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By PAUL SOKOLOSKI; Times Leader Sports Writer
Sunday, September 03, 1995 Page: 8C
In their hearts, the Penn State Nittany Lions know there was no better team
in college football last season.
This year, they’re seeking to prove it, starting Saturday at home against
Texas Tech.
But even a second straight unbeaten, untied season may not be enough to
crown Penn State with a national championship.
After all, the Nittany Lions have been overlooked before.
“It doesn’t sit real well with us that we didn’t win the national
championship after going undefeated last year,” Penn State quarterback Wally
Richardson said. “We want to go undefeated again.
“If we do it two years in a row, it’s going to be hard for them not to give
us the national championship.”
Not necessarily, history argues.
The last time Penn State posted back-to-back undefeated seasons came in
1968 and 1969, when Nittany Lion teams capped off perfect years with victories
in the Orange Bowl. But both teams finished No. 2 in the Associated Press
college football poll, as State was rated second-best to Ohio State in 1968
and to Texas a year later.
Ironically, during a 1994 season in which those ’68 and ’69 teams were
honored at Beaver Stadium in a Silver Anniversary celebration, the Nittany
Lions were snubbed again.
They blasted opponents with one of the greatest offenses in college
football history.
They won the tough games, coming back against Michigan and Illinois. The
Lions roared through the respected Big Ten Conference and captured that
league’s championship with the greatest of ease.
And they put an exclamation point on their claim to fame by routing Oregon
in the Rose Bowl.
But instead Nebraska, which also finished unbeaten, walked away with the
national championship.
“Last year was kind of a crazy situation,” said wideout Bobby Engram. “We
had a really unique team and didn’t get much recognition for it.”
All Penn State gained were some gaudy offensive numbers that led the
nation, and their own arguments for holding a national title that seemed empty
without the official rings of proof.
“I think everybody was a little let-down, to go undefeated and not win the
national championship,” Richardson said. “We thought we deserved it, too. So
we really want to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke, that we had a good
football team.”
“We were really mad after what we did in the Big Ten last year,” said State
defensive back Brian Miller. “We’re definitely shooting for it this year.”
Call it unfinished business.
“There are a lot of things coming off last year we’d like to prove to
people,” Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. “The squad came back in good
shape. I think they would like to go out and prove to people just how good
they are.”
But the Lions spent 1994 offering proof to the pollsters week in and week
out. Penn State averaged 47.8 points and 520.2 yards of offense a game,
regularly blew out opponents by halftime and played flawless football through
a decent college schedule.
For this, they were awarded the top spot in the AP poll for two weeks, and
were ranked behind Nebraska for the season’s final five weeks.
So if last year’s powerhouse wasn’t impressive enough to convince voters
Penn State was deserving of the tag “best in the nation,” could this year’s
squad possibly accomplish that feat?
After all, the Nittany Lions were ranked fourth in the AP’s 1995 preseason
poll, meaning that the three teams above them would likely stay above them
until they lose — if last year could be used as a guide.
“We can go 12-0 again and the same thing can happen,” Engram said. “All we
can do is put ourselves in the best position possible to go 11-0 and get in
the Rose Bowl again.”
Maybe that’s why Paterno, who has guided four Penn State teams that
finished unbeaten but failed to win national titles, turns away when rankings
enter regular-season conversations.
And at least before the 1995 season opens, his players are doing the same.
“I put it out of my mind,” Miller said of last year’s final poll. “For me,
as far as defense, we only have two or three returning starters. We have
enough to worry about with that in itself.”
“I wouldn’t say we use it as a motivator,” running back Mike Archie said.
“We set team goals last year to go 12-0 and we did that. All we can do this
year is set the same goals. Hopefully, we’ll do it again.
“There’s nothing else we can do.”