Looking Back on Penn State vs. Notre Dame’s Storied Rivalry Before Orange Bowl Kicks Off
It is show time as the rivalry between Penn State Football and Notre Dame resumes Thursday night in South Florida, The Irish lead the all-time series with a 9-5-1 record and despite being ranked one spot behind the Nittany Lions in the AP rankings, Notre Dame is a 1.5 favorite over PSU in the 12-team College Football Playoff’s first-ever national semi-final game.
It’s been a while since these two storied programs have squared off but once upon a time, these two juggernaut football programs had their share of epic battles, often carrying national championship implications.
Well, you won’t find a game with more title ramifications than the upcoming showdown Thursday night with the winner advancing to play for a national championship.
Here are my top 5 moments in the Penn State vs. Notre Dame rivalry that started back on November 13, 1913 in State College when a star receiver named Knute Rockne was rockin’ it for the Irish on his way to legendary status in the annals of college football lore.
Penn State Football vs. Notre Dame Top-5 Moments in Rivalry’s History
No. 5 – 2006: Notre Dame 41, Penn State 17
This matchup marked the first meeting between Penn State and Notre Dame in 14 years. Both teams entered the game with high expectations, but Notre Dame dominated in front of a packed home crowd. behind an efficient offense led by quarterback Brady Quinn as they built a 20-0 halftime lead. Several Penn State turnovers led to big plays by the Irish that included a third-quarter touchdown pass from Quinn to wide receiver Jeff Samardzija, who went on to have a nice career as a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.
No. 4 – 1987: Penn State 21, Notre Dame 20
This may have been the coldest game ever at Beaver Stadium with 30-mile-an-hour winds, snow flurries, and a wind chill factor of – 20 degrees, numbing the 84,00 shivering fans in attendance that day.
Led by quarterback Tony Rice, Notre Dame was on the come that year, just a year away from winning their last national championship.
Rice started to find his rythm in the second half and down 21-14, he led Notre Dame to a touchdown drive with 30 seconds remaining to cut the Penn State lead to just one, but instead of opting to tie the game with an extra point,, Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz decided to go for two and the win but Rice was tackled short of the goal line by linebacker Pete Curkendall to secure the victory for the reigning national champions.
“It was a moment that will always be frozen in the history of Penn State football,” Penn State head coach Joe Paterno said after the game.
No. 3 – 2007: Penn State 31, Notre Dame 10
The rematch of the 2006 loss to the Irish, Penn State responded in kind in 2007 with the inaugural “White-Out” game in Happy Valley.
The game was a complete reversal of fortune from the previous year as Penn State dominated the Irish in front of a raucous Beacer Stadium crowd. The Nittany Lions overwhelmed a struggling Notre Dame team that was in rebuilding mode under the guise of second-year head coach Charlie Weiss.
Led by linebacker Dan Connor, Penn State’s defense held Notre Dame’s offense to just 144 second half yards that included multiple takeaways. Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli led the Lions with 202 passing yards and tossed a couple of TDs leading Penn State to the blowout victory.
No. 2 – 1982: Penn State 24, NotreDame 21
This was the first time these two teams had met since 1928 and had direct title implications as the three-point win for Penn State in South Bend was a key victory on the road to the program’s first national championship.
Led by quarterback Todd Blackledge, the Nittany Lions’ offense started to find their rhythm in the second half. Blackledge threw for over 200 yards and two touchdowns and running back Curt Warner finished the game with 120 rushing yards and a touchdown to lead a very sound and balanced Penn State offense.
The Lions were holding onto a 21-14 lead late in the fourth quarter but the Irish responded with a touchdown to tie the game at 21-21 in the final minute. But Notre Dame left just enough time left for Blackledge to engineer a late drive that ended with a game-winning field goal by Brian Franco to give Penn State the clutch victory.
It was a huge win for Penn State, as they went on to win the national championship later that season by defeating Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
2025: The Orange Bowl Penn State vs. Notre Dame
To. Be. Determined.
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It was at PRISM where Staszak produced live games and began his career as an on-air reporter.
After a couple of brief stints with CBS-3, WB-17 and WGAL-8 in Lancaster, PA, Staszak began a 12 year stretch at FOX 29 where he became the lead sportscaster in 2007. It was there that Staszak found himself in the middle of Philadelphia Phillies World Series Championship coverage that earned him an Emmy nomination for best sports reporter in 2008.It was one of five Emmy nominations that Staszak earned over the course of his career.
All told Staszak covered three World Series, two Stanley Cup Finals, an NBA Finals and one Super Bowl during his television run.
Staszak left the TV business for 97.5 The Fanatic in 2013, where he enjoyed eight years bloviating his beliefs on how a professional football team should be run.In 2018 when he fortunate enough to be the first sports talk host in the city, along with cohort Zach Gelb, to provide post-game coverage of the first Super Bowl Championship for the city’s beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
Staszak was also a writer for 97.5 The Fanatic along with 4 Philly Sports and now covers Penn State athletics for NittanyCentral.com.
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