1994 team being honored tomorrow. Where does it rank all-time?

[NittanyIllinois]

So the '94 team is getting the 25th anniversary treatment at halftime tomorrow. Interesting to see that club and the '69 club hit anniversary milestones this year. The two most dominant teams in program history, IMO. Criminal that neither got a national title. Damn you, Nixon. And damn you Midwest voters.

It begs the question. Where does '94 rank among Penn State teams?

 

[psuno1]

Best College Football offense ever.

 

[JoeDidntKnow]

Best team ever to play college football. Would be 2TD+ favorites over every "national champion" in the last 50 years.

 

[Mr. Potter]

So the '94 team is getting the 25th anniversary treatment at halftime tomorrow. Interesting to see that club and the '69 club hit anniversary milestones this year. The two most dominant teams in program history, IMO. Criminal that neither got a national title. Damn you, Nixon. And damn you Midwest voters.

It begs the question. Where does '94 rank among Penn State teams?

#1

 

[NittanyIllinois]

Best team ever to play college football. Would be 2TD+ favorites over every "national champion" in the last 50 years.

Parody poster? Elaborate 2,000+ post troll job? If so, I admire the persistence, even if the creativity is a bit lacking.

 

[Erial_Lion]

Best team ever to play college football. Would be 2TD+ favorites over every "national champion" in the last 50 years.

Keep telling yourself that...

 

[IANit]

So the '94 team is getting the 25th anniversary treatment at halftime tomorrow. Interesting to see that club and the '69 club hit anniversary milestones this year. The two most dominant teams in program history, IMO. Criminal that neither got a national title. Damn you, Nixon. And damn you Midwest voters.

It begs the question. Where does '94 rank among Penn State teams?

I can't speak to '68 and '69. Without a doubt, it's the best Penn State team since I've been following PSU (1977). There's only a handful of teams period (2001 Miami, 1995 Nebraska, 2004 USC, and 2009 Alabama come to mind) that might be better overall and I'd have to see it to admit it.

 

[BobPSU92]

Over/Under on the number of times Joe is mentioned tomorrow?

 

[91Joe95]

Over/Under on the number of times Joe is mentioned tomorrow?

I put the over at zero.

 

[PSU_522]

I put the over at zero.

I’ll still take the under..

 

[91Joe95]

Parody poster? Elaborate 2,000+ post troll job? If so, I admire the persistence, even if the creativity is a bit lacking.

I once counted up how many years of NFL service that team had (the guys who actually played, not backups who played a year or two later), and the offense alone totalled over 120 years of service time, to speak nothing of how high they were drafted. The defensive players actually had a decent amount too. They not only had immense talent, size, and speed, they were also on the same page and had great leadership. They could do anything on offense, at any given time, and had a great kicker. Paterno was being modest when he said they could score 35 on just about anyone.

 

[BrucePa]

The '94 team had the best offense in Penn State history, very atypical of Paterno teams. Every starter on the '94 offense played in the NFL! The defense was just OK, but together, this was a heckuva good team. That 35-29 white-knuckle win over Indiana, combined with getting jumped by Illinois and being behind by 21-0 before pulling it out, were 'blemishes' on an otherwise perfect season. And that 63-14 Homecoming win against Ohio State was glorious.

I would rank the '86 and the '82 teams tied for the best Penn State teams ever, with the '94 team in 3rd place.

 

[NittanyIllinois]

I can't speak to '68 and '69. Without a doubt, it's the best Penn State team since I've been following PSU (1977). There's only a handful of teams period (2001 Miami, 1995 Nebraska, 2004 USC, and 2009 Alabama come to mind) that might be better overall and I'd have to see it to admit it.

Good choices. '95 Nebraska is the best team I've ever seen, followed by '01 Miami and maybe '04 USC. Last year's Clemson would rate fairly high, too.

Not sure I'd put 1994 in that same class as a complete team, simply because the defense was good-but-not-great. At least '95 Nebraska and '01 Miami were elite on both sides of the ball.

Certainly the best team not to win a national title (and a few sites and publications agree).

I'd probably rate the Penn State teams as follows:

1. 1994
2. 1969
3. 1982
4. 1986
5. 1978
6. 1973
7. 1968
8. 1985
9. 1971
10. 1981
11. 1977
12. 2005

I know '82 and '86 won titles, but those '69 and '94 teams were historically dominant on defense and offense, respectively. '86 dodged a lot of bullets, but had all-time grit. '82 had a killer schedule, but did have a blowout loss.

 

[McCloudersportLion]

Everything is relative. I dont know how the undefeated teams from the 19teens or 1947? could be compared but I would say somewhere around 2-4, 86 being undisputed #1 and 69, 82, and 94 vying for 2nd.

 

[psu_1989]

I am not as close to 68-73 teams, but I still think the 1982 team as the best and most balanced of nearly any CFB team I have ever seen.

 

[IANit]

Over/Under on the number of times Joe is mentioned tomorrow?

Who? That team coached itself.

 

[IANit]

Everything is relative. I dont know how the undefeated teams from the 19teens or 1947? could be compared but I would say somewhere around 2-4, 86 being undisputed #1 and 69, 82, and 94 vying for 2nd.

Of course someone with Isom in their nickname says 1986 is #1. If the 1986 Hurricanes had won they'd be an all-time team - maybe Miami's best. It was an unreal assembly of talent. The 1986 Nittany Lions had a great defense, but would probably not keep up on offense with 1982 or 1994 (which had a better defense than stats show IMO - the offense was scoring in 1-2 minutes most of the time so the D had more time on the field than normal). Fortunately, Miami was dead set on winning their way instead of adjusting to what was there.

 

[NittanyIllinois]

Of course someone with Isom in their nickname says 1986 is #1. If the 1986 Hurricanes had won they'd be an all-time team - maybe Miami's best. It was an unreal assembly of talent. The 1986 Nittany Lions had a great defense, but would probably not keep up on offense with 1982 or 1994 (which had a better defense than stats show IMO - the offense was scoring in 1-2 minutes most of the time so the D had more time on the field than normal). Fortunately, Miami was dead set on winning their way instead of adjusting to what was there.

The '86 team reminds me of the '02 Ohio State team. Better on defense than the Ohio State team, but probably not as good offensively. Still......played a whole lot of close games against inferior teams, but somehow pulled out wins no matter what. To include against truly elite Miami teams. That kind of grit and situational greatness is tough to teach or develop. They were truly great when they needed to be.

It's really tough to compare a team like that to other great teams. On paper, it's not even close. '82 and '94 had larger margins of victory, tougher schedules, far more firepower on offense, and enough on defense to get it done, etc. They were probably "better" teams, too. But I'd be hard pressed to bet against that '86 team. It's really hard to quantify or measure the kind of special qualities they had.

 

[BUFFALO LION]

The '94 team had the best offense in Penn State history, very atypical of Paterno teams. Every starter on the '94 offense played in the NFL! The defense was just OK, but together, this was a heckuva good team. That 35-29 white-knuckle win over Indiana, combined with getting jumped by Illinois and being behind by 21-0 before pulling it out, were 'blemishes' on an otherwise perfect season. And that 63-14 Homecoming win against Ohio State was glorious.

I would rank the '86 and the '82 teams tied for the best Penn State teams ever, with the '94 team in 3rd place.

I don't necessarily remember Indiana being "white knuckled". I just remember Joe pulling his starters with a big lead (like he always did), and Indiana making the game artificially close at the end.

That game was never really in doubt. Especially if you include the TD we had called back earlier on a phantom holding call.

 

[roswelllion]

I can't speak to '68 and '69. Without a doubt, it's the best Penn State team since I've been following PSU (1977). There's only a handful of teams period (2001 Miami, 1995 Nebraska, 2004 USC, and 2009 Alabama come to mind) that might be better overall and I'd have to see it to admit it.

Well every team has to be judged with their peers not a team 30 years later. It was the beginning of my being a PSU fan but I need to put the 69 team number 1 followed by 82 94 and 86. If i recall the 69 team had 2 undefeated seasons in a row and 10 of 11 defensive starters were drafted and only safety Neil Smith was undrafted. Oh by the way all Smith did was lead the NCAA in interceptions that year.

 

[RU31trap]

That 1994 team had an excellent offense and a good defense. You would have beaten Nebraska that year.

 

[razpsu]

I liked 1994 offense and I think their defense was pretty good when it wasn’t banged up. The only team we have had that can come close is 1982. That defense was pretty good and that was the first offense in history of any team to have more passing yards than rushing. Imagine psu setting that. Could the 1994 defense hold the 1982 offense in check. That is the question.

 

[FightOnState]

I liked 1994 offense and I think their defense was pretty good when it wasn’t banged up. The only team we have had that can come close is 1982. That defense was pretty good and that was the first offense in history of any team to have more passing yards than rushing. Imagine psu setting that. Could the 1994 defense hold the 1982 offense in check. That is the question.

To clarify, it was the first team to win a mnc with more yards passing in a season than rushing. Plenty of pass happy teams before that that Didnt win sh!t.

 

[A2Nit]

Over/Under on the number of times Joe is mentioned tomorrow?

Kyle Brady did on his BTN interview today rather clearly. If FOX (Brando) does or doesn’t, who gives a crap, that team is doing it now and through the rest of the weekend...

 

[N&B4PSU]

I've often said (and continue to say) that I'd take the 94 team that beat USC anytime over anybody. THAT 94 team at that point in time was light years better... their offense was the very best and they had a very very good defense.

Then came injuries and the D was whittled down quite a bit and by year's end was nowhere near as good... and would have been hammered hard by Nebraska. Beating Nebraska in 94 would have meant winning along the line of 48-45, but i think we do it.

What would have been fun would be seeing peak of season 94 psu vs peak of season 95 nebraska.

I'd take '94 peak over the '69 team at it's best... but the '69 team in the bowl game was superior to our 94 team that played oregon. Obviously we have to adjust for the years and ht wt etc... but relative to the competition, both were the best teams in college in those years (69 and 94).

 

[ChiTownLion]

 

[LundyPSU]

Yep, voting a complete joke. Amazing that system was in place for so long. Anyway....no way that the '94 couldn't hang 30+ points on anyone in a NC game. Defense was shaky, partly because of injury and largely because they were on the field so quickly after the offense scored. But I am confident they could outscore anyone

 

[razpsu]

To clarify, it was the first team to win a mnc with more yards passing in a season than rushing. Plenty of pass happy teams before that that Didnt win sh!t.

Yea what he said.

 

[psuro]

Good choices. '95 Nebraska is the best team I've ever seen, followed by '01 Miami and maybe '04 USC. Last year's Clemson would rate fairly high, too.

Not sure I'd put 1994 in that same class as a complete team, simply because the defense was good-but-not-great. At least '95 Nebraska and '01 Miami were elite on both sides of the ball.

Certainly the best team not to win a national title (and a few sites and publications agree).

I'd probably rate the Penn State teams as follows:

1. 1994
2. 1969
3. 1982
4. 1986
5. 1978
6. 1973
7. 1968
8. 1985
9. 1971
10. 1981
11. 1977
12. 2005

I know '82 and '86 won titles, but those '69 and '94 teams were historically dominant on defense and offense, respectively. '86 dodged a lot of bullets, but had all-time grit. '82 had a killer schedule, but did have a blowout loss.

The 1977 team was better than you have them ranked.

 

[BBrown]

So the '94 team is getting the 25th anniversary treatment at halftime tomorrow. Interesting to see that club and the '69 club hit anniversary milestones this year. The two most dominant teams in program history, IMO. Criminal that neither got a national title. Damn you, Nixon. And damn you Midwest voters.

It begs the question. Where does '94 rank among Penn State teams?

Depends on who you ask. If its up to ESPN and or BTN. It was just another team, if they even mention them.
If you ask anyone who has half a brain it was a NC type team and arguably the best college offense of all time.

 

[BBrown]

The 1977 team was better than you have them ranked.

agree I would probably move both the '77 team and the '81 team above the '78 team.

 

[wcg207]

I can't speak to '68 and '69. Without a doubt, it's the best Penn State team since I've been following PSU (1977). There's only a handful of teams period (2001 Miami, 1995 Nebraska, 2004 USC, and 2009 Alabama come to mind) that might be better overall and I'd have to see it to admit it.

1969 the greatest defense, 1994 the greatest offense.
https://victorybellrings.com/2018/11/20/penn-state-nittany-lions-holiday-gift-guide/

 

[NittanyIllinois]

agree I would probably move both the '77 team and the '81 team above the '78 team.

That's fair.....I probably have '77 a bit low. I'd argue that '78 was a few inches away from being one of the top 3 or 4 teams in PSU history, though. Shutting out Ohio State in Columbus, destroying #5 Maryland, etc.

They only gave up more than 10 points 4 times......and never more than 21. That defense was dominant.

 

[Nitwit97]

Best College Football offense ever.

Yep. They could not be stopped. Too many weapons. They could throw, run, had a great tight end.

For me, the 94 team was the best PSU team to date. I consider myself lucky to be at school that year. Great games.

We were truly robbed. Stupid Warren Sapp and Miami’s could not hold that 4th quarter lead in the Orange Bowl. Stupid Michigan couldn’t stop a Hail Mary against Colorado. Good gravy, that will burn me until the day they lay me down for good.

 

[marshall23]

Over/Under on the number of times Joe is mentioned tomorrow?

Joe who? These guys just happened to end up at PSU and coached themselves. Anxious for today's banner.

 

[91Joe95]

Here's the thing about those Nebraska teams in 94 and 95, they ran the option, which PSU, because of their discipline and talent, always had very, very good success against.

 

[IANit]

[QUOTE="NittanyIllinois, post: 4300561, member: 96118" '82 had a killer schedule, but did have a blowout loss.[/QUOTE]
That loss was 42-21 at Alabama and wasn't really a blowout. We were down 27-21 with less than 5 minutes left when we blocked our own punt for a Tide TD, then threw a pick-6 on the ensuing possession while trying to come back. That's the only time I can ever recall us blocking our own punt, and I don't know if Blackledge threw another pick 6 that year. That team got better as the year wore on.

 

[nittany119]

So the '94 team is getting the 25th anniversary treatment at halftime tomorrow. Interesting to see that club and the '69 club hit anniversary milestones this year. The two most dominant teams in program history, IMO. Criminal that neither got a national title. Damn you, Nixon. And damn you Midwest voters.

It begs the question. Where does '94 rank among Penn State teams?

You’re blaming the wrong voters. Those people voted for their regional team. It was the western Pa writers that hated Joe that voted for Neb. They are the ones that cost us that MNC.

 

[BBrown]

You’re blaming the wrong voters. Those people voted for their regional team. It was the western Pa writers that hated Joe that voted for Neb. They are the ones that cost us that MNC.

true to a certain extent. But there was one sportswriter in ohio in that voted Penn State BELOW Ohio State AFTER we beat them 63-14.
Figure that one out.

 

[fizzyskittles]

They’d beat any other psu team including 82. PSU didn’t have a great defense but the defense made every single play they needed to make . Wasn’t many games, but they made stops in Michigan and in Illinois to save the games .
Psu in 86 had an advantage over Miami that 86 psu wouldn’t have against the 94 team . Their arrogance and need to stick with the passing game. They were gassed at the end of the Miami game and if the canes run, they would have lost.
Against the 94 team they wouldn’t be able to stop them and play catch up. Sell out against the pass and car yet destroys them . Put 8-9 in the box and Engram, Scott, and Brady would’ve crushed them .