Message Games—

“Message Games” are not statement games, per se, but a friendly reminder to the other team (typically a rival) that Penn State is still a real problem for you…. “Penn State still lives rent-free in your head”… Arguably, the 1915 game at the University of Pennsylvania (at that time, one of the dominant forces in college football) was the first of this type of victory for Penn State… The 13-3 Penn State victory was the first win of the post-Bill Hollenback era over UPenn, and until that moment, most UPenn folks did not believe that State could beat them without a UPenn grad like Hollenback at the helm… This was an important win for State head coach Dick Harlow and for Penn State moving forward…

1975 at Pitt—Not here, not now

If there was a game in the Joe Paterno-era that fits this mold, 1975 vs. Pittsburgh at Three Rivers Stadium is it… Junior running back Tony Dorsett had yet to lead the Pitt Panthers past the Nittany Lions, but he was expected to lay down the lumber on the Lions after doing-in Notre Dame with a 303-yard effort against the Irish the week before… But, Pitt was still a year away from Heisman Trophies and National Championships and this game turned into a nightmarish 7-6 Pitt loss in a titanic defensive struggle reminding Pitt that they were still not the boss…

ABC carried the game live in the 4pm timeslot and viewers watched both teams struggle to get any offense going… Pitt put up the first points on a second quarter touchdown, but State’s Tom Odell blocked Carson Long’s extra point attempt freezing the Panthers lead at 6-0… They would not score again… Long, a straight-ahead-style placekicker, had a day of extreme highs and lows… He never recovered from the blocked PAT (he had made his previous 60 in a row)… Long missed 3 field goals in the final 10 and a half minutes from 51 yards, 23 yards, and from 45 yards with 3 seconds left… All were wide of the uprights…. Ironically, Long had just become a father that day—his wife gave birth to a daughter before the game, and that might have proved to be a distraction for him…

PSU couldn’t muster any serious offense until the 4th quarter when Freshman quarterback Chuck Fusina endeared himself forever to the Penn State faithful by coming off the bench to lead a 69-yard scoring drive that was capped by a Steve Geise TD run and a Chris Bahr extra point for the 7-6 lead… (Fusina, no doubt, also added fuel to a blossoming quarterback controversy with then-starter John Andress that would not be fully settled until October of 1976)… Pitt fans who were there likely had nightmarish recall of the missed FGs, and for years could probably still see Penn State 5th year senior DB Mike Johnson pull down Gordon Jones late in the fourth quarter after Jones made the catch of a pass from Matt Cavanaugh, denying Pitt the TD, and extending the PSU win streak over Pitt to 10 straight….  

For Other Message & Statement Game Stories—CLICK HERE

2013 at Wisconsin—2012 was not a fluke

2023 vs. Iowa—The Whiteout Shutout

1995 at Iowa—Hawkeyes on the menu

1915 at UPenn—We still have your number

1981 at Pitt—The game that shoved Pitt off the national stage

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