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1989 Penn State

8–⁠3–⁠1, coached by Joe Paterno, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 1989, game by game: lost vs. Virginia 6–14; won vs. Temple 42–3; won vs. Boston College 7–3; won at Texas 16–12; won at Rutgers 17–0; won at Syracuse 34–12; lost vs. No. 6 Alabama 16–17; won vs. No. 13 West Virginia 19–9; tied vs. Maryland 13–13; lost vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 23–34; won at No. 19 Pittsburgh 16–13; won vs. No. 19 BYU 50–39+39−11Lost 6–14 vs. Virginia-8VirginiaWon 42–3 vs. Temple+39TempleWon 7–3 vs. Boston College+4Boston CollegeWon 16–12 at Texas+4TexasWon 17–0 at Rutgers+17RutgersWon 34–12 at Syracuse+22SyracuseLost 16–17 vs. No. 6 Alabama-1No. 6 AlabamaWon 19–9 vs. No. 13 West Virginia+10No. 13 West VirginiaTied 13–13 vs. Maryland0MarylandLost 23–34 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame-11No. 1 Notre DameWon 16–13 at No. 19 Pittsburgh+3No. 19 PittsburghWon 50–39 vs. No. 19 BYU+11No. 19 BYU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9vsVirginiaL 6–⁠1459%
Sep 16vsTempleW 42–⁠371%
Sep 23vsBoston CollegeW 7–⁠371%
Sep 30atTexasW 16–⁠1247%
Oct 7atRutgersW 17–⁠048%
Oct 14atSyracuseW 34–⁠1238%
Oct 28vs6AlabamaL 16–⁠1746%
Nov 4vs13West VirginiaW 19–⁠947%
Nov 11vsMarylandT 13–⁠1378%
Nov 18vs1Notre DameL 23–⁠3433%
Nov 25at19PittsburghW 16–⁠1345%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs19BYUHoliday BowlW 50–⁠3947%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat BYU 50–⁠39 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 49th-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: 12
  3. Wk 7: 23
  4. Wk 8: 17
  5. Wk 9: 14
  6. Wk 10: 16
  7. Wk 11: 13
  8. Wk 12: 17
  9. Wk 13: 22
  10. Wk 14: 18
  11. Wk 15: 18
  12. Wk 16: 18
  13. Final: 15

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 1989.

Record
8–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0 first in the Major eastern college football independents (Wikipedia)
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 11
Points
259–⁠169
Coach
Joe Paterno
Elo
1667 +130 this season
SP+ rating
17.4 No. 19 of 103; offense No. 51, defense No. 3
SRS
12.0 No. 21 of 106 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Fran Ganter
Defensive coordinator
Jerry Sandusky
Captains
Brian Chizmar, Andre Collins and Blair Thomas
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1990

The 1990 draft
Rd 1Blair Thomas RBNew York Jets
Rd 2Andre Collins LBWashington Redskins
Rd 7Dave Szott OGKansas City Chiefs