1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 26–10 vs. USC
Conference Independent
Ranking
Coaches No. 3
AP No. 3
1981 record 10–2
Head coach Joe Paterno (16th season)
Offensive coordinator Dick Anderson
Defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky
Home stadium Beaver Stadium
(Capacity: 83,770)
1981 Division I-A independents football records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 3 Penn State   –  –   10 –2 –0
No. 4 Pittsburgh   –  –   11 –1 –0
No. 8 Miami   –  –   9 –2 –0
Southern Miss   –  –   9 –2 –1
No. 17 West Virginia   –  –   9 –3 –0
Colgate   –  –   7 –3 –0
Virginia Tech   –  –   7 –4 –0
Navy   –  –   7 –4 –1
Cincinnati   –  –   6 –5 –0
Florida State   –  –   6 –5 –0
Holy Cross   –  –   6 –5 –0
Tulane   –  –   6 –5 –0
UNLV   –  –   6 –6 –0
South Carolina   –  –   6 –6 –0
Temple   –  –   5 –5 –0
Boston College   –  –   5 –6 –0
East Carolina   –  –   5 –6 –0
Northeast Louisiana   –  –   5 –6 –0
Louisville   –  –   5 –6 –0
Notre Dame   –  –   5 –6 –0
Rutgers   –  –   5 –6 –0
William & Mary   –  –   5 –6 –0
Syracuse   –  –   4 –6 –1
Richmond   –  –   4 –7 –0
Army   –  –   3 –7 –1
North Texas State   –  –   2 –9 –0
Georgia Tech   –  –   1 –10 –0
Memphis   –  –   1 –10 –0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season.[1]

Schedule

Date Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 12 Cincinnati No. 9 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA ESPN (tape delay) W 52–0   84,342
September 26 at No. 15 Nebraska No. 3 Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE ESPN (tape delay) W 30–24   76,308
October 3 Temple No. 2 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA W 30–0   84,562
October 10 Boston Collegedagger No. 2 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA ESPN (tape delay) W 38–7   84,473
October 17 at Syracuse No. 2 Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY (Rivalry) W 41–16   50,037
October 24 West Virginia No. 1 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Rivalry) ESPN (tape delay) W 30–7   85,012
October 31 at Miami No. 1 Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, FL ABC National L 14–17   32,117
November 7 at North Carolina State No. 6 Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC W 22–15   48,800
November 14 No. 6 Alabama No. 5 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Rivalry) ABC Regional L 16–31   85,133
November 21 Notre Dame No. 13 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA ESPN (tape delay) W 24–21   84,175
November 28 at No. 1 Pittsburgh No. 11 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA (Rivalry) ABC National W 48–14   60,260
January 1, 1982 vs. No. 8 USC No. 7 Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl) NBC W 26–10   71,053
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Game summaries

Boston College

1 234Total
Boston College 0 007 7
• Penn St 10 1477 38

[2]

Notre Dame

Notre Dame at #13 Penn St
1 234Total
Notre Dame 7 770 21
• Penn St 14 307 24

Following the game, Penn State accepted an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl.

Pittsburgh

#11 Penn St at #1 Pittsburgh
1 234Total
• Penn St 0 141717 48
Pittsburgh 14 000 14
  • Source:

The Nittany Lions snapped the Panthers' 17-game winning streak in convincing fashion.[3]

Roster

1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 14 Todd Blackledge Jr
TE 80 Kirk Bowman So
T 79 Bill Contz Jr
G 62 Sean Farrell Sr
WR 19 Gregg Garrity Jr
T 72 Ron Heller So
WR 82 Kenny Jackson So
TE 85 Vyto Kab Sr
RB 38 Mike Meade Sr
RB 25 Curt Warner Jr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 30 Matt Bradley Sr
Hero 17 Harry Hamilton So
CB 49 Roger Jackson Jr
LB 98 Ken Kelley Jr
CB 12 Paul Lankford Sr
LB 37 Walker Lee Ashley Jr
LB 94 Chet Parlavecchio Jr
LB 97 Scott Radecic So
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 10 Brian Franco Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster

NFL Draft

Ten Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1982 NFL Draft.

RoundPickOverallNamePositionTeam
1st88Mike MunchakOffensive guardHouston Oilers
1st1717Sean FarrellOffensive guardTampa Bay Buccaneers
2nd128Leo WisniewskiNose tackleBaltimore Colts
2nd1037Jim RomanoCenterLos Angeles Raiders
3rd2378Vyto KabTight endPhiladelphia Eagles
3rd2580Paul LankfordDefensive backMiami Dolphins
5th15126Mike MeadeRunning backGreen Bay Packers
6th13152Chet ParlavecchioLinebackerGreen Bay Packers
9th11234Matt Bradley–Houston Oilers
10th12263Rich D'Amico–Los Angeles Raiders

Awards

Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award

References

  1. ↑ "Penn State Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  2. ↑ Eugene-Register Guard. 1981 Oct 11.
  3. ↑ John Feinstein (November 29, 1981). "Penn State Stuns No. 1 Pitt. 48-14. Bryant Wins No. 315". Washington Post. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
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