The 1973 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a perfect record of 12–0 with a win over LSU in the Orange Bowl. The team was the third under Paterno to go undefeated, following consecutive perfect seasons in 1968 and 1969. John Cappelletti, senior running back, won the Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding player in college football. Penn State played home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Game summaries Stanford

Penn State’s defense dominated Stanford, consistently applying pressure and forcing the opposing offense into hurried plays. The Nittany Lions’ blitzing strategy disrupted Stanford’s rhythm, resulting in sacks, turnovers, and limited offensive production, but Penn State was mostly unable to convert that pressure into points. The scoring started in the second quarter when Lion defensemen Greg Murphy and Doug Allen broke through the punt defense, with Allen belting the ball through the end zone for a safety. Late in the half, Jimmy Bradley recovered a fumble at the Stanford 10 yard line to set up another score two plays later when quarterback Tom Shuman found Gary Hayman from 14 yards out. In the second half, Cappelletti and Bahr rounded out the scoring for Penn State and Stanford scored against the Penn State reserves with three minutes left in the game.

Navy

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."Nittany Lions Roar Past Outclassed Midshipmen." Palm Beach Post. p. 84. 1973 Sep 23.

Iowa

Air Force

Penn State defeated Air Force 19–9 on October 6, 1973, in a regionally televised game at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs. The Nittany Lions were held scoreless for more than a quarter by a quick and physical Air Force defense, which took an early 3–0 lead on Gary Lawson’s 44-yard field goal. Penn State broke through midway through the second quarter when quarterback Tom Shuman connected with Gary Hayman on a 38-yard touchdown pass.

Only 34 seconds later, following an Air Force fumble, John Cappelletti scored on a four-yard run to extend the lead. Cappelletti added his second touchdown early in the third quarter on an eight-yard run after Penn State marched 80 yards in seven plays following an end-zone interception by defensive back Jim Bradley. Air Force did not score again until the final period, when Rich Haynie threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Billy Berry.

Cappelletti rushed for a then career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns, leading Penn State to its fourth straight victory and improving the Nittany Lions to 4–0 on the season.

Army

Penn State defeated Army 54–3 on October 13, 1973, at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, before a crowd of 58,194. The victory marked the Nittany Lions’ fifth win of the season and kept them undefeated and untied. Penn State scored 26 points in the first quarter. Bob Nagle opened the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown run, followed by a 66-yard touchdown pass from Tom Shuman to Jimmy Scott. Fullback Tom Donchez added two rushing touchdowns later in the opening period, one set up by an interception and another following a long completion to Dan Natale.

Army managed its only points of the game in the second quarter on a 46-yard field goal by Jim Barclay. Penn State continued to score throughout the remainder of the contest, even after substituting reserves into the lineup. Nagle scored his second touchdown of the game, and Walt Addie added a 64-yard scoring run. Backup quarterback Dick Barvinchak later connected with Jim Eaise on a 35-yard touchdown pass, and John Huttenberger scored the final touchdown for Penn State.

Although John Cappelletti did not score, he led the offense with 151 rushing yards on 17 carries and set up several early touchdowns. Penn State amassed a season-high 607 yards of total offense, including 441 rushing yards. The Nittany Lion defense limited Army to 53 rushing yards and pressured quarterback King Fink throughout the game, recording multiple sacks.

Syracuse

Eugene Register-Guard. 1973 Oct 21.

West Virginia

Maryland

North Carolina State

Ohio

Penn State tailback John Cappelletti delivered one of the most dominant performances of his career, rushing for 204 yards and scoring four touchdowns in less than 30 minutes of play as the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions defeated Ohio, 49–10, at Beaver Stadium. The victory marked Penn State’s 10th consecutive win of the season and its 20th straight regular-season victory overall. Cappelletti scored all four of his touchdowns in the first half, becoming Penn State’s second-leading all-time rusher and strengthening his Heisman Trophy candidacy. Penn State’s defense and special teams added to the rout in the second half, as linebacker Tom Hull returned a blocked punt 29 yards for a touchdown and Ed O’Neil intercepted a pass and returned it 66 yards for another score.

Pitt

Penn State overcame a 13–3 halftime deficit with a dominant second-half performance to defeat Pittsburgh 35–13 on November 24, 1973, before 56,600 fans at Beaver Stadium. The Panthers controlled much of the first half behind freshman Tony Dorsett, who scored on a 14-yard touchdown run and finished with 77 rushing yards. Pitt also added two field goals by Carson Long while limiting the Nittany Lions to a single Chris Bahr field goal before intermission.

Penn State’s defense turned the game in the third quarter, holding Pittsburgh to just 15 yards and no first downs in the period. Penn State narrowed Pitt's lead to 13-11 when Fullback Bob Nagle scored from 1 yard out and Hayman added the 2-point conversion on a reception. John Cappelletti put Penn State ahead for good on 5-yard touchdown and the game was sealed when Linebacker Tom Hull tallied a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Cappelletti, a leading Heisman Trophy candidate, rushed for 161 yards on 37 carries and was named the game’s outstanding player. The victory capped an undefeated 11–0 regular season for Penn State and secured its bid to the Orange Bowl.

LSU

Roster

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

Rushing Player Yards Attempts Avg TDs Cappelletti 1,522 286 5.3 17 Nagle 343 77 4.5 7 Addie 311 43 7.2 2 Donchez 299 58 5.2 2 Petchel 143 34 4.2 2 Boyle 125 28 4.5 2 Huttenberger 93 19 4.9 1 Taylor 44 16 2.8 1 Barvinchak 33 21 1.6 1 Scott 24 2 12.0 0 Herd 20 5 4.0 0 Pirogowicz 16 4 4.0 1 Eaise 1 1 1.0 0 Clark −16 5 −3.2 1 Shuman −42 44 −1.0 2

Receiving Player Receptions Yards Avg TDs Hayman 30 525 17.5 3 Natale 21 359 17.1 2 Herd 10 197 19.7 5 Scott 8 150 18.8 2 Cappelletti 6 69 11.5 0 Eaise 5 92 18.4 1 Bland 3 85 28.3 1 Donchez 3 32 10.7 0 Nagle 3 19 6.3 0 Jeram 1 22 22.0 0 Addie 1 10 10.0 0 Boyle 1 −3 −3.0 0 Nessel 1 −5 −5.0 0

Kick returns Player Returns Avg Yards TDs Hayman 8 29.6 237 1 Bland 4 21.8 87 0 Zmudzin 4 8.5 34 0 Eaise 3 6.7 20 0 Petchel 2 23.0 46 0 Cappelletti 1 25.0 25 0 Hite 1 19.0 19 0 Williams 1 5.0 5 0

Punt returns Player Returns Avg Yards TDs Hayman 23 19.2 442 1 Eaise 15 7.9 119 0 Zur 2 30.0 60 0 Bradley 2 8.0 16 0 Odell 2 2.0 2 0 Hull 1 29.0 29 1 Allen 1 6.0 6 0 Cappelletti 2 −4.5 −9 0 Petchel 1 5.0 5 0

Kicking Player Points FG Made–Attempts Avg XP Made–Attempts Bahr 70 11–19 .578 37–42 Reihner 5 0–1 .000 5–7

Punting Player Avg Punts Yards Masella 36.6 48 1,757 Clark 41.5 4 166

Interceptions Player INT Yards TDs Bradley 4 59 0 Mitchell 3 23 0 Ellis 3 15 0 O’Neil 2 68 1 Hull 2 51 1 Allen 2 36 0 Buttle 1 25 1 Devlin 1 16 0 Zur 1 12 0

Tackles Player Tackles Hartenstine 104 Buttle 38

Scoring Player Points TDs FG XP+2pt Cappelletti 102 17 0 0 Bahr 70 0 11 37 Nagle 42 7 0 0 Hayman 32 5 0 1* Herd 30 5 0 0 Natale 20 3 0 1* Addie 12 2 0 0 Boyle 12 2 0 0 Donchez 12 2 0 0 Hull 12 2 0 0 Scott 12 2 0 0 Shuman 12 2 0 0 Barvinchak 6 1 0 0 Bland 6 1 0 0 Buttle 6 1 0 0 Clark 6 1 0 0 Eaise 6 1 0 0 Huttenberger 6 1 0 0 O'Neil 6 1 0 0 Pirogowicz 6 1 0 0 Taylor 6 1 0 0 Reihner 5 0 0 5

Nittany Anthology

Awards John Cappelletti Heisman Trophy Maxwell Award Walter Camp Award

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

References