CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1985 Penn State

11–⁠1, coached by Joe Paterno, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 1985, game by game: won at No. 7 Maryland 20–18; won vs. Temple 27–25; won vs. East Carolina 17–10; won at Rutgers 17–10; won vs. No. 10 Alabama 19–17; won at Syracuse 24–20; won vs. West Virginia 27–0; won vs. Boston College 16–12; won at Cincinnati 31–10; won vs. Notre Dame 36–6; won at Pittsburgh 31–0; lost vs. No. 3 Oklahoma 10–25+31−15Won 20–18 at No. 7 Maryland+2No. 7 MarylandWon 27–25 vs. Temple+2TempleWon 17–10 vs. East Carolina+7East CarolinaWon 17–10 at Rutgers+7RutgersWon 19–17 vs. No. 10 Alabama+2No. 10 AlabamaWon 24–20 at Syracuse+4SyracuseWon 27–0 vs. West Virginia+27West VirginiaWon 16–12 vs. Boston College+4Boston CollegeWon 31–10 at Cincinnati+21CincinnatiWon 36–6 vs. Notre Dame+30Notre DameWon 31–0 at Pittsburgh+31PittsburghLost 10–25 vs. No. 3 Oklahoma-15No. 3 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7at7MarylandW 20–⁠1830%
Sep 14vsTempleW 27–⁠2564%
Sep 21vsEast CarolinaW 17–⁠1069%
Sep 28atRutgersW 17–⁠1051%
Oct 12vs10AlabamaW 19–⁠1753%
Oct 19atSyracuseW 24–⁠2056%
Oct 26vsWest VirginiaW 27–⁠059%
Nov 2vsBoston CollegeW 16–⁠1275%
Nov 9atCincinnatiW 31–⁠1073%
Nov 16vsNotre DameW 36–⁠664%
Nov 23atPittsburghW 31–⁠064%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3OklahomaOrange BowlL 10–⁠2543%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma 25–⁠10 in the Orange Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 37th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 18
  2. Wk 2: 19
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 10
  5. Wk 5: 9
  6. Wk 6: 9
  7. Wk 7: 8
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Wk 9: 3
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Wk 11: 2
  12. Wk 12: 1
  13. Wk 13: 1
  14. Wk 14: 1
  15. Wk 15: 1
  16. Wk 16: 1
  17. Final: 3

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 1985.

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0 first in the Major eastern college football independents (Wikipedia)
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 1
Points
275–⁠153
Coach
Joe Paterno
Elo
1692 +154 this season
SP+ rating
18.9 No. 16 of 106; offense No. 38, defense No. 5
SRS
15.8 No. 15 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Fran Ganter
Defensive coordinator
Jerry Sandusky
Captains
Rogers Alexander, Todd Moules and Mike Zordich
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1986

The 1986 draft
Rd 4Rogers Alexander LBNew York Jets
Rd 7Bob Williams TEBuffalo Bills