CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1987 Penn State

8–⁠4, coached by Joe Paterno.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 1987, game by game: won vs. Bowling Green 45–19; lost vs. No. 19 Alabama 13–24; won vs. Cincinnati 41–0; won at Boston College 27–17; won vs. Temple 27–13; won vs. Rutgers 35–21; lost at No. 13 Syracuse 21–48; won vs. West Virginia 25–21; won at Maryland 21–16; lost at Pittsburgh 0–10; won vs. No. 7 Notre Dame 21–20; lost vs. No. 14 Clemson 10–35+41−27Won 45–19 vs. Bowling Green+26Bowling GreenLost 13–24 vs. No. 19 Alabama-11No. 19 AlabamaWon 41–0 vs. Cincinnati+41CincinnatiWon 27–17 at Boston College+10Boston CollegeWon 27–13 vs. Temple+14TempleWon 35–21 vs. Rutgers+14RutgersLost 21–48 at No. 13 Syracuse-27No. 13 SyracuseWon 25–21 vs. West Virginia+4West VirginiaWon 21–16 at Maryland+5MarylandLost 0–10 at Pittsburgh-10PittsburghWon 21–20 vs. No. 7 Notre Dame+1No. 7 Notre DameLost 10–35 vs. No. 14 Clemson-25No. 14 Clemson
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsBowling GreenW 45–⁠1982%
Sep 12vs19AlabamaL 13–⁠2464%
Sep 19vsCincinnatiW 41–⁠083%
Sep 26atBoston CollegeW 27–⁠1755%
Oct 3vsTempleW 27–⁠1378%
Oct 10vsRutgersW 35–⁠2184%
Oct 17at13SyracuseL 21–⁠4855%
Oct 31vsWest VirginiaW 25–⁠2175%
Nov 7atMarylandW 21–⁠1667%
Nov 14atPittsburghL 0–⁠1059%
Nov 21vs7Notre DameW 21–⁠2051%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs14ClemsonCitrus BowlL 10–⁠3554%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Clemson 35–⁠10 in the Citrus Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 57th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 11
  2. Wk 2: 11
  3. Wk 3: 20
  4. Wk 4: 15
  5. Wk 5: 14
  6. Wk 6: 14
  7. Wk 7: 10
  8. Wk 8: 18
  9. Wk 9: 18
  10. Wk 10: 16
  11. Wk 11: 15
  12. Wk 14: 20
  13. Wk 15: 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 1987.

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠2 2nd in the Major eastern college football independents (Wikipedia)
AP final
Unranked peak No. 10
Points
286–⁠244
Coach
Joe Paterno
Elo
1649 −48 this season
SP+ rating
10.1 No. 27 of 101; offense No. 42, defense No. 28
SRS
7.6 No. 27 of 104 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Fran Ganter
Defensive coordinator
Jerry Sandusky
Captains
Trey Bauer, Marques Henderson and Matt Knizner
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1988

The 1988 draft
Rd 3Ray Roundtree WRDetroit Lions