The 1971 Nittany Lions too frequently get lost amid the discussion of "best" Penn State teams. Part of that results from circumstance. They're surrounded by undefeated squads from '68, '69, and '73. They didn't play for a championship, like the '78 squad. And 99% of the folks reading these pixels never saw them play.
None of those are valid reasons for excluding them from future discussions. The '71 squad was loaded. Then junior quarterback John Hufnagel completed 63% of his passes for more than 1,800 yards. He was a Heisman finalist as a senior. But he was overshadowed by his backfield mates, backs Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris.