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1989 Holiday Bowl: Penn State comes up with a hero to thwart BYU’s Ty Detmer

In 1989, Penn St. beat BYU 50–39.

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Holiday Bowl Countdown

A game-by-game countdown to the 40th annual San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28, 6 p.m., at SDCCU Stadium.

Game 12: 1989 Holiday Bowl

Penn State 50, BYU 39

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Dec. 29, 1989, San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium

Attendance: 61,113.

Payout per team: $1,109,039.

Head coaches: Joe Paterno, Penn State; LaVell Edwards, BYU.

MVPs: Blair Thomas, RB, Penn State; Ty Detmer, QB, BYU.

Highlights: Who would have thought that a game that featured only first-quarter field goals by each team would end up with the teams combining for 89 points? It’s no wonder media members didn’t choose a defensive player of the game while selecting two on offense. BYU had a 13-12 lead at halftime, then the teams really got going. There were four touchdowns and a field in the third quarter and five TDs in the final period. Penn State was clinging to a 43-39 lead as Detmer guided the Cougars to a potential game-winning touchdown when he had the ball stripped by Penn State’s Gary Brown, who returned it 53 yards for a touchdown with 45 seconds remaining to seal the victory. That came moments after Penn State intercepted a two-point conversion attempt and returned it 102 yards for a score. Detmer’s 576 passing yards (he completed 42-of-59 passes) was an NCAA bowl record. By the way, Brown played a hybrid linebacker/defensive back position for Penn State listed this way in the program: Hero.

Quotable: “It was a nice, quiet, conservative game,” Paterno deadpanned.

Edwards could only shake his head during the postgame press conference, saying: “I’ve long since quit trying to predict how these games are going to turn out. That’s the screwiest game I’ve ever been involved in, and I’ve been in my share of them over the years. I honestly thought we were going to win the game there at the end.”

Notable: A new television deal with ESPN enabled the Holiday Bowl to offer a $1 million payout — nearly five times more than in its inaugural year — to each team for the first time. The game also featured its earliest sellout (October 10) in the game’s history.

PREVIOUS:

1988 Holiday Bowl: Heisman winner Barry Sanders leads Oklahoma State

1987 Holiday Bowl: Iowa returns and edges Wyoming

1986 Holiday Bowl: Aztecs lose a heartbreaker to Hawkeyes

1985 Holiday Bowl: Razorbacks rally, then escape with win over ASU

1984 Holiday Bowl: BYU gives game a national champion by beating Michigan

1983 Holiday Bowl: BYU shows Missouri trick play in last-minute victory

1982 Holiday Bowl: Ohio State beats BYU in a blowout

1981 Holiday Bowl: BYU clings to victory over Washington State

1980 Holiday Bowl: BYU’s epic comeback ends with 46-45 win over SMU

1979 Holiday Bowl: Indiana beats BYU in a nail-biter

1978 Holiday Bowl: Navy beats BYU at inaugural game

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kirk.kenney@sduniontribune.com / on Twitter: @sdutkirKDKenney

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