Why the 1985 Penn State football roster was Joe Paterno's most underrated masterpiece

Everyone talks about 1986. They remember the interception in the desert, the white jerseys against Miami's fatigues, and the eventual coronation. But if you really want to understand how Penn State became "Linebacker U" and a perennial powerhouse, you have to look at the 1985 Penn State football roster. It was a weird year. It was a year where Joe Paterno basically defied logic by taking a team that didn't have a superstar quarterback and dragging them to the doorstep of a national title. Honestly, looking back, that roster was arguably deeper and more resilient than the one that actually won it all a year later.

The 11-1 record doesn't tell the whole story.

The 1985 squad was built on a specific kind of grit. You had guys who had been passed over or overlooked, mixed with a few blue-chip defensive prospects who were just starting to realize they were terrifying. It was the season where the identity of the "Nittany Lion" really solidified in the modern era. People forget that going into the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma, Penn State was actually ranked Number 1. They were the favorites. They were the team everyone expected to walk away with the trophy.

The Defensive Backbone: Rogers, Conlan, and the No-Name Monsters

When you scan the 1985 Penn State football roster, the defensive names jump off the page because of what they did later in the NFL. But in '85? They were just a bunch of angry kids from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey. Shane Conlan is the name everyone knows. He was a junior that year, a kid from Frewsburg, New York, who played linebacker with a kind of clinical violence. He wasn't just hitting people; he was dissecting plays before they happened.

But Conlan didn't work in a vacuum. You had Rogers Alexander. You had Don Graham.

The 1985 defense was statistically absurd. They gave up more than 20 points exactly once during the regular season. Just once. They held East Carolina to 10 points. They held Temple to 10. They absolutely suffocated a very good West Virginia team, leaving them with only 7 points. It was a defense that thrived on the "bend but don't break" philosophy, but with a lot more "break the opponent's will" mixed in.

Bob White and Tim Johnson anchored a defensive line that felt like a brick wall. Johnson, in particular, was a force of nature. He was a senior leader who paved the way for the younger guys to develop. It’s funny because if you ask fans from that era, they’ll tell you the defense felt inevitable. Like, you knew the opposing offense would eventually just give up.

The Quarterback Conundrum: Shaffer and the Passing Game

Let's be real: John Shaffer was never going to be Dan Marino. And that’s okay. Shaffer is often the "forgotten" man on that 1985 Penn State football roster because he wasn't a stat-sheet stuffer. He was a winner. He was 11-0 as a starter in the regular season.

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Shaffer’s job was simple: don't lose the game.

He had some weapons, though. Herb Givens and Bobby Engram weren't there yet—this was the era of Eric Hamilton and the emerging Mike Alexander. Alexander was a deep threat who could actually stretch the field when Shaffer had time. But the offense wasn't about the air. It was about the ground. It was about wearing people down until they couldn't breathe.

It's actually kind of wild to look at the yardage totals. They weren't lighting up the scoreboard with 500-yard games. They were winning 19-17 or 27-0. It was methodical. It was Penn State football in its purest, most stubborn form. Shaffer took a lot of heat from the fans back then for not being more explosive, but Paterno trusted him implicitly. That trust is what kept the team together when things got tight against Maryland or Alabama.

The Backfield: D.J. Dozier and the Power Run

If Shaffer was the pilot, D.J. Dozier was the engine.

Dozier was a junior in '85. He was smooth. He had this way of gliding through a hole that looked effortless, right until he hit a linebacker and ran through them. He finished the season with over 700 yards, which doesn't sound like much today, but in a ball-control offense where three or four different guys were getting touches, it was significant.

Steve Smith was the thunder to Dozier's lightning.

Smith was a bruising fullback who did the dirty work. He was the guy lead-blocking on a cold November afternoon in Happy Valley, taking the brunt of the impact so Dozier could bounce outside. Looking at the 1985 Penn State football roster, you see a trend: versatility. They had guys like Tim Manoa, who could catch out of the backfield or run over a nose guard. It made them incredibly difficult to game-plan for because you never knew which back was going to get the "hot hand."

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The 1985 Schedule: A Path of Destruction

The season started with a 17-10 win over Maryland. Not a blowout. Not a statement. Just a win.

Then came the gauntlet.

1. Temple (27-0)
2. East Carolina (17-10)
3. @ Rutgers (17-10)
4. @ Alabama (19-17)

That Alabama game in Tuscaloosa? That was the turning point. It’s the game that made the national media realize that this 1985 Penn State football roster wasn't a fluke. Beating Bear Bryant’s successor, Ray Perkins, in their own house was a massive statement. The defense forced turnovers, Massimo Manca kicked the field goals that mattered, and the Lions escaped with a two-point win.

After that, the momentum was unstoppable. They rolled through West Virginia, Boston College, and Notre Dame. By the time they hit the Pitt game at the end of the year, they were a well-oiled machine. They beat the Panthers 31-0. It was a slaughter. It set up the Orange Bowl showdown with Oklahoma, a game that still haunts some Penn State fans to this day.

The Orange Bowl Heartbreak

So, what happened against Oklahoma? Basically, Brian Bosworth and Jamelle Holieway happened.

Penn State went into that game with the #1 ranking. They had the defense. They had the discipline. But Oklahoma ran the Wishbone, and they ran it to perfection. The Lions' defense, as great as they were, struggled to contain the speed of the Sooner backfield. Shaffer struggled, throwing three interceptions. The offense just couldn't get into a rhythm.

They lost 25-10.

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It was a bitter end to a nearly perfect season. But here’s the thing: that loss is exactly what fueled the 1986 championship run. The guys who were juniors on that 1985 Penn State football roster—the Conlans, the Doziers, the Shaffers—they came back with a chip on their shoulder that didn't go away until they beat Miami a year later.

Why We Still Talk About This Roster

We talk about them because they represent the bridge between the old-school independent Penn State and the modern powerhouse. This was a team that played without a conference. They scheduled whoever was brave enough to play them.

The roster was a mix of local legends and national recruits.

• The Kicking Game: Massimo Manca was a vital part of this roster. In a season defined by close scores, his leg was often the difference between a win and a loss.
• The O-Line: Guys like Stan Clayton and Chris Conlin. They weren't flashy. They were blue-collar. They paved the way for every yard Dozier gained.
• The Secondary: Ray Isom and Duffy Cobbs. They provided the over-the-top protection that allowed the linebackers to play so aggressively.

When you look at the 1985 Penn State football roster, you're looking at the blueprint for success. It wasn't about one superstar; it was about 22 guys who bought into a system. They were disciplined, they were physically dominant, and they were incredibly well-coached.

Practical Takeaways for Fans and Historians

If you’re researching this specific era of Nittany Lion football, don't just look at the highlights of the '86 Fiesta Bowl. You have to watch the '85 Alabama game. You have to see how Shane Conlan moved across the field.

What you should do next:

• Check the archives: Look up the 1985 box scores on sites like Sports-Reference to see the defensive snap counts. You'll see how Paterno rotated players to keep them fresh.
• Watch the film: There are full broadcasts of the '85 West Virginia and Pitt games on YouTube. Pay attention to the offensive line's footwork—it was ahead of its time.
• Compare the rosters: Line up the 1985 depth chart against the 1986 one. You'll see that almost the entire core of the national championship team was already starting or playing significant minutes in 1985.

The 1985 team didn't get the rings, but they built the house that the 1986 team lived in. Without the trials and the defensive dominance of that '85 squad, Penn State's history looks very different. They were the "almost" champions who proved that Joe Paterno's "Grand Experiment" was still very much alive and well. It was a season of near-perfection that set the stage for the greatest night in Penn State history. Honestly, that’s a legacy worth more than a trophy.