1970 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1970 Penn State Nittany Lions football
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 18
Record7–3
Head coach
Offensive schemeI formation
Defensive coordinatorJim O'Hora (5th season)
Base defense4–3
Captains
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
1970 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Notre Dame   –   10 – 1 – 0
Villanova   –   9 – 2 – 0
No. 16 Air Force   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 13 Georgia Tech   –   9 – 3 – 0
Boston College   –   8 – 2 – 0
No. 19 Houston   –   8 – 3 – 0
West Virginia   –   8 – 3 – 0
No. 17 Tulane   –   8 – 4 – 0
No. 18 Penn State   –   7 – 3 – 0
West Texas State   –   7 – 3 – 0
Cincinnati   –   7 – 4 – 0
Florida State   –   7 – 4 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   5 – 6 – 0
Syracuse   –   6 – 4 – 0
Dayton   –   5 – 4 – 1
Pittsburgh   –   5 – 5 – 0
Rutgers   –   5 – 5 – 0
Utah State   –   5 – 5 – 0
Colgate   –   5 – 6 – 0
Southern Miss   –   5 – 6 – 0
New Mexico State   –   4 – 6 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   3 – 8 – 0
Northern Illinois   –   3 – 7 – 0
Marshall   –   3 – 6 – 0
Buffalo   –   2 – 9 – 0
Navy   –   2 – 9 – 0
Army   –   1 – 9 – 1
Xavier   –   1 – 9 – 0
Holy Cross   –   0 – 10 – 1
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 7–3. Penn State played home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The Nittany Lions entered the season with a 22-game winning streak, unbeaten (29–0–1) in their last thirty games.[1][2] By mid-season, they had dropped three (including one at home), then won the last five to finish at 7–3 and climbed to No. 18 in the final AP poll.[3]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 191:35 p.m.NavyNo. 7
W 55–748,566[4]
September 26at No. 18 ColoradoNo. 4
ABCL 13–4142,850[5]
October 3at WisconsinNo. 16
L 16–2955,204[6]
October 10at Boston College
W 28–325,222[7]
October 17Syracuse
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
L 7–2450,540[8]
October 241:55 p.m.at Army
ABCW 38–1441,062[9]
October 31West Virginia
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 42–849,932[10]
November 7at Maryland
W 34–023,400[11]
November 141:30 p.m.Ohio
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 32–2243,000[12]
November 21PittsburghNo. 20
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 35–1550,017[13]

[14]

Roster

Notable players included senior linebacker Jack Ham and junior running backs Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris.

1970 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 25 Mike Cooper Sr
WR 88 Greg Edmonds Sr
RB Fran Ganter Sr
RB 34 Franco Harris Jr
QB 16 John Hufnagel So
TE 89 John Hull Jr
C 56 Warren Koegel (C) Sr
RB 23 Lydell Mitchell Jr
OT 78 Vic Surma Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DE 83 Bruce Bannon So
DT 37 Rick Brown So
LB 33 Jack Ham (C) Sr
LB 80 Gary Hull Sr
LB 15 Mark Koiwai Sr
LB 47 Jim Laslavic So
DE 81 John Skorupan So
LB 60 Charlie Zapiec Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P/QB 13 Bob Parsons Jr
LB/PK/P 80 Gary Hull Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster

NFL draft

Four Nittany Lions were selected in the 1971 NFL draft.

Round Pick Overall Name Position Team
2nd 8 34 Jack Ham Linebacker Pittsburgh Steelers
3rd 21 73 Warren Koegel Center Oakland Raiders
11th 22 282 Vic Surma Wide receiver Miami Dolphins
16th 24 414 Greg Edmonds Wide receiver/Tight end Minnesota Vikings

References

  1. ^ "Colorado ends Penn State victory string, 41-13". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press.
  2. ^ Harral, Paul K. (September 27, 1970). "23-game Penn State string halted by Colorado, 41-13". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. UPI. p. D1.
  3. ^ Franke, Russ (November 22, 1970). "Lions thunder past Pitt, 35-15". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, section 4.
  4. ^ "Penn State bombs Navy, 55–7; Extends unbeaten mark to 31". The Shreveport Times. September 20, 1970. Retrieved October 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Colorado ambushes Penn State's Lions". The Daily Advertiser. September 27, 1970. Retrieved October 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Badgers humble Penn State". The Arizona Republic. October 4, 1970. Retrieved October 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Penn State's defense stops Eagles, 28 to 3". Tulsa World. October 11, 1970. Retrieved October 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Surprising Syracuse crushes powerless Penn State by 24–7". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 18, 1970. Retrieved October 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Penn State hands Army 6th defeat". Poughkeepsie Journal. October 25, 1970. Retrieved October 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "West Virginia routed by Penn State, 42–8". The Greenville News. November 1, 1970. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Inartistic quarterback leads Penn St. to 34–0 victory". Beckley Post-Herald & The Raleigh Register. November 8, 1970. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Nittany Lions outlast rally to stop Ohio". The Commercial Appeal. November 15, 1970. Retrieved October 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Nittany Lions wallop Pitt". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. November 22, 1970. Retrieved October 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Schedule/Results (1970 Penn State)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
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