Bulldogs-Nittany Lions played for 1982 national title

The second-ever football meeting between Georgia and Penn State in Saturday afternoon's TaxSlayer Bowl will be nothing like the first.

At the end of the 1982 regular season, Vince Dooley's Bulldogs were 11-0, ranked No. 1 in the country and seeking their second national championship in three years behind powerful junior tailback Herschel Walker, who had just won the Heisman Trophy. They were pitted against Joe Paterno's No. 2 Nittany Lions, who were 10-1 but had the more balanced attack with quarterback Todd Blackledge and tailback Curt Warner.

"I have a lot of great memories from that game," Blackledge, now an ESPN analyst, said on a recent conference call. "It just kind of gets rekindled every time I do a Georgia game. I have great respect for Georgia and that program and the team that we played in that Sugar Bowl. They were undefeated and ranked No. 1, and the way the season had played out, we ended up No. 2, so it was that kind of a championship matchup."

Blackledge completed 13 of 23 passes for 228 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown to Gregg Garrity early in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference in Penn State's 27-23 triumph. Garrity's catch gave the Nittany Lions a 27-17 lead, and after Georgia trimmed it to 27-23 with 3:54 remaining on a 9-yard pass from John Lastinger to tight end Clarence Kay, Penn State was able to get two first downs to run out the clock.

Warner had 18 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns, topping the 28 carries for 103 yards and one score compiled by Walker.

"It's gut-wrenching to think about it, because we did have a chance to win another national championship," Dooley said. "We were undefeated, and Penn State had lost to Alabama early in the year. Sometimes a loss earlier in the year might end up making you a better football team, and in that respect I think that was the case with Penn State.

"They got off to a big start and jumped on us early, but we fought back as the championship-type team we were."

Georgia began the 1982 season ranked No. 7 and opened with a 13-7 win over No. 11 Clemson, which was a pairing of the 1980 (Bulldogs) and 1981 (Tigers) national champs. The Bulldogs did not face another ranked team until the Sugar Bowl, though they did top an Auburn team that wound up No. 14.

Penn State started that season at No. 8 and jumped to No. 3 with a 27-24 win over No. 2 Nebraska in late September. A 42-21 loss at No. 4 Alabama two weeks later sent the Nittany Lions back to No. 8, but they closed their regular season with a 24-14 win at No. 13 Notre Dame and a 19-10 win over No. 5 Pittsburgh.

Though a national championship was lost that evening in New Orleans, Dooley does not consider that the worst setback of his career.

"When you start mentioning losses, they all hurt," Dooley said. "We lost the Sugar Bowl the year before to Pittsburgh on a fourth-down throw by Dan Marino. We had them beat, but Marino threw a perfect strike to the tight end's chest.

"I can think of a lot of losses that were disappointing, and I've said many times since that night that if I had to lose, I'm happy that it was to Joe Paterno."

Penn State's win clinched the first national title for the Nittany Lions. They would add a second in 1986 with a memorable upset of Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

"I guess my most lasting memory is Gregg Garrity's diving catch in the end zone in the fourth quarter," Blackledge said. "We were ahead the whole game, but that touchdown kind of extended the lead at a critical time, and that's the play that stands out to me more than anything.

"The name of the play was 643, which was a play-action pass. We had run seven consecutive plays before that, and he ran by their cornerback, a freshman named Tony Flack, and then just made a great catch down in the end zone."

Odds and ends

The Bulldogs held their second of four practices Tuesday at the University of North Florida, working out for two hours in full pads. Senior receiver Kenneth Towns, who had three catches this season for 29 yards, will miss Saturday's game after breaking a bone in his right foot.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.