Penn State Nittany Lions football
Season Coach Bowl Opponent Result
1922 Hugo Bezdek Rose Bowl USC L 3-14
1947 Bob Higgins Cotton Bowl Classic SMU T 13-13
1959 Rip Engle Liberty Bowl Alabama W 7-0
1960 Rip Engle Liberty Bowl Oregon W 14-12
1961 Rip Engle Gator Bowl Georgia Tech W 30-15
1962 Rip Engle Gator Bowl Florida L 7-17
1967 Joe Paterno Gator Bowl Florida State T 17-17
1968 Joe Paterno Orange Bowl Kansas W 15-14
1969 Joe Paterno Orange Bowl Missouri W 10-3
1971 Joe Paterno Cotton Bowl Classic Texas W 30-6
1972 Joe Paterno Sugar Bowl Oklahoma L 0-14
1973 Joe Paterno Orange LSU W 16-9
1974 Joe Paterno Cotton Bowl Classic Baylor W 41-20
1975 Joe Paterno Sugar Bowl Alabama L 6-13
1976 Joe Paterno Gator Bowl Notre Dame L 9-20
1977 Joe Paterno Fiesta Bowl Arizona State W 42-30
1978 Joe Paterno Sugar Bowl Alabama L 7-14
1979 Joe Paterno Liberty Bowl Tulane W 9-6
1980 Joe Paterno Fiesta Bowl Ohio State W 31-19
1981 Joe Paterno Fiesta Bowl USC W 26-10
Bowl games
Main article : List of Penn State Nittany Lions bowl games Penn State has earned invitations to 50 bowl games . The Nittany Lions have compiled a bowl record of 30–18–2 ( .620 ) , including a 16–6–1 ( .717 ) record in the major bowls ( Rose , Orange , Sugar , Fiesta , and Cotton ) . [ 58 ] Coach Joe Paterno was responsible for most of these bids and victories , compiling more appearances ( 37 ) than any other coach in college football en route to his bowl record of 24–12–1 ( .662 ) . Paterno also has a record of 14–5 ( .737 ) in `` major '' bowls and is the only coach to have won all five major college bowls during his career .
The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 after playing as an Independent from 1892 to 1992. Established in 1887, the Nittany Lions have achieved numerous on-field successes, the most notable of which include two consensus national championships (1982 and 1986), four Big Ten Conference Championships (in 1994, 2005, 2008, and 2016), 13 undefeated seasons (1887, 1894, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1920, 1921, 1947, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1986 and 1994) and 48 appearances in college bowl games, with a postseason bowl record of 30-18-2. The team is also #9 in all-time total wins. The Nittany Lions play their home games at Beaver Stadium, located on-campus in University Park, Pennsylvania. With an official seating capacity of 106,572, Beaver Stadium is the second-largest stadium in the western hemisphere, behind only Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The team is currently coached by James Franklin.