1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

American college football season

1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 9–6 vs. Tulane
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
AP	No. 20
Record	8–4
Head coach	Joe Paterno (14th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons← 1978 1980 →

1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		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 the Pennsylvania State University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A 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 15	Rutgers	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 45–10	77,309
September 22	Texas A&M	No. 6	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 14–27	77,575
September 29	at No. 6 Nebraska	No. 18	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	ABC	L 17–42	76,151
October 6	at Maryland		Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)		W 27–7	52,348
October 13	Army		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 24–3	77,157
October 20	at Syracuse		Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (rivalry)		W 35–7	53,789
October 27	West Virginia		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 31–6	77,923
November 3	Miami (FL)	No. 19	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	TCS	L 10–26	75,532
November 10	at NC State		Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC		W 9–7	51,200
November 17	No. 18 Temple		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 22–7	76,000
December 1	No. 11 Pittsburgh	No. 19	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–29	76,958
December 22	vs. No. 15 Tulane		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ABC	W 9–6	50,021
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
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.	#	Name	Class
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.	#	Name	Class
K	`10`	Brian Franco	So
P	`21`	Ralph Giacomarro	Fr
K	`31`	Herb Menhardt	Jr
LS	`97`	Brian Hand	Sr

Head coach

Joe Paterno

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Dick Anderson
John Bove
Booker Brooks
Fran Ganter
Bob Phillips
John Rosenberg
Jerry Sandusky
J. T. White
Jim Williams

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

NFL Draft

Seven Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1980 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
1st	4	4	Bruce Clark	Defensive tackle	Green Bay Packers
2nd	15	43	Matt Millen	Linebacker	Oakland Raiders
2nd	18	46	Matt Suhey	Running back	Chicago Bears
2nd	22	50	Irv Pankey	Offensive tackle	Los Angeles Rams
3rd	13	69	Lance Mehl	Linebacker	New York Jets
6th	16	154	Mike Guman	Running back	Los Angeles Rams
9th	9	230	Tom Donovan	Wide receiver	Kansas City Chiefs

References

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

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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