Penn State Nittany Lions football under Bob Higgins

Bob Higgins coached the Penn State Nittany Lions football teams from 1930 to 1948. In his nineteen seasons, he compiled a 91–57–11 record and a .607 winning percentage. His teams played their home games at New Beaver Field in State College, Pennsylvania.

1930 season

1930 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1930 record

3–4–2

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1929

1931 »

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 27, 1930	Niagara	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 31–14
October 4, 1930	Lebanon Valley	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 27–0
October 11, 1930	Marshall	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 65–0
October 18, 1930	at Lafayette	Easton, PA	T 0–0
October 25, 1930	Colgate	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 0–40
November 1, 1930	at Bucknell	Lewisburg, PA	L 7–19
November 8, 1930	Syracuse	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	T 0–0
November 15, 1930	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	L 0–19
November 26, 1930	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	L 12–19
^†Homecoming.

1931 season

1931 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1931 record

2–8

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1930

1932 »

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 26, 1931	Waynesburg	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 0–7
October 3, 1931	Lebanon Valley	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 19–6
October 10, 1931	at Temple	Philadelphia, PA	L 0–12
October 17, 1931	Dickinson	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 6–10
October 24, 1931	at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY	L 0–7
October 31, 1931	Pittsburgh	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 6–41
November 8, 1931	Colgate	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 7–32
November 14, 1931	at Lafayette	Easton, PA	L 0–33
November 21, 1931	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	L 0–19
November 28, 1931	vs. Lehigh	Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA	W 31–0
^†Homecoming.

1932 season

1932 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1932 record

2–5

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1931

1933 »

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
October 1, 1932	Lebanon Valley	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 27–0
October 8, 1932	Waynesburg	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 6–7
October 15, 1932	at Harvard	Harvard Stadium • Allston, MA	L 13–46
October 22, 1932	Syracuse	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 6–12
October 29, 1932	at Colgate	Hamilton, NY	L 0–31
November 5, 1932	Sewanee (U. of the South)	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 18–6
November 12, 1932	at Temple	Philadelphia, PA	L 12–13
^†Homecoming.

1933 season

1933 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1933 record

3–3–1

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1932

1934 »

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
October 7, 1933	Lebanon Valley	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 32–6
October 14, 1933	Muhlenberg	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 0–3
October 21, 1933	Lehigh	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 33–0
October 28, 1933	at Columbia	New York, NY	L 0–33
November 4, 1933	at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY	L 6–12
November 11, 1933	Johns Hopkins	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 40–6
November 18, 1933	at Pennsylvania	Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA	T 6–6
^†Homecoming.

1934 season

1934 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1934 record

4–4

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1933

1935 »

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
October 6, 1934	Lebanon Valley	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 13–0
October 13, 1934	Gettysburg	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 32–6
October 20, 1934	at Lehigh	Taylor Stadium • Bethlehem, PA	W 31–0
October 27, 1934	at Columbia	New York, NY	L 7–14
November 3, 1934	Syracuse	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 0–16
November 10, 1934	at Pennsylvania	Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA	L 0–3
November 17, 1934	Lafayette	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 25–6
November 24, 1934	at Bucknell	Lewisburg, PA	L 7–13
^†Homecoming.

1935 season

1935 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1935 record

4–4

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1934

1936 »

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
October 5, 1935	Lebanon Valley	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 12–6
October 12, 1935	Western Maryland	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 2–0
October 19, 1935	Lehigh	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 26–0
October 26, 1935	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	L 0–9
November 2, 1935	at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY	L 3–7
November 9, 1935	Villanova	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 27–13
November 16, 1935	at Pennsylvania	Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA	L 6–33
November 23, 1935	at Bucknell	Lewisburg, PA	L 0–2
^†Homecoming.

1936 season

1936 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1936 record

3–5

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1935

1937 »

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result
October 3, 1936	Muhlenberg	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 45–0
October 10, 1936	Villanova	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 0–13
October 17, 1936	at Lehigh	Taylor Stadium • Bethlehem, PA	L 6–7
October 24, 1936	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, NY	L 7–13
October 31, 1936	Syracuse	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 18–0
November 7, 1936	at #5 Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	L 7–34
November 14, 1936	at #11 Pennsylvania	Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA	L 12–19
November 21, 1936	Bucknell	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 14–0
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1937 season

1937 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1937 record

5–3

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1936

1938 »

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result
September 25, 1937	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, NY	L 19–26
October 2, 1937	Gettysburg	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 32–6
October 9, 1937	Bucknell	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 20–14
October 16, 1937	Lehigh	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 14–7
October 30, 1937	at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY	L 13–19
November 6, 1937	at Pennsylvania	Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA	W 7–0
November 13, 1937	Maryland	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 21–14
November 20, 1937	at #1 Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	L 7–28
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1938 season

1938 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1938 record

3–4–1

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1937

1939 »

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result
October 1, 1938	Maryland	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 33–0
October 8, 1938	Bucknell	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 0–14
October 15, 1938	at Lehigh	Taylor Stadium • Bethlehem, PA	W 59–6
October 22, 1938	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, NY	L 6–21
October 29, 1938	Syracuse	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 33–6
November 5, 1938	Lafayette	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 0–7
November 12, 1938	at Pennsylvania	Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA	T 7–7
November 19, 1938	at #5 Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	L 0–26
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1939 season

1939 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1939 record

5–1–2

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1938

1940 »

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result
October 7, 1939	Bucknell	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 13–3
October 14, 1939	Lehigh	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 49–7
October 21, 1939	at #12 Cornell	Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, NY	L 0–47
October 28, 1939	at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY	T 6–6
November 4, 1939	Maryland	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 12–0
November 11, 1939	at Pennsylvania	Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA	W 10–0
November 18, 1939	at Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	T 14–14
November 25, 1939	Pittsburgh	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 10–0
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1940 season

1940 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1940 record

6–1–1

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1939

1941 »

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	Result
October 5, 1940	Bucknell		New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 9–0
October 12, 1940	West Virginia		New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 17–13
October 19, 1940	at Lehigh		Taylor Stadium • Bethlehem, PA	W 34–0
October 26, 1940	at Temple		Philadelphia, PA	W 18–0
November 2, 1940	South Carolina	#18	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 12–0
November 9, 1940	at Syracuse	#16	Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY	T 13–13
November 16, 1940	New York U.	#20	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 25–0
November 23, 1940	at Pittsburgh	#20	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	L 7–20
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1941 season

1941 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1941 record

7–2

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1940

1942 »

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result
October 4, 1941	at Colgate	Civic Stadium • Buffalo, NY	L 0–7
October 11, 1941	Bucknell	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 27–13
October 18, 1941	at Temple	Philadelphia, PA	L 0–14
October 25, 1941	Lehigh	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 40–6
October 31, 1941	at New York U.	Polo Grounds • New York, NY	W 42–0
November 8, 1941	#18 Syracuse	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 34–19
November 15, 1941	West Virginia	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 7–0
November 22, 1941	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	W 31–7
November 29, 1941	at South Carolina	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	W 19–12
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1942 season

1942 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

Ranking

#19

1942 record

6–1–1

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1941

1943 »

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result
October 3, 1942	Bucknell	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 14–7
October 10, 1942	at Lehigh	Taylor Stadium • Bethlehem, PA	W 19–3
October 17, 1942	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, NY	T 0–0
October 24, 1942	Colgate	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 13–10
October 31, 1942	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	L 0–24
November 7, 1942	Syracuse	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 18–13
November 14, 1942	at #17 Pennsylvania	Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA	W 13–7
November 21, 1942	Pittsburgh	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 14–6
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1943 season

1943 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1943 record

5–3–1

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1942

1944 »

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result
September 25, 1943	Bucknell	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 14–0
October 2, 1943	at North Carolina	Kenan Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC	L 0–19
October 9, 1943	Colgate	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	T 0–0
October 16, 1943	at #3 Navy	Annapolis, MD	L 6–14
October 23, 1943	at Maryland	College Park, MD	W 45–0
October 30, 1943	West Virginia	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 32–7
November 6, 1943	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field • Ithaca, NY	L 0–13
November 13, 1943	Temple	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 13–0
November 20, 1943	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	W 14–0
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1944 season

1944 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1944 record

6–3

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1943

1945 »

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result
September 30, 1944	Muhlenberg	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 58–13
October 7, 1944	at Navy	Annapolis, MD	L 14–55
October 14, 1944	Bucknell	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 20–6
October 21, 1944	at Colgate	Hamilton, NY	W 6–0
October 28, 1944	West Virginia	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 27–28
November 4, 1944	at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY	W 41–0
November 11, 1944	at Temple	Philadelphia, PA	W 7–6
November 18, 1944	Maryland	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 34–19
November 25, 1944	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	L 0–14
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1945 season

1945 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1945 record

5–3

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1944

1946 »

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	Result
September 29, 1945	Muhlenberg		New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 47–7
October 6, 1945	Colgate		New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 27–7
October 13, 1945	at #2 Navy		Annapolis, MD	L 0–28
October 20, 1945	at Bucknell		Lewisburg, PA	W 46–7
November 3, 1945	Syracuse		New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 26–0
November 10, 1945	Temple		New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 27–0
November 17, 1945	at Michigan State	#12	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	L 0–33
November 24, 1945	at Pittsburgh		Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	L 0–7
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1946 season

1946 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

1946 record

6–2

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1945

1947 »

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result
October 5, 1946	Bucknell	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 48–6
October 12, 1946	at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY	W 9–0
October 19, 1946	Michigan State	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	L 16–19
October 26, 1946	at Colgate	Hamilton, NY	W 6–2
November 2, 1946	Fordham	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 68–0
November 9, 1946	Temple	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 26–0
November 16, 1946	at Navy	Annapolis, MD	W 12–7
November 23, 1946	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	L 7–14
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1947 season

1947 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Cotton Bowl Classic, tied SMU 13–13

Conference

Independent

Ranking

1947 record

9–0–1

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1946

1948 »

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	Result
September 20, 1947	vs. Washington State		Hersheypark Stadium • Hershey, PA	W 27–4
October 4, 1947	Bucknell		New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 54–0
October 11, 1947	at Fordham	#12	New York, NY	W 75–0
October 18, 1947	Syracuse	#9	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 40–0
October 25, 1947	West Virginia	#9	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 21–14
November 1, 1947	Colgate	#7	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 46–0
November 8, 1947	at Temple	#7	Philadelphia, PA	W 7–0
November 15, 1947	vs. Navy	#8	Memorial Stadium • Balitmore	W 20–7
November 22, 1947	at Pittsburgh	#5	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	W 29–0
January 1, 1948	vs. #4 SMU	#5	Cotton Bowl Classic • Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	T 13–13
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1948 season

1948 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Conference

Independent

Ranking

#18

1948 record

7–1–1

Head coach

Bob Higgins

Seasons

« 1947

1949 »

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	Result
October 2, 1948	Bucknell		New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 35–0
October 8, 1948	at Syracuse	#10	Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY	W 34–14
October 16, 1948	West Virginia	#9	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 37–7
October 23, 1948	#19 Michigan State	#8	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	T 14–14
October 30, 1948	at Colgate	#12	Hamilton, NY	W 32–13
November 6, 1948	at #7 Pennsylvania	#14	Franklin Field • Philadelphia, PA	W 13–0
November 13, 1948	Temple	#5	New Beaver Field • State College, PA	W 47–0
November 20, 1948	at Pittsburgh	#6	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA	L 0–7
November 27, 1948	at Washington State	#18	Tacoma, WA	W 7–0
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

"Penn State's Game-By-Game Results". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. http://scripts.cac.psu.edu/dept/psusportsinfo/scripts/history/scheds.pl. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
"AP Poll and BCS Ranking History". SoonerStats.com. http://www.soonerstats.com/football/polls/index.cfm. Retrieved 2007-02-12.

Penn State Nittany Lions football

Venues	Old Main Beaver Field New Beaver Field Beaver Stadium (1960–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama Governor's Victory Bell (Minnesota) Land Grant Trophy (Michigan State) Maryland Ohio State Pittsburgh West Virginia

Culture & lore	Nittany Lion "Fight On, State" Penn State Blue Band Angleball Uplifting Athletes

People	Head coaches All-Americans

Seasons	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 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

National championship seasons in bold

Penn State Nittany Lions football under Bob Higgins

Contents

1930 season

1931 season

1932 season

1933 season

1934 season

1935 season

1936 season

1937 season

1938 season

1939 season

1940 season

1941 season

1942 season

1943 season

1944 season

1945 season

1946 season

1947 season

1948 season

References