1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Consensus national champion
Sugar Bowl, W 27–23 vs. Georgia
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
1982 record	11–1
Head coach	Joe Paterno (17th year)
Offensive coordinator	Dick Anderson
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium (Capacity: 83,770)

1982 Division I-A independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#1 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
#13 Florida State		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
#10 Pittsburgh		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
#19 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Boston College		–		–				8	–	3	–	1
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				7	–	3	–	1
East Carolina		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Miami		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Navy		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Army		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
North Texas State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Memphis		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Richmond		–		–				0	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University during the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season.^[1] Penn State defeated the Georgia Bulldogs, 27–23, in the Sugar Bowl to win Paterno's first consensus national championship.

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	Temple	No. 8	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ESPN (tape delay)	W 31–14	80,000
September 11	Maryland	No. 7	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Rivalry)		W 39–31	84,597
September 18	Rutgers	No. 8	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA		W 49–14	83,268
September 25	No. 2 Nebraska	No. 8	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	CBS	W 27–24	85,304
October 9	at No. 4 Alabama	No. 3	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (Rivalry)	CBS	L 21–42	76,821
October 16	Syracuse	No. 8	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Rivalry)		W 28–7	84,762
October 23	at No. 13 West Virginia	No. 9	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Rivalry)		W 24–0	60,958
October 30	at Boston College	No. 8	Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA	TCS	W 52–17	33,205
November 6	North Carolina State	No. 7	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA		W 54–0	84,837
November 13	at No. 13 Notre Dame	No. 5	Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN	ABC	W 24–14	59,075
November 26	No. 5 Pittsburgh	No. 2	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Rivalry)	ABC	W 19–10	85,522
January 1, 1983	vs. No. 1 Georgia	No. 2	Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	W 27–23	78,124
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Roster

1982 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 14 Blackledge, ToddTodd Blackledge Sr TE 80 Bowman, KirkKirk Bowman Jr T 79 Contz, BillBill Contz Sr T 72 Daily, PatPat Daily Jr WR 19 Garrity, GreggGregg Garrity Sr G 78 Heller, RonRon Heller Jr WR 82 Jackson, KennyKenny Jackson Jr TE 81 McCloskey, MikeMike McCloskey Sr FB 43 Schumucker, DonDon Schumucker So RB 25 Warner, CurtCurt Warner Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 31 Conlan, ShaneShane Conlan Fr CB 23 Cummingham, AlanAlan Cummingham So S 17 Hamilton, HarryHarry Hamilton Jr LB 98 Kelley, KenKen Kelley Sr LB 37 Lee Ashley, WalkerWalker Lee Ashley Sr DT 96 Leskowsky, MikeMike Leskowsky So DE 94 Leskowsky, RayRay Leskowsky So LB 55 Puz, RodgerRodger Puz Sr LB 97 Radecic, ScottScott Radecic Jr S 32 Robinson, MarkMark Robinson Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 13 Gancitano, NickNick Gancitano So P 21 Giacomarro, RalphRalph Giacomarro Sr	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2015-12-20

Game summaries

Notre Dame

1 2 3 4 Total • Penn St 0 13 0 11 24 Notre Dame 7 7 0 0 14 Date: November 13 Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana Game attendance: 59,075

Scoring summary Q1 ND C. Smith 8 yard pass from Karcher (Johnston kick) ND 7–0 Q2 PSU Blackledge 1 yard run (Jancitano kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 PSU Jancitano 41 yard field goal PSU 10–7 Q2 PSU Jancitano 29 yard field goal PSU 13–7 Q2 ND Pinkett 93 yard kickoff return (Johnston kick) ND 14–13 Q4 PSU Warner 48 yard pass from Blackledge (pass failed) PSU 19–14 Q4 PSU Safety, Pinkett tackled by Ashley in end zone PSU 21–14 Q4 PSU Jancitano 27 yard field goal PSU 24–14

^[2]

Awards

• Todd Blackledge

Davey O'Brien Award

• Joe Paterno

Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year

• Pete Speros

Nittany Lion of the Year

NFL Draft

Nine Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1983 NFL Draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
1st	3	3	Curt Warner	Running back	Seattle Seahawks
1st	7	7	Todd Blackledge	Quarterback	Kansas City Chiefs
3rd	17	73	Walker Lee Ashley	Linebacker	Minnesota Vikings
4th	4	88	Mike McCloskey	Tight end	Houston Oilers
5th	10	122	Bill Contz	Offensive tackle	Cleveland Browns
5th	28	140	Gregg Garrity	Wide receiver	Pittsburgh Steelers
10th	8	261	Dave Laube	–	Detroit Lions
10th	10	263	Pete Speros	–	Seattle Seahawks
10th	15	268	Ralph Giacomarro	Punter	Atlanta Falcons

References

1. "Penn State Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
2. Eugene Register-Guard. November 14, 1982. Retrieved December 15, 2014.