48-14! The game when Penn State destroyed the Pitt football program for good

It's 1981 and the Pitt Panthers are currently one of the premiere college football programs in the country. The Pitt program is only five years removed from its most recent national championship, back-to-back 11-win seasons, and is the top-ranked team and are undefeated heading into that years match up with in state rival, Penn State.

Winners of the team's previous two matchups, Pitt was looking to make it three straight and was being led by hometown hero and Heisman hopeful, Dan Marino. Some critics thought Pitt had a weak schedule and was not battle-tested, including Penn State linebacker Chet Parlavecchio who went on a radio show and stated that Pitt had not played anyone up to the point. Whether or not that was true, one objective truth that was hard to argue was Pitt's success. Winners of 17 straight, with one more win guaranteeing an opportunity for a shot at another national championship.

As the game commenced in front of a then record-setting crowd for a home Pitt football game, the Panthers were looking to prove their worth as the best team in the country, and wasted no time doing so, seemingly silencing any critics they may have had. Pitt's top-ranked defense forced two three and outs and Dan Marino engineered two quick drives that ended when he hooked up with Dwight Collins twice for a touchdown to quickly put the Panthers up 14-0.

If there was any doubt of Pitt being worthy of its top ranking, it was certainly looking like it was quickly being put to rest. Pitt was looking to go for the jugular and extend its lead to 21 nearly ensuring a chance to play for a national championship. It was Pitt's destiny until it wasn't.

As Pitt was looking to put in the final dagger, Dan Marino threw a pass into the end zone where he overthrew his receiver and was intercepted by Penn State's Roger Jackson. This was not just the turning point of the game, but also the downfall for Pitt's program.

Penn State running back Curt Warner stated "I don't know when the game completely shifted but I know when it started: It started when Roger Jackson made that interception in the end zone. It was the injection of life Penn State certainly needed."

Indeed that play provided a spark. Todd Blackledge orchestrated an impressive 80-yard drive that ended with Penn State finding the endzone, cutting Pitt's lead in half. As Penn State was starting to find its groove, Pitt's confidence began to unravel. Dan Marino threw another interception and mishandled a snap that allowed Penn State to recover the loose ball. Late in the second quarter, Todd Blackledge capped off another scoring drive by calling his own number to tie the game at 14.

Penn State's defense then forced Pitt's offense to make another turnover, the fourth up to that point, and the Nittany Lions were ready to go for the kill. Just several plays later, Blackledge found Kenny Jackson for a completion, using incredible footwork along the sideline to then take it into the endzone to give them their first lead of the game.

"The minute we made it 21-14, we knew it. Body language is a funny thing. No one had ever done that to them and again, if no one had ever done that to you, you don't know how to handle it,"Chet Parlaveechio said.

Those sentiments were further validated on Penn State's very next drive when Blackledge and Jackson hooked up once more for another effortless touchdown with no defenders near Jackson to double the Nittany Lion's lead. Up to that point of the season, Pitt's defense had only allowed 203.9 yards a game. The Nittany Lions finished with 434 total yards for the game.

Dan Marino who played a flawless first quarter, struggled the rest of the way. After several more scoring drives by the Penn State offense, the Nittany Lions were up 41-14 in the fourth quarter. Marino, trying to salvage whatever dignity the Panthers may have had left, was leading Pitt to what would essentially be a meaningless scoring drive before the Nittany Lions picked him off for a fourth time with Mark Robinson returning it for a touchdown to make the score 48-14 in favor of Penn State.

When the proverbial dust was finally settled, the Nittany Lions not only dominated the Panthers but ripped away any hope for a national championship that Pitt had had entering that day's game.

Ultimately, this game may have broken the Pitt football program. After the 1981 season, Pitt has had only two seasons in which they registered 10 wins and have recorded 16 losing seasons since. On that day in 1981, not only did the entire nation witness Penn State's thrashing of the top-ranked Pitt Panthers but the destruction of their entire football program.

I'd like to dedicate this piece to Wayne May. Thank you for being there during my brightest and darkest days! I love you and enjoy retirement!