1972 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

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.

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

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. T–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

Main article: 1972 NCAA University Division football 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 Booker Brooks 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

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