CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1983 Penn State

8–⁠4–⁠1, coached by Joe Paterno.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 1983, game by game: lost vs. Nebraska 6–44; lost vs. Cincinnati 3–14; lost vs. No. 13 Iowa 34–42; won at Temple 23–18; won at Rutgers 36–25; won vs. No. 3 Alabama 34–28; won at Syracuse 17–6; won vs. No. 4 West Virginia 41–23; lost at No. 19 Boston College 17–27; won vs. Brown 38–21; won vs. Notre Dame 34–30; tied at No. 17 Pittsburgh 24–24; won vs. Washington 13–10+18−38Lost 6–44 vs. Nebraska-38NebraskaLost 3–14 vs. Cincinnati-11CincinnatiLost 34–42 vs. No. 13 Iowa-8No. 13 IowaWon 23–18 at Temple+5TempleWon 36–25 at Rutgers+11RutgersWon 34–28 vs. No. 3 Alabama+6No. 3 AlabamaWon 17–6 at Syracuse+11SyracuseWon 41–23 vs. No. 4 West Virginia+18No. 4 West VirginiaLost 17–27 at No. 19 Boston College-10No. 19 Boston CollegeWon 38–21 vs. Brown+17BrownWon 34–30 vs. Notre Dame+4Notre DameTied 24–24 at No. 17 Pittsburgh0No. 17 PittsburghWon 13–10 vs. Washington+3Washington
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsNebraskaL 6–⁠4453%
Sep 10vsCincinnatiL 3–⁠1485%
Sep 17vs13IowaL 34–⁠4265%
Sep 24atTempleW 23–⁠1858%
Oct 1atRutgersW 36–⁠2565%
Oct 8vs3AlabamaW 34–⁠2853%
Oct 15atSyracuseW 17–⁠669%
Oct 22vs4West VirginiaW 41–⁠2352%
Oct 29at19Boston CollegeL 17–⁠2749%
Nov 5vsBrownW 38–⁠2188%
Nov 12vsNotre DameW 34–⁠3064%
Nov 19at17PittsburghT 24–⁠2439%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsWashingtonAloha BowlW 13–⁠1059%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Washington 13–⁠10 in the Aloha Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 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 1983.

Record
8–⁠4–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 first in the Major eastern college football independents (Wikipedia)
AP final
Unranked peak No. 4
Points
320–⁠312
Coach
Joe Paterno
Elo
1703 −20 this season
SP+ rating
14.9 No. 20 of 108; offense No. 12, defense No. 36
SRS
8.2 No. 34 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Dick Anderson
Defensive coordinator
Jerry Sandusky
Captains
Ron Heller, Kenny Jackson, Scott Radecic and Mark Robinson
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1984

The 1984 draft
Rd 1Kenny Jackson WRPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 2Scott Radecic LBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 3Jonathan Williams RBNew England Patriots
Rd 4Mark Robinson DBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 4Ron Heller OTTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 7Harry Hamilton DBNew York Jets