By Kyle Golik
#5 2009 Rose Bowl
The No. 5 spot here could go in many directions, a couple Citrus and Blockbuster Bowls you could place here, but I went with the 2009 Rose Bowl because it made Southern California quarterback Mark Sanchez a Top 5 NFL Draft pick becoming just the third quarterback ever to pass for over 400 yards in the Rose Bowl.
The pain points are many in this game, Stephfon Green’s ill-fated fumble in a second quarter where Penn State was already down 24-7 that was capped by a C.J. Gable touchdown reception to give Southern California a 31-7 lead.
The play that epitomizes the pain the most came in the fourth quarter with Penn State already down 31-14, Sanchez rolled to the right and there was no one in the vicinity of Trojan wide receiver Ronald Johnson for the 45 yard touchdown.
#4 1986 Orange Bowl
The 1985 was always a surprise for many in Nttany Nation. In a lot of ways like 2024 where the expectations were to just make the College Football Playoff, Penn State surprised many with two playoff wins, a Big Ten Championship Game, and being on the precipice of the program’s first national championship game since 1986.
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While that was surprising, 1985 seemingly came out of nowhere as Penn State stumbled through 1983 and bottoming out in 1984 going 6-5, the expectations were not high going into 1985.
When Penn State pulled the upset Week 1 against No. 7 Maryland and then outlasted No. 10 Alabama in Happy Valley 19-17, a magic season was upon many in Penn State with the team being known as the “Cardiac Kids.” When Penn State capped off 1985 by defeating arch-rival Pitt 31-0 to finish undefeated in the regular season for the fifth time under Joe Paterno, the expectations were high in the Orange Bowl for Penn State to capture its second national championship in four years.
At that point, John Shaffer had won every start since he was in the 7th grade (54 starts in all) and now collegiate career, many saw the 1986 Orange Bowl as the start of a dynasty for Penn State. Instead, Shaffer’s performance was the reason Penn State lost to Oklahoma 25-10. Shaffer was 10 for 22 passing for 74 yards, with Shaffer and Matt Knizner combining for four interceptions. Knizner seemed to be more effective late, embroiling into a fierce quarterback competition through much of the 1986 camp.
If any single play still haunts Penn State fans, it was Jamelle Holieway finding tight end Keith Jackson for a 71 yard touchdown pass, considering Barry Switzer ran the veer at Oklahoma, that knockout punch still hurts to this day.
#3 2017 Rose Bowl
The next three are not just the three bowl games that hurt Penn State the worst, but are amongst three games ever in Penn State that digs deep. I could rank these three in any particular order, but in all honesty each had distinct levels of things on the line and that is what places them in my list.
What makes the 2017 Rose Bowl hurt so much, it is the compounding pain of being snubbed for the College Football Playoff and then not being able to back that omission up.
Penn State was a streaky team in 2016, it started off 2-2, then reeled off nine consecutive wins including the Big Ten Championship against Wisconsin, the program’s first since 2008. In that game against Wisconsin, Penn State had to rally back to defeat Wisconsin. What transpired in Indy also did against Southern California in the Rose Bowl, Penn State found itself behind and somehow rallied back to take a 14-point lead into the 4th quarter. This included Saquon Barkley’s highlight 79-yard touchdown.
However, Penn State could not stave off Sam Darnold as he led the Trojans to tie the game to potentially set up the first Rose Bowl game to go to overtime. Penn State went for the win and Trace McSorley threw it up for grabs where Trojan defensive back Leon McQuay III came up with an interception and return that set up a game winning Southern California field goal as time expired.
#2 2025 Orange Bowl
If the 2017 Rose Bowl interception wasn’t hard enough to swallow, Drew Allar’s comes with more pain.
Neither pass needed to happen, both McSorley and Allar could have thrown the ball away and fought another down or overtime. I applaud Penn State for going for the win in these situations because the quarterback play and decision making weren’t there in either case.
While Allar stated he was just trying to throw it in the dirt, the execution was certainly not there.
For Penn State fans, this was the furthest they have gone since 1986 reaching essentially college football’s penultimate game. Where this game parallels the 2017 Rose Bowl is Penn State reached a level it hadn’t for a long time. While it had only been eight years since their previous Rose Bowl, the sanctions from the Jerry Sandusky fallout seemingly added time.
The 2025 Orange Bowl while many will put blame on Allar, the wide receivers made zero impact, and on Jaden Greathouse’s touchdown to tie it at 24 two Penn State defenders fell to allow the easy touchdown that was not defended properly at all.
It was a redemption game that the team couldn’t deliver for their coach, as Franklin will continue to be criticized for his big game woes, but from a coaching standpoint, to have Penn State in the position they did to win that game speaks more about how good the coaches did and how the players did not execute in critical moments to deliver the game.
#1 1979 Sugar Bowl
This is the game that nearly drove Joe Paterno from being a college football coach to working on Wall Street or some other financial institution. It was a game that Paterno carried the hangover along with their players into the 1979 season where they fell to an uncharacteristic 8-4.
The 1979 Sugar Bowl is one of the greatest games in the history of college football, it was ranked No. 12 in ESPN’s 150 greatest college football games list from 2019. It was Penn State’s first appearance in the National Championship Game where they faced off against Paul “Bear” Bryant’s No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide.
The moment everyone remembers is Alabama’s goal line stand. Whether it was Don McNeal stopping Scott Fitzkee on an out route that could have tied the game, or Barry Krauss’ stop of Mike Guman on the goal line, they have grown in lure. It was the latter that nearly drove Paterno from coaching, he wanted to have Penn State quarterback Chuck Fusina bootleg and try to hit a receiver in the flat, but was talked out of it by his staff to run Guman up the middle.
What many forget is Penn State made another key stop with over five minutes to go, and it seemed Alabama gave Penn State great position on a shanked punt. However, Penn State played with 12 men on the field giving Alabama a first down and ability to run the rest of the clock.
While the Orange Bowl stings and hurts, it has a firm place on the painful moments in Penn State history but the game where Joe Paterno second guessed himself still reigns on this list.
