Bragging rights: A look at the biggest wins for Pitt, Penn State in their rivalry

Penn State holds a 50-43-4 edge against Pitt in a series that dates to 1893 and will be renewed Saturday at Beaver Stadium in University Park.

It will die — again — after the 100th game in 2019. After that, both schools must work together to revive it -- if they're serious about it -- but don't expect another game until well into the next decade.

Here are three of the biggest victories for each program, starting with Penn State, including a game played in a snowstorm, another that led to Joe Paterno's first national championship and a third that was an unwelcome birthday present for Pitt coach Jackie Sherrill.

Penn State

Nov. 26, 1982: Penn State 19, Pitt 10 (Beaver Stadium)

Foge Fazio was a rookie Pitt coach in 1982 when he took a 9-1 record and No. 5 national ranking into Beaver Stadium to meet No. 2 Penn State, also 9-1.

In the fourth quarter, Pitt was trailing, 16-7, and had the ball inside the 1-yard-line on fourth down when Fazio ordered a field goal. Pitt's players trudged off the field, grumbling, according to legendary New York Times college football writer Gordon S. White Jr. They wanted to try for the touchdown.

Eric Schubert kicked the field goal for Pitt's final points. After the game, Fazio said, "If I had to do it over I probably would go for the touchdown. I thought the ball was a little farther out, between the 1 and 2."

That was Dan Marino's senior season, one that ended in a lethargic 7-3 loss to SMU in the Cotton Bowl.

Penn State was led by Curt Warner's 118 yards rushing and Nick Gancitano's four field goals. The Nittany Lions went on to beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and win the national championship, Paterno's first of two.

Quarterback Todd Blackledge, a Phi Beta Kappa who will do the color analysis for ABC-TV on Saturday, made his 32nd consecutive start. He won 28, with 13 of them come-from-behind victories. His 31-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Jackson turned out to be the decisive blow.

Pitt defensive tackle Dave Puzzuoli told White, "Blackledge is a great competitor. After we would knock him down, he'd pat us on the back and say, 'Nice play.' You can't ruffle that kid. And we really tried. We've ruffled some pretty good people over the years."

Nov. 28, 1981: Penn State 48, Pitt 14 (Pitt Stadium)

Imagine Pitt installing temporary seating to accommodate an overflow crowd at a sold-out stadium. That's what school officials were forced to do 36 years ago when Pitt (10-0) was on its way to its second national championship in six seasons (or so the thinking went).

Pitt took a 14-0 lead on two Dan Marino touchdown passes to Dwight Collins, and was poised to make it 21-0 when Roger Jackson intercepted a pass in the end zone, launching Penn State (8-2) toward 48 unanswered points.

"That's a game I have not ever watched again," said tight end John Brown, who caught the game-winner from Marino a month later to beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

"I literally saw some of our players crying after the game," administrative assistant Alex Kramer said.

What a way for coach Jackie Sherrill to celebrate his 38th birthday.

"We panicked. In the secondary, we had some guys going the wrong way, playing the wrong coverage," defensive coordinator Foge Fazio said.

If you watch this game on YouTube almost four decades later, the strangest sight of all will be Pitt's Snuffy Everett kicking extra points straight-on. Like the series itself, Everett was an example of how times have changed in college football.

Nov. 26, 1977: Penn State 15, Pitt 13 (Pitt Stadium)

Snow was falling on a cold, blustery day, with the wind chill at 0. But Penn State coach Joe Paterno had a rule — no gloves or sweatshirts. Uncharacteristically, though, he did allow heaters on sideline.

"He caved," Penn State's Mike Guman told the Allentown Morning Call.

This game might have been the most dramatic of all. An Associated Press story in The Sunday Harrisburg Patriot-News the next day reported that Penn State quarterback Chuck Fusina, a Sto-Rox graduate, and his mother had received death threats prior to the game. Against an FBI warning, Fusina played the game. There were no incidents.

Penn State won amidst some on-field controversy to raise its record to 10-1.

With 20 seconds left and Pitt trailing, 15-7, snow obscured the yard markers. Immediately after announcer Ray Scott said, "I think the ball is at the 18-yard line," Matt Cavanaugh hit Gordon Jones with a touchdown pass, bringing Pitt fans out of the stands to celebrate. But the game wasn't over.

"Ray, this is just terrible," analyst George Paterno said. "Why can't the fans let the teams play out the game?"

With dozens of people ringing the outside of the end zone, so close they could reach out and touch the players, Pitt tried for a game-tying, two-point conversion. Pitt running back Elliott Walker appeared to be stopped short of the goal line, but no one could be sure because snow covered the field.

Even Penn State defensive back Tom Bradley wondered.

"Some of my best friends from Pittsburgh told me we really didn't hold them," he said.

Pitt

Pitt has endured long stretches of frustrating losses to Penn State and Joe Paterno. But that's what makes the eight victories since 1965 so satisfying.

Here are, arguably, the three most significant Pitt victories over Penn State in the series' 97-game history, including some unorthdox strategy by Johnny Majors that led to a national championship.

Dec. 7, 1963: Pitt 22, Penn State 21 (Pitt Stadium)

The game was originally scheduled for Nov. 23, but it was postponed two weeks because of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Pitt's only loss was to Navy and quarterback Roger Staubach, 24-12, a month earlier, and the Panthers appeared on their way to the Cotton Bowl. But bowl officials were fearful of waiting. What if Pitt lost to Penn State?

Pitt turned up its nose at some lesser bowls — there were only eight in those days — and the Panthers stayed home that year.

Pitt won the rescheduled game, 22-21, when quarterback Fred Mazurek scored the deciding touchdown in the fourth quarter.

At least, it was a big day for Beano Cook. Pitt's loyal publicist said it was one of the best days of his life. Pitt beat Penn State in football and that night defeated Duquesne in basketball, a 69-67 overtime victory in the finals of the Steel Bowl Tournament at Pitt Field House. Two rivals vanquished in games within hours of each other. Life didn't get much better than that for Beano.

Nov. 26, 1976: Pitt 24, Penn State 7 (Three Rivers Stadium)

Tony Dorsett thought he knew frustration. Actually, he didn't.

Long after Pitt defeated Penn State on the way to its first national championship in 39 years, Dorsett was interviewed for an FSN documentary about the game. He smiled and said, "It took us four years to beat those chumps. We finally got Joe."

Perhaps Dorsett didn't realize it, but that was Pitt's first victory against Penn State since 1965, a stretch that included losses of 65-9 and 55-18. It also was Pitt's first victory against Joe Paterno, who ended up with a 23-7-1 all-time record against Pitt.

Credit Johnny Majors who made two major adjustments after the score was tied, 7-7, at halftime. He switched to an unbalanced line and moved Dorsett, the best tailback in Pitt history, to fullback. Dorsett ran for 173 of his 224 yards and Pitt won easily.

"I don't think Joe Paterno and the defense knew what hit them," Dorsett said.

Author Sam Sciullo wrote in his book, "Tales from the Pitt Panthers," that Majors was so excited that night, he never went to bed.

It was Pitt's second game of 10 all-time at Three Rivers Stadium, with Pitt winning seven of them.

Pitt (12-0) went on to defeat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day, 27-3, to claim the national championship.

Nov. 28, 1980: Pitt 14, Penn State 9 (Beaver Stadium)

It's not often that two Top 5 teams get together so late in the season, but No. 4 Pitt and No. 5 Penn State took 9-1 records into the regular-season finale.

Pitt was dominant throughout most of the season, defeating Temple by 34, Maryland by 29, West Virginia by 28, Tennessee by 24, Syracuse by 37, Army by 38 and South Carolina by 28 in the Gator Bowl. Pitt's only loss was at Florida State, 36-22.

Penn State lost an early game to Nebraska, but recovered with impressive road victories at Texas A&M, Missouri, Maryland and West Virginia.

Pitt secured the victory with two big defensive plays in the fourth quarter.

First, Sal Sunseri's blitz on fourth-and-1 forced Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge to pitch to Curt Warner before he was ready. Warner was dropped for a 3-yard loss.

Later, Carlton Williamson intercepted a Blackledge pass on the Pitt 31 with 46 seconds left.

"He never saw me," Williamson said.

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.