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1975 Penn State

9–⁠3, coached by Joe Paterno, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 1975, game by game: won at Temple 26–25; won vs. Stanford 34–14; lost at No. 3 Ohio State 9–17; won at Iowa 30–10; won vs. Kentucky 10–3; won vs. No. 10 West Virginia 39–0; won at Syracuse 19–7; won vs. Army 31–0; won at No. 14 Maryland 15–13; lost vs. NC State 14–15; won at No. 17 Pittsburgh 7–6; lost vs. No. 4 Alabama 6–13+39−8Won 26–25 at Temple+1TempleWon 34–14 vs. Stanford+20StanfordLost 9–17 at No. 3 Ohio State-8No. 3 Ohio StateWon 30–10 at Iowa+20IowaWon 10–3 vs. Kentucky+7KentuckyWon 39–0 vs. No. 10 West Virginia+39No. 10 West VirginiaWon 19–7 at Syracuse+12SyracuseWon 31–0 vs. Army+31ArmyWon 15–13 at No. 14 Maryland+2No. 14 MarylandLost 14–15 vs. NC State-1NC StateWon 7–6 at No. 17 Pittsburgh+1No. 17 PittsburghLost 6–13 vs. No. 4 Alabama-7No. 4 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6atTempleW 26–⁠2559%
Sep 13vsStanfordW 34–⁠1477%
Sep 20at3Ohio StateL 9–⁠1742%
Sep 27atIowaW 30–⁠1082%
Oct 4vsKentuckyW 10–⁠376%
Oct 11vs10West VirginiaW 39–⁠071%
Oct 18atSyracuseW 19–⁠779%
Oct 25vsArmyW 31–⁠094%
Nov 1at14MarylandW 15–⁠1353%
Nov 8vsNC StateL 14–⁠1575%
Nov 22at17PittsburghW 7–⁠656%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs4AlabamaSugar BowlL 6–⁠1341%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Alabama 13–⁠6 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 24th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 10
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 12
  5. Wk 5: 10
  6. Wk 6: 9
  7. Wk 7: 9
  8. Wk 8: 9
  9. Wk 9: 9
  10. Wk 10: 8
  11. Wk 11: 11
  12. Wk 12: 10
  13. Wk 13: 10
  14. Wk 14: 8
  15. Final: 10

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1975.

Consensus All-AmericanGreg Buttle, LB

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
—
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 6
Points
240–⁠123
Coach
Joe Paterno
Elo
1719 +41 this season
SP+ rating
25.2 No. 6 of 132; offense No. 34, defense No. 1
SRS
17.9 No. 11 of 137 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Jim O’Hora
Captains
Greg Buttle, John Quinn and Tom Rafferty
Offense
I formation
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1976

The 1976 draft
Rd 2Chris Bahr KCincinnati Bengals
Rd 3Greg Buttle LBNew York Jets
Rd 3Ron Coder DTPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 4Tom Rafferty OGDallas Cowboys