1988 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 1988 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 23rd-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 5–6. Penn State played home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

1988 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Joe Paterno (23rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Fran Ganter (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky (12th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	John Greene Eddie Johnson Keith Karpinski Steve Wisniewski
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ← 1987 1989 →

1988 Major eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 West Virginia $	5	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 13 Syracuse	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Pittsburgh	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Temple	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Rutgers	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Penn State	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Boston College	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

1988 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame		–		–				12	–	0	–	0
No. 2 Miami (FL)		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Florida State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 5 West Virginia		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 13 Syracuse		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
Army		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Louisville		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Akron		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Penn State		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Tulane		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulsa		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Boston College		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	7:00 p.m.	at Virginia	No. 18	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA		W 42–14	45,000	[1]
September 17	1:00 p.m.	Boston College	No. 16	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 23–20	84,000	[2]
September 24	1:00 p.m.	Rutgers	No. 15	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 16–21	85,531	[3]
October 1	7:00 p.m.	at Temple		Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA		W 45–9	66,592	[4]
October 8	12:10 p.m.	Cincinnati		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 35–9	85,693	[5]
October 15	7:20 p.m.	Syracuse		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ESPN	L 10–24	85,916	[6]
October 22	2:30 p.m.	at Alabama		Legion Field Birmingham, AL (rivalry)	CBS	L 3–8	75,808	[7]
October 29	2:40 p.m.	at No. 7 West Virginia		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	CBS	L 30–51	66,811	[8]
November 5	1:00 p.m.	Maryland		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 17–10	78,000	[9]
November 12	3:00 p.m.	Pittsburgh		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ESPN	L 7–14	85,701	[10]
November 19	12:00 p.m.	at No. 1 Notre Dame		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	CBS	L 3–21	59,075	[11]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1988 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 12 Tom Bill So FB 27 Gary Brown So WR 26 David Daniels So C 78 Roger Duffy Jr FB 11 Sam Gash So TE 89 Bob Mrosko Sr C E. J. Sandusky Fr WR 79 Dave Szott Jr RB 32 Blair Thomas Jr WR 5 Michael Timpson Sr G 66 Steve Wisniewski Sr TE 80 Todd Young Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class NT 70 Darryl Bullock Sr LB 31 Andre Collins Jr LB 38 Mark D'Onofrio Fr DT 85 Frank Giannetti So LB 42 Keith Goganious Fr LB 84 Keith Karpinski Sr LB 92 Quintus McDonald Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class SN 68 Greg Truitt Sr	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Tom Bradley Jim Caldwell Craig Cirbus Ron Dickerson Fran Ganter Nick Gasparato Joe Sarra Jerry Sandusky Jim Williams Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

NFL draft

Six Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1989 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
2nd	1	29	Steve Wisniewski	Offensive guard	Dallas Cowboys
4th	16	100	Michael Timpson	Wide receiver	New England Patriots
6th	16	155	Quintus McDonald	Linebacker	Indianapolis Colts
6th	21	160	Gary Wilkerson	Defensive back	Cleveland Browns
9th	21	244	Bob Mrosko	Tight end	Houston Oilers
11th	3	282	Keith Karpinski	Linebacker	Detroit Lions