1974 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

American college football season

1974 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion Cotton Bowl champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 41–20 vs. Baylor
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 7
Record	10–2
Head coach	Joe Paterno (9th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jim O'Hora (9th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Jack Baiorunos Jim Bradley
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons← 1973 1975 →

1974 NCAA Division I independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 6 Notre Dame		–		10	–	2	–	0
No. 7 Penn State		–		10	–	2	–	0
Temple		–		8	–	2	–	0
Boston College		–		8	–	3	–	0
Utah State		–		8	–	3	–	0
No. 19 Houston		–		8	–	3	–	1
Rutgers		–		7	–	3	–	1
Cincinnati		–		7	–	4	–	0
Memphis State		–		7	–	4	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		7	–	4	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		6	–	5	–	0
Hawaii		–		6	–	5	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss		–		6	–	5	–	0
Tampa		–		6	–	5	–	0
Holy Cross		–		5	–	5	–	1
Tulane		–		5	–	6	–	0
Colgate		–		4	–	6	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		4	–	7	–	0
Navy		–		4	–	7	–	0
South Carolina		–		4	–	7	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		4	–	7	–	0
West Virginia		–		4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		3	–	8	–	0
Dayton		–		3	–	8	–	0
Villanova		–		3	–	8	–	0
Air Force		–		2	–	9	–	0
Southern Illinois		–		2	–	9	–	0
Syracuse		–		2	–	9	–	0
Florida State		–		1	–	10	–	0
Marshall		–		1	–	10	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1974 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. 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 14	No. 20 Stanford	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	W 24–20	58,200
September 21	Navy	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 6–7	42,000
September 28	at Iowa	No. 19	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 27–0	46,500
October 5	at Army	No. 15	Michie Stadium West Point, NY		W 21–14	41,221
October 12	Wake Forest	No. 15	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 55–0	56,500
October 19	Syracuse	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 30–14	59,100
October 26	at West Virginia	No. 10	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		W 21–12	34,500
November 2	No. 15 Maryland	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 24–17	60,125
November 9	at NC State	No. 7	Carter Stadium Raleigh, NC		L 7–12	47,700
November 16	Ohio	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 35–16	58,700
November 28	at No. 18 Pittsburgh	No. 10	Three Rivers Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 31–10	48,895
January 1, 1975	vs. No. 12 Baylor	No. 7	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	W 41–20	67,500
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1974 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`18`	John Andress	So
QB	`16`	Dick Barvinchak	Jr
OT	`71`	Brad Benson	So
OT	`74`	Jeff Bleamer	Sr
G	`65`	Ron Coder	So
RB	`32`	Tom Donchez	Sr
G	`61`	John Nessel	Sr
G	`72`	Tom Rafferty	Jr
QB	`12`	Tom Shuman	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`53`	Kurt Allerman	So
LB	`67`	Greg Buttle	Jr
LB	`66`	Chris Devlin	Sr
DE	`85`	Dave Graf	Sr
DE	`79`	Mike Hartenstine	Sr
LB	`33`	James Rosecrans	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`99`	Chris Bahr	Jr

Head coach

Joe Paterno

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Dick Anderson
Booker Brooks
John Chuckran
Gregg Ducatte
Fran Ganter
Jim O'Hora
Bob Phillips
Jerry Sandusky
J. T. White

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Post season

NFL Draft

Ten Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1975 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
2nd	5	31	Mike Hartenstine	Defensive end	Chicago Bears
4th	3	81	John Nessel	Offensive guard	Atlanta Falcons
4th	24	102	Tom Donchez	Running back	Buffalo Bills
6th	12	142	Tom Shuman	Quarterback	Cincinnati Bengals
7th	14	170	Chris Devlin	Linebacker	Cincinnati Bengals
8th	16	198	Jeff Bleamer	Offensive tackle	Philadelphia Eagles
9th	15	223	Dan Natale	Tight end	San Francisco 49ers
10th	22	256	Joe Jackson	Linebacker	Miami Dolphins
12th	16	312	Greg Murphy	Defensive end	Pittsburgh Steelers
17th	5	421	Dave Graf	Linebacker	Cleveland Browns

References

"Penn State Yearly Results (1970-1974)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
"Penn State rolls up 55–0 win". Sunday Call-Chronicle. October 13, 1974. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Penn State again". Beckley Post-Herald & Register. October 27, 1974. Retrieved October 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
"Terp mistakes give Penn State 24–17 victory". The Baltimore Sun. November 3, 1974. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Pack stuns Lions 12–7". Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel. November 10, 1974. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

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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