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Blast From The Past: Fiesta Bowl 12-26-1980

Matt Gutridge's picture
December 26, 2014 at 11:17pm
2 Comments

Apologies to those who read this before it went to Blog Heaven.
 

12-26-1980 Fiesta Bowl Tempe, Arizona
  1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
No. 11 Ohio State 6 13 0 0 19
No. 10 Penn State 7 3 7 14 31
Ohio State's only victory over a ranked opponent in 1980 was a 38-21 home win over Arizona State.

Ohio State's only victory over a ranked opponent in 1980 was a 38-21 home win over Arizona State.

BACKGROUND
The Buckeyes entered this game with a 9-2 record and were coming off of a 3-9 home defeat against Our Rivals who were ranked 10th. Ohio State's other loss in the regualr season was a 0-17 loss to No. 11 UCLA. The Buckeyes were ranked 2nd in the country when they faced the Bruins in week 4.

Ohio State's only victory over a ranked opponent in 1980 was a 38-21 home win over No. 20 Arizona State in week 3.

Penn State was led by quarterback Todd Blackledge and running back Curt Warner. . The Nittany Lions came into this game with a 9-2 record. Penn State ended the regular season with a 9-14 home loss to Pittsburgh.

 

 

Fiesta Bowl

2014 OHIO STATE MEDIA GUIDE

“A record crowd of 66,738 had hardly settled into its seats when Curt Warner ran 64 yards for a touchdown on the Nittany Lions' first play from scrimmage. The rest of the first half, however, belonged to the Buckeyes as quarterback Art Schichter threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns to stake OSU to a 19-10 lead at intermission. Flanker Doug Donley was on the receiving end of two of those scoring passes and split end Gary Williams hauled in the third.

But after rolling up 339 yards in the first half, the Buckeyes were held to just 73 yards in the second by a fire up Penn State defense. And while the Nittany Lions' defense was pitching a shutout in the final two quarters, their offense tallied three touchdowns to win the second half and the game.”

 

Gary Williams had a game-high 112 yards receiving.

Gary Williams had a game-high 112 yards receiving.

OHIO STATE PLAYERS

  • Calvin Murray rushed for 75 yards (7.5 ypc).
  • Art Schlichter completed 20/35 passes for 302 yards 3 touchdowns and an interception.
  • Doug Donley had a game-high 122 yards receiving (24.4 ypr). Donley also had 2 touchdown receptions.
  • Gary Williams had a game-high 7 receptions for 112 (16.0) yards and a touchdown.

 

PENN STATE PLAYERS

  • Todd Blackledge completed 8/22 passes for 117 yards.
  • Curt Warner led all players with 155 yards rushing (8.6 ypc) and had a 64 yard touchdown.
  • Kevin Baugh led the Nittany Lions with 53 receiving yards (17.7 ypr).

 

KEY PLAY
Jonathan Williams' four-yard touchdown run that gave Penn State a 24-19 lead early in the fourth quarter.

 

THE REST OF THE STORY
Earle Bruce would win five more bowl games ('81 Liberty Bowl, '82 Holiday Bowl, '83 Fiesta Bowl, '85 Citrus Bowl and '87 Cotton Bowl) as Ohio State's head coach.

Curt Warner led the Nittany Lions to a national championship. Warner was drafted in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.

Curt Warner led the Nittany Lions to a national championship. Warner was drafted in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.

After the Holiday Bowl Bruce went 61-22-1 (.725) in his last seven seasons at Ohio State.

Penn State's running back, Curt Warner, finished his Nittany Lion career with 42 school records. He was a key member of the national championship team that won the 1983 Sugar Bowl.

Curt Warner was drafted in the first round by the Seattle Seahawks. Warner was named to three Pro Bowls and is a member of the Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor.
 

SOURCES
Ohio State Media Guide
Fiestabowl.org
Wikipedia.org

 

Go to the following links to feel a little bit better about the 1980 loss to Penn State:
The Series History: Penn State
The Ohio State Effect: Penn State

 

 

This is a forum post from a site member. It does not represent the views of Eleven Warriors unless otherwise noted.

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