Wikipedia

1963 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 1963 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 1963 NCAA University Division football season. Led by fourteenth-year head coach Rip Engle, the Nittany Lions were 7–3 and were 16th in the final coaches' poll. Home games were played on campus at Beaver Stadium in University Park; Penn State was independent in football until 1993.

1963 Penn State Nittany Lions football
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
Record7–3
Head coach
CaptainRalph Baker
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
Seasons
← 1962
1964 →
1963 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 14 Memphis State   –   9 – 0 – 1
No. 3 Pittsburgh   –   9 – 1 – 0
No. 2 Navy   –   9 – 2 – 0
No. 12 Syracuse   –   8 – 2 – 0
Utah State   –   8 – 2 – 0
Oregon   –   8 – 3 – 0
No. 16 Penn State   –   7 – 3 – 0
Army   –   7 – 3 – 0
Air Force   –   7 – 4 – 0
Boston College   –   6 – 3 – 0
Buffalo   –   5 – 3 – 1
Southern Miss   –   5 – 3 – 1
Idaho   –   5 – 4 – 0
Villanova   –   5 – 4 – 0
Oregon State   –   5 – 5 – 0
San Jose State   –   5 – 5 – 0
Xavier   –   5 – 4 – 1
West Texas State   –   4 – 4 – 1
Florida State   –   4 – 5 – 1
Colgate   –   3 – 4 – 1
New Mexico State   –   3 – 6 – 1
Colorado State   –   3 – 7 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   3 – 7 – 0
Texas Western   –   3 – 7 – 0
Detroit   –   2 – 6 – 1
Holy Cross   –   2 – 6 – 1
Notre Dame   –   2 – 7 – 0
Pacific (CA)   –   2 – 8 – 0
Houston   –   2 – 8 – 0
Boston University   –   1 – 6 – 1
Dayton   –   1 – 7 – 2
Rankings from Coaches Poll

The Nittany Lions were led on the field in 1963 by fifth-year senior quarterback Pete Liske,[1][2] who had been selected in the NFL and AFL drafts the previous December and went on to play a dozen seasons in pro football. The regular season finale against rival Pittsburgh was postponed two weeks following the assassination of President Kennedy.[3][4][5]

Although scoring was off in the 1963 season, the team's defense, headed by 230-pound middle guard (nose tackle in a five man line) Glenn Ressler,[6] was particularly stout, giving up just 92 points in the first 9 games of the season. The Nittany Lions came within a single point of an upset victory over Pitt in the season finale.

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 21at Oregon
W 17–730,355[1][2]
September 28UCLA
W 17–1434,800[7][8]
October 5Rice 
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 28–738,200[9]
October 12ArmyNo. 9
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
L 7–1048,850[10]
October 19at Syracuse
L 0–939,687[11]
October 26West Virginia
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 20–945,750[12]
November 2at Maryland
W 17–1535,500[13]
November 9at No. 10 Ohio State
W 10–783,519[14]
November 16Holy Cross
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 28–1424,200[15]
December 7at No. 4 Pittsburgh
L 21–2252,349[3][4][5]
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

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  1. ^ a b Uhrhammer, Jerry (September 20, 1963). "Ducks open against Penn State". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 3B.
  2. ^ a b Uhrhammer, Jerry (September 22, 1963). "Penn State outpunches Oregon in opener, 17-7". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1B.
  3. ^ a b Jordan, Jimmy (November 22, 1963). "57,331 sellout for Pitt-Penn State tilt". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 25.
  4. ^ a b Jordan, Jimmy (December 7, 1963). "55,000 to see Pitt battle Penn State at stadium today". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 12.
  5. ^ a b "Pitt rallies to edge Penn State 22-21". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. UPI. December 8, 1963. p. 40.
  6. ^ Dave Leherr, "Ressler Sparks Penn State's Defensive Line," Somerset [PA] Daily American, Nov. 21, 1963, p. 6.
  7. ^ "Penn State edges UCLA on field goal, 17-14". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. September 29, 1963. p. 59.
  8. ^ McHugh, Roy (September 29, 1963). "Penn State squeezes". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, sec. 4.
  9. ^ "Penn State gridders trounce Rice by 28-7". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. October 6, 1963. p. 57.
  10. ^ "Army hands Penn State first defeat, 10-7". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. UPI. October 13, 1963. p. 63.
  11. ^ "Syracuse shuts out Penn State". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. UPI. October 20, 1963. p. 53.
  12. ^ "Weber nets TD as Penn State defeats Mounts". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. UPI. October 27, 1963. p. 33.
  13. ^ "Penn State edges Maryland in 17-15 battle". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. UPI. November 3, 1963. p. 41.
  14. ^ "Underdog Penn State nips Ohio State, 10-7". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. UPI. November 10, 1963. p. 34.
  15. ^ "Penn State trounces Holy Cross". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. UPI. November 17, 1963. p. 37.
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