The 1980 Fiesta Bowl was the tenth edition of the college football

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...

, played at Sun Devil Stadium in

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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 The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. A slight underdog, independent Penn State rallied in the second half to win, 31–19. This was the last Fiesta Bowl played in December until 1997.

Teams

Penn State

Penn State had played three ranked opponents during the regular season (#3

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, at #9

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, and #4

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

), 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

Ohio State was the runner-up in the

after losing to

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

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. Halfback

Curt Warner Curtis Edward Warner (born March 18, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). A two-time All-American at Penn State University, Warner was drafted by the Seattle Se ...

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 Arthur Ernest Schlichter (, born April 25, 1960) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons with the Colts franchise. He also played one Canadian Football League (CFL) season wit ...

threw a touchdown pass to

Doug Donley Douglas Max Donley (born February 6, 1959) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. He was selected in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft. He played college ...

, but the Vlade Janakievski kick missed. The Buckeyes responded again with a

Gary Williams Gary Bruce Williams (born March 4, 1945) is an American university administrator and former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, the Ohio State University, Boston College, and American University. I ...

touchdown catch from Schlichter to give the Buckeyes the lead, though the

two-point conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must run ...

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 Robert Atha (born September 22, 1960, in Marietta, Ohio) is a former American football placekicker, punter and quarterback who played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and NFL football for the Miami Dolphins and the Arizona Cardinals. ...

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. But the second half was a different story as the Nittany Lions came alive. Sophomore quarterback

Todd Blackledge Todd Alan Blackledge (born February 25, 1961) is a former American football quarterback in both the NCAA and National Football League. In college, he led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a national championship. A member of the famed Class of 19 ...

, 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. 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.

Scoring

First quarter * Penn State –

64-yard run (Herb Menhardt kick) * Ohio State –

23-yard pass from

( Vlade Janakievski kick failed) Second quarter * Ohio State –

33-yard pass from Schlichter (run failed) * Ohio State – Donley 19-yard pass from Schlichter (

kick) * Penn State – Menhardt 38-yard field goal Third quarter * Penn State –

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) :

Statistics

: :

Aftermath

The Nittany Lions won all three Fiesta Bowl appearances in the 1980s. They returned the following year to defeat the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...

, then won the national championship in January

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, in prime time over the top-ranked

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

. The Buckeyes' next Fiesta

appearance Appearance may refer to: * Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light * Human physical appearance, what someone looks like * ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp * Appearance (philosophy), or p ...

was three years after this game, in January

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, a win over

. In the developing

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

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 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

and they play annually in the regular season.

References

External links

Fiesta Bowl
– December 26, 1980 {{Penn State Nittany Lions bowl game navbox Fiesta Bowl Fiesta Bowl Ohio State Buckeyes football bowl games Penn State Nittany Lions football bowl games Fiesta Bowl December 1980 sports events in the United States