# 1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was selected national champion by Dunkel, an NCAA-designated major selector, while Clemson, who finished the season 12–0, was the consensus national champion.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 12 | 1:30 p.m. | Cincinnati | No. 9 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA | ESPN (tape delay) | W 52–0 | 84,342 |
| September 26 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 15 Nebraska | No. 3 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | ESPN (tape delay) | W 30–24 | 76,308 |
| October 3 | 1:30 p.m. | Temple | No. 2 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA | | W 30–0 | 84,562 |
| October 10 | 1:30 p.m. | Boston College | No. 2 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA | ESPN (tape delay) | W 38–7 | 84,473 |
| October 17 | 1:30 p.m. | at Syracuse | No. 2 | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY (rivalry) | | W 41–16 | 50,037 |
| October 24 | 1:30 p.m. | West Virginia | No. 1 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA (rivalry) | ESPN (tape delay) | W 30–7 | 85,012 |
| October 31 | 4:00 p.m. | at Miami (FL) | No. 1 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL | ABC | L 14–17 | 32,117 |
| November 7 | 1:00 p.m. | at NC State | No. 6 | Carter–Finley StadiumRaleigh, NC | | W 22–15 | 48,800 |
| November 14 | 12:20 p.m. | No. 6 Alabama | No. 5 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA (rivalry) | ABC regional | L 16–31 | 85,133 |
| November 21 | 1:00 p.m. | Notre Dame | No. 13 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA (rivalry) | ESPN (tape delay) | W 24–21 | 84,175 |
| November 28 | 12:25 p.m. | at No. 1 Pittsburgh | No. 11 | Pitt StadiumPittsburgh, PA (rivalry) | ABC | W 48–14 | 60,260 |
| January 1, 1982 | 1:30 p.m. | vs. No. 8 USC | No. 7 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl) | NBC | W 26–10 | 71,053 |
| HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #3 Penn State | 3 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 30 |
| #15 Nebraska | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 24 |

### Boston College

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Boston College | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Penn St | 10 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 38 |

### Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Notre Dame | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| • Penn St | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
Following the game, Penn State accepted an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl.

### Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Penn St | 0 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 48 |
| Pittsburgh | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
The Nittany Lions snapped the Panthers' 17-game winning streak in convincing fashion.

### Vs. USC (Fiesta Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 7 Nittany Lions | 7 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 26 |
| No. 8 Trojans | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |

## NFL draft

Ten Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1982 NFL draft.
| Round | Pick | Overall | Name | Position | Team |
| 1st | 8 | 8 | Mike Munchak | Offensive guard | Houston Oilers |
| 1st | 17 | 17 | Sean Farrell | Offensive guard | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 2nd | 1 | 28 | Leo Wisniewski | Nose tackle | Baltimore Colts |
| 2nd | 10 | 37 | Jim Romano | Center | Los Angeles Raiders |
| 3rd | 23 | 78 | Vyto Kab | Tight end | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 3rd | 25 | 80 | Paul Lankford | Defensive back | Miami Dolphins |
| 5th | 15 | 126 | Mike Meade | Running back | Green Bay Packers |
| 6th | 13 | 152 | Chet Parlavecchio | Linebacker | Green Bay Packers |
| 9th | 11 | 234 | Matt Bradley | Linebacker | Houston Oilers |
| 10th | 12 | 263 | Rich D'Amico | Linebacker | Los Angeles Raiders |

## Awards

* Joe Paterno
       Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award