Penn State football’s history in the Fiesta Bowl— which it will be playing in on New Year’s Eve night— is quite good.
PSU has played in Arizona’s premier bowl game seven times and won all seven.
Here’s Smeltzer’s breakdown of the seven.
1977
Penn State 42, Arizona State 30
It was the only time PSU and Arizona State have played and also just the seventh Fiesta Bowl overall. The Fiesta Bowl was once an annual Christmas Day tradition, being played on the 25th every year from 1976 to 1979. Coach Frank Kush and Arizona State used to frequent the game, playing in five of the first seven meetings. PSU came in as a touchdown favorite and looked like it early on, leading 14-0 after the first quarter. Arizona State fought back and trailed just 17-14 at the half. An 18-yard TD run by PSU’s Steve Geise marked six of the seven total third quarter points, and PSU went into the last 15 minutes up 10. In a wild fourth quarter, Penn State outscored Arizona State 18-16, sealing the win and covering the spread.
Penn State ended the 1977 season 11-1 and ranked No. 5. The next season, it came within eight points of winning its first national title, losing a Sugar Bowl to Alabama that PSU fans would rather not think about.
1980
Penn State 31, Ohio State 19
It was a different world in 1980.
Two examples:
- PSU was more than a decade removed from joining the Big Ten and thus didn’t play Ohio State every year
- PSU kinda had Ohio State’s number.
In 1978, Joe Paterno’s PSU team shut out— yes, shut out— Ohio State in Columbus and ended up having Paterno’s fourth of seven undefeated regular seasons.
But the aforementioned Alabama loss started a brief dark period for Penn State and its coach, getting to the point where Joe Pa contemplated retirement.
1980 was a bounce back season for Penn State.
The team went 10-2 and finished No. 8 in the country, capping it off with a 31-19 win over Earle Bruce’s Buckeyes. Curt Warner— who would soon be a Penn State legend— ran the first play from scrimmage for a 64-yard touchdown and ended up being the game’s offensive MVP, gaining 156 yards on 18 carries.
This Fiesta Bowl, played the day after Christmas, would be the last one played in December until 1997. It would also start a golden decade for Penn State, which would end up winning two national titles before the end of it.
1981/82
Penn State 26, USC 10
The 1981 PSU team could have and maybe should have been better than it was. PSU reached No. 1 status in late October. Then, a QB from the Pittsburgh area who wanted to go to Penn State but didn’t due to Paterno wanting him to play linebacker spoiled Joe Pa’s perfect season. His name was Jim Kelly, and he led un-ranked Miami to a 17-14 win. Two weeks later, PSU, now No. 5, had a showdown with Bear Bryant and No. 6 Alabama. But another goal line stand helped Bama to a 31-16 win, knocking PSU out of the national title race.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Penn State still had a chance to spoil in-state rival Pitt’s perfect season, and it did. Every Penn State fan should know what “48-14” means. With that mammoth win over the No. 1 Panthers on the last week of the season, Penn State had momentum going into face Marcus Allen and USC in the Fiesta Bowl.
Allen, who won the Heisman Trophy before launching a Hall of Fame NFL career, ran the ball 30 times for 85 yards, less than three yards per carry. Penn State bottled him well, and coasted to a 26-10 win as a result.
The next season, Penn State won its first national championship.
1986/87
Penn State 14, Miami 10
If you’re a PSU fan that doesn’t know about this game, that’s your problem.
1991/92
Penn State 42, Tennessee 17
This was a laugher. PSU bulldozed Tennessee by four touchdowns to finish 11-2 and No. 3 in the country. Offensive MVP O.J. McDuffie stole the show, with 149 all-purpose yards. Tennessee led 17-7 in the third quarter. A touchdown reception by a redshirt freshman tight end named Kyle Brady gave PSU a 21-17 lead that it wouldn’t give up. In total, PSU scored five touchdowns in less than eight minutes to seal the deal. The game also featured current Penn State cornerbacks coach and associate head coach Terry Smith, who played receiver.
1996/97
PSU 38, Texas 15
Like its previous Fiesta Bowl win, PSU trailed in the second half. But after being down 12-7, PSU scored 21 third-quarter points and only allowed three, going into the fourth quarter up 28-15. 10 more points made it look like a blowout. This game featured PSU receiver Chafie Fields going 85 yards on a double reverse to put Penn State at the Texas 1-yard line. Running back Anthony Cleary punched it in one play later.
2017
PSU 35, Washington 28
Played Dec. 30, 2017, it was Saquon Barkley’s last dance at PSU, and he delivered. Barkley ended the day with 137 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries (7.6 YPC), the most notable run being a 92-yard touchdown that put PSU ahead by three scores in the second quarter. Washington hung around, cutting the deficit to a score on a 69-yard touchdown by Myles Gaskin with 6:52 left in the game. But that’s as close as Washington got. PSU beat Washington for coach James Franklin’s first New Year’s Six Bowl win.
Almost six years later, Washington would join the Big Ten.
Penn State-Boise State is scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 on ESPN.
