Perhaps some of you were intrigued as I was by the statistic that CBS-TV reported during the Fiesta Bowl that indicated that the senior class of Penn State had an opportunity to achieve a 4 year career record of 42-7 that would exceed the 1975 senior class career record of 41-7.
Of course, the dramatic 38-15 bowl win over Texas enabled this senior class to achieve 42-7.
However, CBS made it sound as if it would be the best career record of any senior class at Penn State under Joe Paterno. That didn't sound quite right to me, because of the great teams in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Therefore, I decided to do an analysis of the 31 years from 1966 to 1996.
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-- 4yr -- -- 5yr --
Year W L T W L Ratio W L Ratio
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1966 5 5 0
1967 8 2 1
1968 11 0 0
1969 11 0 0 35.5 7.5 .8256
1970 7 3 0 37.5 5.5 .8721 42.5 10.5 .8019
1971 11 1 0 40 4 .9091 48.5 6.5 .8818
1972 10 2 0 39 6 .8667 50 6 .8929
1973 12 0 0 40 6 .8696 51 6 .8947
1974 10 2 0 43 5 .8958 50 8 .8621
1975 9 3 0 41 7 .8542 52 8 .8667
1976 7 5 0 38 10 .7917 48 12 .8000
1977 11 1 0 37 11 .7708 49 11 .8167
1978 11 1 0 38 10 .7917 48 12 .8000
1979 8 4 0 37 11 .7708 46 14 .7667
1980 10 2 0 40 8 .8333 47 13 .7833
1981 10 2 0 39 0 .8125 50 10 .8333
1982 11 1 0 39 9 .8125 50 10 .8333
1983 8 4 1 39.5 9.5 .8061 47.5 13.5 .7787
1984 6 5 0 35.5 12.5 .7396 45.5 14.5 .7583
1985 11 1 0 36.5 11.5 .7604 46.5 13.5 .7750
1986 12 0 0 37.5 10.5 .7813 48.5 11.5 .8083
1987 8 4 0 37 10 .7872 45.5 14.5 .7583
1988 5 6 0 36 11 .7660 42 16 .7241
1989 8 3 1 33.5 13.5 .7128 44.5 14.5 .7542
1990 9 3 0 30.5 16.5 .6489 42.5 16.5 .7203
1991 11 2 0 33.5 14.5 .6979 41.5 18.5 .6917
1992 7 5 0 35.5 13.5 .7245 40.5 19.5 .6750
1993 10 2 0 37 12 .7551 45.5 15.5 .7459
1994 12 0 0 40 9 .8163 49 12 .8033
1995 9 3 0 38 10 .7917 49 12 .8033
1996 11 2 0 42 7 .8571 49 12 .8033
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Total 289 74 3 .7937
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The first conclusion must be that not only has Joe Paterno and his staff assembled an outstanding 31 year record, but the consistency of excellence is remarkable.
Yes this senior class had the best 4 year record since the 1975. However, the 1974 class had the most wins over their 4 years and they also had a better percentage of victories (43 wins and .8958). And the class of 1971 had the best 4 year winning percentage at .9091.
The 5 year analysis is very similar. This 1996 class and the preceding classes of 1995 and 1994 had identical 49-12 career 5 year records. However, 6 classes did win 50 games: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1981 and 1982.
The most wins over their 5 years goes to the class of 1975 with 52 victories. And the best winning percentage goes to the class of 1973 with .8947.
From Ed: mayerlef@panix.com