1980 Fiesta Bowl

American college football game December 2025 August 2023 Fiesta Bowl 10th Fiesta Bowl Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe Arizona.jpg Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, hosted the Fiesta Bowl. December 26 1980 1980 Ohio State Buckeyes 9–2 Big Ten Earle Bruce 11 14 6 13 0 0 Curt Warner (Penn State RB)Frank Case  (Penn State DE) Penn State Nittany Lions 9–2 Independent Joe Paterno 10 10 7 3 7 14 NBC Charlie Jones, Len Dawson Ohio State by 1 point bg Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona 1982 66,738 Ken Faulkner (SWC) The 1980 Fiesta Bowl was the tenth edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Friday, December 26. Part of the 1980–81 bowl game season, it matched the tenth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions and the #11 Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference. A slight underdog,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LZ9RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yW0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6519%2C5293169 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Latest line December 26, 1980 16 independent Penn State rallied in the second half to win, 31–19.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Lp9RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yW0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6606%2C5396715 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fink David Lions' better half overcomes Ohio State December 27, 1980 9https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=c1hYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7-EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2584%2C8530996 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon wire service reports Buckeyes haunted by a frosh quarterback December 27, 1980 1Bhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=574sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FBQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6305%2C6876978 Wilmington Morning Star North Carolina Associated Press Shunned frosh leads Lion win December 27, 1980 1Dhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=h_tXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wvYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6683%2C4327609 The Bulletin Bend, Oregon UPI Second-half scoring leads PSU to Fiesta win December 27, 1980 13 This was the last Fiesta Bowl played in December until 1997. Teams 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season This was the first Fiesta Bowl to feature a team from the Big Ten. Penn State 1980 Penn State Nittany Lions football team Penn State had played three ranked opponents during the regular season (#3 Nebraska, at #9 Missouri, and #4 Pittsburgh), and won only the second one. They were looking to beat a ranked opponent to finish their season in their first Fiesta Bowl appearance in three years. Ohio State 1980 Ohio State Buckeyes football team Ohio State was the runner-up in the Big Ten Conference after losing to Michigan which dropped them from fifth to eleventh in the AP Poll. This was their first Fiesta Bowl appearance. Game summary The only bowl game on the day after Christmas, it kicked off shortly past 1:30 pm MST.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4L4sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FBQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6953%2C6691163 Wilmngton Morning Star North Carolina Associated Press Quarterbacks may decide Fiesta December 25, 1980 5E Halfback Curt Warner started the scoring with a 64-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage, giving the Nittany Lions the early lead. Not to be deterred, Art Schlichter threw a touchdown pass to Doug Donley, but the Vlade Janakievski kick missed. The Buckeyes responded again with a Gary Williams touchdown catch from Schlichter to give the Buckeyes the lead, though the two-point conversion attempt failed as the pitchout went astray. Schlichter threw another touchdown pass to Donley to increase the lead to 19–7, as backup kicker Bob Atha converted. Herb Menhardt kicked a 38-yard field goal for Penn State to make it 19–10 at halftime. Ohio State appeared to be in control, with Schlichter connecting on 15 of 22 for 244 yards and three touchdowns while Penn State had just one early touchdown.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sI5JAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lYQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1885%2C3911510 Youngstown Vindicator Ohio Filed News Service Rapoport Ron Penn State festive in Fiesta Bowl, 31–19 December 27, 1980 12 But the second half was a different story as the Nittany Lions came alive. Sophomore quarterback Todd Blackledge, despite throwing 8 for 22 for only 117 yards the whole game, scored early in the third quarter on a three-yard run to narrow the lead to 19–17. Schlichter went 5 for 13 in the second half for 58 yards with an interception (and no touchdowns) as the Buckeyes were shut out. Penn State turned on the running game, as Jonathan Williams scored from four yards out early in the fourth quarter to gain the lead; fullback Booker Moore broke free for a 37-yard touchdown run with less than a minute remaining to seal the 31–19 victory.https://www.fiestabowl.org/fiesta-bowl/fiesta-bowl-game-history/game-results-recaps/1980-fiesta-bowl.php 1980 Fiesta Bowl - Penn State vs. Ohio State November 30, 2014 https://archive.today/20141230084022/https://www.fiestabowl.org/fiesta-bowl/fiesta-bowl-game-history/game-results-recaps/1980-fiesta-bowl.php December 30, 2014 dead Warner rushed for 156 yards on eighteen carries (8.7 avg.) and was the game MVP on offense; lineman Frank Case took the defensive honor.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5DBPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lwIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6858%2C2887687 Toledo Blade Ohio Taylor Jim Buckeyes 'bowled' over January 27, 1980 12 Scoring First quarter Penn State – Curt Warner 64-yard run (Herb Menhardt kick) Ohio State – Doug Donley 23-yard pass from Art Schlichter (Vlade Janakievski kick failed) Second quarter Ohio State – Gary Williams 33-yard pass from Schlichter (run failed) Ohio State – Donley 19-yard pass from Schlichter (Bob Atha kick) Penn State – Menhardt 38-yard field goal Third quarter Penn State – Todd Blackledge 3-yard run (Menhardt kick) Fourth quarter Penn State – Jonathan Williams 4-yard run (Menhardt kick) Penn State – Booker Moore 37-yard run (Menhardt kick) Source: Statistics {| class=wikitable style="text-align:center" ! Statistics !! style="background:#011e41; color:#ffffff"|Penn State !! style="background:#bb0000; color:#ffffff"|Ohio State |- | First downs || 22|| 23 |- | Yards rushing|| 56–351|| 39–110 |- | Yards passing ||117|| 302 |- | Passing ||8–22–0||20–35–1 |- | Return yards || 74|| 10 |- | Total Offense || 78–468|| 74–412 |- |Punts–Average ||5–40.8|| 7–38.7 |- |Fumbles–Lost ||1–1|| 1–0 |- |Turnovers|| 1|| 1 |- |Penalties–Yards ||2–10|| 2–30 |} Source: Aftermath The Nittany Lions won all three Fiesta Bowl appearances in the 1980s. They returned the following year to defeat the USC Trojans, then won the national championship in January 1987, in prime time over the top-ranked Miami Hurricanes. The Buckeyes' next Fiesta appearance was three years after this game, in January 1984, a win over Pittsburgh. In the developing rivalry with the Buckeyes, Penn State had now taken the last two meetings and was 6–2 overall. As of 2020, this is the only bowl meeting between these two; Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993 and they play annually in the regular season. See also Ohio State–Penn State football rivalry References External links Fiesta Bowl – December 26, 1980 Fiesta Bowl Category:Fiesta Bowl Category:Ohio State Buckeyes football bowl games Category:Penn State Nittany Lions football bowl games Fiesta Bowl Category:December 1980 sports events in the United States