Fiesta Bowl
1987
Penn State 14
Miami 10
Imagine the pressure of playing for the national championship of
college football before 73,000 spectators and a television audience in
the millions. Now imagine playing a team that had outscored its
opponents, 420-136, en route to a perfect regular season. A team that
had owned the No. 1 ranking since the fourth week of the season. A team
starring Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde at quarterback and
All-Americans Jerome Brown and Bennie Blades on defense.
Such was the challenge facing No. 2 Penn State (11-0) as it prepared to
butt heads with No. 1 Miami (11-0) in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. Nonetheless,
former Penn State linebacker Pete Giftopoulos said he and his teammates
liked their chances.
"We were a team that couldn't be intimidated, and that's what Miami
liked to do to other players," 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, Miami did try to
intimidate, reinforcing the bad guy versus good guy theme by showing up
in Arizona in military fatigues.
Besides self-confidence, Penn State had All-Americans at linebacker
(Shane Conlan), defensive tackle (Tim Johnson), running back (D.J.
Dozier) and offensive tackle (Chris Conlin). Although the Nittany Lions
didn't always destroy their opposition, they always managed to win.
Neither team was able to run away with what had been dubbed the "Game of
the Century." The first half ended at 7-7, and both defenses continued
to dominate throughout the game. However, the opportunistic Penn State
defense made more big plays, including four sacks and five
interceptions. The two most-critical interceptions came late in the
game.
The Hurricanes led 10-7 early in fourth quarter, when Conlan picked off
a Testaverde pass and returned it 38 yards to the Miami 5. Two plays
later, Dozier rumbled in for a six-yard touchdown to give Penn State a
14-10 lead (video).
The scored unchanged and just over three minutes left, Miami took over
at its 23. Testaverde converted some key plays, including a
fourth-and-six from the Hurricanes' 27 and a 31-yard strike to Brian
Blades. Even with a national championship at stake, though, Giftopoulos
said the Penn State defense stayed calm as Miami pushed downfield.
"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.'"
After Testaverde completed six straight passes, the Hurricanes stood at
the Penn State six-yard line. However, with 18 seconds remaining,
Giftopoulos intercepted a Testaverde pass at the goal line to end the
Miami threat (video).
"We had eight guys that dropped and rushed three. They had four
receivers out, so the odds were better for us," said Giftopoulos. "If I
hadn't gotten it, there were two other guys on our team that had an
opportunity to get it before one of their guys got it."
The interception, Giftopoulos' second of the game, ensured Penn State's
second national title in five years. Miami placed No. 2 in the final
Associated Press poll.
Giftopoulos graduated in 1988, played nine years for the Hamilton
Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, and now lives in western
Pennsylvania with his wife and two children. The hero of the 1987 Fiesta
Bowl remains proud of his team's accomplishments, but humble about his
role in the play that derailed the Miami juggernaut.
"It wasn't a miraculous effort on my part," Giftopoulos said. "I did
what I had to do, and that's what I was taught at Penn State: do what
you're supposed to do as a team, and good things will come to you.
That's what we did, and good things came to us."
Giftopoulos picks off the pass
Paterno got another ride
Attendance- 73,098
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
UM - Bratton 1 yard TD run (Cox kick)
PSU - Shaffer 4 yard TD run (Manca kick)
Fourth Quarter
UM - FG Seelig 38
PSU - Dozier 6 yard TD run (Manca kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
PSU- Dozier 20-99, Manoa 8-36, Smith 4-13
UM- Highsmith 18-119, Bratton 11-31, Williams 5-20
Passing
PSU- Shaffer 5-16-53
UM- Testeverde 26-50-285
Receiving
PSU- Dozier 2-12, Hamilton 1-23, Manoa 1-12
UM- Blades 5-81, Irvin 5-55, Perriman 4-37, Highsmith 3-33 Bratton 3-32,
Henry 3-24, Williams 2-20
