1982 McMNC: Penn State Nittany Lions

AP Top 10: Final Record -- Key Bowl Results

1. Penn State: 11-1-0 -- W, Sugar, 27-23
2. SMU: 11-0-1 -- W, Cotton, 7-3
3. Nebraska: 12-1-0 -- W, Orange, 21-20
4. Georgia: 11-1-0 -- L, Sugar, 23-27
5. UCLA: 10-1-1 -- W, Rose, 24-14
6. Arizona State: 10-2-0 -- W, Fiesta, 32-21
7. Washington: 10-2-0 -- W, Aloha, 21-20
8. Clemson: 9-1-1 -- NONE (probation)
9. Arkansas: 9-2-1 -- W, Bluebonnet, 28-24
10. LSU: 8-3-1 -- L, Orange, 20-21

So, here we are in another clusterf**k season. Surprise.

Penn State, SMU, Nebraska, UCLA, Arizona State and Washington qualify as our TUCs for the 1982 McMNC. However, since three teams reside in the same conference, that tie is broken easily before we even get started: UCLA wins the conference title (although, like the SEC, the Pac-10 is idiotic when it comes to balanced schedules!), despite losing the head-to-head matchup against Washington. Go figure: UCLA was 5-1-1 in conference play, while the Huskies were 6-2 in league play. Doh!

So, that leave sus with Penn State, SMU, Nebraska and UCLA. Now, SMU was on probation in 1981, and in 1985, they would receive another three years' probation. In 1986, they'd get caught doing something illegal AGAIN and face the death penalty. How does this impact the 1982 team? They had a new coach who was innocent of the charges brought resulting in the 1981 probation, but this coach was probably at the center of the 1985 charges, too. All in all, SMU is just too problematic to consider for its cheatenous patterns. They're out.

Down to three teams (Penn State, Nebraska and UCLA), there is one more tie to break: Nebraska lost at Penn State on September 23rd by three points. That gives the Nittany Lions a head-to-head edge over the 'Huskers and eliminates them.

So we're now down to two teams: Penn State and UCLA. Phew, that was easy!

UCLA has an SOS rating of 55%, and they have a loss and a tie. The loss was a three-point setback on the road at #7 Washington. Surely, this is not a bad loss. However, the Bruins also have a tie: at home to unranked 6-4-1 Arizona (24-24). For what it is worth, the Wildcats had a three-point win at 6-4-1 Notre Dame and ten-point home win over #6 Arizona State that kept the Sun Devils from the Rose Bowl. They were a decent team. The Bruins also had consecutive road wins over unranked 7-5 Wisconsin (51-26) and UPI #15 Michigan (8-4) by a 31-27 score in September, while beating 7-4 California on the road by 16 points, AP #15 USC by a point at "home" and Michigan once again in the Rose Bowl. They had seven games against winning teams and went 5-1-1. A good schedule, to be sure, even with the two blemishes.

Penn State, however, did its seemingly-usual number with a 63% SOS rating. Their one loss was a 21-point road setback at UPI #17 Alabama (8-4). Can a team that loses a game by 20 points still win the McMNC? The Nittany Lions had wins over AP #20 Maryland (8-4) at home by eight points, the three-point win over #3 Nebraska at home, a 24-0 win over AP #19 West Virginia (9-3) on the road, a 35-point win over unranked 8-3-1 Boston College on the road, a 54-0 win over unranked 6-5 North Carolina State, a ten-point road win over Notre Dame, a nine-point win over #10 Pittsburgh at home, and the bowl win over then-#1 and previously unbeaten Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Penn State played NINE winning teams in 1982, and they won eight of those games.

That's overwhelming enough to compensate for the one blowout loss, on the road, to a legend in his last season. This is Penn State's second McMNC in a row, and it is their third McMNC in the last six seasons.

Dynasty?

McMNC Revisions
1. Penn State
2. UCLA
3. Nebraska
4. Georgia
5. SMU

RUNNING SCORECARD:
USC: -1962, =1967, +1969, =1972, +1978, +1979
Pittsburgh: +1936, -1937, =1976, +1980
Tennessee: +1938, +1942, +1950, -1951
Penn State: +1977, +1981, =1982
UCLA: +1965
Arkansas: +1964
Mississippi: +1962
Washington: +1960
Iowa: +1956
Georgia Tech: +1952
Illinois: +1951
Michigan: +1947, =1948
Purdue: +1943
Stanford: +1940
California: +1937
Nebraska: =1970, =1971
Syracuse: =1959
LSU: =1958
Texas A&M: =1939
Georgia: +1946, -1980
Michigan State: -1952, +1953
Ohio State: -1942, +1944, =1954, =1968
Oklahoma: +1949, -1950, =1955, -1956, +1957, =1975
TCU: -1938
Maryland: -1953
Auburn: -1957
Clemson: -1981
Texas: =1963, -1969
Army: -1944, -1945
Minnesota: -1936, -1940, =1941, -1960
Alabama: +1945, =1961, -1964, -1965, -1978, -1979
Notre Dame: -1943, -1946, -1947, -1949, =1966, =1973, -1977