1980 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

American college football season

1980 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 31–19 vs. Ohio State
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 8
Record	10–2
Head coach	Joe Paterno (15th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky (4th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons← 1979 1981 →

1980 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Pittsburgh		–		–		11	–	1	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–		9	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Florida State		–		–		10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Penn State		–		–		10	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Notre Dame		–		–		9	–	2	–	1
No. 18 Miami (FL)		–		–		9	–	3	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–		9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–		8	–	4	–	0
South Carolina		–		–		8	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–		8	–	4	–	0
Boston College		–		–		7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–		7	–	4	–	0
Rutgers		–		–		7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–		7	–	4	–	0
Tulane		–		–		7	–	5	–	0
Colgate		–		–		5	–	4	–	1
North Texas State		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Villanova		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia		–		–		6	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Richmond		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Temple		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–		3	–	7	–	1
Holy Cross		–		–		3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–		2	–	9	–	0
Memphis State		–		–		2	–	9	–	0
William & Mary		–		–		2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–		1	–	9	–	1

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1980 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1980 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	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 6	1:30 p.m.	Colgate	No. 18	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 54–10	78,926
September 20	8:30 p.m.	at Texas A&M	No. 12	Kyle Field College Station, TX	ESPN (tape delay)	W 25–9	66,234
September 27	1:50 p.m.	No. 3 Nebraska	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	L 7–21	84,585
October 4	2:30 p.m.	at No. 9 Missouri	No. 17	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	ESPN (tape delay)	W 29–21	75,298
October 11	1:30 p.m.	at Maryland	No. 14	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)		W 24–10	48,123
October 18	1:30 p.m.	Syracuse	No. 12	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 24–7	84,790
October 25	1:30 p.m.	at West Virginia	No. 13	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		W 20–15	49,194
November 1	1:30 p.m.	Miami (FL)	No. 13	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	TCS	W 27–12	83,661
November 8	1:30 p.m.	NC State	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 21–13	83,847
November 15	1:30 p.m.	at Temple	No. 9	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA		W 50–7	49,313
November 28	1:10 p.m.	No. 4 Pittsburgh	No. 5	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 9–14	82,459
December 26	3:00 p.m.	vs. No. 11 Ohio State	No. 10	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl, rivalry)	NBC	W 31–19	66,738
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Nebraska

#3 Nebraska at #11 Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 3 Cornhuskers	7	7	7	0	21
No. 11 Nittany Lions	0	7	0	0	7

Date: September 27
Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
Game attendance: 84,585

Syracuse

Syracuse at #12 Penn State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Orangemen	0	0	7	0	7
• No.12 Nittany Lions	3	7	0	14	24

Date: October 18
Location: Beaver Stadium
Game attendance: 84,790

Scoring summary

Q1	PSU	Franco 26 yard field goal	PSU 3–0

Q2	PSU	Warner 3 yard run (Franco kick)	PSU 10–0

Q3	SYR	Zunic 11 yard interception return (Anderson kick)	PSU 10–7

Q4	PSU	Warner 6 yard run (Franco kick)	PSU 17–7

Q4	PSU	Jackson 13 yard pass from Blackledge (Franco kick)	PSU 24–7

Vs. Ohio State (Fiesta Bowl)

1980 Fiesta Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Buckeyes	6	13	0	0	19
• No. 10 Nittany Lions	7	3	7	14	31

Date: December 26
Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ
Game attendance: 66,738
Television network: NBC

Scoring summary

1	PSU	Curt Warner 64-yard run (Herb Menhardt kick)	PSU 7-0

1	OSU	Doug Donley 23-yard pass from Art Schlichter (kick failed)	PSU 7-6

2	OSU	Gary Williams 13-yard pass from Art Schlichter (kick failed)	OSU 7-12

2	OSU	Doug Donley 19-yard pass from Art Schlichter (Bob Atha kick)	OSU 7-19

2	PSU	Herb Menhardt 38-field goal	OSU 10-19

3	PSU	Todd Blackledge 3-yard run (Herb Menhardt kick)	OSU 17-19

4	PSU	Jonathan Williams 4-yard run (Herb Menhardt kick)	PSU 24-19

4	PSU	Booker Moore 37-yard run (Herb Menhardt kick)	PSU 31-19

Main article: 1980 Fiesta Bowl

Roster

1980 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
FB	`22`	Tom Baar	So
QB	`14`	Todd Blackledge	So
C	`59`	Mark Battaglia	So
WR	`29`	Mark Cherewka	Sr
OT	`79`	Bill Contz	So
OT	`77`	Bill Dugan	Sr
G	`62`	Sean Farrell	Jr
WR	`19`	Gregg Garrity	So
TE	`85`	Vyto Kab	Jr
TE	`81`	Mike McCloskey	So
RB	`38`	Mike Meade	Jr
RB	`48`	Booker Moore	Sr
G	`78`	Mike Munchak	Jr
C	`53`	Jim Romano	Jr
TE	`80`	Brad Scovill	Sr
RB	`25`	Curt Warner	So
FB	`44`	Jon Williams	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DT	`73`	Jeff Bergstrom	Jr
DB	`30`	Matt Bradley	Jr
DT	`94`	Frank Case	Sr
Hero	`17`	Harry Hamilton	Fr
LB	`98`	Ken Kelley	So
DE	`74`	Larry Kubin	Sr
DT	`57`	Pete Kugler	Sr
DE	`37`	Walker Lee Ashley	So
CB	`12`	Paul Lankford	Jr
LB	`65`	Dave Opfar	Jr
LB	`94`	Chet Parlavecchio	Jr
LB	`97`	Scott Radecic	Fr
S	`23`	John Walsh	Sr
DT	`61`	Leo Wisniewski	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`10`	Brian Franco	Jr
P	`21`	Ralph Giacomarro	So

Head coach

Joe Paterno

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Dick Anderson
John Bove
Tom Bradley
Booker Brooks
Fran Ganter
Bob Phillips
John Rosenberg
Jerry Sandusky
Jim Williams

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

NFL Draft

Seven Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1981 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
1st	28	28	Booker Moore	Running back	Buffalo Bills
3rd	2	58	Bill Dugan	Offensive guard	Seattle Seahawks
6th	9	147	Pete Kugler	Nose tackle	San Francisco 49ers
6th	10	148	Larry Kubin	Linebacker	Washington Redskins
7th	20	186	Brad Scovill	Tight end	Seattle Seahawks
8th	21	214	Gene Gladys	Defensive back/Defensive line	New Orleans Saints
11th	13	289	Frank Case	Defensive end	Kansas City Chiefs

References

"Penn State Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
"Explosive Penn St. Clouts Colgate, 54-10". The Sunday Press. Binghamton, N.Y. Associated Press. September 7, 1980. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com.
"Lions quiet Aggies, 25–9". The Pittsburgh Press. September 21, 1980. Retrieved November 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Nebraska, ranked 3rd, defeats mistake-prone Penn State, 21–7". Gloucester County Times. September 28, 1980. Retrieved November 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Second half surge lifts Penn State, 29–21". The Belleville News-Democrat. October 5, 1980. Retrieved November 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Penn St. rallies by Terps". Winston-Salem Journal. October 12, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Penn State tops Orange". The Buffalo News. October 19, 1980. Retrieved November 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Penn State uses interception to tip W. Va., 20–15". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 26, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"State tames Hurricanes". The Patriot-News. November 2, 1980. Retrieved November 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Joel Coles keys Penn St. victory". Sunday Pennsylvanian. November 9, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"State rout paves way to bowl bid". The Morning Call. November 16, 1980. Retrieved August 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
"Pitt edges Penn State, 14–9". The Abilene Reporter-News. November 29, 1980. Retrieved November 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Penn State 2nd half buries Ohio State". The Arizona Republic. December 27, 1980. Retrieved November 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"1980 Penn State Nittany Lions Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
Gadsden Times. 1980 Oct 19. Retrieved 2018-Dec-16.
"1980 Fiesta Bowl - Penn State vs. Ohio State". Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014..

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
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National championship seasons in bold

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