American college football season
The 1985 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season.[1] The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 7 | 12:20 p.m. | at No. 7 Maryland | No. 19 | | USA | W 20–18 | 50,750 | [2] |
September 14 | 12:20 p.m. | Temple | No. 11 | | TCS | W 27–25 | 84,651 | |
September 21 | 1:30 p.m. | East Carolina | No. 10 | - Beaver Stadium
- University Park, PA
| | W 17–10 | 84,266 | [3] |
September 28 | 1:00 p.m. | at Rutgers | No. 9 | | | W 17–10 | 54,560 | |
October 12 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 10 Alabama | No. 8 | - Beaver Stadium
- University Park, PA (rivalry)
| ABC | W 19–17 | 85,444 | [4] |
October 19 | 1:30 p.m. | at Syracuse | No. 6 | | | W 24–20 | 50,021 | |
October 26 | 3:30 p.m. | West Virginia![dagger](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Dagger-14-plain.png) | No. 3 | - Beaver Stadium
- University Park, PA (rivalry)
| ABC | W 27–0 | 85,534 | [5] |
November 2 | 12:30 p.m. | Boston College | No. 3 | - Beaver Stadium
- University Park, PA
| | W 16–12 | 82,000 | |
November 9 | 2:00 p.m. | at Cincinnati | No. 2 | | | W 31–10 | 33,528 | |
November 16 | 3:30 p.m. | Notre Dame | No. 1 | - Beaver Stadium
- University Park, PA (rivalry)
| ABC | W 36–6 | 84,000 | |
November 23 | 7:45 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | No. 1 | | ESPN | W 31–0 | 60,134 | |
| 8:00 p.m. | vs. No. 3 Oklahoma | No. 1 | | NBC | L 10–25 | 74,148 | |
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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes | Week |
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
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AP | 18 | 19 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 (15) | 1 (44) | 1 (46) | 1 (49) | 1 (47) | 1 (47) | 3 |
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Coaches | 17 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 (34) | 1 (34) | 1 (41) | 1 (39) | 1 (37) | 1 (36) | 3 |
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Penn State at Maryland | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | • No. 19 Nittany Lions | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 20 | No. 7 Terrapins | 0 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 18 | |
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Scoring summary |
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| Q1 | | PSU | Zordich 32 yard interception return (Manca kick) | PSU 7–0 | | Q1 | | PSU | Manca 28 yard field goal | PSU 10–0 | | Q2 | | PSU | Williams 2 yard pass from Shaffer (Manca kick) | PSU 17–0 | | Q2 | | MD | Paredes 22 yard field goal | PSU 17–3 | | Q2 | | MD | Badanjek 8 yard run (Paredes kick) | PSU 17–10 | | Q3 | | MD | Badanjek 5 yard run (Knight pass from Henning) | MD 18–17 | | Q3 | 9:46 | PSU | Manca 46 yard field goal | PSU 20–18 | |
[6]
Vs. Oklahoma (Orange Bowl)
[edit] Penn State vs. Oklahoma | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | No. 1 Nittany Lions | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | • No. 3 Sooners | 0 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 25 | |
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Scoring summary |
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| 1 | 8:17 | PSU | Tim Manoa 1-yard run (Massimo Manca kick) | PSU 7-0 | | 2 | 14:35 | OU | Tim Lashar 26-yard field goal | PSU 7-3 | | 2 | 12:26 | OU | Keith Jackson 71-yard pass from Jamelle Holieway (Tim Lashar kick) | OU 10-7 | | 2 | 5:20 | OU | Tim Lashar 31-yard field goal | OU 13-7 | | 2 | 1:49 | OU | Tim Lashar 21-yard field goal | OU 16-7 | | 2 | 0:01 | PSU | Massimo Manca 27-yard field goal | OU 16-10 | | 3 | 3:09 | OU | Tim Lashar 22-yard field goal | OU 19-10 | | 4 | 1:42 | OU | Lydell Carr 61-yard run (Lashar kick failed) | OU 25-10 | |
[7]
1985 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster |
Players | Coaches |
Offense | Defense | Special teams | - Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
Injured Redshirt |
Three Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1986 NFL draft.
- ^ "Penn State Yearly Results (1985-1989)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- ^ "Nittany Lions maintain mastery". The Courier-Journal. September 8, 1985. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "PSU foils Carolina upset bid, 17–10". The Pittsburgh Press. September 22, 1985. Retrieved March 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Penn State rolls, 19–17, over Bama". The Pittsburgh Press. October 13, 1985. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Penn State blanks West Virginia". The Tyler Courier-Times. October 27, 1985. Retrieved January 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gainesville Sun. 1985 September 8.
- ^ "Orange Bowl; Oklahoma Upends Penn State, Stakes Claim to No. 1". The New York Times. January 2, 1986. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |