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1979 Penn State

8–⁠4, coached by Joe Paterno, finished No. 20 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 1979, game by game: won vs. Rutgers 45–10; lost vs. Texas A&M 14–27; lost at No. 6 Nebraska 17–42; won at Maryland 27–7; won vs. Army 24–3; won vs. Syracuse 35–7; won vs. West Virginia 31–6; lost vs. Miami 10–26; won at NC State 9–7; won vs. No. 18 Temple 22–7; lost vs. No. 11 Pittsburgh 14–29; won vs. No. 15 Tulane 9–6+35−25Won 45–10 vs. Rutgers+35RutgersLost 14–27 vs. Texas A&M-13Texas A&MLost 17–42 at No. 6 Nebraska-25No. 6 NebraskaWon 27–7 at Maryland+20MarylandWon 24–3 vs. Army+21ArmyWon 35–7 vs. Syracuse+28SyracuseWon 31–6 vs. West Virginia+25West VirginiaLost 10–26 vs. Miami-16MiamiWon 9–7 at NC State+2NC StateWon 22–7 vs. No. 18 Temple+15No. 18 TempleLost 14–29 vs. No. 11 Pittsburgh-15No. 11 PittsburghWon 9–6 vs. No. 15 Tulane+3No. 15 Tulane
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15vsRutgersW 45–⁠1075%
Sep 22vsTexas A&ML 14–⁠2779%
Sep 29at6NebraskaL 17–⁠4242%
Oct 6atMarylandW 27–⁠743%
Oct 13vsArmyW 24–⁠384%
Oct 20vsSyracuseW 35–⁠772%
Oct 27vsWest VirginiaW 31–⁠687%
Nov 3vsMiamiL 10–⁠2685%
Nov 10atNC StateW 9–⁠749%
Nov 17vs18TempleW 22–⁠760%
Dec 1vs11PittsburghL 14–⁠2956%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvs15TulaneLiberty BowlW 9–⁠660%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Tulane 9–⁠6 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 20 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The tied 50th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 5
  2. Wk 2: 7
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 18
  5. Wk 9: 19
  6. Wk 12: 20
  7. Wk 13: 19
  8. Final: 20

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 1979.

Consensus All-AmericanBruce Clark, DT

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
—
AP final
No. 20 peak No. 5
Points
257–⁠177
Coach
Joe Paterno
Elo
1663 −31 this season
SP+ rating
23.2 No. 10 of 135; offense No. 20, defense No. 6
SRS
16.0 No. 18 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Jerry Sandusky
Captains
Lance Mehl, Matt Millen and Irv Pankey
Offense
I formation
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1980

The 1980 draft
Rd 1Bruce Clark DTGreen Bay Packers
Rd 2Matt Millen LBOakland Raiders
Rd 2Matt Suhey RBChicago Bears
Rd 2Irv Pankey OTLos Angeles Rams
Rd 3Lance Mehl LBNew York Jets
Rd 6Mike Guman RBLos Angeles Rams