FROSTING...THE FIRST NOMINEE

Sparked by the upcoming season's unusually weak slate of games (especially non-conference), last week we introduced our hunt for Penn State's easiest schedule of the last 45 years.

Since this is a highly subjective and debatable subject, we are going to steer far clear of making a definitive decision and instead put the onus on you, the reader, to decide. We'll provide the facts and a bit of background and you provide the conclusion and award (or is it disgrace) one season with the title of "Weakest Penn State Schedule."

One final note, before unveiling the first nominee. This exercise says nothing of the process of making a schedule or who should take the blame for a soft schedule. We only want to know which year had the softest lineup of opponents. And without further adieu, here is the first of five nominees, one from each decade Joe Paterno has been the head coach.

1968

Joe Paterno enjoyed the first of his five unbeaten and untied squads in the 1968 season, and while this team was absolutely loaded with talent, the unblemished record came at the hands of some real creampuffs. The Lions' 10 opponents finished a combined 43-56 and not one of them was ranked at the time it played Penn State. The schedule did feature five road games, including a cross-country trip to take on the UCLA Bruins sandwiched between dates in Morgantown, WV and Chestnut Hill, MA, but also included six teams that failed to win more than half of their games. The true measure of the greatness of this team was somewhat crystallized when a total of 17 players who were on the 1968 roster were drafted into the NFL, including eventual Hall of Famer Jack Ham.

THE 1968 SCHEDULE

vs. Navy (2-8) W 31-6

vs. Kansas State (4-6) W 25-9

@ West Virginia (7-3) W 31-20

@ UCLA (3-7) W 21-6

@ Boston College (6-3) W 29-0

vs. Army (7-3) W 28-24

vs. Miami (5-5) W 22-7

@ Maryland (2-8) W 57-13

@ Pittsburgh (1-9) W 65-9

vs. Syracuse (6-4) W 30-12

THE GOOD:
The Lions had to play three straight road games, two of which came against teams with winning records.

THE BAD:
Penn State opened the year with a Navy squad that finished 2-8 and wrapped up its road schedule with a Pitt Panther team that was 1-9.


POSTSCRIPT:
The Lions would accept an invitation to The Orange Bowl in Miami, Fl to take on the sixth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks. Penn State would win in thrilling fashion after the Jayhawks were flagged for too many men on the field, giving the Lions a second chance at the game-winning two-point conversion, which Penn State scored on to take a one-point lead with just eight seconds left on the clock. The Nittany Lions finished the 1968 season ranked #2, behind an undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes team that had knocked off USC in The Rose Bowl. The next season, Penn State would once again run the tables to finish 11-0, but be overlooked by the national media and a certain president, winding up #2 behind the Texas Longhorns.