1984 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 1984 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 19th-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 6–5. The team home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

1984 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Joe Paterno (19th season)
Offensive coordinator	Fran Ganter (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky (8th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Bill Emerson Nick Haden Carmen Masciantonio Stan Short Doug Strang
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ← 1983 1985 →

1984 Major eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
West Virginia	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Penn State	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
No. 5 Boston College $	3	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Rutgers	3	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Temple	2	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	7	–	1
Syracuse	1	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

1984 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Boston College		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 11 South Carolina		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
Army		–		–				8	–	3	–	1
Rutgers		–		–				7	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Florida State		–		–				7	–	3	–	2
Virginia Tech		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
No. 18 Miami (FL)		–		–				8	–	5	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Penn State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Navy		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Tulane		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Louisville		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	1:30 p.m.	Rutgers	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 15–12	84,409	[1]
September 15	2:05 p.m.	at No. 5 Iowa	No. 12	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 20–17	66,145	[2]
September 22	1:30 p.m.	No. 8 (I-AA) William & Mary	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 56–18	84,704	[3]
September 29	12:20 p.m.	vs. No. 2 Texas	No. 4	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ	ESPN	L 3–28	76,883	[4]
October 6	12:20 p.m.	Maryland	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ESPN	W 25–24	85,486	[5]
October 13	2:30 p.m.	at Alabama	No. 11	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)		L 0–6	60,210	[6]
October 20	1:30 p.m.	Syracuse	No. 19	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 21–3	85,850	[7]
October 27	7:45 p.m.	at No. 18 West Virginia	No. 19	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	ESPN	L 14–17	64,879	[8]
November 3	3:50 p.m.	No. 9 Boston College		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	W 37–30	85,690	[9]
November 17	12:20 p.m.	at Notre Dame		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ESPN	L 7–44	59,075	[10]
November 24	1:00 p.m.	Pittsburgh		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		L 11–31	85,499	[11]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1984 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 42 D.J. Dozier Fr G 54 Mitch Frerotte So C 58 Nick Haden Sr FB 27 John Hornyak So FB 44 Tim Manoa So G 59 Dan Morgan So RB 29 Tony Mumford Sr C 56 Keith Radecic So WR 6 Ray Roundtree Fr QB 14 John Shaffer So RB 35 Steve Smith So	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 DB 43 Mike Zordich Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 10 Massimo Manca So	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches John Bove Tom Bradley Randy Crowder Fran Ganter Nick Gasparato Bob Phillips Jerry Sandusky Jim Williams Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

NFL draft

Four Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1985 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
6th	6	146	Stan Short	Offensive guard	Detroit Lions
7th	24	192	Nick Haden	Center	Los Angeles Raiders
9th	22	246	Chris Sydnor	Running back/Defensive back	Los Angeles Raiders
12th	20	328	Tony Mumford	Running back	New England Patriots