1988 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1988 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Conference	Independent
1988 record	5–6
Head coach	Joe Paterno (23rd year)
Offensive coordinator	Fran Ganter
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium (Capacity: 83,370)

1988 Division I-A independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#1 Notre Dame		–		–				12	–	0	–	0
#2 Miami (FL)		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
#3 Florida State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
#5 West Virginia		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
#13 Syracuse		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
Army		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Louisville		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Memphis		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southwest Louisiana		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Akron		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Penn State		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Tulane		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulsa		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Boston College		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1988 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1988 college football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 10	at Virginia	#18	Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA		W 42–14	45,000
September 17	Boston College	#16	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA		W 23–20	84,000
September 24	Rutgers	#15	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA		L 16–21	85,531
October 1	at Temple		Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, PA		W 45–9	66,592
October 8	Cincinnati		Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA		W 35–9	85,693
October 15	Syracuse		Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Rivalry)	ESPN	L 10–24	85,916
October 22	at Alabama		Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (Rivalry)	CBS	L 3–8	75,808
October 29	at #7 West Virginia		Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Rivalry)	CBS	L 30–51	66,811
November 5	Maryland		Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Rivalry)		W 17–10	78,000
November 12	Pittsburgh		Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Rivalry)	ESPN	L 7–14	85,701
November 19	at #1 Notre Dame		Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN	CBS	L 3–21	59,075
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Post season

NFL Draft

Six Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1989 NFL Draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
2nd	1	29	Steve Wisniewski	Offensive guard	Dallas Cowboys
4th	16	100	Michael Timpson	Wide receiver	New England Patriots
6th	16	155	Quintus McDonald	Linebacker	Indianapolis Colts
6th	21	160	Gary Wilkerson	–	Cleveland Browns
9th	21	244	Bob Mrosko	Tight end	Houston Oilers
11th	3	282	Keith Karpinski	Linebacker	Detroit Lions