Statement Games—

“Statement Games” are games where a team “Lays down the Law” on another team… It could be a surprise, a once-and-done moment, or the beginning of a new trend… In the Penn State-Pitt series that ran for 100 games over the years from 1893 to 2019, there were a number of times where the law was laid down, but none of those results were more damaging than what happened to Pittsburgh at the end of the 1981 regular season… It can be argued that this game triggered the unraveling of the Panthers program to the degree that it has not been a serious national contender in the decades since…

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

November 28, 1981, Penn State is at Pitt Stadium for a showdown with their arch-rivals, the #1 Pitt Panthers and one of the Heisman-favorites in Quarterback Dan Marino… This was Marino’s third of four career games against the Nittany Lions and it would be the only one played in Pittsburgh, Marino’s hometown… Pitt was undefeated (10-0) and ranked number 1 with a date in the Sugar Bowl against SEC co-champ Georgia where the Panthers looked to lock-up their second national title in five years…. It was supposed to be Dan Marino’s moment in front of the home folks… Instead, it was the worst moment of his career, and it may have also played a role in the loss of Pitt head coach Jackie Sherrill to Texas A&M in January 1983…

Penn State came into the game ranked #11 with an 8-2 record (losses to Miami & Alabama)… The Lions themselves had been ranked #1 for two weeks after opening 5-0, but the 17-14 loss to the Hurricanes in less-than-ideal weather at Miami had taken some of the edge off State’s powerful offense… And, they were just coming off a narrow 3-point home win over unranked Notre Dame seven days earlier… State had also dropped the last two meetings with Pitt, both at Beaver Stadium…

It all started so very well for Marino…. A national TV audience on ABC watches as two first quarter TD passes to Dwight Collins (28 and 9 yards) put Pitt on top 14-0…. Then, in the second quarter, driving for a third score, Marino goes for Collins again, but is picked-off in the back of the endzone by a diving Cornerback Roger Jackson… It’s an often-overlooked interception… Without question, it’s one of the great game-changers in PSU history… Nobody realized it, but in that moment, the Dan Marino show was over… The Penn State defense had shifted gears…

Penn state drives 80 yards twice…. TD runs by Fullback Mike Meade and Quarterback Todd Blackledge tied the game at halftime, 14-14… In the third period, Blackledge, whom we would later learn was playing on a sprained ankle, hits Kenny Jackson twice for 6… That first TD catch was classic, quintessential Kenny… Blackledge hits Jackson along the left sideline for what appears to be a nice gain… Kenny gives the impression that he’s heading out of bounds at the 11-yard line as Pitt All-American safety Tom Flynn arrives on the scene… Suddenly, Jackson pirouettes, stays inbounds, and cuts on a sharp angle to the endzone… Flynn and a second Pitt defender had slowed-up and are left flat-footed… Just like that, it’s a 42-yard touchdown and the Lions now lead, 21-14… Penn State would never surrender that lead, as a 45-yard TD pass from Todd to Kenny extended their edge to 28-14… In the fourth, offensive lineman Sean Farrell recovers a Curt Warner fumble in the endzone for another score and a 41-14 Penn State lead… And the most-stunning upset of the year was assured…

The Nittany Lions, however, were not completely finished, and they would cap the most memorable victory ever over Pitt in equally unforgettable fashion… Down 27 points, Marino is still trying to get back to the endzone for the first time since early in the game…. His last gasp pass finds Safety Mark Robinson as he steps in front of a Pitt receiver at the 9-yard line… Robinson told the media later that he read Dan’s the eyes the whole way… Robinson immediately charges up-field, breaking a tackle, and bolting for midfield… Somewhere around the 35-yard line, or so, another tackle attempt rips off Mark’s left shoe… Not a problem… Robinson was off to the endzone on a 91-yard dash… the last 65-yards shoeless…. Penn State comes from behind with 48 unanswered points to shock the #1 Pitt Panthers, 48-14… PSU would finish the season 10-2 and, for the first time, ranked #1 in the Dunkel Power Index Rating system (an NCAA-recognized national ranking)…

A memorable photo of the Robinson return clearly shows Marino trying to get out of the way of the Panthers who were pursuing Robinson to the endzone—Marino makes no effort to stop him... It was the end of a game which saw Marino picked off four times (twice by Robinson)… In all, there were 7 Pitt turnovers including a lost fumble by Marino… It would be Dan’s only loss of the season, but it probably cost him his best chance to win the national title and his best shot at the Heisman…. This game began to set the stage for Penn State’s run to the 1982 national championship… It also may have set the stage for the 1986 national championship… This was, in part, the defensive scheme that would befuddle Vinny Testaverde of Miami on a January night in the Arizona desert…

For Other Statement & Message Game Stories—CLICK HERE

1986 at Alabama—The Tide gets rolled in Tuscaloosa

1987 Fiesta Bowl vs. Miami—The game that changed the future

1911 at UPenn—Our first true upset victory

1975 at Pitt—Not here, not now