1978 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 1978 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 13th-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 11–1 with a loss to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Penn State played home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

1978 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion
Sugar Bowl, L 7–14 vs. Alabama
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 4
Record	11–1
Head coach	Joe Paterno (13th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Chuck Fusina Matt Suhey
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
North Texas State		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 7 Notre Dame		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Florida State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Temple		–		–				7	–	3	–	1
Pittsburgh		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Louisville		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Georgia Tech		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Hawaii		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
William & Mary		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Villanova		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Army		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Memphis State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Air Force		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Colgate		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Richmond		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Boston College		–		–				0	–	11	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	at Temple	No. 3	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA		W 10–7	53,103	[1]
September 9	Rutgers	No. 3	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 26–10	77,154	[2]
September 16	at No. 6 Ohio State	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	W 19–0	88,202	[3]
September 23	SMU	No. 3	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 26–21	77,704	[4]
September 30	TCU	No. 5	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 58–0	76,832	[5]
October 7	at Kentucky	No. 5	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY		W 30–0	58,068	[6]
October 21	Syracuse	No. 2	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 45–15	77,827	[7]
October 28	at West Virginia	No. 2	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		W 49–21	34,010	[8]
November 4	No. 5 Maryland	No. 2	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 27–3	78,019	[9]
November 11	NC State	No. 2	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 19–10	77,043	[10]
November 24	No. 15 Pittsburgh	No. 1	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 17–10	77,465	[11]
January 1, 1979	vs. No. 2 Alabama	No. 1	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl, rivalry)	ABC	L 7–14	76,824	[12]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13]

Game summaries

Temple

#3 Penn State at Temple

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Penn St	0	0	7	3	10
Temple	0	0	0	7	7

• Date: September 1
• Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia
• Game attendance: 53,103

Scoring summary

Q3	:56	PSU	Booker Moore 26 yard run (Matt Bahr kick)	PSU 7–0
Q4	10:49	TEM	Zachary Dixon 21 yard pass from Brian Broomell (Firovanti kick)	Tie 7–7
Q4	:10	PSU	Matt Bahr 23 yard field goal	PSU 10–7

^[14]

Ohio State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Penn St	3	0	7	9	19
Ohio St	0	0	0	0	0

• Date: September 18
• Location: Ohio Stadium
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Elapsed time: 2:48
• Game attendance: 88,202
• Game weather: Cloudy; 80 °F (27 °C); wind 10 mph (16 km/h) SW
• Television network: ABC

Scoring summary

Q1	9:52	PSU	Bahr 30 yard field goal	PSU 3–0
Q3	4:52	PSU	Suhey 3 yard run (Bahr kick)	PSU 10–0
Q4	13:12	PSU	Bahr 41 yard field goal	PSU 13–0
Q4	6:45	PSU	Bahr 25 yard field goal	PSU 16–0
Q4	2:53	PSU	Bahr 30 yard field goal	PSU 19–0

^[15]

Maryland

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Maryland	0	3	0	0	3
• Penn State	3	10	7	7	27

• Date: November 4
• Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
• Game attendance: 78,019

Scoring summary

1		PSU	Bahr 33-yard field goal	PSU 3-0
2		PSU	Fusina 1-yard run (Bahr kick)	PSU 10-0
2		MD	Loncar 39-yard field goal	PSU 10-3
2		PSU	Bahr 44-yard field goal	PSU 13-3
3		PSU	Donovan 63-yard pass from Fusina (Bahr kick)	PSU 20-3
4		PSU	Moore 4-yard run (Bahr kick)	PSU 27-3

^[16][17]

Syracuse

Chuck Fusina threw four touchdown passes, including two to Scott Fitzkee as second-ranked Penn State extended its win streak to 15 games. Fusina finished 15 of 27 for 293 yards.^[18]

Roster

1978 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 68 Eric Cunningham Sr WR 19 Tom Donovan Jr OT 73 Bernie Shalvey Sr OT 71 Keith Dorney Sr WR 46 Scott Fitzkee Sr QB 14 Chuck Fusina Sr RB 24 Mike Guman Jr TE 85 Vyto Kab Fr RB 38 Mike Meade Fr OT 70 Irv Pankey Jr RB 32 Matt Suhey Jr FB 39 Bob Torrey Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 30 Matt Bradley Fr DB 25 Tom Bradley Sr DE 54 Bruce Clark Jr DE 74 Larry Kubin So DT 57 Pete Kugler So LB 56 Lance Mehl Jr LB 60 Matt Millen Jr LB 94 Chet Parlavecchio Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 10 Matt Bahr Sr	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Dick Anderson Booker Brooks Kit Cartwright Fran Ganter Bob Phillips John Rosenberg Jerry Sandusky J. T. White Jim Williams Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Awards

A football signed by the 1978 Penn State Nittany Lions football team, including Chuck Fusina, Matt Millen, and head coach Joe Paterno.

• Bruce Clark

Lombardi Award

• Chuck Fusina

Maxwell Award

• Joe Paterno

Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year

NFL draft

Nine Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1979 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
1st	10	10	Keith Dorney	Offensive tackle	Detroit Lions
4th	14	96	Eric Cunningham	Offensive guard	New York Jets
5th	16	126	Scott Fitzkee	Wide receiver	Philadelphia Eagles
5th	23	133	Chuck Fusina	Quarterback	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6th	8	145	Bob Torrey	Running back	New York Giants
6th	28	165	Matt Bahr	Kicker	Pittsburgh Steelers
7th	17	182	Rich Milot	Linebacker	Washington Redskins
8th	4	196	Chuck Correal	Center	Philadelphia Eagles
10th	6	265	Tony Petruccio	Defensive linemen	San Diego Chargers