'We Want to Make Them Proud:' Penn State Welcomes Back 1986 Title Team

STATE COLLEGE | Forty years ago, Penn State was on top of the college football world. The second-ranked Nittany Lions knocked off No. 1 Miami in the Fiesta Bowl, winning a national championship that remains their most recent title to this day.

On Saturday, a large contingent of Penn State football players will reunite at Beaver Stadium to be honored during halftime when the Nittany Lions face Buffalo. Embracing the history of the program is one of Matt Campbell’s priorities as head coach, so this is another example of that.

Defensive end Caleb Bacon said Campbell told the team that 60-70 players from the 1986 team will be at the game. Wide receiver Chase Sowell said Tuesday he was just talking to director of player development Jordan Hill about how excited he is to play in front of those lettermen.

“That's what greatness is and that's what greatness looks like,” Sowell said. “I think our biggest challenge would not be how many points we're putting up, the highlight plays — we don't care about that. We want to walk off the field and for them to kind of look at us and be like, ‘Yeah that's the standard of what we need to play. This is what Penn State football is.’”

Penn State’s 1986 team accounts for one of 13 undefeated seasons in program history. The Nittany Lions earned a 23-3 road win over No. 2 Alabama during the regular season en route to playing No. 1 Miami in a de facto national championship at the Fiesta Bowl.

Penn State won 14-10 after Pete Giftopoulos’ game-sealing interception of quarterback Vinny Testaverde late in the fourth quarter. At the time, the Fiesta Bowl was the most-watched college football game in history

Bacon said it’s a “cool opportunity” to play in front of a national championship squad because “that’s the ultimate goal for any team.” He said the Nittany Lions’ effort while playing is what he wants to show the lettermen.

“I think that's going to be the main thing that grabs their attention,” Bacon said. “When those guys have come back and talked to us, those previous lettermen, I think that's kind of the main thing is they want to see how we represent Penn State moving on throughout this entire season.”

'We want to make them proud'

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback John Shaffer (14) hands the ball off to D.J. Dozier (42) during the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. — Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback John Shaffer (14) hands the ball off to running back D.J. Dozier (42) during the 1987 Fiesta Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Current Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht has a unique tie to Testaverde, who threw five interceptions against the Nittany Lions’ 1986 defense. According to the Des Moines Register, Testaverde was a mentor for Becht, whose father played with Testaverde on the New York Jets from 2000-03.

But now at Penn State, Becht and the rest of the Nittany Lions can reach out to lettermen for advice, according to tight end Gabe Burkle. The 1986 team was one of the best in Penn State’s history, so their attendance at the Buffalo game is important to the current squad.

“We want to make them proud,” Burkle said. “Hard-nosed football team, physical, together, happy for everyone. Sidelines are cheering on the guys on the field. Whoever's in, no one's mad that they're not playing or anything.”

Campbell met with Penn State’s lettermen when he took over as head coach this past offseason. He did Zoom calls with lettermen by decade to make them more involved with the current program, and the Nittany Lions recently opened the Paterno Family Football Experience Room.

As Campbell embraced honoring Penn State’s history, players want to leave a positive impression on the 1986 team when the lettermen see them play on Saturday.

“I just think coming out playing our style of football, hard-nosed, physical, fast, coming out fast, I think that's what's really important,” tight end Andrew Rappleyea said. “I think that just doing our jobs and representing this university the right way with our style of play is what's really important.”

No. 14 Penn State (2-0) takes on Buffalo for a noon ET kickoff Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Big Ten Network will televise. John Shaffer, quarterback of Penn State's 1986 team, reflected on its championship season in an appearance on the BlueWhite Tailgate Pawcast.

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