By Kyle Golik
Just how big is the Ohio State versus Penn State clash at Beaver Stadium?
First, you have both ESPN’s College GameDay and FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff coming to Happy Valley, in a lot of ways not sure if the FOX crew will be as welcomed by the Penn State faithful who hoped for a prime time kick for this game. For those fans of GameDay, it is the 13th visit by the ESPN crew at a Penn State vs. Ohio State game, the most in the program’s history breaking its tie with Alabama vs. LSU.
Next, it will mark the 12th time in Penn State’s history that the program is in a Top 5 regular season matchup, Penn State is currently 4-7 in those games. This will mark the first Top 5 matchup since Arizona visited Beaver Stadium in 1999. All-time, Penn State has an overall record of 3-3 in Beaver Stadium in Top 5 matchups.
Last but not least, former President of the United States and current Republican nominee Donald J. Trump will be in attendance in Beaver Stadium.
The attendance record should be challenged for this one, but will it make my Top 5 games in Beaver Stadium history? That is yet to be determined but here is my list:
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Honorable Mentions: 1978 Maryland, 1985 Alabama, 2002 Nebraska
A bonus one, the loudest I have ever heard Beaver Stadium was in 2002 versus Nebraska. If it wasn’t for the 2016 Ohio State game, you could argue this one was the greatest upset Penn State delivered its fans at home during what at the time was the seventh night game in Beaver Stadium history.
What led to the fever pitch in the third quarter? Nebraska quarterback Jammal Lord appeared to fumble and Penn State defensive lineman Michael Haynes picked up the fumble but the officials blew it dead. On the ensuing play, Lord overshoots his target receiver and Rich Gardner delivers the deafening pick-six. The 40-7 defeat of Nebraska was one of the games that began to mark the program’s decline off the dynasty era.
If you watch Big Ten Network a good bit, the often-played 1985 classic with Alabama was a Top 10 matchup for the ages. You could argue, the controversial 1983 finish needs to be mentioned with the Crimson Tide where a potential game-winning touchdown from Walter Lewis to Preston Gothard was waived off.
That controversy fueled the return visit, where it was a defensive struggle for three quarters before Alabama and Penn State went on a fourth-quarter scoring frenzy with the Nittany Lions edging Alabama 19-17.
I might be under-valuing Penn State’s first-ever Top 5 regular season matchup in 1978’s clash with Maryland. Maryland entered the game with a 12-game winning streak and felt it was in position for a national championship. Running back Steve Atkins averaged 119 yards per game. The game turned out to be the most dominant regular season Top 5 win for Penn State holding Maryland to -32 yards rushing on 43 carries in a 27-3 win.
#5 1999 vs. Arizona
In Penn State’s most recent Top 5 clash, the aftermath and how Arizona faltered from going from prohibitive Rose Bowl favorites entering the 1999 season to a 6-6 finish is why many overlook this game.
Arizona had completed 1998 with a 12-1 record, they had a two-quarterback attack with Keith Smith and Ortege Jenkins. Running back Trung Canidate seemed like a Heisman candidate after leading Arizona in scrimmage yards with 1,411.
Penn State had a defense led by a freak athlete himself in linebacker LaVar Arrington and the promotion for this game was the matchup of Jenkins and Arrington.
It turned out to be a one-sided affair, one that Penn State would go up 41-0 in before Joe Paterno called off the dogs. While Arizona got a late touchdown, the hype entering the game and the dominance makes this one of the best games in Beaver Stadium history.
#4 1997 vs. Ohio State
A lot of people ask me what my favorite Penn State game is all time. There are so many to pick from but this is one I mention quite frequently.
This wasn’t a Top 5 matchup, this was a No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 7 Ohio State matchup that had a lot of talent on the field.
Entering 1997, Penn State was a preseason No. 1 team and was floating week-to-week in the top spot or No. 2. Ohio State was coming off its landmark 1996 season that had national championship aspirations in 1997 after starting 5-0.
It was, at the time, the largest attended crowd in Beaver Stadium history, Ohio State countered every punch early and took a 27-17 late into the third quarter on an eight-yard touchdown run by running back Pepe Pearson that silenced a record-setting crowd.
Before the quarter would end, Penn State running back Aaron Harris would rumble for a 51-yard touchdown to get Penn State back in the game.
It would be the momentum swing Penn State needed, in the fourth quarter running back Curtis Enis would score a 26-yard touchdown to put Penn State up for good 31-27. Enis would finish with 211 yards rushing on 23 carries and would say after the game, ”I was like Amtrak and I was only going one way.”
#3 2016 vs. Ohio State
If I was undervaluing the 1978 clash with Maryland, I could be overvaluing the 2016 win against Ohio State.
Why I feel this game deserves its spot, is it’s the greatest upset in Beaver Stadium history. Penn State was unranked and Ohio State was the No. 2 team in the nation. This was the first Top 2 upset an unranked Penn State had since 1964, ironically against Ohio State, although at The Horseshoe.
This is the game that accelerated the Penn State program under James Franklin, leading up to this game Franklin wasn’t endearing himself to the Penn State faithful going 19-14.
It seemed as though through three quarters, it would be another Ohio State victory, it would be the fourth quarter that Penn State would score 17 points, and have one of the program’s signature moments when Marcus Allen blocked an Ohio State field goal and Grant Haley returned it 60 yards for the score.
The sheer momentum from this game fueled Penn State’s 2016 Big Ten championship and set the table for the success Franklin has had since.
#2 1982 vs. Pitt
In a lot of ways, Ohio State enters this game Saturday kind of like how Pitt did in 1982. While Ohio State lost a Top 3 matchup to Oregon isn’t anything to feel bad about, Pitt was No. 1 in the country and lost to an unranked Notre Dame team, forever known in Fighting Irish lure as “The Allen Pinkett Game.”
Still Pitt was talented, it had future Pro Football Hall of Famers quarterback Dan Marino, defensive end Chris Doleman, and tackle Jimbo Covert on them. On the Pitt offensive line, it had future 1980’s NFL All-Decade member offensive lineman Bill Fralic, and two-time All-Pro for Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas.
Pitt was also looking to avenge Penn State’s spoiling their 1981 national championship aspirations where Penn State scored 48 unanswered points against No. 1 Pitt for arguably one of the program’s biggest wins.
The biggest difference I always felt was Jackie Sherrill, who was the perfect counter to Paterno had left. Sherrill had gone 2-3 against Paterno, but the games between 1977 and 1981 always seemed like tight affairs.
Pitt had Foge Fazio in his first season, and Fazio arguably matched wits well with Paterno as Pitt led 7-3 going into the half.
However, Fazio could not match Paterno’s adjustments in the second half as Penn State rattled off 16 unanswered and the Penn State defense neutralized Marino giving Penn State a 19-10 win and secured a berth in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia for the national championship.
#1 1982 vs. Nebraska
When you talk to long-time Nebraska fans, when they hear Penn State fans whine about 1994, their quick response is to see 1982. That is fair to the highest of orders.
This was a titanic clash, as Nebraska entered the game with expectations of challenging the greatest teams of all time. Nebraska just weeks prior put up an NCAA record 883 yards of total offense against New Mexico State and that was after humiliating an Iowa team 42-7 fresh off a Rose Bowl appearance.
Nebraska was fueled by quarterback Turner Gill, running backs Roger Craig, Mike Rozier, Tom Rathman, wide receiver Irving Fryar, and legendary offensive linemen Dean Steinkuhler and Dave Rimington.
This was the first game that would be played with lights at Beaver Stadium and the game was worthy of it.
Penn State opened up to a 21-7 lead, it looked like Paterno was going to get arguably his biggest regular season win at Penn State. Nebraska would claw back and thought it had the backbreaker when it went up 24-21 late.
Penn State had one last opportunity with 1:18 to go and it would have a little controversy as I alluded to earlier when it was ruled a Todd Blackledge pass to Mike McCloskey at the two-yard line was ruled a completion with 13 seconds to go. The unrest from the controversy gave Blackledge the opportunity to connect with Kirk Bowman in the endzone for the winning touchdown.
When asked about the greatest regular season games in Penn State history, this is it, it literally had everything you could ask for in a game. It had legendary coaches and players, it had early dominance and serious drama, it had controversy, and a finish that was unforgettable. Very few games have all those elements and this one did.
