To me the play of the game was Russ Wood stopping Warner on 3rd and 1 right before punt that was blocked late. I think aside from the Liberty Bowl win, this was probably Bryant's last great win of his career. Exciting day. I was in student section with best buddies.
Penn State stole the National championship from SMU. SMU was undefeated but did have a tie against a very good Arkansas team. Penn State had this awful loss. They never should have been national champions.
This Alabama team peaked this day in 1982. Talent was down just a bit compared to other championship teams. On this day nobody would have beaten Alabama. Kind of reminds me of when we went down to Auburn in 1989. Nobody in the country would have beaten Auburn on their home field that day. For Alabama and Auburn fans that was a very special day. Jordan-Hare was electric..
Ok, ok. Aub won, but late in game they got an int that replays showed was incomplete. Aub scored on that drive. You had stupid fake FG Curry called on first drive too, or game would have been a toss up at end. This game is one of my favorite wins all time. Legion Field was loudest I ever recall. Bama folded down the stretch, and PSU won the Natty. Outstanding game that day though.
Also Bear just had Paterno's number. Paterno played Bear 4 times and some of those were among his best ever teams. Still could never beat him. Some coaches just know how to beat certain other coaches no matter how good they are.
I remember that game. Penn State won the national title, But Bama fans would sport t-shirts that read, "Bama 42 National champions 21" Makes playoffs seem reasonable.
