The 1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was selected national champion by

Dunkel Dunkel, or Dunkles, is a word used for several types of dark German lager. ''Dunkel'' is the German word meaning ''dark'', and dunkel beers typically range in color from amber to dark reddish brown. They are characterized by their smooth malty f ...

, an NCAA-designated major selector, while Clemson was the consensus national champion.

Schedule

Roster

Game summaries

at Nebraska

Boston College

Notre Dame

*Source:''
Eugene Register-Guard
Following the game, Penn State accepted an invitation to the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been pla ...

Pittsburgh

*Source: The Nittany Lions snapped the Panthers' 17-game winning streak in convincing fashion.

vs. USC (Fiesta Bowl)

*Source:

NFL Draft

Ten Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1982 NFL Draft.

Awards

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2 ...

Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award is an annual college football award given to the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision head coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The award is named for Bobby Dodd, ...

References

{{Penn State Nittany Lions football navbox Penn State Penn State Nittany Lions football seasons Fiesta Bowl champion seasons Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy seasons

Penn State Nittany Lions football The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 af ...