Needless to say, Joe Paterno has a complicated legacy. Still, for the Penn State fans who view him as a beloved figure, and even for those with mixed feelings, it can be nice to take a trip down memory lane and revisit the years before his program was marred by scandal. Especially when your tour guide through nostalgia-ville is arguably the greatest player that Paterno ever coached.
LaVar Arrington spoke with Steve Spurrier for the National Football Foundation and dug up a great story about his former coach and a little bet placed on the outcome of the 1998 Citrus Bowl between Spurrier’s Florida Gators and Paterno’s Nittany Lions.
The visor bet between Steve Spurrier & Joe Paterno
— National Football Foundation (@NFFNetwork) June 3, 2025
LaVar Arrington chats with the ol' ball coach Steve Spurrier about his visor bet with Penn State's Joe Paterno in the Citrus Bowl.@LaVarArrington | @SteveSpurrierUF | @GatorsFB | @PennStateFball pic.twitter.com/0sOjmb9Hba
Spurrier’s bet with Paterno lives on as a symbol of mutual respect
As Spurrier recounts, No. 6 Florida defeated No. 11 Penn State in the Citrus Bowl 21-6 on New Year’s Day 1998 behind a historic performance from running back Fred Taylor, who carried the ball 43 times for 234 yards as he went on to be named the game’s MVP.
Penn State began the season 7-0 in 1997 and was the No. 1 team in the country for four weeks that season, before a 34-8 loss to the eventual national champion Michigan Wolverines in November. The Nittany Lions closed out the regular season with a 49-14 loss to Michigan State.
After being ranked No. 1 in the country for the first three weeks of the regular season, Penn State relinquished that distinction to Spurrier’s Gators in Week 4 after No. 3 Florida downed No. 4 Tennessee 33-20 in Week 3. Florida also entered the Citrus Bowl with just two losses on the season, and while there was no championship on the line, it’s remarkable to hear about a light-hearted bet between two legendary coaches to culminate a season in which they were both ranked No. 1 and had national title aspirations.
The story was one that Spurrier had told before, on the Paul Finebaum Show in 2016, as he went to bat for Paterno’s legacy and advocated for Penn State to put his statue back up years after it was removed in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
Jay Paterno also seemingly confirmed that the visor did sit in his father’s office after the bet, referencing it and including a picture in a blog post nine years ago on LinkedIn.