Your Top 3-5 In-Person Games?

[BostonNit]

What are your top 3 to 5 favorite in person PSU game experiences based on environment, sentimental value, significance, etc.

Mine:

1) 1987 Fiesta - no explanation necessary, but was extra cool because we sat next to this old guy with a thick Brooklyn accent. Asked him if he was a Penn State grad. He said "No... I'm a boyhood friend of Joe and he takes care of me for the bowl game every year."

2) 2016 OSU - magical game in an unexpectedly magical season. My son was a HS senior and we did a 3 day weekend at Penn State as a college visit with some academic meetings on Friday. Bought tickets right on 50 yard line from a great guy I met thru the ticket board here (with ties to the College of Comms where my son was considering enrolling). My son's first whiteout, and I think the weekend and the game experience solidified his desire to go to PSU.

3) 1983 Bama - my first epic win, frosh year. We jumped out to big lead on Bama and they came roaring back with a bunch of Q4 scores. They had the ball near South end zone with chance to win game as time was running out. 4th and goal. Bama player catches ball in back of end zone right in front of me as we had freshman seats. Lands on the end line. Ruled out of bounds. Penn State wins. (May have been in, but no replay back then!). Stormed the field.

4) 1994 OSU - 63-14 against a blue blood program like OSU, even in a mediocre year for them, solidified we were watching something very special on offense. Sat next to two really cool guys from OSU (a dentist and a doctor) who chartered a private jet and flew in for the game. They managed to sneak flasks into the game and were sharing with us. They were super cool and said "This is your year. Take it all in."

5) 2023 Rose Bowl - Father / son trip for my first Rose in person. Stayed in Vegas for most of the week, spent 2 days in Pasadena. Great game, great pageantry and parade, great father / son time.

Also...

2019 Citrus vs Kentucky. While it was a loss the 2nd half was exciting. What made it special was I drove to FL with my two sons (wife stayed home with the dogs). Stayed with my dad at the Villages, where we played a 3-generations round of golf, then went to game the next day. My dad was 88 at the time and was a real trooper fighting the crowd, etc. Great family experience and my dad's last PSU game.

 

[Bison13]

Multiple OT game against dUMb. ARobs catch and the student section moving as FG’s were attempted were crazy.

 

[[email protected]]

94 OSU

82 nebraska

All five nd home games

Michigan snowball game

Auburn home game

 

[Mrdibbs]

I gave up my season tickets back around 1990 and only was a very sporadic attendee. My choices are probably ancient for most on this board.

1. 48-14. Nothing more needs to be stated.

2. PSU beating Nebraska back around 1982. Final drive to win on a pass to Stonefingers Bowman.

3. 1977 game at Pitt Stadium. Snowed and just miserable weather. Great stand to stop Elliott Walkers 2 point conversion try at the end of the game. Final score Good Guys 15 bad guys 13.

4. 1981 game vs. Boston College. Doug Flutie.

5. 1967 upset win over NCState.

 

[DELion]

1982 Nebraska
1994 OSU
1995 Michigan (Snow Bowl)

 

[LB99]

05 Ohio State
97 Ohio State
02 Nebraska
08 Michigan
16 Minnesota

 

[BostonNit]

I gave up my season tickets back around 1990 and only was a very sporadic attendee. My choices are probably ancient for most on this board.

1. 48-14. Nothing more needs to be stated.

2. PSU beating Nebraska back around 1982. Final drive to win on a pass to Stonefingers Bowman.

3. 1977 game at Pitt Stadium. Snowed and just miserable weather. Great stand to stop Elliott Walkers 2 point conversion try at the end of the game. Final score Good Guys 15 bad guys 13.

4. 1981 game vs. Boston College. Doug Flutie.

5. 1967 upset win over NCState.

Was that the game when Flutie threw for over 500 yds and they only scored like 17 points?

 

[PSU87]

87 Fiesta
91 Notre Dame
05 OSU
02 Nebraska
16 MSU

 

[scocha409]

05 osu
82 neb
83 bama
10 capone bowl v lsu
99 arizona

 

[BriantheLion]

2012 vs Wisconsin…”They’re a bunch of F•••ers!”

 

[Bosco2]

I gave up my season tickets back around 1990 and only was a very sporadic attendee. My choices are probably ancient for most on this board.

1. 48-14. Nothing more needs to be stated.

2. PSU beating Nebraska back around 1982. Final drive to win on a pass to Stonefingers Bowman.

3. 1977 game at Pitt Stadium. Snowed and just miserable weather. Great stand to stop Elliott Walkers 2 point conversion try at the end of the game. Final score Good Guys 15 bad guys 13.

4. 1981 game vs. Boston College. Doug Flutie.

5. 1967 upset win over NCState.

48-14 Absolutely

 

[Bones80]

Fiesta bowl win over Miami for the NC
Fiesta Bowl win over TX
Fiesta Bowl win over TN
Fiesta Bowl win over USC
Sugar Bowl loss against Bama. Didn’t like the outcome, but as a student then the trip was wild. NY on Bourbon St. Bear vs JoePa classic.

 

[Ceasar]

For me, some of the best - as another poster above said, 48-14 win over Pitt in 1981. That is the most memorable and enjoyable PSU game I ever attended. A few other, 1982 win over Notre Dame in South Bend, which put us in a position to win a national championship. And 1978, a tight win over a good NC State team in November. IIRC PSU was #2 at the time and #1 had lost earlier that day and the stadium knew a W would put PSU at 1. With that said, every day in Beaver Stadium is a good one.

 

[SleepyLion]

6-4

 

[CDLionFL]

My top 5:
4OT game vs Michigan
Snow Bowl vs Michigan
1983 vs Bama
1994 vs OSU
1997 vs OSU

Honorable mention:
2019 at Minnesota...the only loss that would ever make my list. So close to an epic comeback in a November battle of unbeatens. As much as it sucked to lose, I admired the pure joy of a fanbase that never gets nice things celebrating getting that nice thing. Of course, they yakked it down the stretch like the Gophers often do.

 

[Fac]

Fiesta Bowl.

Had friend who was with the media. Danced next to JoePa and SuePa at the NYE's media party.

BTW - that was my first Penn State game.

 

[94LionsFan]

05 OSU
16 OSU
95 Mich
94 OSU
02 Neb

 

[OuiRPSU]

PSU v. Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, November 16, 1986.

 

[bdgan]

What are your top 3 to 5 favorite in person PSU game experiences based on environment, sentimental value, significance, etc.

Mine:

1) 1987 Fiesta - no explanation necessary, but was extra cool because we sat next to this old guy with a thick Brooklyn accent. Asked him if he was a Penn State grad. He said "No... I'm a boyhood friend of Joe and he takes care of me for the bowl game every year."

2) 2016 OSU - magical game in an unexpectedly magical season. My son was a HS senior and we did a 3 day weekend at Penn State as a college visit with some academic meetings on Friday. Bought tickets right on 50 yard line from a great guy I met thru the ticket board here (with ties to the College of Comms where my son was considering enrolling). My son's first whiteout, and I think the weekend and the game experience solidified his desire to go to PSU.

3) 1983 Bama - my first epic win, frosh year. We jumped out to big lead on Bama and they came roaring back with a bunch of Q4 scores. They had the ball near South end zone with chance to win game as time was running out. 4th and goal. Bama player catches ball in back of end zone right in front of me as we had freshman seats. Lands on the end line. Ruled out of bounds. Penn State wins. (May have been in, but no replay back then!). Stormed the field.

4) 1994 OSU - 63-14 against a blue blood program like OSU, even in a mediocre year for them, solidified we were watching something very special on offense. Sat next to two really cool guys from OSU (a dentist and a doctor) who chartered a private jet and flew in for the game. They managed to sneak flasks into the game and were sharing with us. They were super cool and said "This is your year. Take it all in."

5) 2023 Rose Bowl - Father / son trip for my first Rose in person. Stayed in Vegas for most of the week, spent 2 days in Pasadena. Great game, great pageantry and parade, great father / son time.

Also...

2019 Citrus vs Kentucky. While it was a loss the 2nd half was exciting. What made it special was I drove to FL with my two sons (wife stayed home with the dogs). Stayed with my dad at the Villages, where we played a 3-generations round of golf, then went to game the next day. My dad was 88 at the time and was a real trooper fighting the crowd, etc. Great family experience and my dad's last PSU game.

I can think of 2 top in person games:
1) 1986 vs Maryland. PSU's NC hopes were dwindling when Pete Curkendall intercepted a Dan Henning Pass and returned it 82 yards.
2) 2013 vs Michigan. PSU playing without top players due to Freeh agency comes from behind to beat Michigan in 4 OT.

One of the best things about each game for me was that I was sitting in the Maryland and Michigan sections with friends from those schools. It took everything I had to not rub their noses in it.

The worst game had to be vs NAVY in 1974. I would stay until the end for any game but we literally couldn't see the field with heavy sideways rain.

 

[94LionsFan]

4) 1994 OSU - 63-14 against a blue blood program like OSU, even in a mediocre year for them, solidified we were watching something very special on offense.

9-4 would certainly be a bad year for them nowadays, but was not all that unusual back then. They went 10-1-1 in ‘93, but to find an OSU team with less than 3 losses before that, you’d have to go all the way back to ‘79. They had 4+ losses each year ‘87-‘91.

OSU history

 

[leinbacker]

'82 Surgar Bowl vs Georgia
'05 Orange Bowl vs FSU (I won the Centre for Travel contest on this board)

I've was at all the '94 home games, the '87 ice bowl against ND sticks out. The MIchigan snow game was cool, as was 63-14.

 

[Pocono Lion]

1982 Nebraska
48-14
1983 Sugar Bowl
2005 OSU
2016 OSU

 

[troutrus]

Nov 21, 1970 - Pittsburgh - Last game I saw at Beaver Stadium.
Nov 7, 1981 - NC State @ Raleigh, NC - Last Penn State game I saw in person, and the only PSU game I ever saw outside of Beaver Stadium..

i wish PSU would play somebody in North Carolina, but I don’t think it happened since 1981. The Tar Heels still hold a winning record against us. I would like to see a rematch of that game that was played in 1943.

 

[BVSt.Paul]

6-4

My brother called me after the game and said, “I thought they were supposed to play football, not baseball, for homecoming.”

 

[psu7113]

1982 Nebraska. First night game ever at Beaver Stadium.

1994 at Michigan. Sat in the student section and lived to tell the tale.

2005 OSU. PSU is back.

 

[Mrdibbs]

Was that the game when Flutie threw for over 500 yds and they only scored like 17 points?

Yes in reply to that game.

I think BC played 2 minute hurry up offense for the entire 2nd half. Flute threw the ball at least 10 yards downhill. If incomplete, clock stopped. If complete, 2st down with clock stopped to reset the chains and BC on the ball.

Tremendous display of offense, but when they got close the Nits shut them down.

 

[BostonNit]

Yes in reply to that game.

I think BC played 2 minute hurry up offense for the entire 2nd half. Flute threw the ball at least 10 yards downhill. If incomplete, clock stopped. If complete, 2st down with clock stopped to reset the chains and BC on the ball.

Tremendous display of offense, but when they got close the Nits shut them down.

This was like the game against BYU when they had Detmer. Threw like 60 times. Either first down or incomplete, stopping clock. Night game ended like 1130. Plus traffic to get out of the stadium area. Don't think I hit I-80 til like 2AM. Luckily my wife and I stopped in Williamsport on way in and booked a room for the night (back when you could still get rooms). Didn't get to the hotel til like 3AM.

 

[bbrown]

What are your top 3 to 5 favorite in person PSU game experiences based on environment, sentimental value, significance, etc.

Mine:

1) 1987 Fiesta - no explanation necessary, but was extra cool because we sat next to this old guy with a thick Brooklyn accent. Asked him if he was a Penn State grad. He said "No... I'm a boyhood friend of Joe and he takes care of me for the bowl game every year."

2) 2016 OSU - magical game in an unexpectedly magical season. My son was a HS senior and we did a 3 day weekend at Penn State as a college visit with some academic meetings on Friday. Bought tickets right on 50 yard line from a great guy I met thru the ticket board here (with ties to the College of Comms where my son was considering enrolling). My son's first whiteout, and I think the weekend and the game experience solidified his desire to go to PSU.

3) 1983 Bama - my first epic win, frosh year. We jumped out to big lead on Bama and they came roaring back with a bunch of Q4 scores. They had the ball near South end zone with chance to win game as time was running out. 4th and goal. Bama player catches ball in back of end zone right in front of me as we had freshman seats. Lands on the end line. Ruled out of bounds. Penn State wins. (May have been in, but no replay back then!). Stormed the field.

4) 1994 OSU - 63-14 against a blue blood program like OSU, even in a mediocre year for them, solidified we were watching something very special on offense. Sat next to two really cool guys from OSU (a dentist and a doctor) who chartered a private jet and flew in for the game. They managed to sneak flasks into the game and were sharing with us. They were super cool and said "This is your year. Take it all in."

5) 2023 Rose Bowl - Father / son trip for my first Rose in person. Stayed in Vegas for most of the week, spent 2 days in Pasadena. Great game, great pageantry and parade, great father / son time.

Also...

2019 Citrus vs Kentucky. While it was a loss the 2nd half was exciting. What made it special was I drove to FL with my two sons (wife stayed home with the dogs). Stayed with my dad at the Villages, where we played a 3-generations round of golf, then went to game the next day. My dad was 88 at the time and was a real trooper fighting the crowd, etc. Great family experience and my dad's last PSU game.

In no order except for dates.

1982: Nebraska and or Bama

1994: Ohio State

1999: Arizona

2002: Ohio State

2016: Ohio State

Bonus: 2013: Michigan

 

[Roar More]

48-14
15-14 Kansas Orange Bowl
Miami NC game
Georgia NC game
94 Illinois
OSU blocked FG

 

[s1uggo72]

Multiple OT game against dUMb. ARobs catch and the student section moving as FG’s were attempted were crazy.

I thought the bison was because u went to Bucknell

 

[FTLPSU]

1995 Michigan game
1999 Miami game
2017 Michigan

worst game in my life MSU 97'

 

[Bison13]

I thought the bison was because u went to Bucknell

Nah freshman at main fall 94-dec98. Did a co-op junior and senior years was led to the extra semester since I couldn’t get as many classes in the summer.

 

[flash86]

1983 Sugar Bowl
1982 Nebraska
1997 OSU
1994 OSU
2016 OSU

 

[johnmpsu]

82 Neb
.
.
.

82 Sugar Bowl 1sr National Championship

Everything else is a distant 3rd but here goes
4 ot vs MI
94 OSU plus
. every other game that astonishing 94 team. played
2005 OSU

 

[Calabrin]

1. 1995 Rose Bowl -- PSU 38, Oregon 20. Carter scores on first play from scrimmage. The legit National Champions end up ranked #2 because the AP wants to play politics.

2. 2002 vs #8 Nebraska -- PSU 40, Nebraska 7 -- "Settling the score for '94". This was the loudest crowd I've ever heard, and though it took place 8 years after the infamous screw job, the fans and the players treated this game like it was personal. Absolutely deafening.

3. 1994 homecoming vs Ohio State -- PSU 63, tOSU 14 -- a good old fashioned *** whippin' on the Buckeyes. Like playing a game of Madden against CPU on "easy" just for laughs.

4. 1995 vs Michigan -- PSU 27, UM 17 -- "The Snow Bowl". 18 inches of snow falls on State College 3 days before the game, and Penn State enlists thousands of volunteers to clear the field and the bleachers. But there's so much snow, there's nowhere to put it, so the stadium is still full of snow on gameday and the fans made use of it in exactly the way you'd expect. Not the classiest move, but it was funny to witness in-person.

5. 2005 #16 vs #6 Ohio State -- PSU 17, OSU 10 -- A huge upset win the year I'm living at Meridian. I can neither confirm nor deny whether I was among the fans who rushed the field afterward.

 

[1995PSUGrad]

My top five are probably very different than most others on here. I have been to a few bowl games and several white outs; I enjoy the wins, hate the losses and don't like the stress that goes along with the close games.

My top five (not in any particular order):

• 1993 at College Park, 70-7 (A group of us took a road trip, sitting in the front row of the Maryland student section.)
• 2019 at College Park, 59 - 0 (First road game for the entire family, attended the pep rally beforehand.)
• 1991 at home vs. Cincinnati, 81 - 0, (Sat through every snap. What's not to love about 81 - 0!)
• 2011 at home vs. Eastern Michigan, 34 - 6 (Last game I ever got to see Joe Paterno coach in person. More importantly it was the first game that I was able to take my wife to and I am thankful that she got there once while Joe was still there and the statue was still standing.)
• 2024 at home vs. SMU, 38 - 10 (My son and I attended and had a great father/son weekend. It was just so cold!)

 

[OptionBob]

1. 1972 Cotton Bowl. 30-6 win over powerhouse Texas, a mere 2 years after that Nixon-UT #1 crap. My late wife and I were guests of the "Texas Die hards Club" and rode their decked-out bus from San Antonio to Dallas. My Dad's old Army buddy was the head of the DHC at the time and graciously extended the invitation to us 2 Nittany Lions. All the way to Dallas we listened to "We're way better than Tennessee" (PSU lost 31-11 to the Vols at the end of the regular season). My wife made me promise to be "an officer and a gentlemen" and to keep my Italian mouth shut. I did. All I said on the way back to SA was "Well, our 1969 defense was way better than this one." The defense had just held Texas without a touchdown for the first time since going to the Wishbone.

2. 1997 Fiesta Bowl. 38-15 win over Big 12 champ Texas. My son was 15 with a new DL permit and we drove to Tempe together, bonding 2 years after losing his Mom to cancer. It was a wonderful trip, and once in Tempe, we were able to visit with Larry Johnson, who was very interested in knowing more about Texas HS football. We met George Paterno who ushered us into a lunch meeting with his brother and several "big wigs" from Penn State. JoePa was very gracious to us, though the Admin types were miffed that we were there.

3. 1964 at Houston, 24-7 win over the Cougars. It was my very first Penn State game, and from that day on I was hooked. I have become a pathetic addict and quasi historian of Penn State football under Joe Paterno. I can still recall Joe Vargo returning a punt for a touchdown against Houston.

 

[Tor_Eckman]

1981 Pitt
1982 Nebraska
1983 Alabama
1983 WVU
1986 Pitt
1986 WVU
1999 Arizona
2002 Nebraska

 

[pendal1]

Instead of great wins I attended I'll give you some of the most brutal losses.
89 Alabama. This should have been another top ten win for Joe against #2 Bama but we basically had an extra point/FG blocked. I was sitting in the end zone where the kick was blocked and I was ranting all the way home. Still think Thomas scored on second down.
77 Kentucky. Very good Kentucky team that would go on to win the sec but we were better. Fusina threw a couple of brutal interceptions but we really lost because of the weather. The 77 team was as good if not better than 78.
93 Boston College. Penn State played a horrendous first half and was getting crushed. I think we were down 35-10 at some point and came all the way back to 35-31 and Kyle Brady recovered the onside kick with about a little over a minute to go. Kerry went for the home run to OJ on first down and the pass was intercepted. Brutal.
2018 OSU. Penn State had a 12 point lead with 7 minutes to go in the fourth and lost. When we went up 12 I thought we were going to blow them out. Terrible loss.

 

[PSUMatt8]

1. 2005 OSU. Senior year at PSU
2. 1999 Arizona. Chafie Fields runs wild
3. 2007 Notre Dame
4. 2001 OSU. JoePa’s 324th win
5. 2013 Michigan 4 OT game