— National and Big Eight recap – 1982 — Penn State, which had failed to win titles in undefeated seasons in prior years, won its first national championship in 1982 with an 11-1 campaign. Under long time head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions fell only once during the regular season, losing to No. 4 Alabama 42-21 in September. Recovering from the early stinging defeat, Penn State could not be bested the rest of the season, defeating previously unbeaten Georgia and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker 27-23 in the …