[...]...PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS x brought just average success The quarterbacks were decent guys, but just average players I wasn’t compelled to walk around campus in a John Andress or Dayle Tate jersey (with all due respect to John Andress and Dayle Tate) I couldn’t understand how a team like Iowa could come into Beaver Stadium and beat Penn State, 7–6 And adding to a Penn Stater’s misery was the fact that... posturing hard for a dream matchup pitting undefeated Penn State, which had vaulted to the No 2 national ranking, against undefeated Miami Needing Penn State and Miami to remain undefeated and in their same place in the polls Penn State had four games left and Miami three—would churn up the insides of Fiesta Bowl chairman Bruce Skinner for the rest of the regular season If Penn State and Miami followed suit,... acceptance of the Fiesta bid, pending Miami’s final contest against East Carolina on Thanksgiving Had East Carolina somehow found a way to win, Penn State s plan was to face off against Oklahoma, the No 3 ranked team, in the Orange Bowl Expectedly, Miami won in a blowout, 36–0, and the match race was on With their regular season ending on November 24, the Nittany Lions had to wait more than a month to play... it’s the same Penn State team that played in 975 Then Sileo went for the big finish: 16 THE PERFECT SEASON Like a prize fighter, you try to build up a hatred for your opponent We, as a team, are sick and tired of hearing Penn State this and Penn State that We have a definite hatred of Penn State missanelli.indd 16 Miami came into the national title game ranked second in the country in giveaways/takeaways... times they had the ball and led 2–0 after only 9:2 of the first quarter Shaffer tossed TD passes of 0, 4, and 2 yards to Steve Smith, Eric Hamilton, and Jim Coates, respectively Tim Manoa led Penn State rushers with 89 yards on just six carries, including a 5-yard run D.J Dozier, who came into the season as a candidate to win the Heisman Trophy, ran for 54 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes... scrimmage in preparation for ’Bama, Penn State crushed Syracuse, 42–3 The Lions came to Alabama a six-point underdog, a circumstance that would reflect Penn State s lack of national respect ’Bama came into the game undefeated and ranked No 2 in the nation behind Miami But Penn State, using the straightahead rushing of Dozier and Thomas, gobbled up the Crimson Tide’s defense for a combined 20 rushing yards... that the University of Pittsburgh, thanks to a guy named Tony Dorsett, had usurped the role of best college program in the state But I also had another reason to be cynical I was jealous I was a varsity baseball player, which is to say, in the Penn State athletic hierarchy I was lower than third class Penn State football ran the show, devouring anything else in its wake Playing baseball at Penn State. .. like playing baseball in Alaska By the time the spring weather finally takes root, the season and semester are over We practiced and played in conditions better suited for polar bears The university had just built a lavish Astroturf field in the east part of campus, across the way from Beaver Stadium and the adjacent Penn State baseball field One day we petitioned the athletic department to use the Astroturf... photography and Penn State football into a gig as chief photographer for the famed Penn State Football Letter, a weekly report on the season A kindly man, Bodkin passed away in March 2007 after a long illness His generosity will never be forgotten and my sympathies go out to his wife and family Penn State football will live on for future generations The pomp and circumstance of the tailgates, the dancing... Skinner had arranged for the Hurricanes to practice at a brand-new practice facility used by the Arizona Outlaws of the United States Football League (USFL) But even that attempt at appeasement backfired Penn State had been given Arizona State s practice field for its workouts The Sun Devils were in Pasadena, preparing to play in their first-ever Rose Bowl Arizona State athletic officials told Fiesta Bowl . Penn State Came to Stop a Hurricane and Win a National Football Championship M. G. MISSANELLI The Pennsylvania State University Press University Park, Pennsylvania missanelli.indd. : how Penn State came to stop a hurricane and win a National Championship / M .G. Missanelli. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: