Fiesta Bowl
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Game History
Back to Game List11TH ANNUAL FIESTA BOWL
Jan. 1, 1982 |
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There were two battles taking place on the wet, soggy Sun Devil Stadium field in the 11th Annual Fiesta Bowl.
One was the battle between Penn State and USC, and the other was the dazzling competition between Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Allen and the always-dangerous Curt Warner.
In the first Fiesta Bowl to be played on New Year’s Day, Penn State outplayed USC to record a 26-10 victory, and Warner outdistanced Allen to earn his second consecutive offensive player of the game honors.
Allen entered the game as college football’s top player, but it was Warner who left with the hardware.
For the second straight Fiesta Bowl, Warner scored the first time he touched the ball, this time on a 17-yard scamper, and wound up with 145 yards on 26 carries and a pair of touchdowns.
Allen, meanwhile, was held to 85 yards on 30 carries and coughed up the football on two separate occasions. He was never able to get on track against the tenacious Nittany Lion defense.
After falling behind 7-0, Chip Banks got the Trojans on the board by taking a Todd Blackledge interception 20 yards for a touchdown.
Penn State then scored 17 unanswered points on two touchdowns and a field goal. One score came on a 52-yard bomb from Blackledge to Gregg Garrity in the second quarter.
USC added a field goal, but both teams went scoreless in the fourth quarter and the Nittany Lions held on for the victory.
PSU concluded its season with a No. 3 national ranking, while improving its Fiesta Bowl mark to 3-0.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Penn State | 7 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 26 |
| USC | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
HOW THEY SCORED
| PSU | USC | |
| 7 | 0 | Curt Warner 17 yard run (Brian Franco kick) |
| 7 | 7 | Chip Banks 20 yard interception return (Steve Jordan kick) |
| 14 | 7 | Gregg Garrity 52 yard pass from Todd Blackledge (Franco kick) |
| 17 | 7 | Franco 21 yard field goal |
| 24 | 7 | Warner 21 yard run (Franco kick) |
| 24 | 10 | Jordan 37 yard field goal |
| 26 | 10 | Safety. Dave Paffenroth’s punt blocked out of end zone |
YARDSTICK
| PSU | USC | |
| 20 | First Downs | 19 |
| 51-218 | Rushes-Yards | 41-60 |
| 175 | Passing Yards | 202 |
| 11-24-2 | Passes | 16-32-3 |
| 78 | Return Yards | 38 |
| 4-50.8 | Punts | 5-40.2 |
| 3-2 | Fumbles-Lost | 3-2 |
| 7-70 | Penalties - Yards | 7-49 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – PENN STATE: Curt Warner 26-145, Mike Meade 9-60, Jon Williams 10-24, Tom Barr 2-7, Kenny Jackson 2-(-6), Todd Blackledge 2-(-12). USC: Marcus Allen 30-85, Todd Spencer 3-16, Doug Mackenzie 1-3, John Mazur 4-(-19), Sean Salisbury 3-(-25).
PASSING – PENN STATE: Todd Blackledge 11-24-2-175. USC: John Mazur 11-23-2-123, Sean Salisbury 5-8-1-79, Marcus Allen 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING – PENN STATE: Kenny Jackson 3-55, Gregg Garrity 1-52, Vyto Kab 2-43, Curt Warner 3-10, Jon Williams 1-8, Mike McCloskey 1-7. USC: Timmie Ware 4-75, Jeff Simmons 3-51, Marcus Allen 5-39, Todd Spencer 3-30, Fred Cornwall 1-7.
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