The concept sparked such attention that a Princeton team was asked to compete. Princeton's quartet of J.A. Chapman, George McCampbell, Isaac Brokow, and Theodore Turner broke away in the homestretch to beat Penn by eight yards with a time of 3:34.0. The winning streak would continue for the Collegiate Football Association until it was stopped by Yale in 1916.
Chapman had been elected class president at Princeton. He resigned to play football full-time. The other members of the team were all seniors, and they used the opportunity to go out on top. Turner was the captain of the team and one of the most powerful players on it. He was a native of Pennsylvania and he died in 1919 at the age of 36. McCampbell came from New York City and he played center on the team. He was 21 years old when he died in 1920 after an injury while playing in a baseball game at Princeton. Brokow came from Russia and he played right guard on the team. He graduated last on the list of students who attended Princeton University. He died in 1922 at the age of 29.
Penn's coach was William H. Spaulding who later went on to become the head coach at Columbia University. He is considered by many to be the father of American football because of his role in developing the sport during its early days. He has also been credited with introducing several rules changes including allowing players to wear helmets.
The Rutgers squad traveled to Princeton for a rematch a week after the Princeton/Rutgers game, which Princeton won 8-0. The Tigers were a strong force in the early days of college football, winning 22 of the first 40 national titles (1869–1909), thanks in part to their development of the sport. They have only lost once since then.
During this time period, Princeton played in four consecutive championship games, winning three of them. In fact, they are still looking for their first loss today!
They beat Harvard 6-4 on Thanksgiving Day in 1892, and then defeated Yale 9-0 two weeks later. The 1892 season was the last time that Princeton failed to score any points in a game; from then on, they always scored at least one point per game.
In 1903, Princeton went undefeated during the regular season, beating each opponent by an average of more than 30 points per game. That year, they also had one of the most memorable games in history against Penn, who was considered one of the best teams at the time. The game was called the "Game of the Century" because it was expected to be a close battle but then turned out to be one of the most one-sided contests ever with a final score of Princeton 49-0 Penn.
In 1909, Princeton again went undefeated during the regular season, this time winning every game by a margin of at least 20 points.
Penn State triumphed 28-7. Following a four-year hiatus, the two teams played again in 2013, this time at MetLife Stadium in front of 61,202 people; Penn State triumphed, 23-17. A b "Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Syracuse Orange Football Series History", Winsipedia.com.
The result is correct—Syracuse defeated the Longhorns, 23-14, with Davis named most valuable player, and there was a bench-clearing riot at the close of the first half. The game was played before a crowd of 56,000 people at Frank J. Selway Stadium in Austin, Texas. It was the third largest crowd to witness an NCAA football game up to that time.
In addition to Davis, other notable players for Syracuse were end Don McPheron and tackle Ron Smith. They were considered by many to be the best pair of offensive linemen in college football. Texas had three Heisman Trophy candidates on its roster in Woody Hayes (quarterback), John David Crow (end/tackle), and James "Shack" Howell (guard).
The game began at 1:30 p.m. Central Time on September 20, 1969, and ended when a mistimed snap by Texas quarterback John David Crow resulted in a loss of five yards, setting up Syracuse's Jerry Cousineau for a 26-yard field goal with 11:21 remaining in the first quarter. At this point, the score was Syracuse 7, Texas 0.
Crow was injured during the second play of the game and did not return.
Penn State has had a football team since 1887. With more than 40 consensus All-America picks, a Heisman Trophy winner (John Cappelletti, 1973), and a pair of national titles, the program is in the top ten all-time. It's also one of only three schools with more than 100 wins (Alabama, Ohio State).
The Nittany Lions played their first game on November 3, 1887, a 20-0 loss to Princeton. The first touchdown was scored just before halftime by an anonymous player for Penn State's first known coach, William H. Heffelfinger. The first bowl game was played two years later and not a single player from either team survived the crash at New York's Polo Grounds. The first season ended in a tie with no clear champion; the next year, Yale defeated Penn State 0-1-1. In 1909, the school president at the time, Andrew McCawley, ordered the addition of football as a varsity sport. A few months later, the team recorded its first win against Harvard 6-0.
In 1914, Joe Thompson took over as head coach and led the team to four consecutive undefeated seasons. During that time, he also helped develop many of the strategies used in the modern game. In 1933, Bill Roper took over as head coach and led the team to another undefeated season.
The 12th of November, 1881 The first game in Penn State football history was played on November 12, 1881, when Penn State traveled to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, to play Bucknell, which was known as the University of Lewisburg until 1886. Penn State won 9-0 (nine goals to none). This is the only game ever played by the Nittany Lions.
After this game, there was no further activity for almost 10 years. In 1890, William H. Jones, a former player and coach at Franklin & Marshall College, brought football back to Penn State with him when he moved here from Frankin & Marshall. He had great success at Penn State, leading the team to three straight undefeated seasons and six overall. But after his third season, he left to take over the Philadelphia Phillies. His replacement, Charles A. Stegeman, also had much success at Penn State, but didn't fare so well away from home, posting a 3-7 record.
In 1903, Edward "Ned" White came to Penn State as the new football coach. Under his leadership, the football program at Penn State became a major force in college football. In his first year, he led the Lions to an undefeated season and their first national championship. That year, Penn State defeated Carlisle Indian School 14-0 in its first game and then went on to beat Yale 16-0 for the title.
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