1973 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 1973 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Penn State's third undefeated season under Joe Paterno was led by John Cappelletti who would become the first Penn State player to win the Heisman Trophy.

1973 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 16–9 vs. LSU
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 5
Record	12–0
Head coach	Joe Paterno (8th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jim O'Hora (8th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	John Cappelletti Randy Crowder Mark Markovich Ed O'Neil
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ← 1972 1974 →

1973 NCAA Division I independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame			–					11	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Penn State			–					12	–	0	–	0
No. 9 Houston			–					11	–	1	–	0
Temple			–					9	–	1	–	0
No. 20 Tulane			–					9	–	3	–	0
Memphis State			–					8	–	3	–	0
Tampa			–					8	–	3	–	0
Boston College			–					7	–	4	–	0
South Carolina			–					7	–	4	–	0
Utah State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Air Force			–					6	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss			–					6	–	4	–	1
Northern Illinois			–					6	–	5	–	0
Rutgers			–					6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia			–					6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					6	–	5	–	1
Colgate			–					5	–	5	–	0
Dayton			–					5	–	5	–	1
Xavier			–					5	–	5	–	1
Georgia Tech			–					5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross			–					5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	7	–	0
Marshall			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					4	–	7	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					3	–	7	–	1
Villanova			–					3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse			–					2	–	9	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					2	–	9	–	0
Army			–					0	–	10	–	0
Florida State			–					0	–	11	–	0
Lamar			–					5	–	5	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					3	–	7	–	1
Texas-Arlington			–					4	–	6	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	at Stanford	No. 7	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	ABC	W 20–6	57,000
September 22	at Navy	No. 7	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 39–0	28,383
September 29	Iowa	No. 6	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 27–8	59,980
October 6	at Air Force	No. 7	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	ABC	W 19–9	37,077
October 13	Army	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 54–3	58,194
October 20	at Syracuse	No. 5	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)		W 49–6	27,595
October 27	West Virginia	No. 5	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 62–14	59,138	[1]
November 3	at Maryland	No. 6	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD (rivalry)		W 42–22	44,135	[2]
November 10	NC State	No. 6	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 35–29	59,184–59,424	[3]
November 17	Ohio	No. 6	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 49–10	51,804
November 24	No. 20 Pittsburgh	No. 6	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 35–13	56,600
January 1, 1974	vs. No. 13 LSU	No. 6	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	NBC	W 16–9	60,477	[4]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1973 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 16 Dick Barvinchak So OT 74 Jeff Bleamer Jr RB 22 John Cappelletti Sr TE 81 Ron Coder So RB 32 Tom Donchez Jr OT 77 Charlie Getty Sr WR 28 Gary Hayman Sr OT 65 Phil LaPorta Sr C 54 Mark Markovich Sr G 61 John Nessel Jr G 72 Tom Rafferty So WR 19 Jimmy Scott Sr QB 12 Tom Shuman Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB Kurt Allerman Fr LB 68 Doug Allen Sr LB 67 Greg Buttle So DT 53 Randy Crowder Sr LB 66 Chris Devlin Jr DE 85 Dave Graf Jr DE 79 Mike Hartenstine Jr LB 41 Tom Hull Sr S 11 Jack Koniszewski Sr S 14 Scott Mitchell Sr LB 87 Ed O'Neil Sr LB 33 James Rosecrans So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 99 Chris Bahr So	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Dick Anderson Booker Brooks John Chuckran Jim O'Hora Frank Patrick Bob Phillips Jerry Sandusky J. T. White Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Game summaries

Navy

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
#7 Penn State	7	20	10	2	39
Navy	0	0	0	0	0

Game information
First Quarter PSU - Heyman 17-yard pass from Shuman (Bahr kick) Second Quarter PSU - Cappelletti 10-yard run (Bahr kick) PSU - Herd 23-yard pass from Shuman (kick failed) PSU - Shuman 1-yard run (Bahr kick) Third Quarter PSU - Bahr 22-yard field goal PSU - Clark 1-yard run (Bahr kick) Fourth Quarter PSU - Safety, Navy center snapped ball out of end zone

at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD

• Date: Saturday, September 22
• Game attendance: 28,383
• Recap

Penn State capitalized on a fumble and two short punts to score three second-quarter touchdowns and break the game wide open against Navy. The Nittany Lions opened scoring with just one second left in the first as QB Tom Shuman hit SE Gary Heyman for a touchdown to cap an 88-yard drive. On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, E Greg Murphy recovered a fumble by RB Bob Jackson at the Navy 41, and the Lions took two-and-a-half minutes and five plays to score again. Penn State scored on two more quick drives of 60 and 51 yards following short punts into a stiff wind by John Stufflebeem. The Lions added a field goal by Chris Bahr midway through the third and backup QB John Clark capped a 56-yard drive with a keeper to put Penn State ahead 37-0. The final points of the contest came when a snap from Navy's center sailed over Stufflebeem's head and out of the end zone for a safety.^[5]

Syracuse

1 2 3 4 Total • Penn St 3 19 21 6 49 Syracuse 0 0 6 0 6 Date: October 20 Location: Archbold Stadium, Syracuse, New York Game attendance: 27,595

Scoring summary 1 PSU Bahr 50-yard field goal Penn St 3–0 2 PSU Bahr 21-yard field goal Penn St 6–0 2 PSU Shuman 1-yard run (pass failed) Penn St 12–0 2 PSU Nagle 1-yard run (Bahr kick) Penn St 19–0 2 PSU Bahr 33-yard field goal Penn St 22–0 3 SYR Brennan 16-yard pass from Milch (pass failed) Penn St 22–6 3 PSU Nagle 78-yard fumble recovery (Bahr kick) Penn St 29–6 3 PSU Taylor 1-yard run (Bahr kick) Penn St 36–6 3 PSU Boyle 4-yard run (Bahr kick) Penn St 43–6 4 PSU Barvinchak 4-yard run (kick failed) Penn St 49–6

^[6]

Statistics

Passing

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT
Shuman	83	161	1,375	13	5
Barvinchak	8	15	163	1	2
Cappelletti	1	2	17	0	0
Clark	1	4	−3	0	0
Petchel	0	1	0	0	0

^[7]

Post season

NFL Draft

Ten Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1974 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
1st	8	8	Ed O'Neil	Linebacker	Detroit Lions
1st	11	11	John Cappelletti	Running back	Los Angeles Rams
2nd	1	27	Doug Allen	Linebacker	Buffalo Bills
2nd	15	41	Charlie Getty	Offensive tackle	Kansas City Chiefs
2nd	17	43	Mark Markovich	Center	San Diego Chargers
5th	2	106	Gary Hayman	Running back	Buffalo Bills
6th	6	136	Randy Crowder	Defensive tackle	Miami Dolphins
9th	9	217	Phil LaPorta	Offensive tackle	New Orleans Saints
10th	22	256	Chuck Herd	Wide receiver	Cincinnati Bengals
12th	8	294	Tom Hull	Linebacker	San Francisco 49ers

Awards

• John Cappelletti

Heisman Trophy

Maxwell Award

Walter Camp Award

References

1. "Penn St. blitzes West Va". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 28, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Nittany Lions blast Maryland". The Tampa Tribune. November 4, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Phew! Penn State squeaks by 35–29". Sunday News. November 11, 1973. Retrieved January 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Penn State a winner by 16 to 9". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 2, 1974. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Nittany Lions Roar Past Outclassed Midshipmen." Palm Beach Post. p. 84. 1973 Sep 23.
6. Eugene Register-Guard. 1973 Oct 21.
7. Nittany Anthology