1968 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion
Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 15–14 vs. Kansas
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 2
Record11–0
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumBeaver Stadium
Seasons
← 1967
1969 →
1968 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Penn State   –   11 – 0 – 0
Rutgers   –   8 – 2 – 0
West Texas State   –   8 – 2 – 0
No. 5 Notre Dame   –   7 – 2 – 1
Florida State   –   8 – 3 – 0
Air Force   –   7 – 3 – 0
Army   –   7 – 3 – 0
Buffalo   –   7 – 3 – 0
No. 18 Houston   –   6 – 2 – 2
Utah State   –   7 – 3 – 0
Boston College   –   7 – 3 – 0
West Virginia   –   7 – 3 – 0
VPI   –   7 – 4 – 0
Pacific   –   6 – 4 – 0
Syracuse   –   6 – 4 – 0
Villanova   –   6 – 4 – 0
Xavier   –   6 – 4 – 0
Colgate   –   5 – 5 – 0
Dayton   –   5 – 5 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   5 – 5 – 0
New Mexico State   –   5 – 5 – 0
Georgia Tech   –   4 – 6 – 0
Southern Miss   –   4 – 6 – 0
Holy Cross   –   3 – 6 – 1
San Jose State   –   3 – 7 – 0
Navy   –   2 – 8 – 0
Tulane   –   2 – 8 – 0
Pittsburgh   –   1 – 9 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1968 Penn State Nittany Lions represented Pennsylvania State University in the 1968 NCAA University Division football season. The 1968 team was Paterno's first perfect season. Despite going 11–0, the Nittany Lions finished behind 10–0 Ohio State in the final AP Poll (conducted after bowl season), and behind Ohio State and 9–0–1 USC in the final Coaches Poll (conducted before bowl season).[1]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 21NavyNo. 10
W 31–649,273
September 28Kansas StateNo. 4
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 25–945,024
October 5at West VirginiaNo. 3
W 31–2034,500[2]
October 12at UCLANo. 3
ABCW 21–635,772
October 26at Boston CollegeNo. 4
W 29–025,272
November 21:00 p.m.ArmydaggerNo. 4
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 28–2449,653
November 9Miami (FL)No. 4
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA
W 22–750,132
November 16at MarylandNo. 3
W 57–1330,000[3]
November 23at PittsburghNo. 3
W 65–931,224
December 7SyracuseNo. 3
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ABCW 30–1241,393
January 1, 1969vs. No. 6 KansasNo. 3
NBCW 15–1477,719

Roster

1968 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 80 Leon Angevine Sr
OT 73 Dave Bradley Sr
QB 22 Chuck Burkhart Sr
WR 23 Bob Campbell Sr
QB 25 Mike Cooper So
WR 88 Greg Edmonds So
G 63 Tom Jackson Jr
C 56 Warren Koegel So
RB 24 Charlie Pittman Jr
TE 82 Ted Kwalick Sr
G 60 Charlie Zapiec So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 72 John Ebersole Jr
LB 33 Jack Ham So
LB 51 Gary Hull So
DE 15 Mark Koiwai So
LB 35 Dennis Onkotz Jr
DT 68 Mike Reid Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

Miami (FL)

See also: 1968 Miami Hurricanes football team

Vs. Kansas (Orange Bowl)

Main article: 1969 Orange Bowl

See also: 1968 Kansas Jayhawks football team

Post season

NFL/AFL Common Draft

Five Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1969 NFL/AFL Common Draft.

Round Pick Overall Name Position Team
1st 7 7 Ted Kwalick Tight end San Francisco 49ers
2nd 12 38 Dave Bradley Offensive guard Green Bay Packers
4th 4 82 Bob Campbell Wide receiver Pittsburgh Steelers
7th 18 174 John Kulka Offensive guard Miami Dolphins
15th 3 367 Leon Angevine Running back/Wide receiver Philadelphia Eagles

References

  1. ^ "Penn State Yearly Results (1965-1969)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  2. ^ "Nittany Lions trip Mountaineers, 31–20". The Tampa Tribune. October 6, 1968. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "State still untouchable". The Sunday Times. November 17, 1968. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.


Categories