November 26, 1982: Dan Marino's College Failure

November 26, 1982: Number 2 Penn State beat Number 5 University of Pittsburgh, 19-10 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. This was a big moment for Penn State, as it set them up to win their 1st National Championship, after controversial denials of such in the seasons of 1968, 1969, 1973, 1977 and 1978.

It was a bad moment for "Pitt," because it meant that the man often regarded as their greatest player ever, quarterback Dan Marino, would finish his career without a major championship. Both schools were then independents, and thus had no Conference Championship to win. It was possible for them to win the National Championship, but now, Dan Marino would not win one.

Under head coach Johnny Majors, with Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett running the ball, Pitt went undefeated and won the National Championship in 1976. Then Majors took the job at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee, and was replaced by his defensive coordinator, Jackie Sherrill.

There are 2 games Pitt fans demand a win from every year, their 2 closest rivals: Penn State, 136 miles to the northeast; and West Virginia, 77 miles to the south. The Pitt-West Virginia rivalry is known as "The Backyard Brawl," and, while Western Pennsylvania can be very rural, Pitt fans view it as a city vs. country matchup.

In 1979, with Marino, from Pittsburgh's Central Catholic High School, as a freshman who became the starter midway through the season, Pitt went 11-1, losing only an early-season game away to North Carolina, 17-7. They beat West Virginia away, 24-17. Three weeks later, ranked Number 11, they beat Number 20 Penn State, 29-14. On Christmas Day, they beat Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl, and finished the season ranked Number 6. Had they beaten North Carolina, they would have been 11-0, and likely would have been paired up with undefeated and Number 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, for a National Championship decider. Instead, Alabama beat Arkansas to win it.

In 1980, Sports Illustrated made Pitt their preseason Number 1, putting defensive end Hugh Green on the cover. With Marino starting all the way as a sophomore, Pitt again went 11-1, their only defeat away to then-Number 11 Florida State, 36-22, as coach Bobby Bowden was rebuilding their long-moribund program. He had wanted to beat Pitt, because his previous job was at West Virginia. He remarked, "In Morgantown, the bumper stickers read, 'BEAT PITT.' In Tallahassee, they read, 'BEAT ANYBODY.'" The Seminoles were beginning to beat anybody.

The week after losing to Florida State, Pitt beat West Virginia at home, 42-14. The day after Thanksgiving, back up to Number 4, they went to Number 5 Penn State, and beat them, 14-9. They were invited to the Gator Bowl, and beat South Carolina. Had they beaten Florida State and remained undefeated, they likely would have been paired with Number 1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl -- the same matchup that won them the title in 1976 -- for a National Championship game. Instead, Georgia beat Notre Dame to win it. Regardless, Marino was now 15-1 as a starter, and, in 2 years, Pitt were 22-2.

In 1981, with Marino a junior, and the most highly-regarded quarterback in the country, Pitt beat West Virginia in Morgantown, 17-0, and after beating Boston College away on Halloween, rose to Number 1. They went into the Penn State game undefeated, and had it at home, but were slaughtered, 48-14.

This time, they were invited to play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, and beat them, 24-20, but finished 11-1, and ranked Number 4 in the AP writers' poll and Number 2 in the UPI coaches poll. Had they beaten Penn State, there might have been a split poll, as Clemson beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Marino was now 26-2 as a starter, and, in 3 years, Pitt were 33-3. This was one of the best 3-year stretches in college football history, but they hadn't won the National Championship.

In 1982, with Marino as senior, and Sherrill having been lured away to Texas A&M and replaced by Serafino "Foge" Fazio, Pitt were the consensus preseason Number 1. Penn State started out Number 8. The 2 Keystone State teams were on a collision course.

Pitt began the season at the Steelers' Three Rivers Stadium, beating Number 5 North Carolina, 7-6 in a game nationally televised on CBS. They beat Florida State and Number 19 Illinois away, then West Virginia (16-13) and Temple at home, Syracuse away and the University of Louisville at home, the last of these by a whopping 63-14 score. They had now won 40 of their last 43 games.

But on November 6, Number 1 Pitt lost at home to Notre Dame, 31-16. They beat Army away and Rutgers at home, and up next was Penn State on the day after Thanksgiving, on ABC.

Penn State's 1st 4 games were at home. They beat Temple, Maryland, Rutgers, and, on a controversial play, then-Number 2 Nebraska. On October 9, they went to Birmingham, and were throttled by Number 4 Alabama, 42-21. They picked themselves up, and beat Syracuse at home, West Virginia and Boston College away, North Carolina State at home, and Number 13 Notre Dame away.

Both teams went into the big game 9-1, with at least a theoretical shot at the National Championship: Penn State were then Number 2, while Pitt were Number 5. A crowd of 85,722 filed into Beaver Stadium for a 12:30 PM kickoff on ABC. Pitt led 7-3 at the half, but Penn State scored a touchdown and a field goal in the 3rd quarter, and 2 more field goals to Pitt's 1 in the 4th quarter. Penn State won, 19-10, ending the National Championship dream of the University of Pittsburgh and quarterback Dan Marino.

In 4 seasons, Pitt ended up 42-6, with Marino going 35-5 as a starting college quarterback. Pitt has never been so good again, finishing Number 7 in 1989, Number 9 in 2003, and Number 8 in 2009. Sherrill won 3 Southwest Conference titles at Texas A&M, but never got higher in a final poll with them than Number 6.

Marino was drafted by the Miami Dolphins. In his 2nd season, 1984, he set several single-season passing records, and led the Dolphins to the AFC Championship. But they were embarrassed in Super Bowl XIX by the San Francisco 49ers. Marino played another 15 NFL seasons, but only reached 2 more AFC Championship Games, losing both. He is one of the greatest passers in the history of football, but, both in college and in the NFL, despite being surrounded by talented players, he failed to win a championship.

Penn State finally got that elusive National Championship by beating Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. They won another in 1986.

In 1991, Pitt joined the Big East Conference, as that league began playing football. In 1993, Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference. In 2013, with the Big East breaking up, Pitt joined Boston College, Syracuse and the University of Miami in moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Penn State won the Big 10 and the Rose Bowl in 1994, but, as in 1968, '69 and '73, they were denied the National Championship despite being undefeated. They won the Big 10 again in 2005 and 2008. Pitt tied for the Big East title in 2004, and won the ACC title in 2021.

Because of the conference shifts, Pitt and Penn State did not play each other from 1993 to 1996, did play each other from 1997 to 2000, did not from 2001 to 2015, and did from 2016 to 2019. As of November 26, 2022, they have not played since September 14, 2019; and Penn State leads the all-time series, 53-43-4.

*

November 26, 1982 was a Friday: As I said, the day after Thanksgiving. Baseball was out of season. The NFL was in midweek. There was another college football game that day, also a major rivalry, and also a clash between highly-ranked teams: Number 3 Nebraska beat Number 11 Oklahoma at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Nebraska clinched the Big Eight Conference title. Penn State went to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, which became a de facto National Championship game, because they were playing the Southeastern Conference Champions, Number 1 Georgia. Nebraska went to the Orange Bowl in Miami, and played Number 13 Louisiana State University.

The games were being played at the same time, the Orange Bowl on NBC and the Sugar Bowl on ABC, and Nebraska's only hope of winning the National Championship was to blow LSU out, and hope that Penn State beat previously undefeated Georgia in a dull game. Instead, it was a very good game, although for those of us who don't like Penn State, it was a bad result: The Nittany Lions won, 27-23. And the Tigers held the Cornhuskers to another classic, with Nebraska winning, 21-20. So Penn State got the National Championship.

Pitt lost the Cotton Bowl to Southern Methodist University, 7-3, and finished Number 10. SMU, led by running back Eric Dickerson, had gone 11-0-1, and claimed the National Championship, but both the AP and UPI gave it to 11-1 Penn State.

There were 8 games in the NBA:

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Phoenix Suns, 110-99 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Utah Jazz, 137-103 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 120-102 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 132-118 in overtime at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Washington Bullets beat the Indiana Pacers, 87-85 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls, 122-120 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio. George Gervin led all scorers on the day with 44 points.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Diego Clippers, 117-115 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena). Magic Johnson scored 32 points.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Denver Nuggets, 127-106 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

And there were 6 games in the NHL:

* The New Jersey Devils and the Vancouver Canucks played to a tie, 4-4 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Hartford Whalers, 4-3 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* The Washington Capitals beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-3 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landcover, Maryland.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the St. Louis Blues, 8-6 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Minnesota North Stars played to a tie, 6-6 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Winnipeg Jets, 6-5 at the Winnipeg Arena. 

November 4, 2011: The Jerry Sandusky Scandal

November 4, 2011: The Jerry Sandusky scandal breaks, on an off-week for the Penn State football team. Not surprisingly, the Nittany Lions went on to lose 3 of their last 4 games (and barely won the other). Very surprisingly, after this date, Joe Paterno was removed from power, proving to him that he was not, as he believed, the most powerful person in the Pennsylvania State University system, and he never coached another game.

As someone said at the time, Sandusky went "From Penn State to the State Pen."

Here's what George Vescey, one of the greatest sportswriters of all time, had to say in the November 7 edition of The New York Times:

Football is the central fact of life in the State. When a large male newborn is on display in the hospital nursery, people make loving jokes about sending him out to JoePa to play linebacker. Not so funny at the moment, is it?

Apparently, young boys were brought to the massive football program by Jerry Sandusky, who was first a major assistant coach and later an emeritus member of the football "family." Some family. The guy had keys to the facilities, with enough freedom to take showers with the boys, and, if we believe the warrant for Sandusky, jeopardize the balance of their lives.

People saw. People knew. A few people even talked. But ultimately it got swept under the rug for years because of the rush to Saturday, those autumn game days when people funnel into Happy Valley for the biggest thing in the State...

The legalities of all this are going to have to play out. We do know that Sandusky was arrested on 40 counts of abusing boys over 15 years. The athletic director, Tim Curley, took an administrative leave Sunday night so he could defend himself; and Gary Schultz, the senior vice president for finance and business, resigned Sunday night. Both were charged with perjury for their testimony to a grand jury investigating Sandusky.

That leaves Joe Paterno, the 84-year-old coach, the icon, the benefactor, and most important, the winner of 409 football games, the most by any coach at this highest level. Apparently, Paterno knew about his former assistant in 2002 and went to Curley and then he went back to supervising practices and giving news conferences and recruiting large young men to play football for the program...

The attorney general said Monday that Paterno is not a suspect in this case, so I would think he deserves a polite retirement at the end of the season.

(Bold = emphasis mine, not Vescey's or the Times'.)

A polite retirement?

Joe Paterno, often called Saint Joe, was, in effect, as culpable in this mess as the Catholic Church officials who covered up similar crimes by its priests.

The fact that Paterno was already dying of cancer was not widely known, but it meant that he wouldn't have coached in 2012 and beyond anyway. But it should not generate sympathy for him. His tolerance of Sandusky's indefensible actions is his greatest crime, but hardly his only one. For decades, his supporters said he "ran a clean program." Even before November 4, 2011, this had been revealed as a lie. But we had no idea just how big the lie was.

Paterno died on January 22, 2012. On June 22, Sandusky was found guilty on 45 of the 48 counts against him. On October 9, he was sentenced to 60 years in prison, with his first chance for parole coming after 30 years -- on October 9, 2042, when he would be 98 years old.

As of November 4, 2022, Sandusky remains at State Correctional Institution – Laurel Highlands, a minimum-security facility in Somerset, Pennsylvania, about 70 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

*

November 4, 2011 was a Friday. The baseball season had ended 7 days earlier, when the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers in Game 7 of the World Series.

There were 2 college football games that night. Number 21 Southern California beat Colorado, 42-17 at Folsom Field in the Denver suburb of Boulder, Colorado. And Kent State beat Central Michigan, 24-21 at Dix Stadium outside Cleveland in Kent, Ohio.

The NBA team owners had locked the players out, so the season didn't start until Christmas Day (a day whose revenue, more TV than arena-grounds, the owners did not want to lose).

There were 5 games in the NHL:

* The Washington Capitals beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-4 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa. Vincent Lecavalier scored the winning goal with 54 seconds left in overtime.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators, 2-1 at Scotiabank Place (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2 at the Scottrade Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

* And the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche, 7-6 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Loui Eriksson scored the winning goal with 1:05 left in overtime.

And in New Jersey high school football, my Alma Mater, East Brunswick, beat South Brunswick, 45-20 at Mike Elko Stadium in South Brunswick.

October 23, 2021: Nine Overtimes In College Football

October 23, 2021: Overtime has been used to settle college football games that ended in a tie since the 1996 season. The rules have been tweaked to keep things from going to too many overtime periods. But on this day, overtime had to be done as many times as Ferris Bueller skipped school in his senior year of high school: Nine times.

Pennsylvania State University were hosting the University of Illinois at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Despite rain coming down, a crowd of 105,001 came out to see the game. Penn State were at home, and came into the game 5-1, ranked Number 7 in the nation. They had, however, lost their last game, but that was away to Iowa, then ranked Number 3, so while it hurt their Big Ten Conference hopes, it wasn't an especially embarrassing loss. In contrast, Illinois came in just 2-5. So Penn State were installed as 24 1/2-point favorites.

Penn State led 7-0 after the 1st quarter, and 10-7 at the half. There was no scoring in the 3rd quarter. James McCourt kicked a 37-yard field goal with 11:49 to play, allowing Illinois to tie the game. Neither team could do anything the rest of the way, and regulation ended 10-10.

Under the pre-1996 system, the Fighting Illini would have taken the tie back to Champaign, Illinois, and been pleased with it. Other than the fact that the Nittany Lions couldn't cover any of the big spread, so far, there was nothing especially noteworthy about this game.

As of the start of the season in question, the rules for college football overtime were as follows:

* A coin toss determines which side attempts to score first, and at which end zone the scores are attempted.

* Each team in turn receives one possession, starting with 1st & 10 from a fixed point on the opponent's side of the field:

** Under NCAA rules, the 1st possession of overtime begins at the opponent's 25-yard line. When overtime was introduced, all possessions for each team started at that point, but the procedure for subsequent overtimes has changed twice since 2019:

*** In 2019 and 2020, the 1st 4 possessions for each team (if necessary) started at the opponent's 25. All subsequent possessions were 2-point conversion attempts, taken from the 3-yard line, the standard starting point for that play under NCAA rules, and were scored as conversions.

*** Since 2021, the first two possessions for each team start at the opponent's 25. All subsequent possessions are two-point conversion attempts.

In this game, each team kicked a field goal in the 1st overtime. 13-13. Each team kicked a field goal in the 2nd overtime. 16-16. Neither team scored in the 3rd overtime. Or the 4th. Or the 5th. Or the 6th. Or the 7th.

Finally, in the 8th overtime, Illini quarterback Brandon Peters threw a pass to Isaiah Williams, who got into the end zone, to make it 18-16 Illinois. But Noah Cain scored for the Nittany Lions, and the game went to a 9th overtime. Sean Clifford's pass to Parker Washington fell incomplete. With this opening, Peters passed to Casey Washington, and he scored. Illinois 20, Penn State 18. The game lasted 4 hours and 11 minutes, when it should have taken about an hour less.

This was Penn State's 2nd straight loss, and it really began a tailspin for them: They ended up losing 5 of their last 7 regular-season games. (Of course, 1 of the wins was against Rutgers.) They still ended up getting invited to the Outback Bowl in Tampa, where they lost to Arkansas, 24-10, finishing 7-6. Illinois finished 5-7, and were not invited to a bowl game.

*

October 23, 2021 was a Saturday. Among the other college football games played that day was not one played by Number 1-ranked Georgia, or one by Number 9 Iowa, as they both had the week off. But these notable games were played:

* Number 2 Cincinnati beat Navy, 27-20 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

* Number 3 Oklahoma beat Kansas, 35-23 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

* Number 4 Alabama beat Tennessee, 52-24 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

* Number 5 Ohio State beat Indiana, 54-7 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.

* Number 6 Michigan beat Northwestern, 33-7 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

* Number 8 Oklahoma State were upset by Iowa State, 24-21 at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.

* Number 10 Oregon beat UCLA, 34-31 at the Rose Bowl in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California.

* In a rivalry game, Number 13 Notre Dame beat USC, 31-16 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

* Number 16 Wake Forest beat Army, 70-56 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York. Yes, that's a football game, with a basketball score. And they didn't even go to one overtime.

* Number 18 North Carolina State were upset by the University of Miami, 31-30 at Hard Rock Stadium in the Miami suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida.

* In an unusual occurrence, all 3 service academies played ranked teams, and all lost, as Air Force fell to Number 22 San Diego State at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* Number 25 Purdue were upset by Wisconsin, 30-13 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

In baseball, the National League Pennant was decided that day, as the Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2 at Truist Park in the Atlanta suburb of Cumberland, Georgia. This won Game 6 of the NL Championship Series. The day before, the Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox in Game 6 to win the American League Pennant. The Braves went on to win the World Series, beating the Astros in 6 games.

There were 8 games played in the NBA that day:

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Toronto Raptors, 103-95 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Braves, 101-95 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Miami Heat, 102-91 in overtime at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons, 97-82 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 96-89 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the San Antonio Spurs, 121-111 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 120-114 at the Staples Center (soon renamed the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. Paul George scored 41 in defeat for the Clippers.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Phoenix Suns, 134-105 at the Moda Center in Portland.

And there were 13 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

* The New York Islanders beat the Arizona Coyotes, 3-0 at the Gila River Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1 at the Prudential Center in Newark. Pavel Zacha scored the winning goal with 1:51 left in overtime.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-1 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Washington Capitals, 4-3 at the Capital One Arena in Washington. Elias Lindholm scored the game-winner with 2:14 left in overtime.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-3 in a shootout at the Amalie Arena (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-1 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-1 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. Ryan Hartman scored the winning goal with 13 seconds left in overtime.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Los Angeles Kings, 7-3 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Nashville Predators, 6-4 at the Canada Life Center in Winnipeg.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Seattle Kraken, 4-2 at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

* And the Boston Bruins, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Dallas Stars, the Edmonton Oilers, the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights were not scheduled.

September 17, 1960: Beaver Stadium Opens

A "White Out Game"

September 17, 1960: Beaver Stadium opens on the campus of the Pennsylvania State University in State College, 192 miles from Center City Philadelphia, 88 miles from the State Capitol in Harrisburg, and 137 miles from Downtown Pittsburgh. Ranked Number 19 in the nation at the time, Penn State beat Boston University, 20-0.

For anybody who grew up from the late 1960s into the early 21st Century, it's hard to imagine anybody but Joe Paterno coaching the Nittany Lions. But, at this point, he was still an assistant coach under Charles "Rip" Engle, who led them from 1950 to 1965, after which point Paterno coached them until the scandal that brought him down in 2011, followed by his death from cancer early in 2012.

From their debut in 1887 until 1891, Penn State played football on the lawn in front of their administration building, "Old Main." From 1892 to 1908, they played at Beaver Field, named for James A. Beaver, who was Governor of Pennsylvania from 1887 to 1891, and then president of the University's Board of Trustees. It stood between present-day Osmond and Frear Laboratories.

In 1909, New Beaver Field, seating 30,000, was built on the original site of the Nittany Lion Inn (the current version dates to 1931), where the current stadium's parking deck now stands. Penn State had some success there, but not like what was to come under Paterno.

They outgrew the stadium in the 1950s, and Beaver Stadium was built, with an initial capacity of 69,000. With a current official capacity of 106,572, it is the 2nd-largest stadium in North America, behind the University of Michigan's Michigan Stadium. Its record crowd is 110,889, on September 29, 2018, for what turned out to be a 27-26 loss to Ohio State. (UPDATE: That record was broken on November 2, 2024, with 111,030 coming to see another loss to Ohio State, 20-13.)

The stadium is known for its "S-Zone," where students are all given white and blue shirts, supplied by the Pennsylvania State University Lion Ambassadors, to create an "S" for "State"; and "White Out" games, where everybody wears white shirts.

Opening the same day as Beaver Stadium was University Stadium, on the campus of the University of New Mexico, in Albuquerque. UNM played the University of Mexico, known to Mexican soccer fans as "Pumas" for their wild feline mascot. The visitors did not adjust well to the American version of football, as the host Lobos beat them, 77-6.

*

September 17, 1960 was a Saturday. Baseball pitcher John Franco was born. So was Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who originally operated Elmo on Sesame Street.

These other notable college football games were played:

* Number 1 Syracuse, the defending National Champions, opened their season the following week. So did Number 5 Illinois, Number 8 Michigan State, Number 9 Clemson, Number 10 Oklahoma, and unranked Notre Dame. So did New Jersey's teams, Rutgers and Princeton, against each other, in a 13-8 Rutgers win in Princeton.

* Number 2 Mississippi, a.k.a. Ole Miss, beat the University of Houston, 42-0 at Rice Stadium in Houston.

* Number 3 Washington beat the University of the Pacific, 55-6 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

* Number 4 Texas were upset by Nebraska, 14-13 at Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

* The night before, Number 6 University of Southern California (USC) were upset by Oregon State, 14-0 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* Number 7 University of Pittsburgh were upset by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), 8-7 at the L.A. Coliseum.

* Number 11 Texas Christian University (TCU) were upset by Kansas, 21-7 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

* Number 13 Georgia were upset by Alabama, 21-6 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

* Among the service academies, Army beat the University of Buffalo, 37-0 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; Navy beat Boston College, 22-7 at Alumni Stadium in the Boston suburb of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts; and Air Force opened their season the next week.

One game was played in the brand-new American Football League: The Boston Patriots beat the New York Titans, 28-24 at the Polo Grounds. Those teams would become known as the New England Patriots and the New York Jets, respectively.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3 at Yankee Stadium. Bob Turley started, but Jim Coates ended up as the winning pitcher. Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra hit home runs. Roger Maris went 0-for-4. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Senators, 2-1 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Ted Williams hit his 520th career home run. At the time, this was 3rd in baseball history behind Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx. He would hit 1 more. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-3 with a walk. At the time, he had 82 career home runs. He would hit 491 more.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-5 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Ken Hamlin's home run was the 1st of 3 runs the A's scored in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-4 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. The ballpark was renamed Tiger Stadium the next season. Al Kaline went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Don Cardwell was the winning pitcher. The Cubs scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th, 2 off Sandy Koufax, 3 off Larry Sherry. Earlier, Ernie Banks hit a home run off Koufax. The next year, in Spring Training, Sherry would tell Koufax to stop trying to strike everybody out. It was among the greatest advice in baseball history.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Braves, 5-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Tony Curry hit a bases-loaded double in the top of the 10th inning. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4. Eddie Mathews went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-1 at the 1st Busch Stadium (formerly the last Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Stan Musial did not play. Willie Mays went 0-for-4, but had an RBI on a groundout. Willie McCovey appeared as a pinch-hitter, but did not reach base.

* With some irony, the major league team the closest to Penn State, the Pittsburgh Pirates, were rained out of their game with the Cincinnati Reds, although it was at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. It was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Pirates swept, 5-3 and 1-0.

Vernon Law won his 20th game of the season in the opener, on his way to the Cy Young Award, then given to the best pitcher in both Leagues. Dick Stuart and Don Hoak hit home runs. In the nightcap, Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell pitched a 3-hit shutout, outpitching Bob Purkey. The only run came in the top of the 7th inning, when Dick Schofield doubled Hoak home. Over the 2 games, Roberto Clemente went 1-for-8 with a walk.

And in English soccer, Arsenal defeated North-East team Newcastle United, 5-0 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London. David Herd scored 3 goals.

January 2, 1987: Penn State vs. Miami, "The Game of the Century"

January 2, 1987: The Fiesta Bowl is held at Sun Devil Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona. The University of Miami entered the game ranked Number 1 in the country. Pennsylvania State University, a.k.a. "Penn State," came in ranked Number 2. The winner would win the National Championship.

It was one of those games that, in the pregame hype, was tagged "The Game of the Century." Fortunately, it was one of those that lived up to the billing.

Miami had won the title for the 1983 season, and was going for their 2nd. Penn State thought they had teams worthy of the National Championship in 1968, 1969 and 1973, going undefeated each season. But, each time, it was awarded to another team. In the 1982 season, they were finally awarded the title.

In the 1986 regular season, Miami went 11-0, having beaten both then-Number 1 Oklahoma and then-Number 20 Florida State at home at the Orange Bowl stadium. They also won road games against South Carolina, Florida, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

Head coach Jimmy Johnson could call on that year's Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Vinny Testaverde, who ended up playing 21 seasons in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets, and passing for over 46,000 yards and 275 touchdowns; receiver Brian Blades, later a Pro Bowler with the Seattle Seahawks; Brian's brother, safety Bennie Blades, later a Pro Bowler with the Detroit Lions; and defensive end Russell Maryland, a 3-time Pro Bowler and 3-time Super Bowl winner with the Dallas Cowboys.

Penn State also went 11-0, beating then-Number 2 Alabama away, and also winning away to Boston College, West Virginia and Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions were led by running back D.J. Dozier, who would go on to play in Major League Baseball as well as in the NFL; and linebacker Shane Conlan, who made 3 Pro Bowls and played in 4 Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills.

Sports Illustrated named head coach Joe Paterno their Sportsman of the Year for 1986, citing him for showing it was possible to win big while running a "clean program." Indeed, as with the 1988 Miami-Notre Dame "Catholics vs. Convicts" game, this was seen as a contest between good, Penn State and their "clean program"; and evil, Miami and their urban, hip-hop, "thug" image, trash-talking, and wearing army-style fatigues as they got off the plane. It would be years before the general public learned just how far off the mark that really was.

Even if Miami's image had been accurate, Penn State didn't care. Linebacker Pete Giftopoulos said, "We were a team that couldn't be intimidated, and that's what Miami liked to do to other players. "How are you going to intimidate a bunch of steel-town kids from Pittsburgh, Ohio, Pennsylvania? You just can't do that."

An estimated 21.9 million people watched this game on NBC, and that is believed to be an all-time record for a college football bowl game.

The 1st quarter ended scoreless. In the 2nd quarter, Penn State fumbled, and Miami recovered at the Penn State 23. Four plays later, Melvin Bratton scored a touchdown that put the 'Canes ahead, 7-0. But it would prove to be their only touchdown of the night.

The Lions came right back, going 74 yards in 13 plays, with John Shaffer scoring from 4 yards out with 1:14 left in the half. The teams went into the locker rooms tied 7-7.

There was no scoring in the 3rd quarter. Early in the 4th quarter, Mark Seeling kicked a field goal to put "The U" back on top, 10-7. Conlan returned his 2nd interception of the game to the Miami 5-yard line, and Dozier gave the Lions their 1st lead with a touchdown run, 14-10, with 8:13 to go.

With 3:07 left, Miami began their last drive, converting a 4th down with a 31-yard pass from Testaverde to Brian Blades. With 45 seconds left, Testaverde got the 'Canes to the Penn State 5. But he got sacked on 2nd & goal, and threw incomplete on 3rd down. With 18 seconds left, it was 4th & goal. Testaverde thought he had an open receiver in the end zone, but it was intercepted by Giftopoulos, his 2nd pick of the game, the 5th off Testaverde, clinching the National Championship for Penn State.

Miami rebounded the next season, winning the National Championship, and again in 1989, and again in 1991 (albeit in a split poll). But Johnson would only be there for the 1st of those. In 1989, he was hired as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, leading them to 2 Super Bowl wins, and making himself the 1st head coach ever to win both a National Championship and a Super Bowl -- the 1st since Paul Brown in 1942 and 1950 to win both an NCAA and an NFL Championship.

*

January 2, 1987 was a Friday. No other bowl games were played on the day. The day before, Arizona State had beaten Michigan in the Rose Bowl, Oklahoma beat Arkansas in the Orange Bowl, Nebraska beat Louisiana State in the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl, and Auburn beat USC in the Florida Citrus Bowl.

Baseball was out of season. There were 10 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Detroit Pistons, 129-128 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls, 113-99 at the Boston Garden. Larry Bird scored 37 points, and Michael Jordan scored 34.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Washington Bullets, 118-101 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland. Dominique Wilkens scored 30.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 91-84 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 116-106 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 117-107 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets, 114-111 at the McNichols Arena in Denver. Hakeem Olajuwon scored 32.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Utah Jazz, 104-99 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. Charles Barkley scored 30.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns, 155-118 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Despite the huge total, no Laker scored more than Magic Johnson's 32.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings, 115-109 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Joe Barry Carroll, often mocked as "Joe Barely Cares," scored 35.

And there were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Boston Bruins, 7-2 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Buffalo Sabres, 6-3 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Minnesota North Stars, 2-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* And the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks played to a 3-3 tie at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.