1947 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Cotton Bowl Classic, T 13–13 vs. SMU
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 4
Record9–0–1
Head coach
CaptainJohn Nolan, John Potsklan
Home stadiumNew Beaver Field
Seasons
← 1946
1948 →
1947 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Penn State   –   9 – 0 – 1
Muhlenberg   –   9 – 1 – 0
Buffalo   –   8 – 1 – 0
No. 11 Army   –   5 – 2 – 2
Villanova   –   6 – 3 – 1
Boston University   –   5 – 3 – 0
Hofstra   –   5 – 3 – 0
Tufts   –   5 – 3 – 0
Franklin & Marshall   –   4 – 3 – 1
Boston College   –   5 – 4 – 0
Holy Cross   –   4 – 4 – 2
Springfield   –   4 – 4 – 0
Syracuse   –   3 – 6 – 0
CCNY   –   2 – 5 – 1
NYU   –   2 – 5 – 1
Colgate   –   1 – 5 – 2
Temple   –   2 – 6 – 0
Bucknell   –   2 – 7 – 0
Duquesne   –   2 – 8 – 0
Fordham   –   1 – 6 – 1
Merchant Marine   –   2 – 9 – 0
Pittsburgh   –   1 – 8 – 0
Carnegie Tech   –   0 – 6 – 0
Drexel   –   0 – 8 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1947 Penn State Nittany Lions football team was an American football team that represented Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) as an independent during the 1947 college football season. In its 18th season under head coach Bob Higgins, the team compiled an undefeated 9–0–1 record, shut out six opponents, outscored opponents by a total of 332 to 40, and was ranked No. 4 in the final AP Poll. The team was 9–0 during the regular season and played No. 3 SMU to a tie in the 1948 Cotton Bowl Classic.[1] The team played its home games in New Beaver Field in State College, Pennsylvania.

On defense, the team gave up an average of 4.0 points per game, the lowest total among all major college teams during the 1947 season.[1]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 20vs. Washington State
W 27–615,000–16,000[2]
October 4Bucknell
W 54–012,294[3]
October 11at FordhamNo. 12
W 75–012,000[4]
October 18SyracusedaggerNo. 9
  • New Beaver Field
  • State College, PA (rivalry)
W 40–016,632–20,000[5]
October 25West VirginiaNo. 9
  • New Beaver Field
  • State College, PA (rivalry)
W 21–1420,313–22,000[6]
November 1ColgateNo. 7
  • New Beaver Field
  • State College, PA
W 46–014,014[7]
November 8at TempleNo. 7
W 7–020,000[8]
November 15vs. NavyNo. 8
W 20–725,000[9]
November 22at PittsburghNo. 5
W 29–047,822–53,000[10]
January 1, 1948vs. No. 3 SMUNo. 4
T 13–1343,000–47,000[11]
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1947 NCAA football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
Poll123456789Final
AP12 (1)99 (1)7 (2)7 (2)8 (3)5 (6)5 (1)54 (1)

References

  1. ^ a b "1947 Penn State Nittany Lions Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  2. ^ Chester L. Smith (September 21, 1947). "Lions Easily Defeat Washington State, 27 to 6". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 40 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Nittany Blanks Bucknell, 54-0: Higgins' Reserves Have Field Day". The Pittsburgh Press. October 5, 1947. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Hy Turkin (October 12, 1947). "Penn St., 75-0; Worst Ram Loss". The Daily News (New York City). p. 102 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Penn State Routs Syracuse In Last Three Quarters". The Pittsburgh Press. October 19, 1947. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Chester L. Smith (October 26, 1947). "Penn State Scores 21-14 Victory Over Mountaineers". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Penn State Whips Colgate, 46-0, and Stays Unbeaten". The Pittsburgh Press. November 2, 1947. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Stan Baumgartner (November 9, 1947). "Temple Loses to State, 7-0". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. S1, S5 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Stuart B. McIver (November 16, 1947). "Penn State Victor Over Navy, 20-7". The Baltimore Sun. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Chester L. Smith (November 23, 1947). "Penn State Finishes Unbeaten With 29-0 Win: Lions Overwhelm Pitt For First Perfect Season Since 1912". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Tex Maule (January 2, 1948). "SMU, Penn State Deadlock, 13 to 13 in Cotton Bowl". The Austin American. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
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