'79 Sugar Bowl

[ryoder1]

To spice up the board a little I figured I would try to get a discussion going about this game. Kind of a downer I know as it brings back bad memories to those who were of age to remember.

For me personally I didn't watch the game. My family took a vacation to Southern California that year and we went to the Rose Bowl game. I was 12. By the way, that Rose Bowl game was USC vs Michigan with the infamous Charles White leap for a TD that was not a TD. Hilarious that Michigan got hosed on that call. Schmuckbechler would have found a way to blow the game even if they didn't give USC the TD on that play.

Back to the Sugar Bowl.

Anybody on this board go to the game?? What was the atmosphere like? I bet it was mostly a Bama crowd but I think Penn State brought a lot of fans. This game had to have been very exciting to attend as a PSU fan. The vibe in the PSU fan section had to be electric! It was Joe's first opportunity at a clear cut national championship.

The run started in '77 with the only blemish being the Kentucky loss and closing that season with an epic win vs Pitt in the snow and crushing Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl.

In '78 we were great and I attended all of the home games including our thrashing of Maryland and then beating Pitt. I love to this day Joe's decision to go for it on 4th and goal at the 3 and Guman walks in with the pitch. One of the iconic PSU plays for sure. I also was in Ohio Stadium to watch us dominate OSU 19-0.

So now we are pitted vs Bear Bryant and Alabama. We lost to them 3 years earlier in the first game ever in the Superdome.

Our defense was stout. Millen and Clark were great and we also had Lance Mehl, Joe Lally and Larry Kubin who were all very good. I think Pete Harris got a huge pick in this game. The teams were evenly matched.

I recently watched our TD and Fitzkee makes an unbelievable catch in the back of the endzone. Incredible balance and footwork to get his foot down. Better catch than Garrity's in the '83 Sugar Bowl, in my opinion.

On the goal line stand....Ugh! Why did we run it 4 straight times?! I think we ran it 4 straight, right? What were we thinking on the 4th down play?? I have read that Joe wanted to pass but he got talked out of it?? I think that was in one of the books about him.

What should we have done?? We must have had a play to simply slip the TE out?? It would have been Mickey Shuler, right? Or we could have faked Suhey up the middle and run Guman wide. There were other options as well. Bama totally sold out on the dive play. It's like they knew that was the play we called! Man, I think how sweet it would have been to have won that game! Joe never beat Bear Bryant unfortunately.

I have read that Joe admitted in one of the books about him that he seriously contemplated retirement after this game since it was such a devastating loss. Thankfully he did not.

Interested in the board's thoughts on this game from all perspectives and from anyone who attended.

 

[Kasparaitis]

To spice up the board a little I figured I would try to get a discussion going about this game. Kind of a downer I know as it brings back bad memories to those who were of age to remember.

For me personally I didn't watch the game. My family took a vacation to Southern California that year and we went to the Rose Bowl game. I was 12. By the way, that Rose Bowl game was USC vs Michigan with the infamous Charles White leap for a TD that was not a TD. Hilarious that Michigan got hosed on that call. Schmuckbechler would have found a way to blow the game even if they didn't give USC the TD on that play.

Back to the Sugar Bowl.

Anybody on this board go to the game?? What was the atmosphere like? I bet it was mostly a Bama crowd but I think Penn State brought a lot of fans. This game had to have been very exciting to attend as a PSU fan. The vibe in the PSU fan section had to be electric! It was Joe's first opportunity at a clear cut national championship.

The run started in '77 with the only blemish being the Kentucky loss and closing that season with an epic win vs Pitt in the snow and crushing Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl.

In '78 we were great and I attended all of the home games including our thrashing of Maryland and then beating Pitt. I love to this day Joe's decision to go for it on 4th and goal at the 3 and Guman walks in with the pitch. One of the iconic PSU plays for sure. I also was in Ohio Stadium to watch us dominate OSU 19-0.

So now we are pitted vs Bear Bryant and Alabama. We lost to them 3 years earlier in the first game ever in the Superdome.

Our defense was stout. Millen and Clark were great and we also had Lance Mehl, Joe Lally and Larry Kubin who were all very good. I think Pete Harris got a huge pick in this game. The teams were evenly matched.

I recently watched our TD and Fitzkee makes an unbelievable catch in the back of the endzone. Incredible balance and footwork to get his foot down. Better catch than Garrity's in the '83 Sugar Bowl, in my opinion.

On the goal line stand....Ugh! Why did we run it 4 straight times?! I think we ran it 4 straight, right? What were we thinking on the 4th down play?? I have read that Joe wanted to pass but he got talked out of it?? I think that was in one of the books about him.

What should we have done?? We must have had a play to simply slip the TE out?? It would have been Mickey Shuler, right? Or we could have faked Suhey up the middle and run Guman wide. There were other options as well. Bama totally sold out on the dive play. It's like they knew that was the play we called! Man, I think how sweet it would have been to have won that game! Joe never beat Bear Bryant unfortunately.

I have read that Joe admitted in one of the books about him that he seriously contemplated retirement after this game since it was such a devastating loss. Thankfully he did not.

Interested in the board's thoughts on this game from all perspectives and from anyone who attended.

The low point of my young life. I feel like Fitzke should have cut inside instead of getting pushed out at the goal line. Watching those Alabama players’ wide-eyed interviews talking about they’d do anything for Coach Bryant I thought they sounded like Confederate soldiers talking about General Lee. I still cannot believe we couldn’t score that last touchdown. I do believe Penn State was the better team. Just not that day.

 

[GregInPitt]

I'm a 1977 grad but also went to almost every home game in 1977 and 1978 seasons. The loss to UK was due to a sloppy field in the rain and Derric Ramsey who scrambled and ran around in the mud enough to win the game.

I was at that PSU/Bama Sugar Bowl. We headed down from Pittsburgh, 8 of us, in one of the guys Dad's pontiac bonneville station wagon. Drove straight through. Took turns driving. But as the trip went along more and more of us were sleeping. I was the last driver and getting close to New Orleans I had no co-pilot awake. So I had to get some guys awake to help with directions (remember back when there were only maps and no garmans or phone apps?). We stayed in Delta Towers. Had a blast on Bourbon Street. The only bad experience was how the game ended.

PSU had a great team as mentioned above. Bruce Clark was a physical freak back in the day when no one was built like today's common physical freak football players. I played BB with him in Rec on Sunday nights a few times and he was also a great guy as he could have played a reasonable game and still caused the rest of us serious injury.....

But PSU had a great running game. Great RB's. Great OL. And a nice passing game. I still can't believe PSU couldn't score on 4 runs even with Bama selling out. Joe learned a lesson from that game and went to more dynamic offenses going forward and more diverse goal line offensive plays. Not much else to say. A tough game against a talent Bama team. PSU had more high end players. But Bama used the talent they had to make some plays and stonewall PSU when they had to.

It was a long trip home..... But we did meet a couple cute girls from Alabama. I didn't follow up with the one I met, but a friend of mine got the one he met to come up to PSU for the Spring pledge formal....

 

[Jerry]

To spice up the board a little I figured I would try to get a discussion going about this game. Kind of a downer I know as it brings back bad memories to those who were of age to remember.

For me personally I didn't watch the game. My family took a vacation to Southern California that year and we went to the Rose Bowl game. I was 12. By the way, that Rose Bowl game was USC vs Michigan with the infamous Charles White leap for a TD that was not a TD. Hilarious that Michigan got hosed on that call. Schmuckbechler would have found a way to blow the game even if they didn't give USC the TD on that play.

Back to the Sugar Bowl.

Anybody on this board go to the game?? What was the atmosphere like? I bet it was mostly a Bama crowd but I think Penn State brought a lot of fans. This game had to have been very exciting to attend as a PSU fan. The vibe in the PSU fan section had to be electric! It was Joe's first opportunity at a clear cut national championship.

The run started in '77 with the only blemish being the Kentucky loss and closing that season with an epic win vs Pitt in the snow and crushing Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl.

In '78 we were great and I attended all of the home games including our thrashing of Maryland and then beating Pitt. I love to this day Joe's decision to go for it on 4th and goal at the 3 and Guman walks in with the pitch. One of the iconic PSU plays for sure. I also was in Ohio Stadium to watch us dominate OSU 19-0.

So now we are pitted vs Bear Bryant and Alabama. We lost to them 3 years earlier in the first game ever in the Superdome.

Our defense was stout. Millen and Clark were great and we also had Lance Mehl, Joe Lally and Larry Kubin who were all very good. I think Pete Harris got a huge pick in this game. The teams were evenly matched.

I recently watched our TD and Fitzkee makes an unbelievable catch in the back of the endzone. Incredible balance and footwork to get his foot down. Better catch than Garrity's in the '83 Sugar Bowl, in my opinion.

On the goal line stand....Ugh! Why did we run it 4 straight times?! I think we ran it 4 straight, right? What were we thinking on the 4th down play?? I have read that Joe wanted to pass but he got talked out of it?? I think that was in one of the books about him.

What should we have done?? We must have had a play to simply slip the TE out?? It would have been Mickey Shuler, right? Or we could have faked Suhey up the middle and run Guman wide. There were other options as well. Bama totally sold out on the dive play. It's like they knew that was the play we called! Man, I think how sweet it would have been to have won that game! Joe never beat Bear Bryant unfortunately.

I have read that Joe admitted in one of the books about him that he seriously contemplated retirement after this game since it was such a devastating loss. Thankfully he did not.

Interested in the board's thoughts on this game from all perspectives and from anyone who attended.

Back-breaker, but no, we didn't run it four straight times. Had a 1st down at the Alabama 8 after a Tide turnover to give us life, and on the second play of the series Fusina hit Fitzkee at the 1...but Alabama's D closed like lightning and wouldn't let Scott turn up to get the one precious yard for the tying TD.

After that, it was two shots up the gut, which followed the Lombardi script as related by Jerry Kramer after the Packers' legendary win over Dallas in the Ice Bowl: If you can't run it down their throats for less than one yard, then you don't deserve to be champions.

Green Bay could. We couldn't. Hindsight is always 20-20. If the play you call doesn't work, then you're an idiot and failure. If it does work, then you're a hero and genius. That's always been the rule and hasn't changed. In fact, sports is a lot like life in that regard.

 

[Lionsfan1000]

Loved the name Major Ogilvie.

 

[SYRCHAZ]

Toward the end of the first half Alabama scored on about a 25 yd TD pass into the end zone. Many believe that the diving Alabama receiver never caught the ball and there was a photo in the Penn State Letter, using an end zone view that substantiated that he trapped the ball. Anyone have a copy of this photo?

Also I believe Suhey said that he did reach/crack the end zone and scored on the THIRD DOWN play.

 

[lurkerlion]

Shuler had graduated the previous year with Cefalo. Shuler had been Fusina’s favorite target in such crucial plays which created a weakness in 78. Bummer when a great player graduates.

As stated above, the Bama touchdown pass and Suhey run on 3rd down may have both been called incorrectly. I have never seen replays but have heard such from people who should know. It is amazing how far tech has grown since that game. There would have been 5 different replay angles immediately available.

 

[ryoder1]

All great comments. I had heard Suhey may have gotten in on 3rd down. The Bama DB had to make a perfect tackle to completely stonewall Fitzkee to deny him the TD on the 2nd down play. He probably scores 8 or 9 out of 10 in that situation.

On the 4th down a fake dive to Suhey and pitch to Guman probably lets Guman walk in. Well, we will never know.

 

[ryoder1]

I'm a 1977 grad but also went to almost every home game in 1978. The loss to UK was due to a sloppy field in the rain and Derric Ramsey who scrambled and ran around in the mud enough to win the game.

I was at that PSU/Bama Sugar Bowl. We headed down from Pittsburgh, 8 of us, in one of the guys Dad's pontiac bonneville station wagon. Drove straight through. Took turns driving. But as the trip went along more and more of us were sleeping. I was the last driver and getting close to New Orleans I had no co-pilot awake. So I had to get some guys awake to help with directions (remember back when there were only maps and no garmans or phone apps?). We stayed in Delta Towers. Had a blast on Bourbon Street. The only bad experience was how the game ended.

PSU had a great team as mentioned above. Bruce Clark was a physical freak back in the day when no one was built like today's common physical freak football players. I played BB with him in Rec on Sunday nights a few times and he was also a great guy as he could have played a reasonable game and still caused the rest of us serious injury.....

But PSU had a great running game. Great RB's. Great OL. And a nice passing game. I still can't believe PSU couldn't score on 4 runs even with Bama selling out. Joe learned a lesson from that game and went to more dynamic offenses going forward and more diverse goal line offensive plays. Not much else to say. A tough game against a talent Bama team. PSU had more high end players. But Bama used the talent they had to make some plays and stonewall PSU when they had to.

It was a long trip home..... But we did meet a couple cute girls from Alabama. I didn't follow up with the one I met, but a friend of mine got the one he met to come up to PSU for the Spring pledge formal....

I also was at that '77 game vs Kentucky in the rain. Kind of a stunning loss and you're right we couldn't handle Ramsey.
He was big, strong and fast which was not common for QBs back then.

We played Kentucky in a 4 year series '75-'78 and lost two straight in '76 and '77 then we dominated them in Lexington in '78. I was at the '75 game and remember it was pretty close.

 

[psu1969a]

Basic concept of football. Team that blocks or team that tackles best wins. We did not block Alabama on several tries from near the Goal Line; therefore, we lost. Pure and simple.

 

[lurkerlion]

Basic concept of football. Team that blocks or team that tackles best wins. We did not block Alabama on several tries from near the Goal Line; therefore, we lost. Pure and simple.

Purist point of view. Don’t let the officials determine the outcome. However, those two plays represented a swing of at least 14 points if we were using today’s technology. So we are discussing a what if, not so much as what should have happened. The rules changed and we have replay available on every play—what if?

 

[Delcolion915]

To spice up the board a little I figured I would try to get a discussion going about this game. Kind of a downer I know as it brings back bad memories to those who were of age to remember.

For me personally I didn't watch the game. My family took a vacation to Southern California that year and we went to the Rose Bowl game. I was 12. By the way, that Rose Bowl game was USC vs Michigan with the infamous Charles White leap for a TD that was not a TD. Hilarious that Michigan got hosed on that call. Schmuckbechler would have found a way to blow the game even if they didn't give USC the TD on that play.

Back to the Sugar Bowl.

Anybody on this board go to the game?? What was the atmosphere like? I bet it was mostly a Bama crowd but I think Penn State brought a lot of fans. This game had to have been very exciting to attend as a PSU fan. The vibe in the PSU fan section had to be electric! It was Joe's first opportunity at a clear cut national championship.

The run started in '77 with the only blemish being the Kentucky loss and closing that season with an epic win vs Pitt in the snow and crushing Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl.

In '78 we were great and I attended all of the home games including our thrashing of Maryland and then beating Pitt. I love to this day Joe's decision to go for it on 4th and goal at the 3 and Guman walks in with the pitch. One of the iconic PSU plays for sure. I also was in Ohio Stadium to watch us dominate OSU 19-0.

So now we are pitted vs Bear Bryant and Alabama. We lost to them 3 years earlier in the first game ever in the Superdome.

Our defense was stout. Millen and Clark were great and we also had Lance Mehl, Joe Lally and Larry Kubin who were all very good. I think Pete Harris got a huge pick in this game. The teams were evenly matched.

I recently watched our TD and Fitzkee makes an unbelievable catch in the back of the endzone. Incredible balance and footwork to get his foot down. Better catch than Garrity's in the '83 Sugar Bowl, in my opinion.

On the goal line stand....Ugh! Why did we run it 4 straight times?! I think we ran it 4 straight, right? What were we thinking on the 4th down play?? I have read that Joe wanted to pass but he got talked out of it?? I think that was in one of the books about him.

What should we have done?? We must have had a play to simply slip the TE out?? It would have been Mickey Shuler, right? Or we could have faked Suhey up the middle and run Guman wide. There were other options as well. Bama totally sold out on the dive play. It's like they knew that was the play we called! Man, I think how sweet it would have been to have won that game! Joe never beat Bear Bryant unfortunately.

I have read that Joe admitted in one of the books about him that he seriously contemplated retirement after this game since it was such a devastating loss. Thankfully he did not.

Interested in the board's thoughts on this game from all perspectives and from anyone who attended.

Why did Penn State wear tennis shoes? The whole thing was bizarre and didn't help.

 

[Delcolion915]

I also was at that '77 game vs Kentucky in the rain. Kind of a stunning loss and you're right we couldn't handle Ramsey.
He was big, strong and fast which was not common for QBs back then.

We played Kentucky in a 4 year series '75-'78 and lost two straight in '76 and '77 then we dominated them in Lexington in '78. I was at the '75 game and remember it was pretty close.

They turned the ball over three times deep in our own territory. Once for a pick six. Gave that game away in 77 or they would have played for the national championship, and possibly won.

 

[Kasparaitis]

Why did Penn State wear tennis shoes? The whole thing was bizarre and didn't help.

It was played indoors back before artificial turf shoes had been optimized.

 

[Delcolion915]

It was played indoors back before artificial turf shoes had been optimized.

Alabama wasn't wearing tennis shoes.

 

[ryoder1]

Early 3rd quarter our DB McCoy dropped a pick around our 40 that hit him right between the numbers (literally). If he catches it he probably gets 20 yards or more. Could have been a big momentum swing.

So many what ifs in that game. Probably the most stinging loss in PSU football history given what was at stake and how we lost.

 

[Kasparaitis]

Alabama wasn't wearing tennis shoes.

And Louisville isn’t the capital of Kentucky. So what? The guy asked why they were wearing sneakers. The answer is Penn State did not have the proper cleats for artificial turf and felt that sneakers were better than what they had. It has nothing to do with Alabama.

 

[Delcolion915]

And Louisville isn’t the capital of Kentucky. So what? The guy asked why they were wearing sneakers. The answer is Penn State did not have the proper cleats for artificial turf and felt that sneakers were better than what they had. It has nothing to do with Alabama.

Why didn't Penn State have proper cleats for Turf? They played at Pitt, Temple at the Vet, at Ohio State and many others on turf and their shoes were just fine. The answer is, Paterno screwed up. He screwed up in many ways in that game. There were 8 minutes left what he went for it instead of the field goal. The very next possession he had too many players on the field, in the first half he called two timeouts while Bryant was just trying to kill the clock. On and on and on

 

[Delcolion915]

Early 3rd quarter our DB McCoy dropped a pick around our 40 that hit him right between the numbers (literally). If he catches it he probably gets 20 yards or more. Could have been a big momentum swing.

So many what ifs in that game. Probably the most stinging loss in PSU football history given what was at stake and how we lost.

Lally got caught from behind on what should have been a pick six. Oglevie fumbling and nobody got it

 

[Kasparaitis]

Why didn't Penn State have proper cleats for Turf? They played at Pitt, Temple at the Vet, at Ohio State and many others on turf and their shoes were just fine. The answer is, Paterno screwed up. He screwed up in many ways in that game. There were 8 minutes left what he went for it instead of the field goal. The very next possession he had too many players on the field, in the first half he called two timeouts while Bryant was just trying to kill the clock. On and on and on

I know ad homenim arguments are a fallacy but as a last resort when you’re trying to reason with an unreasonable person, all I have left is, you’re a douche.

 

[Delcolion915]

I know ad homenim arguments are a fallacy but as a last resort when you’re trying to reason with an unreasonable person, all I have left is, you’re a douche.

I'm a douche? I'm pointing out mistakes that Joe made that he later admitted he made. He also admitted that he needed to recruit speed. The receipts for all of these are available.

Alabama outgained PSU that day, but made a ton of mistakes, and Bryant out coached Paterno. Again, receipts are available in which Joe admits all this. I'm unsure why you are acting like all of these points are some kind of insult to your family 😂. Lighten up man. 😂

 

[Obliviax]

I'm a 1977 grad but also went to almost every home game in 1977 and 1978 seasons. The loss to UK was due to a sloppy field in the rain and Derric Ramsey who scrambled and ran around in the mud enough to win the game.

I was at that PSU/Bama Sugar Bowl. We headed down from Pittsburgh, 8 of us, in one of the guys Dad's pontiac bonneville station wagon. Drove straight through. Took turns driving. But as the trip went along more and more of us were sleeping. I was the last driver and getting close to New Orleans I had no co-pilot awake. So I had to get some guys awake to help with directions (remember back when there were only maps and no garmans or phone apps?). We stayed in Delta Towers. Had a blast on Bourbon Street. The only bad experience was how the game ended.

PSU had a great team as mentioned above. Bruce Clark was a physical freak back in the day when no one was built like today's common physical freak football players. I played BB with him in Rec on Sunday nights a few times and he was also a great guy as he could have played a reasonable game and still caused the rest of us serious injury.....

But PSU had a great running game. Great RB's. Great OL. And a nice passing game. I still can't believe PSU couldn't score on 4 runs even with Bama selling out. Joe learned a lesson from that game and went to more dynamic offenses going forward and more diverse goal line offensive plays. Not much else to say. A tough game against a talent Bama team. PSU had more high end players. But Bama used the talent they had to make some plays and stonewall PSU when they had to.

It was a long trip home..... But we did meet a couple cute girls from Alabama. I didn't follow up with the one I met, but a friend of mine got the one he met to come up to PSU for the Spring pledge formal....

IIRC, Bruce Clark was a very good pole vaulter for his high school's track team. One of the better performances in the state his senior year. Also recall him having to tape the pole so it wouldn't break which also caused it to be less springy. He was a heck of an athlete.

 

[saturdaysarebetter2]

To spice up the board a little I figured I would try to get a discussion going about this game. Kind of a downer I know as it brings back bad memories to those who were of age to remember.

For me personally I didn't watch the game. My family took a vacation to Southern California that year and we went to the Rose Bowl game. I was 12. By the way, that Rose Bowl game was USC vs Michigan with the infamous Charles White leap for a TD that was not a TD. Hilarious that Michigan got hosed on that call. Schmuckbechler would have found a way to blow the game even if they didn't give USC the TD on that play.

Back to the Sugar Bowl.

Anybody on this board go to the game?? What was the atmosphere like? I bet it was mostly a Bama crowd but I think Penn State brought a lot of fans. This game had to have been very exciting to attend as a PSU fan. The vibe in the PSU fan section had to be electric! It was Joe's first opportunity at a clear cut national championship.

The run started in '77 with the only blemish being the Kentucky loss and closing that season with an epic win vs Pitt in the snow and crushing Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl.

In '78 we were great and I attended all of the home games including our thrashing of Maryland and then beating Pitt. I love to this day Joe's decision to go for it on 4th and goal at the 3 and Guman walks in with the pitch. One of the iconic PSU plays for sure. I also was in Ohio Stadium to watch us dominate OSU 19-0.

So now we are pitted vs Bear Bryant and Alabama. We lost to them 3 years earlier in the first game ever in the Superdome.

Our defense was stout. Millen and Clark were great and we also had Lance Mehl, Joe Lally and Larry Kubin who were all very good. I think Pete Harris got a huge pick in this game. The teams were evenly matched.

I recently watched our TD and Fitzkee makes an unbelievable catch in the back of the endzone. Incredible balance and footwork to get his foot down. Better catch than Garrity's in the '83 Sugar Bowl, in my opinion.

On the goal line stand....Ugh! Why did we run it 4 straight times?! I think we ran it 4 straight, right? What were we thinking on the 4th down play?? I have read that Joe wanted to pass but he got talked out of it?? I think that was in one of the books about him.

What should we have done?? We must have had a play to simply slip the TE out?? It would have been Mickey Shuler, right? Or we could have faked Suhey up the middle and run Guman wide. There were other options as well. Bama totally sold out on the dive play. It's like they knew that was the play we called! Man, I think how sweet it would have been to have won that game! Joe never beat Bear Bryant unfortunately.

I have read that Joe admitted in one of the books about him that he seriously contemplated retirement after this game since it was such a devastating loss. Thankfully he did not.

Interested in the board's thoughts on this game from all perspectives and from anyone who attended.

First off, let's correct your recollection. I've attached a video link of the plays leading up to the goal line stand and the goal line stand itself.

1st down from the 8, a 2-yard gain by Mike Guman.
2nd down from the 6, Fusina hits Fitzkee and is tackled at the 1 by Don McNeal. Fitzkee ran the route one yard short.
3rd down from the 1 - Suhey over the top and I believe the football reached the plane of the goal line (see photos).
4th down from the 1 - Guman stopped by Barry Krauss.
So there was only two plays from the one-yard line not four.

 

[saturdaysarebetter2]

To spice up the board a little I figured I would try to get a discussion going about this game. Kind of a downer I know as it brings back bad memories to those who were of age to remember.

For me personally I didn't watch the game. My family took a vacation to Southern California that year and we went to the Rose Bowl game. I was 12. By the way, that Rose Bowl game was USC vs Michigan with the infamous Charles White leap for a TD that was not a TD. Hilarious that Michigan got hosed on that call. Schmuckbechler would have found a way to blow the game even if they didn't give USC the TD on that play.

Back to the Sugar Bowl.

Anybody on this board go to the game?? What was the atmosphere like? I bet it was mostly a Bama crowd but I think Penn State brought a lot of fans. This game had to have been very exciting to attend as a PSU fan. The vibe in the PSU fan section had to be electric! It was Joe's first opportunity at a clear cut national championship.

The run started in '77 with the only blemish being the Kentucky loss and closing that season with an epic win vs Pitt in the snow and crushing Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl.

In '78 we were great and I attended all of the home games including our thrashing of Maryland and then beating Pitt. I love to this day Joe's decision to go for it on 4th and goal at the 3 and Guman walks in with the pitch. One of the iconic PSU plays for sure. I also was in Ohio Stadium to watch us dominate OSU 19-0.

So now we are pitted vs Bear Bryant and Alabama. We lost to them 3 years earlier in the first game ever in the Superdome.

Our defense was stout. Millen and Clark were great and we also had Lance Mehl, Joe Lally and Larry Kubin who were all very good. I think Pete Harris got a huge pick in this game. The teams were evenly matched.

I recently watched our TD and Fitzkee makes an unbelievable catch in the back of the endzone. Incredible balance and footwork to get his foot down. Better catch than Garrity's in the '83 Sugar Bowl, in my opinion.

On the goal line stand....Ugh! Why did we run it 4 straight times?! I think we ran it 4 straight, right? What were we thinking on the 4th down play?? I have read that Joe wanted to pass but he got talked out of it?? I think that was in one of the books about him.

What should we have done?? We must have had a play to simply slip the TE out?? It would have been Mickey Shuler, right? Or we could have faked Suhey up the middle and run Guman wide. There were other options as well. Bama totally sold out on the dive play. It's like they knew that was the play we called! Man, I think how sweet it would have been to have won that game! Joe never beat Bear Bryant unfortunately.

I have read that Joe admitted in one of the books about him that he seriously contemplated retirement after this game since it was such a devastating loss. Thankfully he did not.

Interested in the board's thoughts on this game from all perspectives and from anyone who attended.

Joe actually wanted to throw the football on 4th down, but was talked out of it by his assistants. The old macho thinking, "If we can't gain one yard running the football we don't deserve to win." Joe acquiesed against his better judgment and forever regretted it.

 

[ryoder1]

Treol

First off, let's correct your recollection. I've attached a video link of the plays leading up to the goal line stand and the goal line stand itself.

1st down from the 8, a 2-yard gain by Mike Guman.
2nd down from the 6, Fusina hits Fitzkee and is tackled at the 1 by Don McNeal. Fitzkee ran the route one yard short.
3rd down from the 1 - Suhey over the top and I believe the football reached the plane of the goal line (see photos).
4th down from the 1 - Guman stopped by Barry Krauss.
So there was only two plays from the one-yard line not four.

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Yes, someone else also pointed this out. It took a phenomenal tackle to keep Fitzkee out of the end zone. It does look like Suhey got in but is there a better angle? Wish they had reply reviews back then but a different era.

We run Suhey and he is supposedly stopped so the next play Bama guesses right that we will go with our tailback over the top. They sell out for that. Any other play not running up the gut scores in my opinion. I think Fusina could have faked to Guman and walked in around the end.

 

[ryoder1]

Why didn't Penn State have proper cleats for Turf? They played at Pitt, Temple at the Vet, at Ohio State and many others on turf and their shoes were just fine. The answer is, Paterno screwed up. He screwed up in many ways in that game. There were 8 minutes left what he went for it instead of the field goal. The very next possession he had too many players on the field, in the first half he called two timeouts while Bryant was just trying to kill the clock. On and on and on

Joe was outcoached. This was his worst loss. I don't have a problem going for it there as points were tough to come by and if we don't get in then we can stop them and get the ball back in good field position. All that should have happened except the 12 men penalty which is on Paterno. If Franklin had a game like that he would be crucified.

 

[mnuccio2]

I wasn’t there but I had interest in learning about the game. I watched a YouTube video where Alabama players were saying that it was one of the hardest hitting games and that it was just brutal. From the sound of the game on tv, the crowd was really into it at some points. I also saw that Joepa went back to NY after that loss based on Sue telling him to get away for a bit and decompress.

 

[saturdaysarebetter2]

Joe was outcoached. This was his worst loss. I don't have a problem going for it there as points were tough to come by and if we don't get in then we can stop them and get the ball back in good field position. All that should have happened except the 12 men penalty which is on Paterno. If Franklin had a game like that he would be crucified.

Paterno had worse coaching decisions.

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[SheldonJoe2215]

You lost me at crushing ASU in the Fiesta Bowl. It was 42-30.

 

[harbest]

To spice up the board a little I figured I would try to get a discussion going about this game. Kind of a downer I know as it brings back bad memories to those who were of age to remember.

For me personally I didn't watch the game. My family took a vacation to Southern California that year and we went to the Rose Bowl game. I was 12. By the way, that Rose Bowl game was USC vs Michigan with the infamous Charles White leap for a TD that was not a TD. Hilarious that Michigan got hosed on that call. Schmuckbechler would have found a way to blow the game even if they didn't give USC the TD on that play.

Back to the Sugar Bowl.

Anybody on this board go to the game?? What was the atmosphere like? I bet it was mostly a Bama crowd but I think Penn State brought a lot of fans. This game had to have been very exciting to attend as a PSU fan. The vibe in the PSU fan section had to be electric! It was Joe's first opportunity at a clear cut national championship.

The run started in '77 with the only blemish being the Kentucky loss and closing that season with an epic win vs Pitt in the snow and crushing Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl.

In '78 we were great and I attended all of the home games including our thrashing of Maryland and then beating Pitt. I love to this day Joe's decision to go for it on 4th and goal at the 3 and Guman walks in with the pitch. One of the iconic PSU plays for sure. I also was in Ohio Stadium to watch us dominate OSU 19-0.

So now we are pitted vs Bear Bryant and Alabama. We lost to them 3 years earlier in the first game ever in the Superdome.

Our defense was stout. Millen and Clark were great and we also had Lance Mehl, Joe Lally and Larry Kubin who were all very good. I think Pete Harris got a huge pick in this game. The teams were evenly matched.

I recently watched our TD and Fitzkee makes an unbelievable catch in the back of the endzone. Incredible balance and footwork to get his foot down. Better catch than Garrity's in the '83 Sugar Bowl, in my opinion.

On the goal line stand....Ugh! Why did we run it 4 straight times?! I think we ran it 4 straight, right? What were we thinking on the 4th down play?? I have read that Joe wanted to pass but he got talked out of it?? I think that was in one of the books about him.

What should we have done?? We must have had a play to simply slip the TE out?? It would have been Mickey Shuler, right? Or we could have faked Suhey up the middle and run Guman wide. There were other options as well. Bama totally sold out on the dive play. It's like they knew that was the play we called! Man, I think how sweet it would have been to have won that game! Joe never beat Bear Bryant unfortunately.

I have read that Joe admitted in one of the books about him that he seriously contemplated retirement after this game since it was such a devastating loss. Thankfully he did not.

Interested in the board's thoughts on this game from all perspectives and from anyone who attended.

If 3 dives don't do it, on 4th, you fake the gut, go outside.

 

[Kasparaitis]

I'm a douche? I'm pointing out mistakes that Joe made that he later admitted he made. He also admitted that he needed to recruit speed. The receipts for all of these are available.

Alabama outgained PSU that day, but made a ton of mistakes, and Bryant out coached Paterno. Again, receipts are available in which Joe admits all this. I'm unsure why you are acting like all of these points are some kind of insult to your family 😂. Lighten up man. 😂

Yeah, I need to lighten up. Joe Paterno is the greatest college football coach to ever walk the earth. He’s also the second most influential Pennsylvanian behind Benjamin Franklin. But you’re all hacked off about the shoes they wore in 1979. You need to recalibrate, my friend.

 

[ryoder1]

You lost me at crushing ASU in the Fiesta Bowl. It was 42-30.

Okay fair point. Still a double digit win in a big bowl to catapult us to an undefeated regular season.

 

[Delcolion915]

Yeah, I need to lighten up. Joe Paterno is the greatest college football coach to ever walk the earth. He’s also the second most influential Pennsylvanian behind Benjamin Franklin. But you’re all hacked off about the shoes they wore in 1979. You need to recalibrate, my friend.

Jeez. Sorry Jay lol 😆

 

[Kasparaitis]

Jeez. Sorry Jay lol 😆

I’m not Jay. Not even a football player at Penn State. Just one of the millions of people whose life was tremendously improved by a guy from Brooklyn who embodied what the poet Kipling was talking about, one man in a thousand. I feel sorry for you that you missed out on it.

 

[Delcolion915]

I’m not Jay. Not even a football player at Penn State. Just one of the millions of people whose life was tremendously improved by a guy from Brooklyn who embodied what the poet Kipling was talking about, one man in a thousand. I feel sorry for you that you missed out on it.

Im 38 years old so maybe you are right

 

[Kasparaitis]

Im 38 years old so maybe you are right

I understand. I learned more about living a successful life from Coach Paterno than anything I learned in my classes. One of his press conferences inspired me to read the poems “If” and “The Thousandth Man” by Rudyard Kipling. Start there.

 

[Delcolion915]

I understand. I learned more about living a successful life from Coach Paterno than anything I learned in my classes. One of his press conferences inspired me to read the poems “If” and “The Thousandth Man” by Rudyard Kipling. Start there.

The man coached for45 years as a head coach and you can count his actual poor coaching games on one hand. He is on Mount Rushmore along with the Bear, Rockne, and probably Osborne. I don't care about Saban.

 

[ryoder1]

The man coached for45 years as a head coach and you can count his actual poor coaching games on one hand. He is on Mount Rushmore along with the Bear, Rockne, and probably Osborne. I don't care about Saban.

It would have been so great to have won this '79 game. Joe was from Brooklyn, went to Brown. English Literature major. Did not look like the classic football coach. Did not talk like a football coach. Did not hold the same values as many of his football jock coach peers. He had a new way of thinking about college football players, they were not jocks but students who were to graduate and become leaders in their communities and professions. Bear Bryant and Alabama were the old guard. Southern and football is king. Football factory churning out football jocks but students? Who knows.

Painful and highly annoying loss given we had so many opportunities. So glad though I was able to be in that same building 4 years later for Joe to beat another southern/SEC team for the national championship.

 

[Kasparaitis]

It would have been so great to have won this '79 game. Joe was from Brooklyn, went to Brown. English Literature major. Did not look like the classic football coach. Did not talk like a football coach. Did not hold the same values as many of his football jock coach peers. He had a new way of thinking about college football players, they were not jocks but students who were to graduate and become leaders in their communities and professions. Bear Bryant and Alabama were the old guard. Southern and football is king. Football factory churning out football jocks but students? Who knows.

Painful and highly annoying loss given we had so many opportunities. So glad though I was able to be in that same building 4 years later for Joe to beat another southern/SEC team for the national championship.

When I met Herschel Walker I brought that Georgia-Penn State Sugar Bowl up to him and he smiled and said, “I wish you hadn’t mentioned that.”

 

[ryoder1]

When I met Herschel Walker I brought that Georgia-Penn State Sugar Bowl up to him and he smiled and said, “I wish you hadn’t mentioned that.”

Totally shut him down. The Garrity TD catch is the #1 play in PSU football history. The Giftopoulos pick probably tied with it or right behind.

Garrity should never, ever have to buy his own beer in PA. Same with Blackledge and Warner.