1970 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 1970 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. The team was led by fifth-year head coach Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

1970 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 18
Record	7–3
Head coach	Joe Paterno (5th season)
Captains	Jack Ham Warren Koegel
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ← 1969 1971 →

1970 NCAA University Division independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Notre Dame			–					10	–	1	–	0
Villanova			–					9	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Air Force			–					9	–	3	–	0
No. 13 Georgia Tech			–					9	–	3	–	0
Boston College			–					8	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Houston			–					8	–	3	–	0
West Virginia			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Tulane			–					8	–	4	–	0
No. 18 Penn State			–					7	–	3	–	0
West Texas State			–					7	–	3	–	0
Cincinnati			–					7	–	4	–	0
Florida State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse			–					6	–	4	–	0
Dayton			–					5	–	4	–	1
Pittsburgh			–					5	–	5	–	0
Rutgers			–					5	–	5	–	0
Utah State			–					5	–	5	–	0
Colgate			–					5	–	6	–	0
Southern Miss			–					5	–	6	–	0
New Mexico State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					3	–	8	–	0
Northern Illinois			–					3	–	7	–	0
Marshall			–					3	–	6	–	0
Buffalo			–					2	–	9	–	0
Navy			–					2	–	9	–	0
Army			–					1	–	9	–	1
Xavier			–					1	–	9	–	0
Holy Cross			–					0	–	10	–	1
Rankings from AP Poll

The Nittany Lions entered the season with a 22-game winning streak, unbeaten (29–0–1) in their last thirty games.^[1][2] By mid-season, they had dropped three (including one at home), then won the last five to finish at 7–3 and climbed to No. 18 in the final AP poll.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19	Navy	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 55–7	48,566
September 26	at No. 18 Colorado	No. 4	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	ABC	L 13–41	42,850
October 3	at Wisconsin	No. 16	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		L 16–29	55,204
October 10	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 28–3	25,252
October 17	Syracuse		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		L 7–24	50,540
October 24	at Army		Michie Stadium West Point, NY	ABC	W 38–14	41,062
October 31	West Virginia		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 42–8	49,932	^[4]
November 7	at Maryland		Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)		W 34–0	23,400	^[5]
November 14	Ohio		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 32–22	43,000
November 21	Pittsburgh	No. 20	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 35–15	50,017
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

Notable players included senior linebacker Jack Ham and junior running backs Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris.

1970 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 25 Mike Cooper Sr WR 88 Greg Edmonds Sr RB 34 Franco Harris Jr QB 16 John Hufnagel So C 56 Warren Koegel (C) Sr RB 23 Lydell Mitchell Jr OT 78 Vic Surma Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 83 Bruce Bannon So DT 37 Rick Brown So LB 33 Jack Ham (C) Sr LB 80 Gary Hull Sr LB 15 Mark Koiwai Sr LB 47 Jim Laslavic So DE 81 John Skorupan So LB 60 Charlie Zapiec Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P/QB 13 Bob Parsons Jr LB/PK/P 80 Gary Hull Sr	Head coach Joe Paterno (5th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches John Chuckran Jim O'Hora Frank Patrick Bob Phillips Jerry Sandusky Jim Weaver George Welsh J. T. White Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt Roster

Post season

After three consecutive bowl appearances, Penn State stayed home this year, but went to a bowl in each of the next thirteen seasons.

NFL Draft

Four Nittany Lions were selected in the 1971 NFL Draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
2nd	8	34	Jack Ham	Linebacker	Pittsburgh Steelers
3rd	21	73	Warren Koegel	Center	Oakland Raiders
11th	22	282	Vic Surma	Wide receiver	Miami Dolphins
16th	24	414	Greg Edmonds	Wide receiver/Tight end	Minnesota Vikings

References

1. "Colorado ends Penn State victory string, 41-13". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press.
2. Harral, Paul K. (September 27, 1970). "23-game Penn State string halted by Colorado, 41-13". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). UPI. p. D1.
3. Franke, Russ (November 22, 1970). "Lions thunder past Pitt, 35-15". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, section 4.
4. "West Virginia routed by Penn State, 42–8". The Greenville News. November 1, 1970. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Inartistic quarterback leads Penn St. to 34–0 victory". Beckley Post-Herald & The Raleigh Register. November 8, 1970. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.