The countdown to the start of Penn State's 2024 season is down to 81 days.
However, there is no player on the Nittany Lions' roster for this fall that is set to wear the 81 jersey. With that, Happy Valley Insider takes a look back in time at the Nittany Lions' 1981 Fiesta Bowl winning team.
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In Joe Paterno's 16th season as head coach of the Nittany Lions, the Nittany Lions went 10-2, winning the Lambert Trophy, the trophy annually given out to the best team in the East region every year from 1936 through (at least) 2020. It's unclear if it has been officially awarded in the 2021-2023 seasons
(If 2020 was the final year, the Nittany Lions were the winners of the Lambert Trophy 32 times.)
That season the Nittany Lions won their first six games of the season, entering a matchup in late October as the No.1 team, set for a national television showdown with the Miami Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes would upset the Nittany Lions that Halloween evening, recovering a fumble and picking off Todd Blackledge in the final two and half minutes of the matchup. To secure the upset win over Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions. It was the fifth time that season, up to October 31 that the No. 1 team in the country lost, and it wouldn't be the last.
After the defeat, the Nittany Lions bounced back to defeat NC State one week later but would suffer their second loss to Alabama on November 14 at Beaver Stadium.
It would be the Nittany Lions' final loss of the season as they defeated Notre Dame on November 21, 24-21 before dominating No. 1 Pittsburgh 48-14 at Pittsburgh to cap off their season.
The Nittany Lions would draw the No. 8 USC Trojans in the Fiesta Bowl, defeating the Marcus Allen led Trojans 26-10. Allen that season would go onto win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and Walter Camp Award but the Nittany Lions defense kept Allen and the Trojans to just 60 rushing yards on the day across 41 carries.
Following the season, Joe Paterno was named the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year, the first time in his career that he earned the recognition.
Additionally, ten Nittany Lions would be drafted in the 1982 NFL Draft including four within the first forty picks led by offensive linemen Mike Munchak and Sean Farrell, both in the first round.
A full breakdown of the Nittany Lions' 1981 schedule can be seen below.
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