Penn State football bowl history: Every bowl game the Nittany Lions have played in
By Josh Yourish
Fiesta Bowl (6-0)
1980: Penn State 31 Ohio State 19
1982: Penn State 26 USC 10
The Nittany Lions won back-to-back Fiesta Bowls and finished third in the AP Poll following the 1981 season.
1987: Penn State 14 Miami 10
Joe Paterno’s fourth undefeated season finally paid off with a national championship. It was Paterno’s second after winning with an 11-1 record in 1982. Penn State came in ranked No. 2 behind No. 1 Miami.
Though still not considered a major bowl game, the Fiesta Bowl nabbed the top two teams in the country in the 1986 season and played on January 2, 1987, to serve as the national championship game.
Miami outgained Penn State with 445 yards to 162, but the Hurricanes turned the ball over seven times and Penn State capitalized. The game was tied 7-7 at halftime. Miami hit a field goal to take a 10-7 lead in the second half. Then Shane Conlan hauled in his second interception of the game and returned it to the Miami five-yard line.
Penn State scored two plays later and the Nittany Lions defense held the rest of the way for the win. Vinny Testaverde was intercepted in the end zone on fourth-and-goal with 18 seconds remaining.
1992: Penn State 42 Tennessee 17
1997: Penn State 38 Texas 15
2017: Penn State 35 Washington 28
Saquon Barkley ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns and Trace McSorley threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in a high-scoring Fiesta Bowl win.
The Nittany Lions finished the season 11-2 and ninth in the final CFP rankings.
