1991 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1991 Penn State Nittany Lions football
1991 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion; Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 42–17 vs. Tennessee
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 3
Record	11–2
Head coach	Joe Paterno (26th season);
Offensive coordinator	Fran Ganter (8th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky (15th season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Mark D'Onofrio; Sam Gash; Keith Goganious; Al Golden; Darren Perry; Terry Smith;
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium

1991 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
	Conf.			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 9 East Carolina		–		11	–	1	–	0
No. 4 Florida State		–		11	–	2	–	0
No. 3		–		11	–	2	–	0
No. 21 Tulsa		–		10	–	2	–	0
Louisiana Tech		–		8	–	1	–	2
No. 13 Notre Dame		–		10	–	3	–	0
Akron		–		5	–	6	–	0
Memphis State		–		5	–	6	–	0
Army		–		4	–	7	–	0
Cincinnati		–		4	–	7	–	0
Southern Miss		–		4	–	7	–	0
South Carolina		–		3	–	6	–	2
Southwestern Louisiana		–		2	–	8	–	1
Louisville		–		2	–	9	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		2	–	9	–	0
Tulane		–		1	–	10	–	0
Navy		–		1	–	10	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1991 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 26th-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 11–2. Penn State was invited to the Fiesta Bowl, where the Nittany Lions defeated Tennessee. The team played home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 28	9:00 p.m.	vs. No. 8 Georgia Tech	No. 7	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic)	Raycom	W 34–22	77,409	^[1]
September 7	12:10 p.m.	Cincinnati	No. 5	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	Prime	W 81–0	94,000
September 14	9:00 p.m.	at USC	No. 5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	L 10–21	64,758
September 21	8:00 p.m.	BYU	No. 12	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	W 33–7	96,304
September 28	1:00 p.m.	Boston College	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 28–21	95,927
October 5	9:00 p.m.	at Temple	No. 12	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA		W 24–7	43,808
October 12	12:10 p.m.	at No. 2 Miami (FL)	No. 9	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	ABC	L 20–26	75,723
October 19	1:00 p.m.	Rutgers	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 37–17	95,729
October 26	4:00 p.m.	West Virginia	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ESPN	W 51–6	96,445	^[2]
November 9	1:30 p.m.	at Maryland	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Baltimore, MD (rivalry)		W 47–7	57,416	^[3]
November 16	3:30 p.m.	No. 12 Notre Dame	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 35–13	96,672
November 28	11:15 a.m.	at Pittsburgh	No. 6	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 32–20	52,219
January 1, 1992	4:30 p.m.	vs. No. 10 Tennessee	No. 6	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	NBC	W 42–17	71,133	^[4]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	7	5	5	12	10 т	12	9	10	8	8	9	8	7	6	6	3
Coaches	8	5	5	14	12	12	9	15	11	10	10	9	7	6	5	3

Game summaries

Vs. Georgia Tech

At USC

BYU

Gerry Collins 27 Rush, 99 Yds
Penn State's defense sacked Ty Detmer six times and held BYU to single digits for first time since 1986

^[5]

At Miami (FL)

#9 Penn State at #2 Miami (FL)

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Nittany Lions	3	3	7	7	20
• Hurricanes	3	3	14	6	26

Date: October 12
Location: Miami Orange Bowl
Game attendance: 75,723
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Bob Griese, Jack Arute

Fans watching on television outside of Florida missed two scores when the network switched to United States Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee

Notre Dame

Vs. Tennessee (Fiesta Bowl)

#6 Penn State vs. #10 Tennessee

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Nittany Lions	7	0	14	21	42
Volunteers	10	0	7	0	17

Date: January 1
Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Game attendance: 71,133
TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Todd Christensen

Roster

1991 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`20`	Richie Anderson	Jr
OT	`67`	Todd Burger	Jr
RB	`23`	Gerry Collins	Sr
QB	`12`	Kerry Collins	Fr
TE	`18`	Troy Drayton	Jr
RB	`11`	Sam Gash	Sr
G	`57`	John Gerak	Jr
C	`66`	Greg Huntington	Jr
WR	`24`	O. J. McDuffie	Jr
OT	`71`	Todd Rucci	Jr
C		E. J. Sandusky	Sr
QB	`17`	John Sacca	Fr
QB	`19`	Tony Sacca	Sr
OT	`76`	Paul Siever	Sr
WR	`30`	Dan Skrip	Sr
WR	`8`	Terry Smith	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
S	`13`	Matt Baggett	Sr
DT	`55`	Lou Benfatti	So
CB	`3`	Jeff Davis	Fr
LB	`38`	Mark D'Onofrio	Sr
LB	`42`	Keith Goganious	Sr
LB	`58`	Reggie Givens	Jr
CB	`6`	Leonard Humphries	Sr
DT	`97`	Tyoka Jackson	So
LB	`99`	Rich McKenzie	Jr
S	`9`	Darren Perry	Sr
DT	`94`	Eric Ravotti	Jr
CB	`15`	Frank Yeboah-Kodie	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P	`4`	Doug Helkowski	Sr

Head coach

Joe Paterno

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

NFL draft

Nine Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1992 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
2nd	6	34	Mark D'Onofrio	Linebacker	Green Bay Packers
2nd	18	46	Tony Sacca	Quarterback	Phoenix Cardinals
3rd	18	74	Paul Siever	Offensive guard	Washington Redskins
3rd	27	83	Keith Goganious	Linebacker	Buffalo Bills
8th	7	203	Darren Perry	Free safety	Pittsburgh Steelers
8th	9	205	Sam Gash	Running back	New England Patriots
8th	13	209	Andre Powell	Linebacker	Miami Dolphins
8th	27	223	Leonard Humphries	Cornerback	Buffalo Bills
11th	28	308	Terry Smith	Wide receiver	Washington Redskins

References

^ "Penn State proves too much for Georgia Tech". Asbury Park Press. August 29, 1991. Retrieved February 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "The real State dismantles the Mountaineers". Sunday News. October 27, 1991. Retrieved February 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Untamed Lions drive Terps mad". The Baltimore Sun. November 10, 1991. Retrieved February 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Lions 5 for 5". Arizona Republic. January 2, 1992. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1991 Sept 22. Retrieved 2015-Dec-03.

[1] "Penn State proves too much for Georgia Tech". Asbury Park Press. August 29, 1991. Retrieved February 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "The real State dismantles the Mountaineers". Sunday News. October 27, 1991. Retrieved February 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Untamed Lions drive Terps mad". The Baltimore Sun. November 10, 1991. Retrieved February 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Lions 5 for 5". Arizona Republic. January 2, 1992. Retrieved November 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] Gainesville Sun. 1991 Sept 22. Retrieved 2015-Dec-03.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]


Q1	8:36	MIA	Huerta 24-yard field goal	MIA 3–0

Q1	0:44	PSU	Fayak 20-yard field goal	Tie 3–3

Q2	5:20	PSU	Fayak 46-yard field goal	PSU 6–3

Q2	1:31	MIA	Huerta 45-yard field goal	Tie 6–6

Q3	6:34	MIA	Copeland 80-yard pass from Torretta (Huerta kick)	MIA 13–6

Q3		MIA	K. Williams 91-yard punt return (Huerta kick)	MIA 20–6

Q3		PSU	T. Smith 2-yard pass from Sacca (Fayak kick)	MIA 20–13

Q4	14:43	MIA	Thomas 42-yard pass from Torretta (kick failed)	MIA 26–13

Q4	9:35	PSU	T. Smith 9-yard pass from Sacca (Fayak kick)	MIA 26–20

Penn State Nittany Lions football
Venues	Old Main lawn (until 1891) Beaver Field (1892–1908) New Beaver Field (1909–1959) Beaver Stadium (1960–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama Maryland Michigan Michigan State Minnesota: Governor's Victory Bell Ohio State Old Ironsides Pittsburgh Syracuse West Virginia
Culture & lore	Nittany Lion "Fight On, State" Penn State Blue Band Uplifting Athletes Joe Paterno statue Something for Joey 1982 Nebraska game Child sex abuse scandal 2016 Ohio State game Paterno White Out 2021 Illinois game
People	Head coaches All-Americans NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1881 1882–1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold