Biggest game in Happy Valley? Maybe, but it’s still playoff time | News, sports, jobs

Biggest game in Happy Valley? Maybe, but it’s still playoff time | News, sports, jobs

Photo courtesy of JUSTICE SHEAFFER
The first-ever College Football Playoff game Saturday at Beaver Stadium will be played under white-out game conditions. The first White Out game shown here was played on November 9th.

UNIVERSITY PARK – Biggest game ever at Beaver Stadium? Uh, probably. Penn State die-hards are touting a top-10 matchup between the then No. 7 Nittany Lions and No. 2 Miami Hurricanes in 1992.

A decade earlier — on Sept. 25, 1982 — No. 8 Penn State defeated No. 2 Nebraska as coaching legends Joe Paterno and Tom Osborne held their own in a game the Nittany Lions won 27-24. This remains something very special.

Now we’ve entered a new era as the 12-team College Football Playoff makes its debut and Southern Methodist University’s new-look Pony Express gallops into Happy Valley to face Penn State and what’s sure to be a sellout crowd of ravenous postseason fans to compete.

“It’s one of the biggest” said longtime Penn State fan Brian Heckert of Reedsville. “Nebraska in 1982 is my No. 1 greatest game.”

Overall, Heckert believes the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, in which Penn State was crowned with its second national championship after defeating Miami, still ranks No. 1 on the list.

For Heckert and other fans, the CPF is new territory.

“Bet I’m excited.” Heckert explained. “One more game at Beaver Stadium and a playoff game! I’m like a kid at Christmas.”

He hopes the Nittany Lions find a way to break through the Mustang defense like a child trashing his wrapped presents on Christmas morning. Paper and ribbons fly around for everyone to see as each gift is opened one by one.

Penn State plays its first college football playoff game today – the weekend before Christmas – hosting the SMU Mustangs. The first round game kicks off at 12 p.m. at Beaver Stadium.

Heckert will sit in the stands and watch with his usual group of family and friends. And white-out conditions are expected as Penn State will play its second white-out game of the season.

Is snow forecast? It’s almost too much to hope for when visions of sugar plums and a Nittany Lions win dance in most fans’ heads.

After a decade of near misses and disappointments, the Nittany Lions came close to reaching the new, expanded 12-team format this season. The only question was, would they play?

After a loss to top-ranked Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game, Penn State lost only one spot in the second-to-last playoff rankings (now No. 4) and one seed (now No. 6) after losing by a touchdown.

The winner of the Penn State-SMU matchup will receive a trip to the aforementioned Fiesta Bowl to play Boise State in the CFP semifinals.

The Nittany Lions and Mustangs certainly have no history. In fact, they’ve only met twice before: Penn State won 26-21 at Beaver Stadium in 1978; and they played to a 13-13 tie in the 1948 Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Greatest game of all time? Brian Rothrock of Lewistown isn’t sure.

“So many great, important games have been played at Beaver Stadium.” Rothrock explained. “I mean, I like our path to the final. It would silence (Coach James’s) Franklin haters and get us back to the top of college football, where we were in 2011. I accept that.”

This year was one of turmoil, as Paterno coached the Nittany Lions for the first nine games until he was fired in the wake of Penn State’s sex abuse scandal and defensive coordinator Tom Bradley took over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

The Nittany Lions won eight of their first nine games, but Paterno’s shooting left them reeling, 1-3. Rebuilding the program took years because of the sanctions.

Ray Hoppel of Lewistown will also be in attendance. The 2005 and 2016 games stand at the top of Nittany Lion lore. Both were Penn State wins.

In 2016 the “Block Six” was a blocked field goal by Penn State that led to a touchdown in the final minutes and produced a dramatic upset for the Nittany Lions, who were unranked and 19.5 point underdogs.

With just over four minutes to play and Ohio State leading 21-17, the Buckeyes lined up for a 45-yard field goal attempt. However, the kick was blocked by Penn State safety Marcus Allen and thrown into the hands of cornerback Grant Haley, who raced 71 yards for a Penn State touchdown, giving Penn State an improbable 24-21 victory.

It is considered by fans to be one of the best plays in Penn State football history and marked the program’s return to national prominence following the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Hoppel also thinks about the Sept. 1, 2001 game against Miami, where Adam Taliaferro returned to Happy Valley for the first time since suffering a serious neck injury.

We’ll see how today’s competition fares. Hopefully it has a happy ending for the Happy Valley believers.

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