1975 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1975 Penn State Nittany Lions football
1975 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion
Sugar Bowl, L 6–13 vs. Alabama
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 10
Record	9–3
Head coach	Joe Paterno (10th season);
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jim O'Hora (10th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Greg Buttle; John Quinn; Tom Rafferty;
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
	Seasons ← 1974 1976 →

The 1975 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season.^[1] The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at Temple	No. 6	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA (rivalry)		W 26–25	57,112
September 13	Stanford	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 34–14	61,325
September 20	at No. 3 Ohio State	No. 7	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)		L 9–17	88,093
September 27	at Iowa	No. 12	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 30–10	52,780
October 4	Kentucky	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 10–3	60,225	^[2]
October 11	No. 10 West Virginia	No. 9	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 39–0	59,658	^[3]
October 18	at Syracuse	No. 9	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)		W 19–7	28,153
October 25	Army	No. 9	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 31–0	59,381
November 1	at No. 14 Maryland	No. 9	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)		W 15–13	59,973	^[4]
November 8	NC State	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 14–15	59,536	^[5]
November 22	at No. 17 Pittsburgh	No. 10	Three Rivers Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 7–6	46,846
December 31	vs. No. 4 Alabama	No. 8	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl, rivalry)	ABC	L 6–13	75,212	^[6]^[7]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

1975 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`18`	John Andress	Jr
WR	`16`	Dick Barvinchak	Sr
OT	`71`	Brad Benson	Jr
WR	`44`	Jimmy Cefalo	So
OT	`71`	Keith Dorney	Fr
WR	`46`	Scott Fitzkee	Fr
QB	`14`	Chuck Fusina	Fr
G	`72`	Tom Rafferty	Sr
OT	`68`	George Reihner	Jr
TE	`82`	Mickey Shuler	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`53`	Kurt Allerman	Jr
DE	`51`	Dave Brockway	Jr
DB	`25`	Tom Bradley	Fr
LB	`67`	Greg Buttle	Sr
DT	`65`	Ron Coder	Sr
DE	`64`	Ron Crosby	Jr
DT	`93`	Eric Cummingham	So
LB	`95`	Tom DePaso	So
LB	`38`	Ron Hostetler	So
LB	`33`	Jim Rosecrans	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`99`	Chris Bahr	Sr

Four Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1976 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
2nd	23	51	Chris Bahr	Kicker	Cincinnati Bengals
3rd	7	67	Greg Buttle	Linebacker	New York Jets
3rd	10	70	Ron Coder	Defensive tackle	Pittsburgh Steelers
4th	27	119	Tom Rafferty	Center	Dallas Cowboys

^ "Penn State Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
^ "Defense carries Penn State". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 5, 1975. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Penn State destroys error-prone Mountaineers". Beckley Post-Herald & Register. October 12, 1975. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Penn State victory string over Maryland still intact". The News and Observer. November 2, 1975. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Lions upset, 15–14, as Bahr misfires". The Pittsburgh Press. November 9, 1975. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tide breaks the drought on 13–6 win over Lions". The Ledger. Associated Press. January 1, 1976. p. 2B. Retrieved August 25, 2014 – via Google News Archives.
^ "Bear finds winning secret". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. January 1, 1976. p. 16. Retrieved August 25, 2014 – via Google News Archives.

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