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1983 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

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1983 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Aloha Bowl champion
Aloha Bowl, W 13–10 vs. Washington
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
Record8–4–1
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDick Anderson (3rd season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorJerry Sandusky (7th season)
Base defense4–3
Captains
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
Seasons
← 1982
1984 →
1983 Major eastern college football independents records
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Penn State 4 – 1 – 1 8 – 4 – 1
No. 16 West Virginia 4 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 18 Pittsburgh 2 – 1 – 1 8 – 3 – 1
No. 19 Boston College $ 3 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Syracuse 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Temple 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Rutgers 0 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Miami (FL)   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   –   9 – 2 – 0
No. 19 Boston College   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 16 West Virginia   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 20 East Carolina   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
No. 18 Pittsburgh   –   –   8 – 3 – 1
Florida State   –   –   8 – 4 – 0
Penn State   –   –   8 – 4 – 1
Southern Miss   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Memphis State   –   –   6 – 4 – 1
Notre Dame   –   –   7 – 5 – 0
Syracuse   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
South Carolina   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Cincinnati   –   4 – 6 – 1
Southwestern Louisiana   –   –   4 – 6 – 0
Temple   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Tulane   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Louisville   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Navy   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Rutgers   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Army   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 18th-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 8–4–1. Penn State was invited to the Aloha Bowl, where the Nittany Lions defeated Washington. The team played home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

[edit]
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 299:00 p.m.vs. No. 1 NebraskaNo. 4
KATZL 6–4471,123[1]
September 101:30 p.m.CincinnatiNo. 20
L 3–1483,683[2]
September 171:30 p.m.No. 13 Iowa
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
L 34–4284,628[3]
September 241:30 p.m.at Temple
W 23–1835,760[4]
October 11:30 p.m.at Rutgers
W 36–2532,804[5]
October 83:45 p.m.No. 3 Alabama
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
CBSW 34–2885,614[6]
October 151:30 p.m.at Syracuse
W 17–650,010[7]
October 221:30 p.m.No. 4 West Virginiadagger
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 41–2386,309[8]
October 293:50 p.m.at No. 19 Boston College
ABCL 17–2756,605[9]
November 51:00 p.m.Brown
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 38–2184,670[10]
November 121:00 p.m.Notre Dame
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ESPN (tape delay)W 34–3085,899[11]
November 191:00 p.m.at No. 17 Pittsburgh
T 24–2460,283[12]
December 268:00 p.m.vs. Washington
ESPNW 13–1037,212[13]

Roster

[edit]
1983 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
C 58 Nick Haden Jr
OT 72 Ron Heller Sr
WR 82 Kenny Jackson Sr
RB 29 Tony Mumford Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 95 Rogers Alexander Jr
LB 31 Shane Conlan So
LB 53 Don Graham So
S 22 Ray Isom So
LB 55 Tim Johnson So
LB 97 Scott Radecic Sr
S 32 Mark Robinson Sr
DB 43 Mike Zordich So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
PK 10 Massimo Manca Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

NFL draft

[edit]

Eight Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1984 NFL draft.

Round Pick Overall Name Position Team
1st 4 4 Kenny Jackson Wide receiver Philadelphia Eagles
2nd 6 34 Scott Radecic Linebacker Kansas City Chiefs
3rd 14 70 Jon Williams Running back New England Patriots
4th 6 90 Mark Robinson Defensive back Kansas City Chiefs
4th 28 112 Ron Heller Offensive tackle Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7th 8 176 Harry Hamilton Defensive back New York Jets
8th 1 197 Kevin Baugh Wide receiver Houston Oilers
9th 18 242 George Reynolds Punter Los Angeles Rams

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Nebraska breezes in Classic, 44–6". The Star-Ledger. August 30, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Penn State shocked by Cincinnati, 14–3". The Miami Herald. September 11, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Iowa hands Penn State 3rd loss in seesaw game, 42–34". Courier-Post. September 18, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Finally, Penn St. 'gets one'". The Akron Beacon Journal. September 25, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Lions' back credits line in victory over Rutgers". The Daily Register. October 2, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Penn State holds off furious Alabama rally, 34–28". The Pittsburgh Press. October 9, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Nittany Lions struggle but get past Orangemen". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 16, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Rebounding Penn State rips fourth-rated West Virginia". The Courier-Post. October 23, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "The surgeon; BC's Flutie operates on Penn State, 27–17". The Day. October 30, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Freligh, Sarajane (November 6, 1983). "Despite a Second-Quarter Sputter, Penn State Trounces Brown, 38–21". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. pp. 1-G, 13-G – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Strang runs Lions past Fighting Irish, 34–30". Centre Daily Times. November 13, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Last-second field goal lifts Penn State into tie". Sunday Press. November 20, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Defense does it for Penn State". Honolulu Star-Bulletin & Advertiser. December 27, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
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