1971 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 1971 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 11–1 and defeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Penn State played home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

1971 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion Cotton Bowl champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 30–6 vs. Texas
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
AP	No. 5
Record	11–1
Head coach	Joe Paterno (6th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jim O'Hora (6th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Dave Joyner Charlie Zapiec
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ← 1970 1972 →

1971 NCAA University Division independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Penn State			–					11	–	1	–	0
Boston College			–					9	–	2	–	0
No. 17 Houston			–					9	–	3	–	0
No. 13 Notre Dame			–					8	–	2	–	0
Utah State			–					8	–	3	–	0
Florida State			–					8	–	4	–	0
Cincinnati			–					7	–	4	–	0
West Virginia			–					7	–	4	–	0
Temple			–					6	–	2	–	1
Air Force			–					6	–	4	–	0
Army			–					6	–	4	–	0
Colgate			–					6	–	4	–	0
Villanova			–					6	–	4	–	1
South Carolina			–					6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss			–					6	–	5	–	0
Georgia Tech			–					6	–	6	–	0
Northern Illinois			–					5	–	5	–	1
Syracuse			–					5	–	5	–	1
Dayton			–					5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross			–					4	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					4	–	7	–	0
Rutgers			–					4	–	7	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					3	–	8	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					3	–	8	–	0
Tulane			–					3	–	8	–	0
Marshall			–					2	–	8	–	0
Xavier			–					1	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	2:00 p.m.	at Navy	No. 14	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 56–3	26,855
September 25		at Iowa	No. 12	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	ABC	W 44–14	44,303
October 2	1:30 p.m.	Air Force	No. 9	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 16–14	50,459
October 9	1:30 p.m.	Army	No. 9	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 42–0	49,887
October 16		at Syracuse	No. 9	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)		W 31–0	41,382
October 23		TCU	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 66–14	51,896	[1]
October 30		at West Virginia	No. 6	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		W 35–7	37,000	[2]
November 6		Maryland	No. 6	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 63–27	50,144	[3]
November 13		NC State	No. 5	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 35–3	50,477	[4]
November 20		at Pittsburgh	No. 6	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)		W 55–18	39,539
December 4		at No. 12 Tennessee	No. 5	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	ABC	L 11–31	59,542	[5]
January 1, 1972		vs. No. 12 Texas	No. 10	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl)	CBS	W 30–6	72,000	[6][7]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Air Force

Alberto Vitiello, a 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) junior college transfer, kicked a 22-yard field goal with four minutes to help Penn State escape with a 16–14 victory over Air Force.

^[8]

Tennessee

See also: 1971 Tennessee Volunteers football team

#5 Penn State Nittany Lions (10–0) at #12 Tennessee Volunteers (8–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn St	0	3	0	8	11
Tennessee	7	14	0	10	31

at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee

• Date: December 4, 1971
• Game attendance: 54,529
• TV: ABC
• Ocala Star-Banner, 1971 Dec 05.

Game information

First quarter TENN – Conrad Graham 76-yard fumble return (George Hunt kick). Tennessee 7–0. Second quarter PSU – Alberto Vitello 27-yard field goal. Tennessee 7–3. Drive: TENN – Bill Rudder 1-yard run (George Hunt kick). Tennessee 14–3. Drive: 5 plays, 15 yards. TENN – Bobby Majors 44-yard punt return (George Hunt kick). Tennessee 21–3. Fourth quarter TENN – George Hunt 21-yard field goal. Tennessee 24–3. Drive: TENN – Jackie Walker 43-yard interception return (George Hunt kick). Tennessee 31–3. PSU – Lydell Mitchell 14-yard pass from John Hufnagel (run good). Tennessee 31–11. Drive:

Roster

1971 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 26 Ken Andrews Jr C 59 Mike Botts Sr C 50 Rick Brown Jr RB 27 Carl Cayette Jr WR 48 Glen Cole Sr TE 80 Gary Debes So RB 32 Tom Donchez So C 56 Don Gersh Sr OT 77 Charlie Getty So RB 34 Franco Harris Sr WR 25 Chuck Herd So QB 16 John Hufnagel Jr TE 89 John Hull Sr QB 10 Steve Joachim So OT 70 Dave Joyner (C) Sr OL Bob Knetchel QB 11 Jack Koniszewski So OT 73 Craig Lyle Jr RB 23 Lydell Mitchell Sr RB 41 Bob Nagle So TE, P 86 Bob Parsons Sr TE 40 Bob Rickenbach Sr G 69 Carl Schaukowitch Jr WR 19 Jim Scott So WR 84 Scott Skarzynski Jr RB Steve Stilley	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 79 Frank Ahrenhold Sr DE 93 Jack Aumiller Sr DE 83 Bruce Bannon Jr DT 57 John Booth Sr DB 22 John Cappelletti So DT 53 Randy Crowder So S 35 Gregg Ducatte Jr DB 18 Buddy Ellis So LB 30 Gary Gray Sr DL 46 Gary Hager So DT 72 Jim Heller Jr LB 49 Tom Hull So DL 47 Jim Laslavic Jr DB 20 Chuck Mesko Sr LB 89 Ed O'Neil So LB 39 Paul Pasqualoni Sr DE 81 John Skorupan Jr LB 36 Jim Trent Jr LB 60 Charlie Zapiec (C) Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 37 Alberto Vitello Jr	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches John Chuckran Jim O'Hora Frank Patrick Bob Phillips Jerry Sandusky Jim Weaver George Welsh J. T. White Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

NFL draft

Four Nittany Lions were selected in the 1972 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
1st	13	13	Franco Harris	Running back	Pittsburgh Steelers
2nd	22	48	Lydell Mitchell	Running back	Baltimore Colts
4th	15	93	Charles Zapiec	Linebacker	Dallas Cowboys
5th	13	117	Bob Parsons	Punter	Chicago Bears