Football What is your favorite Penn State game that you've attended?

[Agoodnap]

I was at several of the games mentioned above, but one that keeps popping into my mind is Joe's 400th vs Northwestern in 2010. Bolden was playing terribly and we were getting our butts kicked when Joe put McGloin in the game. Matt engineered the comeback and our defense held on late to win the game. The place was electric. Afterwards, they had a tribute to Joe (and Sue) which included a video that was about 10 minutes long and shown on the Jumbotron. It was quite a day.

 

[MrDibbs]

48-14
For me personally the run up to that contest was brutal as I had married into a family of Pitt fans. I endured much more than I can relate here.
Afterward, the next day, I was driving several of these "fans" to the Steelers game. Before I left the house, our phone rang and it was my mother-in-law advising my wife that the waters were still boiling and I should tread softly.
Message was relayed to old Dibbs who said that I would say nothing but the ear-to-ear grin would suffice.

 

[ryoder1]

For those who want to relive some of Penn State's signature wins!

Mine is the '83 Sugar Bowl. The great Blackledge to Garrity long pass that proved to be the game winner. That play happened right in front of the big Penn State contingent attending the game including me and my parents and the Blue Band.

I have a number of runner ups, they are:

'77 Pitt, the famous Cefalo to Guman reverse punt return for a TD and then our stop of the 2 point conversion with about 8 seconds left in the snow.

'78 OSU, we shut them out 19-0 with a dominating defensive performance in Columbus. Pick off Art Schlichter 5 times in his first game. Matt Suhey scores our only TD. Matt Bahr drills 4 field goals, don't think he missed.

'78 Pitt, A very hard fought game. We were down 10-7 with about 5 minutes left. 4th and goal at about the 3 or 4. Joe goes for it with a pitch play to Guman. He gets a hole cuts into it and goes in standing up. Joe beats Jackie Sherrill again.

'81 Pitt, the famous 48-14 massacre. Pitt fans going crazy as they are dominating Penn State 14-0 through one quarter. Then we turn it on and roar back with the signature play being Kenny Jackson's pirouette on the sideline after catching Blackledge's pass then waltzing in for the TD.

'82 Nebraska, The great catch by stone hands Bowman in the end zone to win it. My Dad and I went on the field after that game and watched the students take down the goal post. We walked into town and saw them parading it down the main drag. What a thrilling win and another signature win for Joe.

'94 Michigan. A tight back and forth battle in Ann Arbor. Collins to Engram for the winner with 3 1/2 minutes left in the 4th to give the Lions a 31-24 win. A few plays before the TD, Engram made an unbelievable circus catch on the sideline. Incredibly the refs called him in which was the right call. My friend and I never sat in our seats. We walked around the whole game, standing room only in a packed Big House. Tyrone Wheatley was a beast for Michigan.

 

[cramx3]

2005 OSU game as a student. Also went to the 2005 Orange Bowl which ranks just behind that game.

 

[psu1969a]

PSU vs. Notre Dame in freezing weather
Or
PSU vs. ND in rain storm

 

[87 Penn St8]

PSU vs. Notre Dame in freezing weather
Or
PSU vs. ND in rain storm

Those were my Junior and Super Senior years...stayed til end for both

 

[87 Penn St8]

For all of you 48-14 folks....that day I was getting my drivers license in West Chester. Me and my mom were lined up for hours....back when the line crawled into the old surrounding neighborhood. It was the Friday after Thanksgiving and we thought it was a good idea...

Listened to the game on the radio. Heard much of it before it finally was my turn. There were snow flurries in SEPA that day. One of my few sports memories with my mom. Go State!

 

[Roar More]

I'll add one more. I can't believe I forgot Joe's 400th. I was able to get a field pass for the game and was on the sidelines near the PSU bench for the entire game. I still remember the smell emitted by the heated benches. I am forever thankful to my "supplier" for that priceless experience. I wasn't that far from Joe when he broke down and thanked the fans and said we were the reason he stuck with Penn State.

 

[PSUSignore]

2005 OSU is my favorite. Surprised I haven't seen any love for my 2nd favorite yet, 1997 OSU. That Aaron Harris run to the house was magical.

 

[AvgUser]

I’ll add another tally mark in the 1983 Sugar Bowl column. I was a student then. I felt like I jumped four feet in the air when Curt Warner scored the first TD


Special memory. My first PSU game ever was against Pitt at Three Rivers. I think it was 1975. It was the Carson Long game. It felt so good walking out of the stadium with the win.

 

[fbh1]

1. 48-14 Pitt
2. 1982 Nebraska
3. 2005 Ohio State
4. 2016 Ohio State
5. 1970 Orange Bowl Kansas

All were great wins

 

[LMTLION]

PSU vs OSU 1997. Epic comeback and great rb combo of Enis/Harris!

 

[Fayette_LION]

What's everyone's favorite Penn State game that you've ever attended? What about a non-Penn State sporting event?

48-14

 

[Agoodnap]

I’ll add another tally mark in the 1983 Sugar Bowl column. I was a student then. I felt like I jumped four feet in the air when Curt Warner scored the first TD


Special memory. My first PSU game ever was against Pitt at Three Rivers. I think it was 1975. It was the Carson Long game. It felt so good walking out of the stadium with the win.

Did you wait in line all night in the freezing cold for your opportunity to purchase tickets (I think the limit was two per person)? It was really cold that night and they wouldn't let us in Rec Hall until about 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning.

 

[Petch]

I was too young to attend the '82 NE game, sold my tickets to the '16 OSU win because I had to travel for work and was not able to attend any of the national championship games. I did actually make the trip to the '94 Indiana game, which many claim cost us the popular vote, though that wasn't memorable for any other reason.

I'm going outside of the box. The 1986 Pitt game. As a student walking out of Beaver Stadium at the end, everyone just had a sense of the enormity of the moment and we were about to be a part of it in some small way.

Honorable mention:

The 2006 (after the 2005 season) Orange Bowl was pretty cool. I was there as a guest of FedEx. Nice opportunity. My wife was pregnant. She was miserable.

The 2002 Nebraska game was jacked up. Gardner picked off that pass and took it to the house, I thought the (I believe newly opened) South upper deck was coming down.

The '87 ND game in freezing cold was memorable.

EDIT: '99 Arizona. We just destroyed them. Their internet fans made that win one of the most enjoyable. So much promise for the rest of the season. Yes, I was at the Minn game that year too. My first post-grad year with season tix.

Like some of those references.

Mine were:

1-Tie 82 Nebraska and 86 NC game against Miami. At PSU for both…was a Junior for the first and in Grad school for the 2nd. Considered big underdogs for both games. Just monumental!

3-82 NC against Georgia in New Orleans. I remember getting barked at a lot on Bourbon Street before the game...Not so much after.

4-2005 OSU. Tamba Hali…ran into my Freshman daughter on the field after that one! Many happy hugs…great memory!

 

[AvgUser]

Did you wait in line all night in the freezing cold for your opportunity to purchase tickets (I think the limit was two per person)? It was really cold that night and they wouldn't let us in Rec Hall until about 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning.

I have a vague recollection of the ticket buying. I think a group of us got ten tickets total. It may have been two per person.. That was too long ago. I dont even recall the cold weather.

I still have the ticket stub in a frame with the Garrity SI cover. It hangs proudly in the family room.


The ticket cost me….


$20! That’s right. Just twenty US Greenbacks. My how times have changed

 

[Agoodnap]

I have a vague recollection of the ticket buying. I think a group of us got ten tickets total. It may have been two per person.. That was too long ago. I dont even recall the cold weather.

I still have the ticket stub in a frame with the Garrity SI cover. It hangs proudly in the family room.


The ticket cost me….


$20! That’s right. Just twenty US Greenbacks. My how times have changed

Yep, tickets were $20 each. We sat in the lower level end zone. It was in the teens that night with a howling wind. Edit, I just checked and it was 11 degrees that night, Friday December 10th. I found two $20 bills while walking down the hall inside Rec Hall, so my tickets ended up being free, in a sense.

State College Weather in 1982

www.extremeweatherwatch.com

 

[slykens]

I was fortunate to be on the field for the 2005 OSU game. Great finish to that game.

I was also at the 2002 Nebraska game. I still believe the Gardner pick six is the loudest moment in the history of the stadium. Went to the Ale House afterwards and was told they heard it clearly out there.

Also enjoyed the 2019 Whiteout vs Michigan. The opening sequence of that game was incredible. The crowd was loud and when they thought a flag was thrown somehow got even louder.

 

[psu1969a]

ND in the rain was memorable for obvious reason, but friends invaded our room at Holiday Inn (now Ramada) and we cooked soup and Sloppy Joes outside on the walkway. We had around 10-12 people in room watching the 2nd half.

ND in the Freeze Bowl. Had B-I-L there with us plus a UConn grad. UConn grad would leave. He said that he was not leaving a game in which the crowd was larger than UConn had for a full season. B-
I-L and friend stayed in room at Holiday Inn that night because of the cold and dangerous driving conditions.

 

[WV Bruno]

2005 Ohio State. What a game.

1999 Virginia Tech-Miami
1998 WVU-Syracuse

 

[87 Penn St8]

I have a vague recollection of the ticket buying. I think a group of us got ten tickets total. It may have been two per person.. That was too long ago. I dont even recall the cold weather.

I still have the ticket stub in a frame with the Garrity SI cover. It hangs proudly in the family room.


The ticket cost me….


$20! That’s right. Just twenty US Greenbacks. My how times have changed

Have my PSU Tickets in a framed collage in my Office. Looked at my 1983 Student Ticket- $24.

Or the cost of a beer, hot dog and bag of chips at The Beav today!

 

[Wandering Spectator]

So many great memories as I tried to recall some of the best. But I keep coming back to 2016. OSU, B1G Championship, Rose Bowl.

The Whiteout was the best I can ever recall. It was also a game that got my daughter’s photo published in the Penn Stater.

The B1G Championship was their first Championship Game appearance. And it was a last minute trip where i flew out by myself and met my daughter for the game.

And the Rose Bowl, even with a loss, was one of the best games ever. Four straight 1-play touchdown drives! We did a “turnaround trip” with my mother-in-law and other family and met up with more friends and family for a tailgate. We left our house in AZ at 5:45am and got back home at 3:00am. Exhausting, but what a day.

 

[johnmpsu]

82 Nebraska
83 Sugar Bowl for first National Championship
non PSU
2015 Skiing World Championship (and the afterparty for GS winner Ted Ligety)