NEW ORLEANS (September 23, 2022) – Penn State University will hold a special ceremony this Saturday to honor the 1982 Nittany Lion football team which captured the national championship with a thrilling 27-23 victory over No. 1 Georgia in the 1983 Sugar Bowl.
 
The team will be recognized on the field in Beaver Stadium at halftime of Penn State's non-conference game against Central Michigan which is scheduled for an 11 a.m. Central kickoff on the Big Ten Network.
 
The 1983 Sugar Bowl between the No. 2 Nittany Lions and the top-ranked Bulldogs was a showdown for the nation's top spot and it lived up to its billing. In the end, Penn State outlasted Georgia, 27-23, before a then-Superdome record crowd of 78,124.
 
Full History Story – 1983 Sugar Bowl
 
The critical play of the game is recognized as one of the greatest plays in Sugar Bowl history.
 
In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Penn State held a 20-17 edge. After a first down at the Bulldog 47, and Georgia in two-deep coverage and playing the run, Lion quarterback Todd Blackledge called "six-43," a routine play-action fake while four receivers streak downfield.  Flanker Greg Garrity flew past freshman cornerback Tony Flack and made a diving, skidding catch in the end zone.
 
"Going into that play, we ran the ball six consecutive times," Blackledge told the Centre Daily Times in 2017. "That play was a play-action pass out of the I-formation on a run down situation. They had to respect the run. Gregg was a sneaky fast guy. He was super quick, but he was faster than people gave him credit for. He was guarded by a freshman cornerback. They had a veteran safety in Terry Hoage, but the play-fake and the fact that we had success running it, he respected the play fake, wasn't able to help over the top, and Gregg ran right by the freshman. I just cut it loose. I thought at first maybe I threw it too far."
 
"It seemed like it took forever to get there," Garrity remembered. "But the only thing going through my head is just, 'Catch it.' Don't worry about anything but catching it. Don't drop it. Worst-case scenario, we have it down inside the 5 and we'll probably score after that. Just catch the ball."
 
"Gregg ran under it, extended and made a great catch in the end zone," Blackledge continued. "He's a sure-handed guy, and I knew that was the play we needed."



Blackledge was selected as the game's "Most Outstanding" player, while star running back Curt Warner was sensational with 18 carries for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
 
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 100 Hall of Fame players, 51 Hall of Fame coaches and 20 Heisman Trophy winners in its 88-year history. The 89th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will feature top teams from the SEC and the Big 12, is scheduled to be played on December 31, 2022. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.2 billion into the local economy in the last decade.