With the first nominee already introduced, we now unveil the second in our list; this one from the 1970s.
1971
The 1971 Nittany Lions ran roughshod over everybody in their path to start the season 10-0. Then, a funny thing happened on the way to their third undefeated regular season in four years, they ran into the Tennessee Volunteers - the only club it played that season with more than seven wins.
The ten straight wins to open the 1971 campaign came via brutal domination by the Lions. Penn State's offense, led by one of the school's greatest backfields ever, Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell, averaged 44 points per game over that stretch, and failed to put up more than 30 only once. The defense was just as impressive, surrendering just 10 points per contest and notching a pair of shutouts. Things would change in Knoxville however, as the fifth-ranked Lions were thoroughly beaten by the Vols, 31-11, on national television.
A closer look at those first ten opponents reveals a lackluster lineup including just one team with more than six wins and a group of five opponents that had just 12 total wins among them. The Lions started the year with back-to-back road games against Navy and Iowa, the former in the middle of a string of six straight losing seasons and the latter on its way to a one-win season; the tenth of nineteen straight non-winning campaigns. The Lions hung 66 points on a TCU team that may have been guilty of feeling a little too good about what would become a 6-4-1 season, it's only time finishing above .500 in 18 straight years.
1971 Schedule
@ Navy (3-8) W 56-3
@ Iowa (1-10) W 44-14
vs. Air Force (6-4) W 16-14
vs. Army (6-4) W 42-0
@ Syracuse (5-5) W 31-0
vs. TCU (6-4-1) W 66-14
@ West Virginia (7-4) W 35-7
vs. Maryland (2-9) W 63-27
vs. NC State (3-8) W 35-3
@ Pittsburgh (3-8) W 55-18
@ Tennessee (10-2) L 31-11
THE GOOD
Penn State played six road games this season and only five at home. It also had a true national schedule, playing games in six different states from Iowa to Tennessee. In addition, say what you want about the level of competition, but Penn State left no doubt as to how great it really was, winning its games by an average of 34 points.
THE BAD
The Lions played five teams with three or fewer wins, and only one squad that was ranked at the time of the game.
POSTSCRIPT
This Penn State team featured the one-two punch of Harris and Mitchell and although it didn't have a chance to prove it during the regular season, could have played with anybody in the country. It did finally get its chance in the Cotton Bowl, dismantling the Texas Longhorns and its wishbone attack, 30-6. Penn State would finish ranked fifth in the AP Poll, it's third top-five finish in four seasons. The Lions would post another double-digit win season the following year before going 12-0 in 1973 behind Penn State's only Heisman Trophy winner, John Cappelletti.
The 1971 Nittany Lions ran roughshod over everybody in their path to start the season 10-0. Then, a funny thing happened on the way to their third undefeated regular season in four years, they ran into the Tennessee Volunteers - the only club it played that season with more than seven wins.
The ten straight wins to open the 1971 campaign came via brutal domination by the Lions. Penn State's offense, led by one of the school's greatest backfields ever, Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell, averaged 44 points per game over that stretch, and failed to put up more than 30 only once. The defense was just as impressive, surrendering just 10 points per contest and notching a pair of shutouts. Things would change in Knoxville however, as the fifth-ranked Lions were thoroughly beaten by the Vols, 31-11, on national television.
A closer look at those first ten opponents reveals a lackluster lineup including just one team with more than six wins and a group of five opponents that had just 12 total wins among them. The Lions started the year with back-to-back road games against Navy and Iowa, the former in the middle of a string of six straight losing seasons and the latter on its way to a one-win season; the tenth of nineteen straight non-winning campaigns. The Lions hung 66 points on a TCU team that may have been guilty of feeling a little too good about what would become a 6-4-1 season, it's only time finishing above .500 in 18 straight years.
1971 Schedule
@ Navy (3-8) W 56-3
@ Iowa (1-10) W 44-14
vs. Air Force (6-4) W 16-14
vs. Army (6-4) W 42-0
@ Syracuse (5-5) W 31-0
vs. TCU (6-4-1) W 66-14
@ West Virginia (7-4) W 35-7
vs. Maryland (2-9) W 63-27
vs. NC State (3-8) W 35-3
@ Pittsburgh (3-8) W 55-18
@ Tennessee (10-2) L 31-11
THE GOOD
Penn State played six road games this season and only five at home. It also had a true national schedule, playing games in six different states from Iowa to Tennessee. In addition, say what you want about the level of competition, but Penn State left no doubt as to how great it really was, winning its games by an average of 34 points.
THE BAD
The Lions played five teams with three or fewer wins, and only one squad that was ranked at the time of the game.
POSTSCRIPT
This Penn State team featured the one-two punch of Harris and Mitchell and although it didn't have a chance to prove it during the regular season, could have played with anybody in the country. It did finally get its chance in the Cotton Bowl, dismantling the Texas Longhorns and its wishbone attack, 30-6. Penn State would finish ranked fifth in the AP Poll, it's third top-five finish in four seasons. The Lions would post another double-digit win season the following year before going 12-0 in 1973 behind Penn State's only Heisman Trophy winner, John Cappelletti.
Check back to see the next nominee from the 1980s.
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