🏈 When Bama held Penn State on eight straight snaps from the 1

[akd1988]

Randy Edwards flashes back to 1981, and one of Bama's greatest defensive series ever.

http://crimsonreplay.com/news/pw/2012/randy_edwards/

 

[psychojoe]

This one affected another game several years later. Also remember that this game was not to long after the famous (you'd better pass) Sugar Bowl goal line stand against Penn State. That brings us to twelve straight plays where we help Penn State from the one yard line. Now flash forward to 1989. Bill Curry's last Alabama team is in Happy Valley taking on Penn State. Bama led most of the day, but late in the game Penn State mounted a drive that reached first ang goal inside our five yerd line. After three running plays they were on the one yard line and took their final time out with seconds to play. This series had brought it up to 15 straight playe where Penn State had no scored against us starting at first and goal. Even though our defense was exhausted, Joe Pa sent the kicker out, and Thomas Rhayam got a big mitt on it to preserve the win.

Those were happier times- no one knew then that PSU's DC was a child molester,

 

[UAgrad93]

I'll always remember that Coach Bryant tipped his cap to the Defense as they came off of the field that day in 81.

 

[BamaHeat]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES089KKWELI

 

[252BAMA]

This one affected another game several years later. Also remember that this game was not to long after the famous (you'd better pass) Sugar Bowl goal line stand against Penn State. That brings us to twelve straight plays where we help Penn State from the one yard line. Now flash forward to 1989. Bill Curry's last Alabama team is in Happy Valley taking on Penn State. Bama led most of the day, but late in the game Penn State mounted a drive that reached first ang goal inside our five yerd line. After three running plays they were on the one yard line and took their final time out with seconds to play. This series had brought it up to 15 straight playe where Penn State had no scored against us starting at first and goal. Even though our defense was exhausted, Joe Pa sent the kicker out, and Thomas Rhayam got a big mitt on it to preserve the win.

Those were happier times- no one knew then that PSU's DC was a child molester,

Are you positive that PSU did not end that streak between 1981 and 1989? They scored TDs of 5 yards in 1982, 1 yard in 1983, and 3 yards in 1986. Highly unlikely that the 1 yarder in 1983 did not originate with a first and goal series.

 

[psychojoe]

252, I'll have to go back and check the old game recaps. Maybe it was 15 straight first and goal plays where the series started at a particular location. The 79 Sugar Bowl series started at the one, as did the one akd featured above.

 

[252BAMA]

252, I'll have to go back and check the old game recaps. Maybe it was 15 straight first and goal plays where the series started at a particular location. The 79 Sugar Bowl series started at the one, as did the one akd featured above.

Sugar Bowl series started from the 8.


Recap excerpted from the book "Sugar Bowl Classic: A History" by Marty Mulé, who covered the game and the organization for decades for the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

What remained was a fourth quarter for all the marbles, and the Nittany Lions' one chance to claim it came when defensive end Joe Lally recovered an Alabama fumble on the Tide 19 with 7:57 to play.

On the next play, fullback Matt Suhey ran 11 yards to the Bama 8 for a first down. Then Guman took a pitch and gained two yards to the 6.

On second down, Fusina dropped back and quickly delivered a pass to Fitzkee, who was flaring out near the right sideline. Fitzkee caught the pass at the 1, but before he could turn to find the end zone he was slammed out of bounds by cornerback Don McNeal two feet short of a touchdown.

It's a play that Fitzkee and Penn State fans have relived in their minds for years, but it always ends the same: coming up a little bit short.

"People still bring it up,'' Fitzkee said decades later. "I've heard a lot of criticism, and I'm sure those guys who didn't get in on third and fourth down have heard it too.''

That would be Suhey and Guman.

On third down, Suhey took the handoff up the middle, but he was wrapped up by linebacker Rich Wingo.

"Fusina came out to look at the ball,'' Bama tackle Marty Lyons recalled, "and I was standing in the way, in between him and the ball. He started smiling. ‘How much is it?' he asked. I told him, ‘'Bout this much.' ‘Ten inches?' ‘Yeah,' I said. ‘You better pass'."

On fourth down, the Nittany Lions tried to muscle it in again, but Guman ran into Krauss.

"They had called timeout before the fourth down, and they were trying to figure out what they were going to do and what we were going to do,'' Krauss said. "We thought they'd go outside or throw because they had run it on third down (to no avail), so I had given myself a little more depth so I could flow to the outside. When he gave it back to Guman, and he came back inside, there was a hole. He saw it, and I did too."

The collision was one that, as Krauss remembers it, made time stand still.

"He came over and I was able to hit him,'' Krauss said. "After that, I wasn't sure what happened.''

Krauss, who had all but resigned himself to the likelihood that Penn State was going to score, never thought the hit would knock Guman short of the goal line. "It seemed like he was so close,'' Krauss said. "He was falling, and what was actually a couple of seconds seemed like five minutes.''

But Guman did come down short, and so did Penn State.

The Alabama defense left the field jumping, whooping and hollering, not noticing that Krauss remained prone on the field. Eventually the dazed linebacker picked himself up and wobbly made his way to the sideline where Coach Bear Bryant embraced him. "A knock like that,'' the Bear growled with a grin, "is the nicest kind of feeling you can get."