# 1969 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 1969 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 1969 NCAA University Division football season.
Despite posting its second consecutive undefeated, untied season, the Nittany Lions did not have a shot at the national championship. President Richard Nixon said that he would consider the winner of the December 6 matchup between the Texas Longhorns and the Arkansas Razorbacks, then ranked at the top of the polls, and the real voters do not seem to have differed. Paterno, at the 1973 commencement, was quoted saying, "I'd like to know how could the president know so little about Watergate in 1973 and so much about college football in 1969?" Then Pennsylvania Governor Raymond P. Shafer got the White House's attention with Penn State's two-season undefeated streak. A White House assistant called Paterno to invite him and the team to the White House to receive a trophy for their accomplishment. Paterno has stated many times that he responded with, "You can tell the president to take that trophy and shove it."
Penn State declined an invitation to play the Texas/Arkansas winner in the Cotton Bowl Classic, instead playing sixth-ranked Missouri in the Orange Bowl. Penn State beat Missouri 10–3, while Texas beat Notre Dame 21–17 and was recognized as the consensus national champion.$^{:120}$ Penn State was selected co-national champion by FACT and Sagarin, both NCAA-designated major selectors.$^{:111}$

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 20 | at Navy | No. 3 | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | | W 45–22 | 28,796 |
| September 27 | Colorado | No. 2 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA | | W 27–3 | 51,402 |
| October 4 | at Kansas State | No. 2 | KSU StadiumManhattan, KS | | W 17–14 | 37,000 |
| October 11 | No. 17 West Virginia | No. 5 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA (rivalry) | | W 20–0 | 52,713 |
| October 18 | at Syracuse | No. 5 | Archbold StadiumSyracuse, NY (rivalry) | | W 15–14 | 42,291 |
| October 25 | Ohio | No. 8 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA | | W 42–3 | 49,069 |
| November 1 | Boston College | No. 5 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA | CBS | W 38–16 | 46,652 |
| November 15 | Maryland | No. 5 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA (rivalry) | | W 48–0 | 46,106 |
| November 22 | at Pittsburgh | No. 4 | Pitt StadiumPittsburgh, PA (rivalry) | | W 27–7 | 39,517 |
| November 29 | at NC State | No. 3 | Carter StadiumRaleigh, NC | ABC | W 33–8 | 24,150 |
| January 1, 1970 | vs. No. 6 Missouri | No. 2 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL (Orange Bowl) | NBC | W 10–3 | 77,282 |
| HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Penn State | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
| Pittsburgh | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### NC State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Penn St | 3 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 33 |
| NC State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |

## Awards

* Mike Reid
** Maxwell Award
** Outland Trophy

## NFL draft

Eight Nittany Lions were selected in the 1970 NFL draft.
| Round | Pick | Overall | Name | Position | Team |
| 1st | 7 | 7 | Mike Reid | Defensive tackle | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 3rd | 6 | 58 | Charlie Pittman | Running back | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 3rd | 20 | 72 | Dennis Onkotz | Linebacker | New York Jets |
| 4th | 17 | 95 | Steve Smear | Defensive end/Linebacker | Baltimore Colts |
| 4th | 20 | 98 | John Ebersole | Linebacker | New York Jets |
| 7th | 23 | 179 | Don Abbey | Fullback | Dallas Cowboys |
| 8th | 17 | 199 | Paul Johnson | Running back | Washington Redskins |
| 12th | 17 | 303 | James Kates | Linebacker | Washington Redskins |