State Trips Terrapins, 15-7." Palm Beach Post. 1966 Sept 18. Retrieved 2014-Jan-14.

v t e 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 Michigan State Minnesota: Governor's Victory Bell Ohio State Old Ironsides Pittsburgh Syracuse West Virginia
Culture & lore	Nittany Lion "Fight On, State" Penn State Blue Band Uplifting Athletes Joe Paterno statue Something for Joey 1982 Nebraska game Child sex abuse scandal 2016 Ohio State game Paterno White Out 2021 Illinois game
People	Head coaches All-Americans NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1881 1882–1886 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 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

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