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1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 9–6 vs. Tulane
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 18
APNo. 20
1979 record8–4
Head coachJoe Paterno (14th season)
Defensive coordinatorJerry Sandusky
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
(Capacity: 76,639)
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 Division I-A independents football records
v · d · 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
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           5 6 0
Miami           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
Connecticut           3 6 2
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.[1] The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 15RutgersNo. 7W 45–1077,309
September 22Texas A&MNo. 6
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
L 14–2777,575
September 29at No. 6 NebraskaNo. 18ABCL 17–4276,151
October 6at MarylandW 27–752,348
October 13Armydagger
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 24–377,157
October 20vs. SyracuseW 35–753,789
October 27West Virginia
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 31–677,923
November 3Miami (FL)No. 19
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
TCSL 10–2675,332
November 10at North Carolina StateW 9–751,200
November 17TempleNo. 18
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 22–776,000
December 1No. 11 PittsburghNo. 19
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ABCL 14–2976,958
December 22vs. No. 15 TulaneABCW 9–650,021
  • daggerHomecoming
  • 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 Blackledge, ToddTodd Blackledge Fr
WR 29 Cherewka, MarkMark Cherewka Jr
WR 19 Donovan, TomTom Donovan Sr
T 77 Dugan, BillBill Dugan Jr
G 62 Farrell, SeanSean Farrell So
RB 24 Guman, MikeMike Guman Sr
WR 41 Hall, TracyTracy Hall Jr
QB 15 Hostetler, JeffJeff Hostetler Fr
TE 85 Kab, VytoVyto Kab So
TE 90 LaPointe, RonRon LaPointe Sr
RB 38 Meade, MikeMike Meade So
RB 48 Moore, BookerBooker Moore Jr
G 78 Munchak, MikeMike Munchak So
T 70 Pankey, IrvIrv Pankey Sr
C 53 Romano, JimJim Romano Jr
TE 80 Scovill, BradBrad Scovill Jr
RB 32 Suhey, MattMatt Suhey Sr
QB 17 Tate, DayleDayle Tate Jr
WR 13 Vernaglia, KipKip Vernaglia Sr
RB 25 Warner, CurtCurt Warner Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 86 Bergstrom, JeffJeff Bergstrom So
DB 30 Bradley, MattMatt Bradley So
DE 54 Clark, BruceBruce Clark Sr
CB 20 Coles, JoelJoel Coles So
DE 74 Kubin, LarryLarry Kubin Jr
DT 57 Kugler, PetePete Kugler Jr
CB 12 Lebo, JonJon Lebo So
LB 37 Lee Ashley, WalkerWalker Lee Ashley Fr
LB 56 Mehl, LanceLance Mehl Sr
LB 60 Millen, MattMatt Millen Sr
LB 94 Parlavecchio, ChetChet Parlavecchio So
CB 47 Rocco, DannyDanny Rocco Fr
LB 89 Quirch, CarlosCarlos Quirch Sr
S 23 Walsh, JohnJohn Walsh Jr
CB 49 Wise, TomTom Wise Jr
DT 61 Wisniewski, LeoLeo Wisniewski So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 10 Franco, BrianBrian Franco So
P 21 Giacomarro, RalphRalph Giacomarro Fr
K 31 Menhardt, HerbHerb Menhardt Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Post season[]

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 Irvin 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[]

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