On This Day in Penn State History
by BSD on Sep 8, 2008 1:00 PM EDT
in Penn State History
Email
PrintSeptember 8, 1984
A fan stood up from his seat in Beaver Stadium and sat back down. The guy next to him stood up and sat down. Then the guy next to him stood up and sat down. And before you knew it the capacity crowd of 84,409 completed the first ever successful wave around Beaver Stadium.
Current offensive line coach Dick Anderson was walking the sidelines that day, but he was standing on the other side of the field in his debut as the head coach at Rutgers. D.J. Dozier had a 43 yard touchdown in the first quarter, but the game was tied 10-10 at halftime. The second half was a defensive struggle with Rutgers only gaining four rushing yards and completing only five passes. Penn State didn't do much better. Late in the third quarter the Lions were stopped on a fourth and two attempt at the Rutgers four yard line. But Penn State defensive end Dan Morgan turned around and sacked Rutgers quarterback Rusty Hochberg in the endzone. Nick Gancitano added a 36-yard field goal in the fourth quarter giving Penn State a slim 15-10 lead. Punter John Bruno took an intentional safety in the final seconds to complete a 15-12 Penn State victory.
The fans probably did a lot of waves to keep themselves entertained that season as the team was not very competitive. Disappointing losses to Texas, Alabama, West Virginia, and Notre Dame capped off a disappointing 6-5 season. After State suffered an embarrassing 31-11 season ending loss to Pitt in Beaver Stadium, Paterno called out his team saying they played like "a bunch of babies." It must have worked, because the next season Penn State won all 11 regular season games, but lost to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for the national championship.
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Speaking of the Orange Bowl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpwJbJMZ_4I&feature=related
Will the real Derrick Williams please stand up?
Everything was going fine in that game
until Massimo Manca missed a field goal, and Keith Jackson caught that damn touchdown pass on like third and 28. Penn State was better than Oklahoma that year, they should have won that game.
"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008
I wouldn't know
I was only two during that game.
Will the real Derrick Williams please stand up?
by ReadingRambler on Sep 8, 2008 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions
I was 10
and my parents made me go to bed in the first quarter.
Thankfully the Fiesta Bowl was on a Friday night the next year and they let me stay up late to watch it.
Mike
Black Shoe Diaries
by BSD on Sep 8, 2008 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Absolutely no excuse
I was only nine.
You have had more than 20 years to look it up, hell, you found the you tube clips.
(Yes, I’m joking.)
"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008
I was there
‘79 grad. I was there with my very young wife and four friends. Snuck into the great outdoor pool at the Fountainblue, where, I believe, the team stayed. Nice parade the night before. Remember the old Orange Bowl being rickety, couldn’t believe we lost the game. Downer to an otherwise great week.
My former co-worker
Actually was on the 1985 OU Sooner team. He got his undergraduate degree in 2002 from Oklahoma State. In his words, “I played football at OU, I got a degree at OSU”.
Was that the game....
where Hochberg got hurt & the PS trainer came running out to help because he was Hochberg’s father? Rusty was a year or two behind me at State College Area High School. He had a brother, Randy I think, who was a year ahead of me.
My first PSU game in person
And the rest is history. I think that has to be the closest we played Rutgers in the 80’s, but don’t quote me.
I don't know, Mello Yello is pretty awful. What's the worst that could happen?
by psu on Sep 8, 2008 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions
We lost to them in 1988
And I was at that game. Not really a claim to fame though.
"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008
Apropos of nothing
Was 1984 the last year they sold helium balloons to everyone in the stadium and released them when the team came out? Because that was super cool. Damn environmentalists.
Because that is the only thing different from the pre-game routine today and 25 years ago (ed: that and Big Ten Fight Songs)
"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008
Miss the balloon release...
Were you there at the game where they brought out a bunch of balloons in a crate to the center of the field once they suspended the balloon release? Very, very lame.
I believe there were some other changes in the pregame since 1984:
- Only one flip for the drum major back in the day
- The whao, whao let’s go state chant when the drummers are playing and the band is marching off the field
- The P- S – U let’s go P-S-U song – forgot the real name
- All the noise, noise, noise, noise prior to the game. Commercials all the time…
Damn, am I old.
by dontcallmescooter on Sep 8, 2008 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions
In other news
Penn State is declared National Champions after defeating Miami 14-10 in the Fiesta Bowl.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Mike
Black Shoe Diaries
by BSD on Sep 8, 2008 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh wow. . .
Went straight from Happy Valley to the bar on Sunday to watch NFL games without stopping home. . . thought this was new today. I’m suspending myself from posting for a while after that one.
I'm sorry
That wasn’t very nice of me. Everyone has pretty much known Hayes tore his ACL since Joe’s presser Saturday afternoon.
Mike
Black Shoe Diaries
by BSD on Sep 8, 2008 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Ringing a bell now that you mention it. . .
Too bad listening to Joe’s presser involved alternating Old Germans and Coronas in the IM fields for yours truly. Now before you ask I can explain. . . our tailgating experience is in a state of flux right now, where half the beer is supplied by upper classman and half by alums.
OG and Coronas?
Strange combination…
O.G. returnable bottles being some of the cheapest beer you can buy, while Corona is so wildly overpriced, but enjoyable. In the future, look for “Sol”, just like Corona but about $10 a case cheaper.
FWIW, the cheapest beer that can be acceptably drank in public is Straub pounders in returnable bottles, $15 a case with a $2 rebate if you bring the bottles back.
"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008
Straub's
Otherwise known as the “Northeast Enima” for all the time you’ll spend sitting on the throne the next morning.
Mike
Black Shoe Diaries
by BSD on Sep 8, 2008 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions
What do you want for $13
and there is always box of wine.
"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008
Great advice. . .
I received a free sample of Sol from Pletcher’s a few years ago on a b double-e double-r-u-n and I’d have to agree with your assessment. As for Straub, never been a fan but was forced to drink it once. . . .we had to finish off a couple of cases so that we could bottle home brewed beer that my roomate was making (reusables are thicker, hence the necessity for Straub). Despite Mike’s warning, its never bad to be forced to drink.
I regret to inform you that you are incorrect
The best beer that can be drank in public is Stegmaier 16 oz bottles. Also $15 a case with a $2 rebate and is actually quite tasty. And according to the statements below has the advantage of being laxative free.
I don't know, Mello Yello is pretty awful. What's the worst that could happen?
by psu on Sep 8, 2008 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
To be fair
it was cheapest, not best.
"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008
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