1983 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 1983 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season.[1] The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

1983 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Aloha Bowl champion
Aloha Bowl, W 13–10 vs. Washington
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
Record8–4–1
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDick Anderson (3rd season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorJerry Sandusky (7th season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
Seasons
← 1982
1984 →
1983 Major eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Penn State 4 1 1 8 4 1
No. 16 West Virginia 4 2 0 9 3 0
No. 18 Pittsburgh 2 1 1 8 3 1
No. 19 Boston College $ 3 2 0 9 3 0
Syracuse 3 3 0 6 5 0
Temple 2 4 0 4 7 0
Rutgers 0 5 0 3 8 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Miami (FL)       11 1 0
Virginia Tech       9 2 0
No. 19 Boston College       9 3 0
No. 16 West Virginia       9 3 0
No. 20 East Carolina       8 3 0
No. 18 Pittsburgh       8 3 1
Florida State       8 4 0
Penn State       8 4 1
Southern Miss       7 4 0
Memphis State       6 4 1
Notre Dame       7 5 0
Syracuse       6 5 0
South Carolina       5 6 0
Cincinnati     4 6 1
Southwestern Louisiana       4 6 0
Temple       4 7 0
Tulane       4 7 0
Louisville       3 8 0
Navy       3 8 0
Rutgers       3 8 0
Army       2 9 0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

edit
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 299:00 p.m.vs. No. 1 NebraskaNo. 4KATZL 6–4471,123
September 101:30 p.m.CincinnatiNo. 20L 3–1483,683
September 171:30 p.m.No. 13 Iowa
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
L 34–4284,628
September 241:30 p.m.at TempleW 23–1835,760
October 11:30 p.m.at Rutgers
W 36–2532,804
October 83:45 p.m.No. 3 Alabama
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
CBSW 34–2885,614[2]
October 151:30 p.m.at SyracuseW 17–650,010
October 221:30 p.m.No. 4 West Virginia 
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
W 41–2386,309[3]
October 293:50 p.m.at No. 19 Boston CollegeABCL 17–2756,188
November 51:00 p.m.Brown
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 38–2184,670[4]
November 121:00 p.m.Notre Dame
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ESPN (tape delay)W 34–3085,899
November 191:00 p.m.at No. 17 PittsburghT 24–2460,283
December 268:00 p.m.vs. WashingtonESPNW 13–1037,212

Roster

edit
1983 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
C 58 Nick Haden Jr
OT 72 Ron Heller Sr
WR 82 Kenny Jackson Sr
RB 29 Tony Mumford Jr
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
LB 97 Scott Radecic Sr
S 32 Mark Robinson Sr
DB 43 Mike Zordich So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
PK 10 Massimo Manca Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Post season

edit

NFL Draft

edit

Eight Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1984 NFL draft.

Round Pick Overall Name Position Team
1st 4 4 Kenny Jackson Wide receiver Philadelphia Eagles
2nd 6 34 Scott Radecic Linebacker Kansas City Chiefs
3rd 14 70 Jon Williams Running back New England Patriots
4th 6 90 Mark Robinson Defensive back Kansas City Chiefs
4th 28 112 Ron Heller Offensive tackle Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7th 8 176 Harry Hamilton Defensive back New York Jets
8th 1 197 Kevin Baugh Wide receiver Houston Oilers
9th 18 242 George Reynolds Punter Los Angeles Rams

References

edit
  1. ^ "Penn State Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  2. ^ "Penn State holds off furious Alabama rally, 34–28". The Pittsburgh Press. October 9, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Rebounding Penn State rips fourth-rated West Virginia". The Courier-Post. October 23, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Freligh, Sarajane (November 6, 1983). "Despite a Second-Quarter Sputter, Penn State Trounces Brown, 38-21". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. pp. 1-G, 13-G – via Newspapers.com.