1971 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1971 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy
Cotton Bowl champion
Conference Independent
Ranking
Coaches No. 11
AP No. 5
1971 record 11–1
Head coach Joe Paterno (6th season)
Captain Dave Joyner
Captain Charlie Zapiec
Home stadium Beaver Stadium
(Capacity: 48,284)
1971 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 5 Penn State   –    11 –1 –0
Boston College   –    9 –2 –0
No. 17 Houston   –    9 –3 –0
No. 13 Notre Dame   –    8 –2 –0
Utah State   –    8 –3 –0
Florida State   –    8 –4 –0
Cincinnati   –    7 –4 –0
West Virginia   –    7 –4 –0
Temple   –    6 –2 –1
Air Force   –    6 –4 –0
Army   –    6 –4 –0
Colgate   –    6 –4 –0
Villanova   –    6 –4 –1
South Carolina   –    6 –5 –0
Southern Miss   –    6 –5 –0
Georgia Tech   –    6 –6 –0
New Mexico State   –    5 –5 –1
Northern Illinois   –    5 –5 –1
Syracuse   –    5 –5 –1
Dayton   –    5 –6 –0
Miami (FL)   –    4 –7 –0
Rutgers   –    4 –7 –0
Virginia Tech   –    4 –7 –0
Navy   –    3 –8 –0
Pittsburgh   –    3 –8 –0
Tulane   –    3 –8 –0
Xavier   –    1 –9 –0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1971 college football season.[1] 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 18 at Navy No. 14 Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD W 56–3   26,855
September 25 at Iowa No. 12 Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA ABC W 44–14   44,303
October 2 Air Force No. 9 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA W 16–14   50,459
October 9 Army No. 9 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA W 42–0   49,887
October 16 at Syracuse No. 9 Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY (Rivalry) W 31–0   41,382
October 23 TCUdagger No. 7 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA W 66–14   51,896
October 30 at West Virginia No. 6 Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Rivalry) W 35–7   37,000
November 6 Maryland No. 6 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Rivalry) W 63–27   50,144
November 13 North Carolina State No. 5 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA W 35–3   50,477
November 20 at Pittsburgh No. 6 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA (Rivalry) W 55–18   39,539
December 4 at No. 12 Tennessee No. 5 Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN [2] ABC L 11–31   59,542
January 1, 1972 vs. No. 12 Texas No. 10 Cotton Bowl • Dallas, TX [3][4] (Cotton Bowl) CBS W 30–6   72,000
daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game.

Roster

1971 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
C 50 Rick Brown Jr
RB 22 John Cappelletti So
T 77 Charlie Getty So
RB 34 Franco Harris Sr
QB 14 John Hufnagel Jr
RB 23 Lydell Mitchell Sr
TE 40 Bob Rickenbach Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DE 83 Bruce Bannon Jr
DT 53 Randy Crowder So
LB 47 Jim Laslavic Jr
LB 89 Ed O'Neil So
DE 81 John Skorupan Jr
LB 60 Charlie Zapiec Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
TE/P 86 Bob Parsons Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

Air Force

Alberto Vitiello, a 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) junior college transfer, kicked a 22-yard field goal with four minutes to help Penn State escape with a 16–14 victory over Air Force.

[5]

NFL Draft

Four Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1972 NFL Draft.

RoundPickOverallNamePositionTeam
1st1313Franco HarrisRunning backPittsburgh Steelers
2nd2248Lydell MitchellRunning backBaltimore Colts
4th1593Charles Zapiec–Dallas Cowboys
5th13117Bob ParsonsPunterChicago Bears

References

  1. ↑ "Penn State Yearly Results (1970-1974)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Vols flatten Lions". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 5, 1971. p. 1, sports.
  3. ↑ "Texas Wishbone catches in throat". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. January 2, 1972. p. 61.
  4. ↑ "Penn State scuttles Texas for 30-6 Cotton Bowl win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1972. p. 1, sports.
  5. ↑ "Penn State Edges Air Force on Field Goal." Palm Beach Post. 1971 Oct 3.
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