CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1977 Penn State

11–⁠1, coached by Joe Paterno, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 1977, game by game: won at Rutgers 45–7; won vs. No. 9 Houston 31–14; won vs. Maryland 27–9; lost vs. Kentucky 20–24; won vs. Utah State 16–7; won at Syracuse 31–24; won vs. West Virginia 49–28; won vs. Miami 49–7; won at NC State 21–17; won vs. Temple 44–7; won at No. 10 Pittsburgh 15–13; won vs. No. 15 Arizona State 42–30+42−4Won 45–7 at Rutgers+38RutgersWon 31–14 vs. No. 9 Houston+17No. 9 HoustonWon 27–9 vs. Maryland+18MarylandLost 20–24 vs. Kentucky-4KentuckyWon 16–7 vs. Utah State+9Utah StateWon 31–24 at Syracuse+7SyracuseWon 49–28 vs. West Virginia+21West VirginiaWon 49–7 vs. Miami+42MiamiWon 21–17 at NC State+4NC StateWon 44–7 vs. Temple+37TempleWon 15–13 at No. 10 Pittsburgh+2No. 10 PittsburghWon 42–30 vs. No. 15 Arizona State+12No. 15 Arizona State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atRutgersW 45–⁠741%
Sep 17vs9HoustonW 31–⁠1458%
Sep 24vsMarylandW 27–⁠963%
Oct 1vsKentuckyL 20–⁠2471%
Oct 8vsUtah StateW 16–⁠785%
Oct 15atSyracuseW 31–⁠2477%
Oct 22vsWest VirginiaW 49–⁠2873%
Oct 29vsMiamiW 49–⁠782%
Nov 5atNC StateW 21–⁠1766%
Nov 12vsTempleW 44–⁠783%
Nov 26at10PittsburghW 15–⁠1336%
Dec 25Bowls & playoffvs15Arizona StateFiesta BowlW 42–⁠3066%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arizona State 42–⁠30 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The tied 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1977.

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
—
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 4
Points
390–⁠187
Coach
Joe Paterno
Elo
1748 +160 this season
SP+ rating
32.6 No. 2 of 140; offense No. 2, defense No. 8
SRS
24.7 No. 7 of 145 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Jerry Sandusky
Captains
John Dunn, Steve Geise, Ron Hostetler and Randy Sidler
Offense
I formation
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1978

The 1978 draft
Rd 3Mickey Shuler TENew York Jets
Rd 3Jimmy Cefalo WRMiami Dolphins
Rd 5Randy Sidler LBNew York Jets
Rd 6Steve Geise RBCincinnati Bengals