1977 McMNC: Penn State Nittany Lions

AP Top 10: Final Record -- Key Bowl Results

1. Notre Dame: 11-1-0 -- W, Cotton, 38-10
2. Alabama: 11-1-0 -- W, Sugar, 35-6
3. Arkansas: 11-1-0 -- W, Orange, 31-6
4. Texas: 11-1-0 -- L, Cotton, 10-38
5. Penn State: 11-1-0 -- W, Fiesta, 42-30
6. Kentucky: 10-1-0 -- NONE (probation)
7. Oklahoma: 10-2-0 -- L, Orange, 6-31
8. Pittsburgh: 9-2-1 -- W, Gator, 34-3
9. Michigan: 10-2-0 -- L, Rose, 20-27
10. Washington: 8-4-0 -- W, Rose, 27-20

So, this is a fun year (ugh). You have four teams with the same credentials (Notre Dame, Alabama, Arkansas and Penn State -- and if Bo hadn't choked away another Rose Bowl ...), so let's start separating them.

The Irish have an SOS rating of 58%, which is going to be hard to beat. They have a bad loss, though: a seven-point road loss to 5-6 Mississippi, the middle leg of a three-game road trip to open the season. They did beat #8 Pittsburgh by ten points on the road to open the season, they beat 7-3-1 Michigan State by ten points at home, they shutout 7-4 Army on the road 20-0, they pounded AP #13 USC (8-4) at home by 30 points, they creamed 6-5 Georgia Tech by 55 points at home, they beat AP #19 Clemson (8-3-1) by four points on the road, and they butchered then-#1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Overall, a pretty impressive slate -- but will that loss to a losing team hurt them?

Alabama has a respectable SOS at 51%, but it still trails the Irish, of course. Their loss? A seven-point road loss to AP #12 Nebraska (9-3) on September 17, the same day the Irish lost. But that is a very respectable loss, and it could be enough to overcome the Irish SOS advantage. They beat #13 USC on the road by a point, they pounded 7-4-1 Louisville at home by 49 points, they beat 8-4 Louisiana State on the road by 21 points, and they buried #11 Ohio State (9-3) in the Sugar Bowl. Their wins aren't as impressive as Notre Dame's, but they don't have an embarrassing loss, either.

Arkansas is eliminated from this McMNC discussion, because they finished second in the SWC -- their one loss was a four-point home setback to the Longhorns. And with a 48% SOS rating, they wouldn't have made the cut, anyway.

That leaves us with Penn State. Long had the Nittany Lions missed out on McMNCs because of poor schedule, but in 1977? Their SOS rating was an astounding 60%! But was it a soft 60% or a firm 60%? Their one loss was four-point home setback to cheatenous #6 Kentucky. That's almost like a win, in truth, especially in this conversation. They beat 8-3 Rutgers by 38 points on the road (soft), they beat 7-5 Houston at home by 17 points, they beat 8-5 Maryland at home by 18 points, they beat 6-5 Syracuse on the road by seven points, they beat UPI #19 North Carolina State (8-4) on the road by four points, they beat #8 Pittsburgh on the road by two points, and they beat AP #18 Arizona State (9-3) in the Fiesta Bowl. An interesting schedule, supported by games against middling teams (5-6 West Virginia and 5-5-1 Temple), but it lacks pop.

So we have a close one here: Notre Dame at 58% SOS with a bad loss and three big wins, Alabama at 51% SOS with a good loss and one big win, and Penn State at 60% SOS with a "loss" to probation Kentucky and few impressive wins.

Hmmmm. As Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus would say, "It vexes me. I'm terribly vexed."

In the end, you can't give the McMNC to a TUC who has a loss to a losing team, especially when the other two teams lost to Top 12 teams. That eliminates Notre Dame. And Penn State trumps Alabama on SOS and the "better loss" angle.

Congratulations, Joe Paterno. You earned it.

McMNC Revisions
1. Penn State
2. Alabama
3. Notre Dame
4. Arkansas
5. Texas

RUNNING SCORECARD:
Tennessee: +1938, +1942, +1950, -1951
Penn State: +1977
UCLA: +1965
Arkansas: +1964
Mississippi: +1962
Washington: +1960
Iowa: +1956
Georgia Tech: +1952
Illinois: +1951
Michigan: +1947, =1948
Georgia: +1946
Purdue: +1943
Stanford: +1940
California: +1937
Pittsburgh: +1936, -1937, =1976
Nebraska: =1970, =1971
Syracuse: =1959
LSU: =1958
Texas A&M: =1939
Michigan State: -1952, +1953
USC: -1962, =1967, +1969, =1972
Ohio State: -1942, +1944, =1954, =1968
Oklahoma: +1949, -1950, =1955, -1956, +1957, =1975
TCU: -1938
Maryland: -1953
Auburn: -1957
Texas: =1963, -1969
Alabama: +1945, =1961, -1964, -1965
Army: -1944, -1945
Minnesota: -1936, -1940, =1941, -1960
Notre Dame: -1943, -1946, -1947, -1949, =1966, =1973, -1977