1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Liberty Bowl, W 9-6 vs. Tulane
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	#18
AP	#20
1979 record	8–4
Head coach	Joe Paterno (14th year)
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium (Capacity: 76,639)

1979 Division I-A independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#6 Florida State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
#7 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
UNLV		–		–				9	–	1	–	2
#17 Temple		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
Tulane		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				7	–	3	–	1
#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		–		–				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
Northwestern State		–		–				3	–	6	–	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 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 15	Rutgers	#7	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA		W 45–10	77,309
September 22	Texas A&M	#6	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA		L 14–27	77,575
September 29	at #6 Nebraska	#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	vs. 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)	#19	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	TCS	L 10–26	75,332
November 10	at North Carolina State		Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC		W 9–7	51,200
November 17	Temple	#18	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA		W 22–7	76,000
December 1	#11 Pittsburgh	#19	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Rivalry)	ABC	L 14–29	76,958
December 22	vs. #15 Tulane		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ABC	W 9–6	50,021
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

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

1. "Penn State Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 26, 2015.