College Football Lookback: 1987 Fiesta Bowl

The college football lookback will review the great bowl games of years past.

Bowl: Fiesta Bowl
Teams: #1 Miami vs. #2 Penn State
Location/Stadium: Tempe, Arizona, Sun Devil Stadium
Announcers/Network: Charlie Jones, Bob Griese, Jimmy Cefalo, Bob Costas(Pregame), Ahmad Rashad (Sideline), NBC
Favorite: Miami

Teams:
Oklahoma and Michigan actually started the 1986 season as the number one and two teams in the nation. Then on September 27th, Miami defeated Oklahoma pushing the Hurricanes to the number one spot in the nation. Penn State defeated Alabama which was good enough to push them ahead of Michigan for the number two spot in the nation.

But because of a weak schedule and a close win against Maryland, Michigan vaulted Penn State in the standings. Michigan would eventually lose to Minnesota and Penn State would move to the number two spot in the nation and wouldn't leave that spot for the rest of the season.

Miami:
The Hurricanes seemed to be unstoppable going into the Fiesta Bowl. Their offense lead by Heisman winner Vinny Testaverde, future hall of famer Michael Irvin, and running back Alonzo Highsmith. The offense outscored opponents 420-136 en route to a perfect season. The defense was lead by All-Americans Jerome Brown and Bennie Blades.

Penn State:
While Penn State also came into the game undefeated, the Nittany Lions looked rather beatable. Penn State though was lead by a stifling defense that won many close games, lead by senior linebacker Shane Conlan and defensive tackle Tim Johnson. The offense was lead by running back D.J. Dozier.

Bowl Arrangements:
Because both Penn State and Miami were both independent at the time, they were both not obliged to play in sanctioned conference bowl games. So America was given the rare opportunity to watch the number 1 team take on the number 2 team in the nation. This was only the seventh time the number one and two teams in the nation faced off against each other for the National Championship in a bowl game. (You can be thankful for the BCS for this. Because before the BCS, the number one and two ranked teams hardly ever played each other, and there were multiple times when the national championship was split.)

So how did Penn State and Miami end up playing in the Fiesta Bowl? Before this game, the Fiesta Bowl was looked at as a 2nd-tier bowl game. Well they offered more money than the Cotton Bowl and Penn State and Miami accepted.

Pre-Game Buildup:
- This game was the most hyped game of that era. It's was called "Good versus Evil". Good was Penn State because they were lead by a then 60-year old Joe Paterno. The Bad was Miami because they came into that game with a huge attitude and their patented swagger.

- When Miami arrived in Phoenix, the team got off the plane wearing army fatigues. They were playing up to the notion that the two teams were going to "war".

- During a pre-game steak fry, the Penn State players arrived wearing coats and ties. The Miami players arrived wearing their army fatigues.

- During the steak fry, as part of Penn State's skit, John Bruno, Penn State's punter, dragged out a garbage can labeled with masking tape as "Jimmy Johnson's Hair Spray" and made a few jokes which the Miami players found offensive.

This caused Jerome Brown, a defensive tackle for Miami, to stand up and unzip his sweat suit to reveal his fatigues. "Did the Japanese sit down and eat with Pearl Harbor before they bombed them?" he said. "No. We're outta here."

Bruno replied with the snappy response, "Excuse me, but didn't the Japanese lose the war?" Brown immediately made an effort to leave, but Coach Johnson required him and the rest of the Canes to sit out the remainder of Penn State's routine before going. As the routine ended, the entire Miami team stood up and proceeded toward their buses.

Game Summary:
- Penn State wore their home blue jerseys, while Miami wore their road white jersey's.

- Miami vastly outgained Penn State on the field, 445 yards to 162, with 22 first downs compared to the Nittany Lions' 8. However, the Hurricanes were hampered by 7 turnovers, including 5 interceptions of the Heisman-winning Testaverde.

- Miami's only touchdown was a result of Penn State's John Schaffer's fumble at his own 23 yard line.

- Penn State's only sustained drive came on a 74-yard, 13-play drive at the end of the half in which John Schaffer scored on a quarterback sneak. The halftime score was 7-7.

- Miami retook the lead in the 2nd half with a field goal. Shane Conlan grabbed his second interception of the night, returning it 39 yards to the Miami 5. The first Penn State snap was fumbled, but the Nittany Lions recovered. D.J. Dozier then followed with a 6-yard run for the go-ahead touchdown and to make the score 14-10 in the fourth quarter.

- Late in the game Miami had a chance to beat Penn State. Testaverde lead the Hurricanes down to the Penn State five yard line with less than a minute to play. Testaverde threw an incompletion on 1st and goal. Then on 2nd and goal Testaverde was sacked by Tim Johnson. Miami had to use their 2nd timeout. Then on 3rd and goal, Testaverde threw another incompletion. Then on fourth and goal with 18 seconds left, Testaverde threw to the end zone, but was intercepted by Pete Giftopoulos. It would be Testaverde's fifth interception of the night.

- Penn State won the game 14-10 and won their second National Championship of the 1980's.

Quotes:
- "We were a team that couldn't be intimidated, and that's what Miami liked to do to other players," linebacker Pete Giftopoulos observed recently. "How are you going to intimidate a bunch of steel-town kids from Pittsburgh, Ohio, Pennsylvania? You just can't do that."

- But that wasn't what made the Miami players mad. "Jimmy's our coach," said Highsmith. "We're the only ones that get to rag on his hair."

- Reggie Taylor of the Cincinnati Bearcats, who had played both teams said, "It's harder to run against Penn State. They're so disciplined you can't exploit their weaknesses as much." Defensive tackle Bob Leshnak said, "Miami 's center [Gregg Rakoczy] is the best I've faced. Our line moves a lot, and it gave Penn State problems." Cincinnati coach Dave Currey said, "The only place Miami has a big edge is quarterback. If Penn State can control the ball, it has less chance of beating itself. In a game like this, you've first got to not beat yourself."

^- "We had some great leaders -- (seniors) Shane Conlan, Timmy Johnson, Bob White," he said. "They were key character people. To not see any fear in their eyes helped me as a junior and helped the other players to play the game. ... Nobody was losing it in the huddle, nobody was screaming. Everyone was like, 'Here's the play; let's do it.'" - Pete Giftopoulos on Penn State's goal line stand to win the National Championship.

Game Facts:
- The highest ratings share of any college football game in history 24.9 share: 25.1% of households tuned in to watch the Fiesta Bowl, or over 70 million viewers.

- NBC interviewed President Ronald Reagan during halftime.

- Miami would win the following year's National Championship.

- Up to this date, this was Joe Paterno's last National Championship.

- Thanks to this game, every bowl game from now on has a title sponsor. Sunkist sponsored this game, which lead every company eventually sponsoring a bowl game.

Guts, Brains, and Glory (SI Vault)