List of Penn State Nittany Lions football seasons

This is a list of seasons completed by the Penn State Nittany Lions football team of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Since the team's creation in 1881, the Nittany Lions have participated in more than 1,100 officially-sanctioned games, including 43 bowl games.

For most of its existence, Penn State competed as an independent. In 1993, Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference, where it has been a member ever since.

Contents

Seasons

National Champions Conference Champions Bowl game berth
Year Coach(es) Conference Record[1][2] Bowl AP Postseason
Wins Losses Ties
Penn State Nittany Lions
1881 No Coach Ind 1 0 0
1887 Ind 2 0 0
1888 Ind 0 2 2
1889 Ind 2 2 0
1890 Ind 2 2 0
1891 PIFA 6 2 0
1892 George Hoskins Ind 5 1 0
1893 Ind 4 1 0
1894 Ind 6 0 1
1895 Ind 2 2 3
1896 Samuel B. Newton Ind 3 4 0
1897 Ind 3 6 0
1898 Ind 6 4 0
1899 Sam B. Boyle Ind 4 6 1
1900 William N. "Pop" Golden Ind 4 6 1
1901 Ind 5 3 0
1902 Ind 7 3 0
1903 Daniel A. "Dan" Reed Ind 5 3 0
1904 Thomas F. "Tom" Fennell Ind 6 4 0
1905 Ind 8 3 0
1906 Ind 8 1 1
1907 Ind 6 4 0
1908 Ind 5 5 0
1909 William M. "Bill" Hollenback Ind 5 0 2
1910 Jack Hollenback Ind 5 2 1
1911 William M. Hollenback Ind 8 0 1
1912 Ind 8 0 0
1913 Ind 2 6 0
1914 Ind 5 3 1
1915 Richard C. "Dick" Harlow Ind 7 2 0
1916 Ind 8 2 0
1917 Ind 5 4 0
1918 Hugo F. Bezdek Ind 1 2 1
1919 Ind 7 1 0
1920 Ind 7 0 2
1921 Ind 8 0 2
1922 Ind 6 4 1 Lost 1923 Rose Bowl vs. USC, 3-14
1923 Ind 6 2 1
1924 Ind 6 3 1
1925 Ind 4 4 1
1926 Ind 5 4 0
1927 Ind 6 2 1
1928 Ind 3 5 1
1929 Ind 6 3 0
1930 Robert A. "Bob" Higgins Ind 3 4 2
1931 Ind 2 8 0
1932 Ind 2 5 0
1933 Ind 3 3 1
1934 Ind 4 4 0
1935 Ind 4 4 0
1936 Ind 3 5 0
1937 Ind 5 3 0
1938 Ind 3 4 1
1939 Ind 5 1 2
1940 Ind 6 1 1
1941 Ind 7 2 0
1942 Ind 6 1 1 19
1943 Ind 5 3 1
1944 Ind 6 3 0
1945 Ind 5 3 0
1946 Ind 6 2 0
1947 Ind 9 0 1 Tied 1948 Cotton Bowl Classic vs. SMU, 13-13 4
1948 Ind 7 1 1 18
1949 F. Joseph "Joe" Bedenk Ind 5 4 0
1950 Charles A. "Rip" Engle Ind 5 3 1
1951 Ind 5 4 0
1952 Ind 7 2 1
1953 Ind 6 3 0
1954 Ind 7 2 0 20
1955 Ind 5 4 0
1956 Ind 6 2 1
1957 Ind 6 3 0
1958 Ind 6 3 1
1959 Ind 9 2 0 Won 1959 Liberty Bowl vs. Alabama, 7–0 12
1960 Ind 7 3 0 Won 1960 Liberty Bowl vs. Oregon, 41-12 16
1961 Ind 8 3 0 Won 1961 Gator Bowl vs. Georgia Tech, 30–15 17
1962 Ind 9 2 0 Lost 1962 Gator Bowl vs. Florida 7–17 9
1963 Ind 7 3 0
1964 Ind 6 4 0
1965 Ind 5 5 0
1966 Joe Paterno Ind 5 5 0
1967 Ind 8 2 1 Tied 1967 Gator Bowl vs. Florida State, 17–17 10
1968 Ind 11 0 0 Won 1969 Orange Bowl vs. Kansas, 15–14 2
1969 Ind 11 0 0 Won 1970 Orange Bowl vs. Missouri 10–3 2
1970 Ind 7 3 0 18
1971 Ind 11 1 0 Won 1972 Cotton Bowl Classic vs. Texas, 30–6 5
1972 Ind 10 2 0 Lost 1972 Sugar Bowl vs. Oklahoma, 0-14 10
1973 Ind 12 0 0 Won 1974 Orange Bowl vs. LSU, 16–9 5
1974 Ind 10 2 0 Won 1975 Cotton Bowl Classic vs. Baylor, 41–20 7
1975 Ind 9 3 0 Lost 1975 Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama, 6–13 10
1976 Ind 7 5 0 Lost Gator Bowl vs. Notre Dame, 9–20
1977 Ind 11 1 0 Won 1977 Fiesta Bowl vs. Arizona State, 42–30 5
1978 Ind 11 1 0 Lost 1979 Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama, 7–14 4
1979 Ind 8 4 0 Won 1979 Liberty Bowl vs. Tulane, 9–6 20
1980 Ind 10 2 0 Won 1980 Fiesta Bowl vs. Ohio State, 31–19 8
1981 Ind 10 2 0 Won 1981 Fiesta Bowl vs. USC, 26–10 3
1982 Ind 11 1 0 Won 1983 Sugar Bowl vs. Georgia, 27–23 1
1983 Ind 8 4 1 Won 1983 Aloha Bowl vs. Washington, 13–10
1984 Ind 6 5 0
1985 Ind 11 1 0 Lost 1986 Orange Bowl vs. Oklahoma 10–25 3
1986 Ind 12 0 0 Won 1987 Fiesta Bowl vs. Miami (FL), 14–10 1
1987 Ind 8 4 0 Lost 1988 Citrus Bowl vs. Clemson, 10–35
1988 Ind 5 6 0
1989 Ind 8 3 1 Won 1989 Holiday Bowl vs. BYU, 50–39 15
1990 Ind 9 3 0 Lost 1990 Champs Sports Bowl vs. Florida State, 17–24 11
1991 Ind 11 2 0 Won 1992 Fiesta Bowl vs. Tennessee, 42–17 3
1992 Ind 7 5 0 Lost 1993 Champs Sports Bowl vs. Stanford, 3–24
1993 Big Ten 10 2 0 Won 1994 Citrus Bowl vs. Tennessee, 31–13 8
1994 Big Ten 12 0 0 Won 1995 Rose Bowl vs. Oregon, 38–20 2
1995 Big Ten 9 3 0 Won 1996 Outback Bowl vs. Auburn, 43–14 13
1996 Big Ten 11 2 -[A 1] Won 1997 Fiesta Bowl vs. Texas, 38–15 7
1997 Big Ten 9 3 - Lost 1998 Citrus Bowl vs. Florida, 6–21 16
1998 Big Ten 9 3 - Won 1999 Outback Bowl vs. Kentucky, 26–14 17
1999 Big Ten 10 3 - Won 1999 Alamo Bowl vs. Texas A&M, 24–0 11
2000 Big Ten 5 7 -
2001 Big Ten 5 6 -
2002 Big Ten 9 4 - Lost 2003 Capital One Bowl vs. Auburn, 9–13 16
2003 Big Ten 3 9 -
2004 Big Ten 4 7 -
2005 Big Ten 11 1 - Won 2006 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State, 26–23 3
2006 Big Ten 9 4 - Won 2007 Outback Bowl vs. Tennessee, 20–10 24
2007 Big Ten 9 4 - Won 2007 Alamo Bowl vs. Texas A&M, 24–17
2008 Big Ten 11 2 - Lost 2009 Rose Bowl Game vs. USC, 24–38 8
2009 Big Ten 11 2 - Won 2010 Capital One Bowl vs. LSU, 19-17 9
2010 Big Ten 7 6 - Lost 2011 Outback Bowl vs. Florida, 24-37
2011 Joe Paterno
Tom Bradley (interim)[A 2]
Big Ten 9 4 - Lost 2012 TicketCity Bowl vs. Houston, 14-30
Total 827 360 43 (all games)

Coaching record

List of coaches and their record (win-loss-ties):

Notes

  1. ^ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.[3]
  2. ^ Joe Paterno was fired in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal on November 9, 2011, and defensive coordinator Tom Bradley was named the interim head coach in his place.[4][5][6]

References