1972 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1972 Penn State Nittany Lions football
1972 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion
Sugar Bowl, L 0–14 vs. Oklahoma
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 10
Record	10–2
Head coach	Joe Paterno (7th season);
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jim O'Hora (7th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Gregg Ducatte; Jim Heller; John Hufnagel; Carl Schaukowitch;
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
	Seasons ← 1971 1973 →

1972 NCAA University Division independents football records
v t e	Conf.			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 10 Penn State		–		10	–	2	–	0
No. 14 Notre Dame		–		8	–	3	–	0
Utah State		–		8	–	3	–	0
West Virginia		–		8	–	4	–	0
Florida State		–		7	–	4	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		7	–	4	–	0
Rutgers		–		7	–	4	–	0
No. 20 Georgia Tech		–		7	–	4	–	1
Air Force		–		6	–	4	–	0
Army		–		6	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		6	–	4	–	1
Houston		–		6	–	4	–	1
Tulane		–		6	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		5	–	4	–	0
Colgate		–		5	–	4	–	1
Holy Cross		–		5	–	4	–	1
Syracuse		–		5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		5	–	6	–	0
Dayton		–		4	–	6	–	1
Boston College		–		4	–	7	–	0
Navy		–		4	–	7	–	0
South Carolina		–		4	–	7	–	0
Southern Miss		–		3	–	7	–	1
Xavier		–		3	–	8	–	0
Marshall		–		2	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		2	–	9	–	0
Villanova		–		2	–	9	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		1	–	10	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 10–2 and lost to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. Penn State was the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy as the best college football team in the Eastern United States. The team played home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

As a result of using ineligible players, the Oklahoma Sooners were ordered to forfeit seven wins from their 1972 season, including their win over the Nittany Lions in the Sugar Bowl. However, Paterno and Penn State refused to accept the forfeit, and the bowl game is officially recorded as a loss.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16		at No. 7 Tennessee	No. 6	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		L 21–28	71,647
September 23	1:30 p.m.	Navy	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 21–10	50,547
September 30		Iowa	No. 13	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 14–10	58,065
October 7		at Illinois	No. 16	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		W 35–17	60,349
October 14	1:59 p.m.	at Army	No. 15	Michie Stadium West Point, NY		W 45–0	42,352
October 21		Syracuse	No. 12	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 17–0	60,465
October 28		at No. 18 West Virginia	No. 11	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	ABC	W 28–19	37,000	^[2]
November 4		Maryland	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 46–16	58,171	^[3]
November 11		NC State	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 37–22	54,274	^[4]^[5]
November 18		at Boston College	No. 6	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 45–26	23,119
November 25		Pittsburgh	No. 6	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 49–27	38,600
December 31		vs. No. 2 Oklahoma	No. 5	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	L 0–14	80,123
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	5	6 (1)	11	13	16	15	12	11	10	10	6	6	5	5	10
Coaches	6	7	14 т	16	19	17	13	10	11	11	8	7	7	8	Not released

Roster

1972 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OT	`74`	Jeff Bleamer	So
C	`50`	Rick Brown	Sr
RB	`22`	John Cappelletti	Jr
OT	`77`	Charlie Getty	Jr
WR	`28`	Gary Hayman	Jr
QB	`16`	John Hufnagel	Sr
C	`51`	Bill Johnson	So
OT	`65`	Phil LaPorta	Jr
C	`54`	Mark Markovich	Jr
G	`69`	Carl Schaukowitch	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`68`	Doug Allen	Jr
DE	`83`	Bruce Bannon	Sr
DT	`53`	Randy Crowder	Jr
LB	`66`	Chris Devlin	So
DE	`85`	Dave Graf	So
DT	`79`	Mike Hartenstine	So
LB	`41`	Tom Hull	Jr
LB	`47`	Jim Laslavic	Sr
LB	`89`	Ed O'Neil	Jr
LB	`81`	John Skorupan	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Joe Paterno

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Awards

Joe Paterno

Walter Camp Coach of the Year

NFL draft

Five Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1973 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
3rd	19	71	Jim Laslavic	Linebacker	Detroit Lions
5th	12	116	Bruce Bannon	Linebacker	New York Jets
6th	6	136	John Skorupan	Linebacker	Buffalo Bills
14th	10	348	John Hufnagel	Quarterback	Denver Broncos
15th	17	381	Carl Schaukowitch	Offensive guard	New York Giants

References

^ Brant, Tim (January 11, 2008). "After Further Review... The NCAA Weighs-In". ABC 7 News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
^ "Penn St. rallies to nip WVa". The Sacramento Bee. October 29, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Penn St. rips Terps, 46–16". The News and Observer. November 5, 1972. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Penn State mauls N.C. State". The Pittsburgh Press. November 12, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Penn State Halts Wolfpack". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina. Associated Press. November 12, 1972. p. 2B. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .

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[1] Brant, Tim (January 11, 2008). "After Further Review... The NCAA Weighs-In". ABC 7 News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved November 4, 2008.

[2] "Penn St. rallies to nip WVa". The Sacramento Bee. October 29, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Penn St. rips Terps, 46–16". The News and Observer. November 5, 1972. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Penn State mauls N.C. State". The Pittsburgh Press. November 12, 1972. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Penn State Halts Wolfpack". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina. Associated Press. November 12, 1972. p. 2B. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .

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v t e Penn State Nittany Lions football
Venues	Old Main lawn (until 1891) Beaver Field (1892–1908) New Beaver Field (1909–1959) Beaver Stadium (1960–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama Maryland Michigan Michigan State Minnesota: Governor's Victory Bell Ohio State Old Ironsides Pittsburgh Syracuse West Virginia
Culture & lore	Nittany Lion "Fight On, State" Penn State Blue Band Uplifting Athletes Joe Paterno statue Something for Joey 1982 Nebraska game Child sex abuse scandal 2016 Ohio State game Paterno White Out 2021 Illinois game
People	Head coaches All-Americans NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1881 1882–1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold