Blue White Illustrated

H I S T O R Y fensive and defensive teams." Obviously, the witty Jenkins was being facetious, but his words did capture the almost univer- sal sentiment at that time. Paterno preferred to face a higher-rated team in the Cotton Bowl, but he wanted the players to make the decision. Looking back five decades later, one cannot be certain what went on in that room be- cause it's become a memory mishmash, with players who are now in their 70s often having conflicting viewpoints. "I remember Joe asking us about which bowl we preferred," said Chuck Burkhart, the starting quarterback in '68 and '69. "Some of us wanted to play Texas because we had played in the Big 33 [high school all-star game] against Texas and we felt that would be a better game." Defensive tackle Steve Smear, a two- time co-captain and three-year starter, remembered Paterno telling players they "would go south to practice before Christmas, go home for Christmas and then go to Miami." Smear also remem- bered Pittman speaking up about the African American players not wanting "to go to Dallas because of how they treated blacks. He talked about what happened to the 1947 team [having to stay at a Naval base because of two black players] and blacks still not playing in the Southwest Conference." Dave Joyner, then a sophomore offensive tackle, also remembered Pittman respect- fully speaking up. "[Charlie] asked Joe something like, 'What if we don't want to go to the Cotton Bowl?' " Joyner said. "A discussion ensued about the racial atmos- phere in Texas as we perceived it back then." Burkhart also recalled the racial sit- uation in Texas being an issue and that "a number of players got a chance to talk." Yet, Pittman said he never brought it up "to the team, like that." Newspapers reported that Paterno in- structed his players not to talk to the media. They didn't, and neither did he. Penn State sent out this statement from Paterno after the meeting: "It's a wonderful honor to be invited back to the Orange Bowl. Our players thoroughly enjoyed it last year and are looking forward to playing a really great team. "I'm looking forward to playing Mis- souri. [Tigers coach] Dan Devine is one of the great gentlemen and coaches in the country." Shortly after noon on Monday, Nov. 17, the bowl committees officially an- nounced the pairings: Penn State vs. Mis- souri in the Orange Bowl, Notre Dame vs. the Texas-Arkansas winner in the Cotton Bowl and the loser of the Texas-Arkansas game vs. Mississippi in the Sugar Bowl. "To his great credit," Joyner said, "[Pa- terno] allowed the team to decide not to go to the Cotton Bowl." Intense criticism The Nittany Lions were chastised im- mediately, even by many of their own dis- appointed fans. Typical of the media was Daily Collegian sports editor Don McKee, who wrote the following on Nov.19: "A victory over Texas or Arkansas would have been undeniable proof that Penn State wasn't indulging in hollow boasting when it said that the Lions could play on the same field as any other team… now no one anywhere else in the country will be- lieve it. … The public's feeling now is that State is scared of Texas or Arkansas." The criticism intensified the following week after Michigan upset Ohio State, 24-12, and the Lions were sluggish in beating Pitt, 27-7. Everyone had underes- timated Michigan and its first-year coach, Bo Schembechler, who had con- vinced his players they could be desig- nated the Big Ten representative in the Rose Bowl with a shocking victory – and they were. Before the Penn State-North Carolina PICTURE PERFECT Burkhart quarter- backed the Nittany Lions to unbeaten records in 1968 and '69. Photo courtesy of the Pattee & Paterno Library Archives

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