American college football season
The 1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University during the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season . Penn State defeated the Georgia Bulldogs , 27–23, in the Sugar Bowl to win Joe Paterno's first consensus national championship . The team was selected national champion by AP , Billingsley , DeVold , Dunkel , FACT , FB News , Football Research , FW , Litkenhous , Matthews , NCF , NFF , The New York Times , Poling , Sagarin , Sagarin (ELO-Chess), Sporting News , UPI/coaches , and USA/CNN, while named co-champion by Helms .
Schedule
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 4 1:30 p.m. Temple No. 8 ESPN (tape delay)W 31–1480,000
September 11 1:30 p.m. Maryland No. 7 Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry ) TCS W 39–3184,597
September 18 1:30 p.m. Rutgers No. 8 Beaver Stadium University Park, PA TCS W 49–1483,268
September 25 3:50 p.m. No. 2 Nebraska No. 8 Beaver Stadium University Park, PA CBS W 27–24 85,304
October 9 1:30 p.m. at No. 4 Alabama No. 3 CBS L 21–4276,821
October 16 1:30 p.m. Syracuse No. 8 Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry ) TCS W 28–784,762
October 23 1:30 p.m. at No. 13 West Virginia No. 9 USA W 24–060,958
October 30 1:30 p.m. at Boston College No. 8 TCS W 52–1733,205
November 6 1:30 p.m. NC State No. 7 Beaver Stadium University Park, PA TCS W 54–084,837
November 13 3:50 p.m. at No. 13 Notre Dame No. 5 ABC W 24–1459,075
12:30 p.m. No. 5 Pittsburgh No. 2 Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry ) ABC W 19–1085,522
January 1, 1983 8:00 p.m. vs. No. 1 Georgia No. 2 ABC W 27–2378,124
Roster
1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final AP 8 7 8 8 3 (7) 3 (9) 8 9 8 7 5 (1) 3 (2) 2 (2) 2 (2) 2 1 (44) UPI 5 5* 8 5 3 (3) 3 (6) 10 8 (1) 7 6 4 (1) 3 (3) 2 (2) 2 (2) 2 (3) 1 (33)
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.
Game summaries
Temple
Temple vs. Penn State – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Temple
0
7
0 7 14
#8 Penn State
21
3
0 7 31
at Beaver Stadium
Game information
First Quarter
PSU – Warner, 40-yard TD pass from Blackledge, Manca kick good, (PSU 7–0)
PSU – Baugh, 31-yard TD pass from Blackledge, Manca kick good, (PSU 14–0)
PSU – Williams, 16-yard TD pass from Blackledge, Manca kick good, (PSU 21–0)
Second Quarter
TU – Slade, 1-yard TD pass from Riordan, Clauser kick good, (PSU 21–7)
PSU – Manca, 37-yard field goal, (PSU 24–7)
Third Quarter
No scoring
Fourth Quarter
PSU – Williams, 4-yard TD pass from Blackledge, Manca kick good, (PSU 31–7)
TU – Brown, 14-yard TD pass from Riordan, Clauser kick good, (PSU 31–14)
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Top defenders
Maryland
Maryland vs. Penn State – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Maryland
3
7
14 7 31
#7 Penn State
3
17
9 10 39
at Beaver Stadium
Date : September 11Game time : 1:30 PM EDT Game attendance : 84,597Referee : J. Vincent PriceTV announcers (TCS ) : Stan Savran , George Paterno
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Top defenders
Rutgers
Rutgers vs. Penn State – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Rutgers
7
7
0 0 14
#5 Penn State
7
14
14 14 49
at Beaver Stadium
Date : September 18Game time : 1:30 PM EDT Game attendance : 83,268Referee : Thomas ThamertTV announcers (TCS ) : Stan Savran , George Paterno
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Top defenders
#2 Nebraska
Nebraska vs. Penn State – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
#2 Nebraska
0
7
7 10 24
#8 Penn State
7
7
7 6 27
at Beaver Stadium
Date : September 25Game time : 3:50 PM EDT Game attendance : 85,304Referee : William ParkinsonTV announcers (CBS ) : Gary Bender , Pat Haden
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Top defenders
#4 Alabama
Penn State vs. Alabama – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
#3 Penn State
7
0
7 7 21
#4 Alabama
7
14
3 18 42
at Legion Field
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Top defenders
Syracuse
Syracuse vs. Penn State – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Syracuse
0
7
0 0 7
#8 Penn State
7
14
0 7 28
at Beaver Stadium
Date : October 16Game time : 1:30 PM EDT Game attendance : 84,762TV announcers (TCS ) : Stan Savran , George Paterno
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
No scoring
Fourth Quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Top defenders
#13 West Virginia
Penn State vs. West Virginia – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
#9 Penn State
3
7
0 14 24
#13 West Virginia
0
0
0 0 0
at Mountaineer Field
Date : October 23Game time : 1:00 PM EDT Game attendance : 60,958TV : USA
Game information
First Quarter
PSU – Gancitano, 31-yard field goal, 6:14 (PSU 3–0)
Second Quarter
PSU – Williams, 4-yard TD run, Gancitano kick good, 1:57 (PSU 10–0)
Third Quarter
No scoring
Fourth Quarter
PSU – Radecic 85-yard interception return for TD, Gancitano kick good, 11:29 (PSU 17–0)
PSU – Jackson, 9-yard TD run, Gancitano kick good, 2:42 (PSU 24–0)
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Top defenders
Boston College
Penn State vs. Boston College – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
#8 Penn State
14
17
7 14 52
Boston College
7
3
0 7 17
at Alumni Stadium
Date : October 30Game time : 1:30 PM EDT Game attendance : 33,205TV announcers (TCS ) : Stan Savran , George Paterno
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Top defenders
North Carolina State
North Carolina State vs. Penn State – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
North Carolina State
0
0
0 0 0
#7 Penn State
17
9
21 7 54
at Beaver Stadium
Date : November 6Game time : 1:30 PM EST Game attendance : 84,762Referee : Thomas ThamertTV announcers (TCS ) : Stan Savran , George Paterno
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Top defenders
#13 Notre Dame
Penn State vs. Notre Dame – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
#5 Penn State
0
13
0 11 24
#13 Notre Dame
7
7
0 0 14
at Notre Dame Stadium
Game information
First Quarter
ND – C. Smith, 8-yard TD pass from Karcher, Johnston kick good (ND 7–0)
Second Quarter
PSU – Blackledge, 1-yard TD run, Gancitano kick good (TIE 7–7)
PSU – Gancitano 41-yard field goal (PSU 10–7)
PSU – Gancitano 29-yard field goal (PSU 13–7)
ND – Pinkett, 93-yard TD kickoff return, Johnston kick good (ND 14–13)
Third Quarter
No scoring
Fourth Quarter
PSU – Warner, 48-yard TD pass from Blackledge, pass failed (PSU 19–14)
PSU – Safety, Pinkett tackled by Ashley in end zone (PSU 21–14)
PSU – Gancitano 27-yard field goal (PSU 24–14)
Top passing
Top rushers
Top receivers
Top defenders
#5 Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh vs. Penn State – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
#5 Pittsburgh
0
7
0 3 10
#2 Penn State
3
0
10 6 19
at Beaver Stadium
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Top defenders
#1 Georgia (Sugar Bowl)
Overall record
Previous meeting
Previous winner
First meeting
Penn State vs. Georgia – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
#2 Penn State
7
13
0 7 27
#1 Georgia
3
7
7 6 23
at Louisiana Superdome
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Top defenders
Awards
Davey O'Brien Award
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
Nittany Lion of the Year
NFL Draft
Nine Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1983 NFL Draft .
Media
Radio
Flagship station
Play-by-play
Color commentator
Sideline reporter
Studio host
WMAJ AM 1450
Fran Fisher
John Grant
References
^ "Penn State Yearly Results (1980-1984)" . College Football Data Warehouse . David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015 .
^ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF) . National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. p. 114. Retrieved December 10, 2018 .
^ "Penn State rallies to edge Maryland" . The Sunday News . September 12, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ " 'Bama brings Penn State back to earth" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . October 10, 1982. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Penn State's defense devastates W. Virginia" . Democrat and Chronicle . October 24, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Nittany Lions follow new script" . The Sunday Times . November 7, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Eugene Register-Guard. November 14, 1982. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1936–1949 1950s 1960s
1960 : Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF ) / Ole Miss (FWAA)
1961 : Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA)
1962 : USC
1963 : Texas
1964 : Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF)
1965 : Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1966 : Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF)
1967 : USC
1968 : Ohio State
1969 : Texas
1970s 1980–1991