Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/155994
Photo courtesy of the Paterno Pattee Library Archives ALL SMILES Following their Orange Bowl victory over LSU, Paterno called the Shuman-led Nittany Lions "the best team I ever coached." John Morris, was being inundated with interview requests for the Lions' tailback. "Cappelletti is a hot item," Morris said. "I remember it was after West Virginia that the media started talking about John for the Heisman," Shuman recalled. "So the team was well aware of that and happy about it." Shuman said the team was pulling for Cappelletti but also concentrating on winning its four remaining regular-season games and perhaps getting a shot at the national title in a bowl game. In the next three games, Cappelletti continued his march toward the Heisman, rushing for more than 200 yards in victories over Maryland (42-22), North Carolina State (35-29) and Ohio University (35-16). But the Lions almost stumbled at North Carolina State. Playing in the freezing cold and snow in Raleigh, Penn State's offense fumbled away potential touchdowns in the first half as the Wolfpack took a 14-9 lead. Cappelletti scored three touchdowns in the second half on runs of 34, 4 and 27 yards, gaining a total of 231 yards on 41 carries, but with less than nine minutes to play, the Lions clung to a six-point lead after a missed PAT. Once again, the defense was up to the task, keeping the Wolfpack from getting past the Lions' 40-yard line, as Penn State recorded victory No 9. The victories over North Carolina State and Ohio did nothing to help Penn State get closer to the national championship. In that era, bowl pairings were sometimes announced in mid-November, before the end of the