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1990 Penn State Nittany Lions football
1990 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Eastern champion
Blockbuster Bowl, L 17–24 vs. Florida State
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 11
Record	9–3
Head coach	Joe Paterno (25th season);
Offensive coordinator	Fran Ganter (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky (14th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
	Seasons ← 1989 1991 →

1990 Major eastern college football independents records
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 11 Penn State $	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Syracuse	4	–	1	–	1	7	–	4	–	2
Temple	3	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
West Virginia	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Pittsburgh	2	–	3	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
Boston College	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Rutgers	0	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1990 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season.^[1] The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	12:10 p.m.	Texas	No. 21	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	Raycom	L 13–17	85,973
September 15	3:30 p.m.	at No. 6 USC		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	L 14–19	70,594
September 22	1:00 p.m.	Rutgers		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 28–0	85,194
October 6	1:00 p.m.	Temple		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 48–10	85,874
October 13	2:30 p.m.	Syracuse		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	CBS	W 27–21	86,002
October 20	12:10 p.m.	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	CBS	W 40–21	32,000
October 27	5:00 p.m.	at Alabama		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 9–0	70,123	^[2]
November 3	1:00 p.m.	at West Virginia	No. 24	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		W 31–19	66,461	^[3]
November 10	1:00 p.m.	Maryland	No. 21	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 24–10	83,000	^[4]
November 17	4:00 p.m.	at No. 1 Notre Dame	No. 18	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ESPN	W 24–21	59,075
November 24	2:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	CBS	W 22–17	85,180
December 28	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 6 Florida State	No. 7	Joe Robbie Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (Blockbuster Bowl)	Raycom	L 17–24	75,129
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn State	0	7	0	7	14
• USC	7	6	6	0	19

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Penn State	7	7	7	10	31
West Virginia	3	3	6	7	19

1990 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`8`	Terry Smith	Jr
QB	`12`	Tom Bill
FB	`27`	Gary Brown	Sr
WR	`26`	David Daniels	Sr
QB	`19`	Tony Sacca	Jr
C		E. J. Sandusky	Jr
OT	`76`	Paul Siever	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`38`	Mark D'Onofrio	Jr
LB	`42`	Keith Goganious	Jr
DT	`85`	Frank Giannetti	Sr
LB	`58`	Reggie Givens	So
CB	`6`	Leonard Humphries	Jr
LB	`99`	Rich McKenzie	So
S	`9`	Darren Perry	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Six Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1991 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
3rd	19	74	David Daniels	Wide receiver	Seattle Seahawks
6th	19	158	Leroy Thompson	Running back	Pittsburgh Steelers
8th	19	214	Gary Brown	Running back	Houston Oilers
10th	13	263	Frank Giannetti	Defensive end	Indianapolis Colts
10th	14	264	Sean Love	Offensive guard	Dallas Cowboys
12th	13	319	Rob Luedeke	Center	Indianapolis Colts

^ "Penn State Yearly Results (1990-1994)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
^ "Alabama shut out by Penn State 9–0". Sunday News. October 28, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bill pulls Penn State past West Virginia". The Courier-Post. November 4, 1990. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Confidence in Sacca pays for Lions, 24–10". The Pittsburgh Press. November 11, 1990. Retrieved February 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1990 Nov 4. Retrieved 2018-Dec-15.