Who were the three best opponents Penn State football faced at Beaver Stadium?

[john4psu]

As Henry David Thoreau said, "Simplify, simplify, simplify," so I will as well, posing this distinct question apart from two others.

Since it's possible, if not likely that many of you will select the same answer, let's make it a little more involved. Who were the three best opponents Penn State football faced at Beaver Stadium?

Some food for thought or others you may think of:

Syracuse '59*
Pitt '80
Nebraska '82
Notre Dame '89
Miami '92
Michigan '97*
Miami '01*
Ohio State '05
Alabama '11*
Ohio State '12
Ohio State '14*
"Ohio State '18

* - national champion

 

[paulrandythomas]

Any one of the 85 Pitt national championship teams.

Seriously, UM 97, Miami 01, and Bama at some point at least one year.

 

[NittanyIllinois]

2001 Miami. One of the greatest of all time. That team would flatten ‘97 Michigan.

Arguably the best team PSU ever played......anywhere.

 

[MacNit07]

As Henry David Thoreau said, "Simplify, simplify, simplify," so I will as well, posing this distinct question apart from two others.

Since it's possible, if not likely that many of you will select the same answer, let's make it a little more involved. Who were the three best opponents Penn State football faced at Beaver Stadium?

Some food for thought or others you may think of:

Syracuse '59*
Pitt '80
Nebraska '82
Notre Dame '89
Miami '92
Michigan '97*
Miami '01*
Ohio State '05
Alabama '11*
Ohio State '12
Ohio State '14*
"Ohio State '18

* - national champion

‘14 should have an asterisk - we won that game and the Big10 stole it from us!

 

[Frabjous]

The Texas A&M team in the late ‘70s that came in and made Penn State look slower than molasses in January.

 

[kijanacat]

1967 NC State. Undefeated and ranked No. 3 at the time. We defeated them at the Beav with a goal line stand late in the game. Great game. Mike Reid did not play in this one as he was out for the year due to an injury he sustained wrestling Granville Liggins (IIRC).

 

[CF LION]

Arizona ‘99

 

[NittanyIllinois]

Arizona ‘99

Gotta give that team a lot of credit. They hung with us for about the first 60 seconds before Chafie Fields busted them up.

Ortege Jenkins, Trung Canidate, etc. Man, they were definitely worth the hype.

 

[McCloudersportLion]

2001 Miami and 2011 Bama two games I was at would have to be in there.

I'd give 59 Cuse the nod cause looking at their schedule PSU seems to be the only team that gave them a game and they had Heisman winner Ernie Davis.

 

[IANit]

2001 Miami. One of the greatest of all time. That team would flatten ‘97 Michigan.

Arguably the best team PSU ever played......anywhere.

I don't know. Maybe we were just bad, maybe they just had their game of the season, but '97 Michigan is probably the worst loss I've experienced as a fan from a sense of we're a talented team and we just couldn't do anything. I'm not a UM fan, but I am still impressed with that team and think they don't get their due thanks to Scott Frost's BS plea to voters. We were unbeaten and #1 and they absolutely flattened us. We didn't get a first down until the end of the first quarter and when we did it was at the cost of a career ending injury (actually on their side too). They were not giving an inch. Maybe they weren't as talented as 2001 Miami overall, but on that day they were a juggernaut. I don't want to be on the other side of that ever again.

 

[john4psu]

‘14 should have an asterisk - we won that game and the Big10 stole it from us!

Don't even get me started on this!

https://www.sbnation.com/2014/10/25/7071291/ohio-state-interception-gif-penn-state

 

[NittanyIllinois]

I don't know. Maybe we were just bad, maybe they just had their game of the season, but '97 Michigan is probably the worst loss I've experienced as a fan from a sense of we're a talented team and we just couldn't do anything. I'm not a UM fan, but I am still impressed with that team and think they don't get their due thanks to Scott Frost's BS plea to voters. We were unbeaten and #1 and they absolutely flattened us. We didn't get a first down until the end of the first quarter and when we did it was at the cost of a career ending injury (actually on their side too). They were not giving an inch. Maybe they weren't as talented as 2001 Miami overall, but on that day they were a juggernaut. I don't want to be on the other side of that ever again.

It's a fair point of view.

But in my view, our '97 team was most certainly overrated even going into that game.

Our three game stretch before the Michigan beatdown: 4 point win over a good Ohio State team, 1 point win over a 3-9 Minnesota team, and a 3 point win over a 5-7 Northwestern team. We were torching people early, and then that three-game stretch revealed some serious flaws. Michigan exploited all of them.

That Michigan team had a fantastic defense. But a fairly pedestrian offense. They scored 30+ in 3 of their 12 games. Never more than 38 points.

By contrast, that Miami team had it all. NFL stars all over the field. Their backfield alone was disgusting -- Portis, Gore, McGahee, and Davenport.

You're right that the '97 Michigan loss was about as crushing as any loss I can remember. But 7-0 created a sense of self-delusion that we were indeed a title contender when it was clear to those who looked closely that we weren't.

 

[Nitwit]

1967 NC State. Undefeated and ranked No. 3 at the time. We defeated them at the Beav with a goal line stand late in the game. Great game. Mike Reid did not play in this one as he was out for the year due to an injury he sustained wrestling Granville Liggins (IIRC).

I’ve often wondered when I die if I could have my ashes scattered where Dennis Onkotz made that tackle in that goal line stand. For me, it imptomized Penn State football.

 

[michnittlion]

In the Big Ten (1993-2020) era, I'd rank them this way:

(1) Miami 2001
(2) Ohio State 1995
(3) Michigan 1997

That 1995 Ohio State team --- they were LOADED. They also finished 11-2, Good God was John Cooper a terrible coach. No excuse for them to have lost to non-extraordinary Michigan and Tennessee teams in 1995, but they did.

 

[NittanyIllinois]

In the Big Ten (1993-2020) era, I'd rank them this way:

(1) Miami 2001
(2) Ohio State 1995
(3) Michigan 1997

That 1995 Ohio State team --- they were LOADED. They also finished 11-2, Good God was John Cooper a terrible coach. No excuse for them to have lost to non-extraordinary Michigan and Tennessee teams in 1995, but they did.

Was that the game in which Tim Biakabatuka ran for like 300+ yards and shat all over their national title dreams?

Not that it would matter given what a juggernaut Nebraska was.

But yes......Hoying at QB with George at RB, Terry Glenn and David Boston at WR, and Ricky Dudley at TE with that mammoth OL.

 

[psuro]

Toledo.

 

[michnittlion]

Was that the game in which Tim Biakabatuka ran for like 300+ yards and shat all over their national title dreams?

Not that it would matter given what a juggernaut Nebraska was.

But yes......Hoying at QB with George at RB, Terry Glenn and David Boston at WR, and Ricky Dudley at TE with that mammoth OL.

Yep, that was the game. 1995.

For as many yards as Biakabatuka got, Ohio State still had plenty of chances on offense. They settled for a bunch of field goals and Hoying threw a couple key picks.

Terry Glenn mouthed off before the Michigan game, and then didn't come through, he only had a handful of catches, none impactful. David Boston witnessed that, and then he mouthed off too 2 years later! Same result.

Yeesh ... those Buckeye teams of the late 1990s. Mucho talent, no discipline.

 

[NittanyIllinois]

Yep, that was the game. 1995.

For as many yards as Biakabatuka got, Ohio State still had plenty of chances on offense. They settled for a bunch of field goals and Hoying threw a couple key picks.

Terry Glenn mouthed off before the Michigan game, and then didn't come through, he only had a handful of catches, none impactful. David Boston witnessed that, and then he mouthed off too 2 years later! Same result.

Yeesh ... those Buckeye teams of the late 1990s. Mucho talent, no discipline.

The '98 team was their best, IMO. Just dominant all year long until Saban shocked the world by beating them in Columbus. It was the only game they played all year in which they didn't win by 10+.

'96 was good, too. Beat mighty Pitt 72-0, I believe. But again shit the bed against Michigan when it mattered.

 

[michnittlion]

The '98 team was their best, IMO. Just dominant all year long until Saban shocked the world by beating them in Columbus. It was the only game they played all year in which they didn't win by 10+.

'96 was good, too. Beat mighty Pitt 72-0, I believe. But again shit the bed against Michigan when it mattered.

Yep, 1998 was the best of them all. We think our 1999 Minnesota loss was inexplicable? That 1998 MSU game was 1000x times more inexplicable.

The best part of the 1996 Pitt game was when OSU returned a punt for a touchdown ............. despite having only 8 men on the field.

 

[Relayer]

Ohio State 2020.....oh wait.....nevermind

 

[bytir]

The Texas A&M team in the late ‘70s that came in and made Penn State look slower than molasses in January.

Sat in the old bleachers in the end zone - never saw a player run a sweep and get around the end to the outside so fast before witnessing Curtis Dickey that day!

 

[Waste Management Consultant]

2001 Miami. One of the greatest of all time. That team would flatten ‘97 Michigan.

Arguably the best team PSU ever played......anywhere.

That ‘01 Miami game sticks into my head as Freshman Zack Mills gets thrown into the fire after Matt Seneca was rag dolled by the Miami Defense.
I remember the TV screen close up and Mills having this “oh shit” look on his face. I
Always rooted for Zack, having coached against his high school teams.

 

[razpsu]

1982 Nebraska of course

 

[step.eng69]

Nebraska
Alabama
University of Cincinnati

 

[KCLion]

Sat in the old bleachers in the end zone - never saw a player run a sweep and get around the end to the outside so fast before witnessing Curtis Dickey that day!

Completely untouched by a defender.

 

[fastlax16]

‘14 should have an asterisk - we won that game and the Big10 stole it from us!

my first thoughts

 

[doofis]

I was at the 1980 Miami game at home (LB Jim Kelly's debut) and at the 1981 Miami game at the Orange Bowl. Latter was a signature win in the start of Miami's dynasty.

 

[Bob_Anderson]

As Henry David Thoreau said, "Simplify, simplify, simplify," so I will as well, posing this distinct question apart from two others.

Since it's possible, if not likely that many of you will select the same answer, let's make it a little more involved. Who were the three best opponents Penn State football faced at Beaver Stadium?

Some food for thought or others you may think of:

Syracuse '59*
Pitt '80
Nebraska '82
Notre Dame '89
Miami '92
Michigan '97*
Miami '01*
Ohio State '05
Alabama '11*
Ohio State '12
Ohio State '14*
"Ohio State '18

* - national champion

this list begins and ends with the 2001 Miami Hurricanes

 

[WestSideLion]

Was that the game in which Tim Biakabatuka ran for like 300+ yards and shat all over their national title dreams?

Not that it would matter given what a juggernaut Nebraska was.

But yes......Hoying at QB with George at RB, Terry Glenn and David Boston at WR, and Ricky Dudley at TE with that mammoth OL.

And Orlando Pace was probably the best player on that field for both teams even with all those NFL first rounders and even a Hall if Famer or two.

 

[MacNit07]

Don't even get me started on this!

https://www.sbnation.com/2014/10/25/7071291/ohio-state-interception-gif-penn-state

Thanks. The evidence can not get any clearer than that.

 

[IANit]

It's a fair point of view.

But in my view, our '97 team was most certainly overrated even going into that game.

Our three game stretch before the Michigan beatdown: 4 point win over a good Ohio State team, 1 point win over a 3-9 Minnesota team, and a 3 point win over a 5-7 Northwestern team. We were torching people early, and then that three-game stretch revealed some serious flaws. Michigan exploited all of them.

That Michigan team had a fantastic defense. But a fairly pedestrian offense. They scored 30+ in 3 of their 12 games. Never more than 38 points.

By contrast, that Miami team had it all. NFL stars all over the field. Their backfield alone was disgusting -- Portis, Gore, McGahee, and Davenport.

You're right that the '97 Michigan loss was about as crushing as any loss I can remember. But 7-0 created a sense of self-delusion that we were indeed a title contender when it was clear to those who looked closely that we weren't.

Good point. We no doubt were a little overrated. We lost by 35 at MSU a few weeks later on the road. But usually a top 20-type Penn State team will put up a good fight for a while at home against a team like that. We were never in that game. I was looking at that 2001 Miami roster - what an embarrassment of riches on both sides of the ball. Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Jonathan Vilma and Vince Wilfork were some of the highlights on defense.

 

[IANit]

I was at the 1980 Miami game at home (LB Jim Kelly's debut) and at the 1981 Miami game at the Orange Bowl. Latter was a signature win in the start of Miami's dynasty.

The first one was actually 1979 (my first PSU game).

 

[Erial_Lion]

I'd probably put 97 Michigan and 2011 Alabama 2nd and 3rd, but there are a bunch that are close for me. However, that 2001 Miami team is far and away the best collection of talent that I ever saw.

They had 5 guys carry the ball that night...Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, Frank Gore, Najeh Davenport, and Jarrett Payton. Jeremy Shockey and Andre Johnson. A young Kellen Winslow. The #7 pick in the next year's draft in Bryant McKinnie. Two other OL's that were drafted in Bible and Gonzalez.

Their D was just as loaded...10 of the 11 starters on D got drafted. That starting secondary was insane with Buchanon, Rumph, Reed, and James Lewis, with guys like Sean Taylor and Antrelle Rolle providing depth.

 

[gr82baspartan]

Yep, 1998 was the best of them all. We think our 1999 Minnesota loss was inexplicable? That 1998 MSU game was 1000x times more inexplicable.

The best part of the 1996 Pitt game was when OSU returned a punt for a touchdown ............. despite having only 8 men on the field.

A great 25 point underdog upset by my Spartans.

And historically speaking always enjoy wearing an Appy State (40 point dog) t-shirt when flying via Detroit Metro Airport on my way to E L.

Greatest upset in college football, 2007, in AA, per SI over the Wolverines.

,,,,cheers

 

[Kiber]

Any one of the 85 Pitt national championship teams.

Seriously, UM 97, Miami 01, and Bama at some point at least one year.

Beat me to it. I was going to say Miami 2001. That team was ridiculous. Go back and look at that roster and count how many NFL players, how many 1st roudn picks, how many Pro Bowlers, how many future HOF'ers....

I remember half-time of that game was like 31-0 Miami. Me and my buddies left at half-time and our thinking was "we suck". A few years later when I started realizing the talent on that Miami team, I realized that it was not so much that "we sucked", but they were that good.

 

[JWB389]

Gotta give that team a lot of credit. They hung with us for about the first 60 seconds before Chafie Fields busted them up.

Ortege Jenkins, Trung Canidate, etc. Man, they were definitely worth the hype.

That was arguably the best summer/pre-season in board history.

 

[PSU73]

Arizona ‘99

Gotta give that team a lot of credit. They hung with us for about the first 60 seconds before Chafie Fields busted them up.

Ortege Jenkins, Trung Canidate, etc. Man, they were definitely worth the hype.

That was the most fun I ever had at a game.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

Kentucky 1977.....probably the best team in their school history.

 

[harbest]

Miami 2001 was a pro team already just waiting to finish school and be drafted. I was at that game and as is my custom, I keep the programs. When I look back at the talent on that team, it's mind blowing. That team would have given the Raven's a better game than the Giants did in the Super Bowl that year. The other two teams close behind was the 1997 Michigan team and the 2011 Alabama team. I think Miami 01 would have thrashed Michigan 97 but Miami 01 and Alabama 11 would have been the best game. Bama in a squeaker.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

Miami 2001 was a pro team already just waiting to finish school and be drafted. I was at that game and as is my custom, I keep the programs. When I look back at the talent on that team, it's mind blowing. That team would have given the Raven's a better game than the Giants did in the Super Bowl that year. The other two teams close behind was the 1997 Michigan team and the 2011 Alabama team. I think Miami 01 would have thrashed Michigan 97 but Miami 01 and Alabama 11 would have been the best game. Bama in a squeaker.

Miami 01 & ’Bama 11 would have been a great game.....especially if played the first week of January in a Beaver Stadium white-out!