What if?
What if something else had happened?
1987 Fiesta Bowl vs. #1 Miami—What if an earlier interception erased Pete Giftopoulos from the record books? And, more critically, would PSU still have won?
Friday, Jan. 2, 1987 at the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, it’s #2 Penn State vs. #1 Miami for the National Championship… Over 73 thousand have packed the stadium with a record 70 million more watching on NBC… What if Junior Linebacker Trey Bauer becomes the hero with the interception instead of fellow linebacker, and eventual man of the hour, Pete Giftopoulos? Could Penn State have clung to its 14-10 lead or, possibly, added to it and put the game out of reach…
We pick up the action in the 4th quarter, the Nittany Lions are leading by 4 with just around 3 minutes to play… Miami QB Vinny Testaverde has scrambled under pressure on first down out near his 27-yard line for about a 4-yard gain… Despite 119 yards rushing from Alonzo Highsmith, the Canes have decided to live or die by the pass… This has been their bread and butter all season… Highsmith will not carry the ball again in this game… And Vinny’s scramble would be the last run of any kind by the Hurricanes…
On 2nd down and 6, Vinny has two wide receivers set out to his left, and Brett Perriman out on the right… Vinny drops and immediately looks for Perriman… Once again Vinny fails to see PSU’s linebackers dropping back into pass coverage underneath (the story of this entire game)… He’s already thrown 4 INTs tonight, and he will throw a 5th, but is it here? The pass hits a diving Trey Bauer right in the hands as Perriman lunges in between Bauer and Duffy Cobbs who’s behind Perriman… The ball had no chance of reaching the Miami receiver and Bauer can’t pull it in… But…
If Trey makes that INT, it’s PSU ball at the Miami 42 with about 2 and a half minutes to go, and Miami is still holding 2 of its timeouts… The question is, can Penn State QB John Shaffer keep the offense on the field long enough to kill the clock on a night on which they’ve managed only one sustained drive… Can the Lions find the endzone one more time? Or can Shaffer and company gain enough yardage (at least inside the 35) to give kicker Massimo Manca a legit shot at a field goal to extend the lead to 7 before handing it back over to the defense to stop the Canes (Manca’s career best was from 53 yards)… Would there be enough time for Miami to drive and score the TD and a 2-point conversion for the win (overtime was still a decade away)… Would we still have the last second Gifto game-saving interception anyway… We will never know…
In reality, the PSU defense bends but does not break… Vinny will use receivers Michael Irvin, Brian Blades and Brett Perriman to pass his way to the PSU 6-yard line where a Tim Johnson sack, an incomplete pass, and the legendary, dramatic, iconic 5th INT of the night by Pete Giftopoulos with 11 seconds left on the clock, will crown the Nittany Lions as National Champs for the second time in 5 seasons under Joe Paterno…
