So here is one game against Penn State I'll never forget. There will be a couple more to keep everyone who checks in here entertained.
ACC Champion Maryland was coming off a 9-3 season and had beaten Tennessee in the 1984 Sun Bowl. The Terps were ranked #1 by Sport Magazine heading into the game. 19th ranked Penn State was coming off a disappointing 6-5 record in 1984 but one of those wins that year was a 25-24 win over Maryland.
Penn State had a 20 game winning streak over Maryland. It was hot, 95 officially but I remember hearing it was 105-110 degrees on the field. It was so that fire hydrants at the stadium were opened and people just stood there getting wet. Back then there was no cold bottled water sold like it is today and the concession stands ran out of ice.
The crowd of over 50,000 in attendance was pumped up. A friend and I scalped tickets outside the stadium and sat in the end zone.
The game didn’t start off so great for the Terps. Penn State's Mike Zordich intercepted Stan Gelbaugh's pass on the second play of the game and returned it 32 yards for touchdown. 50 seconds was all that took. The Terps were on the move to tie the score but another interception by Penn State’s Pete Giftopoulos at the Lions' 11 stopped the Maryland drive and led to a 28-yard field goal by Massimo Manca late in the first quarter.
Penn State made it 17-0 on an 80 yard drive topped off by John Shaffer’s two-yard pass to Tight End Bob Williams. My friend and I were thinking about bolting but we decided to gut it out when we could have soaked in a pool or sat in a cool air conditioned bar.
The game turned in the Terps favor when Ramon Paredes got Maryland on the board with a 22 yard field goal. Then the Terps recovered a Blair Thomas fumble on the ensuing kick-off and later cut the lead to 17-10 on Rick Badanjek’s 8 yard touchdown run.
Maryland Linebacker Chuck Faucette intercepted a Shaffer pass early in the second half and the Terps scored on Badanjek’s 5 yard touchdown run. Then they went for a two point conversion and converted it as holder Dan Henning’s pass was completed to Chris Knight. 18-17 Terps!
Penn State regained the lead 20-18 on Manca's 46-yard field goal later in the third quarter and they survived three scoring chances in the final quarter as the Terps scrapped to take the lead. Ramon Paredes missed fourth-quarter field goal attempts of 34 and 51 yards, and when the Terps were driving late in the game, Running Back Alvin Blount fumbled the ball after catching a pass on Penn State’s 30 yard line with 38 seconds remaining. When the game was over, fans went on the field anyway.
Tough defeat for the Terps, who still won the ACC Championship that year and beat Syracuse in the Cherry Bowl.
Hi, I was at a party yesterday and met a guy named Lance Hamilton. He mentioned that he played for Penn State in the 80s. Being a UM graduate, I recalled being at the game where Alvin Blount fumbled with MD driving to kick the winning field goal. He reacted with a look of disbelief and then announced that he was the one that forced the fumble!! Too funny. I shook his hand and thanked him for ruining my life. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat story, thanks for sharing that. Yeah, it left a pretty sour taste in all us Terp fans as Penn State just dominated that series. Hopefully that series will be resurrected but with the addition of Pitt and Syracuse probably puts that to rest.
ReplyDelete