1991 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 1991 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1991 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.

1991 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 42–17 vs. Tennessee
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 3
Record11–2
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorFran Ganter (8th season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorJerry Sandusky (15th season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
Seasons
← 1990
1992 →
1991 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 East Carolina     11 1 0
No. 4 Florida State     11 2 0
No. 3 Penn State     11 2 0
No. 21 Tulsa     10 2 0
Louisiana Tech     8 1 2
No. 13 Notre Dame     10 3 0
Akron     5 6 0
Memphis State     5 6 0
Army     4 7 0
Cincinnati     4 7 0
Southern Miss     4 7 0
South Carolina     3 6 2
Southwestern Louisiana     2 8 1
Louisville     2 9 0
Northern Illinois     2 9 0
Tulane     1 10 0
Navy     1 10 0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

edit
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 289:00 p.m.vs. No. 8 Georgia TechNo. 7RaycomW 34–2277,409[2]
September 712:10 p.m.CincinnatiNo. 5PrimeW 81–094,000
September 149:00 p.m.at USCNo. 5ABCL 10–2164,758
September 218:00 p.m.BYUNo. 12
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
ABCW 33–796,304
September 281:00 p.m.Boston CollegeNo. 10
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 28–2195,927
October 59:00 p.m.at TempleNo. 12W 24–743,808
October 1212:10 p.m.at No. 2 Miami (FL)No. 9ABCL 20–2675,723
October 191:00 p.m.Rutgers No. 10
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 37–1795,729
October 264:00 p.m.West VirginiaNo. 8
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ESPNW 51–696,445[3]
November 91:30 p.m.at MarylandNo. 9W 47–757,416[4]
November 163:30 p.m.No. 12 Notre DameNo. 8
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ABCW 35–1396,672
November 2811:15 a.m.at PittsburghNo. 6ABCW 32–2052,219
January 1, 19924:30 p.m.vs. No. 10 TennesseeNo. 6NBCW 42–1771,133[5]

Rankings

edit
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP7551210 т1291088987663
Coaches85514121291511101097653

Game summaries

edit

Vs. Georgia Tech

edit

At USC

edit
  • Gerry Collins 27 Rush, 99 Yds
  • Penn State's defense sacked Ty Detmer six times and held BYU to single digits for first time since 1986

[6]

At Miami (FL)

edit
#9 Penn State at #2 Miami (FL)
1 234Total
Nittany Lions 3 377 20
Hurricanes 3 3146 26

Notre Dame

edit

Vs. Tennessee (Fiesta Bowl)

edit
#6 Penn State vs. #10 Tennessee
1 234Total
Nittany Lions 7 01421 42
Volunteers 10 070 17

Roster

edit
1991 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB 20 Richie Anderson Jr
OT 67 Todd Burger Jr
RB 23 Gerry Collins Sr
QB 12 Kerry Collins Fr
TE 18 Troy Drayton Jr
RB 11 Sam Gash Sr
G 57 John Gerak Jr
C 66 Greg Huntington Jr
WR 24 O. J. McDuffie Jr
OT 71 Todd Rucci Jr
C E. J. Sandusky Sr
QB 17 John Sacca Fr
QB 19 Tony Sacca Sr
OT 76 Paul Siever Sr
WR 30 Dan Skrip Sr
WR 8 Terry Smith Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
S 13 Matt Baggett Sr
DT 55 Lou Benfatti So
CB 3 Jeff Davis Fr
LB 38 Mark D'Onofrio Sr
LB 42 Keith Goganious Sr
LB 58 Reggie Givens Jr
CB 6 Leonard Humphries Sr
DT 97 Tyoka Jackson So
LB 99 Rich McKenzie Jr
S 9 Darren Perry Sr
DT 94 Eric Ravotti Jr
CB 15 Frank Yeboah-Kodie So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P 4 Doug Helkowski Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

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

Roster

NFL Draft

edit

Nine Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1992 NFL draft.

Round Pick Overall Name Position Team
2nd 6 34 Mark D'Onofrio Linebacker Green Bay Packers
2nd 18 46 Tony Sacca Quarterback Phoenix Cardinals
3rd 18 74 Paul Siever Offensive guard Washington Redskins
3rd 27 83 Keith Goganious Linebacker Buffalo Bills
8th 7 203 Darren Perry Free safety Pittsburgh Steelers
8th 9 205 Sam Gash Running back New England Patriots
8th 13 209 Andre Powell Linebacker Miami Dolphins
8th 27 223 Leonard Humphries Cornerback Buffalo Bills
11th 28 308 Terry Smith Wide receiver Washington Redskins

References

edit
  1. ^ "Penn State Yearly Results (1990-1994)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  2. ^ "Penn State proves too much for Georgia Tech". Asbury Park Press. August 29, 1991. Retrieved February 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "The real State dismantles the Mountaineers". Sunday News. October 27, 1991. Retrieved February 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Untamed Lions drive Terps mad". The Baltimore Sun. November 10, 1991. Retrieved February 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Lions 5 for 5". Arizona Republic. January 2, 1992. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1991 Sept 22. Retrieved 2015-Dec-03.