Throwback Thursday: Penn State beats Nebraska en route to championship
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Penn State and Nebraska have only met a handful of times since the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten in 2011, but the two teams were bitter rivals during the early 1980s. Both teams were championship hopefuls in 1982 when they met for an instant classic in Beaver Stadium, which will be the subject of this week's Throwback Thursday column.
Throwback to Sept. 25, 1982, when No. 8 Penn State and No. 2 Nebraska met for a pivotal early-season matchup. It was a heavyweight game between two of the nation's most successful head coaches who had built strong rosters: Joe Paterno and Tom Osborne.
Penn State struck first late in the first quarter thanks to some big throws from quarterback Todd Blackledge, who'd go on to finish sixth in Heisman voting that year and was drafted in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft. Blackledge hit running back Curt Warner downfield for a 43-yard completion, and he'd follow it up with a play action pass and a pass over the top to Kirk Bowman for a 14-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
The Nittany Lions kept rolling in the second quarter, capping off another long drive with a short touchdown run for Warner to make it 14-0. Nebraska would answer before halftime, as quarterback Turner Gill took a big hit but managed to get the ball to Irving Fryar, who broke two tackles and got into the end zone to make it 14-7.
To open the second half, Penn State's offense continued to move the ball well. Blackledge threw his second touchdown of the day when he rifled a 20-yard throw over the middle for receiver Kenny Jackson, who held on through traffic for the score. Nebraska stayed in it on its next possession, working the ball to the goal line before Gill found running back Mike Rozier for the touchdown to make it 21-14.
The Nittany Lions had another drive going later in the quarter, but it ended after Jon Williams had a pass knocked out of his hands, which was ruled a fumble and a Nebraska recovery. If there were video review in 1982, there's a good chance the play would've been overturned to an incompletion. That wouldn't be the first time the lack of review made its mark on the game.
Nebraska would be held to a field goal that made it 21-17. Penn State then moved downfield looking for a knockout punch in the fourth quarter, but Blackledge's end zone pass was intercepted by Neil Harris. From there, the Cornhuskers marched downfield and scored a go-ahead touchdown to make it 24-21 with only 1:18 left.
Blackledge engineered a clutch drive that included a fourth-and-11 conversion to Jackson to put Penn State inside the 25-yard line with 22 seconds left. Two plays later, Blackledge threw to tight end Mike McCloskey along the sideline. Despite being pretty egregiously out of bounds, it was ruled a reception at the 2-yard line. Again, with no instant replay, there was no way for the play to be reviewed and overturned, despite Nebraska's protests.
That set up the game-winning play, as Blackledge threw to Bowman in the back of the end zone. Bowman slipped to the ground, but he was able to make the catch anyway to lift the Nittany Lions to a 27-24 win after a missed extra point try.
Penn State would actually lose the following weekend at No. 4 Alabama, but after that, the Nittany Lions won out, including victories over No. 13 West Virginia, No. 13 Notre Dame and No. 5 Pittsburgh. They'd beat No. 1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to claim the program's first consensus national championship.
Nebraska won the rest of their games following the Penn State loss, but they were ranked at No. 3 due to their head-to-head loss to Penn State and a weaker overall schedule. Cornhuskers fans will argue that McCloskey's catch shouldn't have counted, which might've led to Nebraska beating Penn State and getting their shot at Georgia for the championship.
That play will never be overturned, but Nebraska can hope for some very belated revenge against Penn State in Beaver Stadium this weekend, as the Cornhuskers look to knock the Nittany Lions out of bowl game contention.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Throwback Thursday: Penn State beats Nebraska en route to championship
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