Classroom Classic: Film on 1979 Pitt showdown vs. Penn State

While we await the showdown between Pitt and Penn State on Saturday, it's fun to go back and look at the days of old when both programs were regular contenders on the national scene.

There was some serious smashmouth when the teams met on December 1, 1979.



When the rivals met at the end of the 1979 season, both were nationally ranked. Pitt was No. 11 with a 9-1 record and Penn State was No. 20 at 7-3.

Pitt had freshman Dan Marino take over in 1979, but he was not the elite Marino everyone would come to know quite yet.

His freshman season featured only 10 touchdowns while he threw nine interceptions, forcing Pitt to rely on their ground game.

But that wasn't a problem back in the 1970s when offenses still had fullbacks as feature running options and plenty more formations with more tight ends than receivers.

Each team would feature a future NFL Hall of Fame offensive lineman who would eventually become an assistant coach for the Steelers. Pitt had Russ Grimm starting at center, while Penn State had Mike Munchak starting at right guard.

It would be the big guys up front who determined the game.

Here's an early play in the game that helped Pitt change field position in a game where they would kick five field goals. Grimm faces off against nose tackle, or middle guard as it was called back in 1979, Gregg Jones:



Grimm drives Jones off the ball and clears out room for guard Dan Fidler to trap linebacker Steve Griffiths and open up a huge hole for fullback Randy McMillan to run and gain a first down.

However, Marino would throw an interception to mark the game's first turnover, and Penn State would later put the first score on the board with a long touchdown run. Notice how Penn State was able to crash the left side of their line all the way into Pitt's linebackers and seal off half of the defense for fullback Matt Suhey to score:



You pretty much don't see a fullback running this far down the field, let alone juking out a safety, but Suhey does just that to cornerback Lynn Thomas.

Pitt would answer with a McMillan touchdown and their first field goal of the game, but Penn State's special teams would score on a Curt Warner kick return touchdown.

It wouldn't be until McMillan scored his second touchdown that Pitt would claim control of the game.

McMillan would have great blocking in front of him, including Grimm getting to the second level to block Griffiths just enough for McMillan's momentum to push through to the end zone:



Pitt won the game, 29-14. They added a Fiesta Bowl victory over Arizona to finish the season at 11-1 and a No. 4 ranking.

Pitt's ground game would carry them for another season. They finished 1980 with another 11-1 record that included beating Penn State again before they would blow out eighteenth-ranked South Carolina in the Gator Bowl to end up ranked No. 2.

It wouldn't be until 1981 when Marino would elevate the passing offense to prominence. That's when he threw for 37 touchdowns, more than his first two seasons combined, and led the team to a third straight 11-1 season.

Ironically, it would be Penn State that stopped that perfect season in 1981 and took Pitt out of consideration for the national championship, even though the Panthers finished ranked No. 4 after a convincing victory over second-ranked Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Penn State's eventual ascent began after this 1979 loss as they improved to a 10-2 record in 1980 with a final ranking of No. 6. Their 1981 victory over Pitt vaulted them to third in the AP rankings as they would win the Fiesta Bowl against eighth-ranked USC.