October 20, 2013
The texts, e-mails and facebook messages were inevitable. Where does it rank? Of all the Penn State games you have attended, where does the 4OT classic against Michigan rank all-time? So, here it is. This is my list of the ten most memorable games, I have ever attended at Beaver Stadium.
Through my own research and consulting with my father, I have determined that I have seen 162 Penn State games in my life. All but six have been played at Beaver Stadium. There are a few classics I did not attend, and a few more that just missed the cut.
I WASN’T THERE
2. PSU 17 Pitt 10 (1978) - Trailing 10-7 in the 4th quarter and facing a 4th down & a long two inside the Pitt five, QB Chuck Fusina lied and told Joe Paterno it was less than a yard to the marker. Mike Guman scored on the next play. The Lions would win 17-10 assuring them a spot in the Sugar Bowl & a shot at the national title.
3. PSU 34 Alabama 28 (1983) - Penn State led at one point 34-7. However, the Tide rallied to make it 34-28 and drove inside the PSU 5 in the closing seconds. The Lions stuffed a running play on 4th & goal from the 2 as time expired.
4. PSU 24 Wisconsin 21 OT (2012) - As emotional a senior day as there has ever been. From the #42 on the helmets for Mike Mauti to the 2012 going on the ring of honor, it was already a special day before the dramatic OT win over the two-time defending league champs.
JUST MISSED
1. PSU 20 Pitt 17 (1999) - LaVar Arrington blocked a 50-yard FG attempt as time expired to preserve a 20-17 win for #1 Penn State. It is the last game PSU won in the series and last time these two rivals played at Beaver Stadium.
2. PSU 17 Maryland 15 (1986) - The perfect season hung in the balance as the Terps lined up for a 2-point conversion. PSU led 17-15 with seconds to play. DB Duffy Cobbs broke up the try & PSU survived.
3. PSU 35 Northwestern 21 (2010) - Joe Paterno’s 400th win. PSU rallied from a 21-point deficit to win 35-21. It was a magical night & a dominant 2nd half.
MY TOP 10
1. PSU 27 Nebraska 24 (1982) - I was 8-years-old, and I remember it like it was yesterday. The whole weekend was different. We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Lamar. We went to the soccer game Friday night for the pep rally. Lights were brought in because CBS wanted a 3:30 kickoff, and Beaver Stadium didn’t have lights. Then there was the game between two unbeaten teams. Nebraska erased a 21-7 3rd quarter deficit to take a 24-21 lead with 1:18 to play. Todd Blackledge then led the Lions 65 yards for the winning score. There was the 4th & 11 conversion (by the nose of the football after a horrible spot), the disputed sideline catch by TE Mike McCloskey and the game-winner by Kirk “Stonehands” Bowman. The win helped PSU win its 1st national title. It is still the greatest game in Beaver Stadium history.
2. PSU 43 Michigan 40 4OT (2013) - It was the biggest roller coaster of a game in stadium history. No doubt about that. If a Nittany Lion has nine lives, it spent them all on Saturday night. The only things keeping this one from the top spot are the stakes and follies. The game meant nothing in terms of national title chases or Rose Bowl bids. Plus, unlike the Nebraska game, this game moved up this list thanks to mistakes... fumbles, missed field goals. PSU-Nebraska was two great teams being great. This one turned into more of “who will stop screwing up first.”
3. PSU 29 Ohio State 27 (2001) - Win #324 for Paterno to pass Bear Bryant. A Derek Ross pick-6 gave Ohio State a 27-9 lead in the 3rd quarter & had most fans expecting the record to fall the following weekend on Homecoming. Zack Mills had other plans. He jump started the comeback with a 69-yard TD run, then threw two TD passes to give the Lions a 29-27 lead. The Buckeyes had one more chance to salvage a victory, but DT Jimmy Kennedy blocked a FG try. It was practically a perfect day... late October football weather, a great comeback over one of the Big Ten’s premiere programs to take down “the Bear.”
4. PSU 34 Notre Dame 30 (1983) - I call it “the Forgotten Classic.” ND RB Allen Pinkett ran all over PSU for over 200 yards & 4 TDs. The two teams traded leads all day. When freshman RB D.J. Dozier fumbled in the red zone with a little over two minutes to play, it appeared the Irish had the game in hand. However, Rogers Alexander crushed Pinkett in the backfield on 3rd & 1, and the ensuing punt went out of bounds at midfield. PSU quickly moved to the ND 10. QB Doug Strang got around ND’s Mike Golic, got a great block from FB Jonathan Williams and dove across the goal line for the game winner with 19 seconds left. Both teams were in down seasons, but this was the best PSU-ND game played in State College.
5. PSU 27 Michigan 17 (1995) - 18 inches of snow fell the week of the game, turning the stands in Beaver Stadium into ski slopes. That is until students, locals and bussed in prisoners from Rockview worked thru the night to dig out the stadium. The only previous visit by the Wolverines was a 21-13 Michigan win in 1993. With PSU clinging to a 3-point lead, senior RB Stephen Pitts broke a long run to give the Lions a 1st and goal. Three plays later, PK Brett Conway came on to try what appeared to be a short FG to make Michigan score a TD to win. Off the snap, holder Joe Nastasi ran over right guard and the block of All-American Jeff Hartings for the TD to ice the game.
6. PSU 22 Purdue 20 (2000) - Drew Brees and the Boilermakers were a two touchdown favorite over the 1-4 Lions. PSU was going thru an emotional week after freshman CB Adam Taliaferro suffered a severe spinal injury just a week earlier at Ohio State. The Lion offense struggled, but they capitalized on two botched punts to score on short drives. The story of the day was the defense. They held Brees in check most of the day and batted down a final Hail Mary to seal the win. I remember the PSU secondary showing off the 43 stickers on their helmets on the newly installed video replay board & saying, “For you Adam” as a raucous Beaver Stadium cheered & held up “We Believe” signs.
7. PSU 21 Notre Dame 20 (1987) - It was cold. I mean REALLY cold. The TV announcers on CBS pointed out the empty seats in the student section in the 2nd half & said, “the logic majors have gone back to the dorms to watch the game on TV and warm up.” Well, I am no logic major. We stayed to the bitter (and bitter is the appropriate term) end. A late ND TD pulled the Irish within one, but the PSU defense stuffed QB Tony Rice on the 2-point try to preserve a 21-20 victory.
8. PSU 31 Ohio State 27 (1997) - Some will say this one should be higher. It was a battle of unbeatens. The Lions rallied from a 27-17 deficit on a 51 yard TD run by Aaron Harris & a score by Curtis Enis (finishing off his 211 yard day). This game would likely be in my top 3 if it had led to bigger things. The state of Michigan derailed any hopes of a national championship or even a Big Ten crown with two blowout defeats of PSU to end the year.
9. PSU 19 Pitt 10 (1982) - A picture of this one still hangs on my living room wall. It was the 1st Penn State-Pitt game I ever attended, and what a game it was. Dan Marino’s final regular season game at Pitt. The Lions & Panthers each had a loss and were ranked in the top 5. A PSU win meant a Sugar Bowl bid and a date with undefeated Georgia for the national championship. PSU trailed 7-3 at the half, but behind a Todd Blackledge to Kenny Jackson TD pass and 4 FGs from Nick Gancitano, the Lions won 19-10. The students carried Blackledge off the field & tore down the goal posts.
10. PSU 32 Michigan State 29 (1996) - In the summer of 1996, my roommate Kevin Gorman subletted his half of our apartment to PSU QB Wally Richardson. The senior day game would be Wally’s last at PSU. With a Fiesta Bowl bid on the line for the Lions, Wally got off to a hot start and would finish 21-31 for 281 yards and a TD. With the score tied late & the students chanting his name, one of PSU’s best late game QBs of all-time (seriously, look up how many 4th quarter game winning drives he led) took PSU down the field. Senior kicker Brett Conway (another friend) booted a 30-yard FG for the win. After the two teams shook hands, I met Wally on the field to congratulate him. We walked off the Beaver Stadium field together.
