Blue White Illustrated

HORNS OF A DILEMMA PSU needed to make a statement when it faced Texas in the '72 Cotton Bowl f there is one game in the Joe Paterno era that any of his 46 teams had to win, it was the 1972 Cotton Bowl against Texas. This was the game that finally gave Paterno's Nittany Lions the respect and prestige they had sought since the 1969 Orange Bowl victory over Kansas. The 409 victories, five undefeated seasons and two national championships that Pa- terno amassed during his tenure were largely the fruition of what happened in Dallas on Jan. 1, 1972. After three decades, one can point to other "must win" games that were crucial to Penn State's rise to the pinnacle of col- lege football. But if the Lions had lost this one, it would have set the program back for years and, perhaps, caused Paterno to accept a lucrative early offer from profes- sional football and leave Penn State. Yet, the consequential game and its definitive result might never have occurred if not for another unusual series of events that involved Texas Christian, Notre Dame and a demoralizing season-ending loss at Tennessee. Paterno knew he had a good team in 1971 after what had been the best spring practice since he became head coach. Al- though he wouldn't admit it, he also had a favorable schedule that included only two teams in the preseason Top 20 – Syracuse and Tennessee – and several mediocre Eastern rivals. For the first time since 1962, the Lions would be playing the three military academies, and one of those games against the Air Force at Beaver Stadium would help define the regular season. Most sportswriters also tabbed the Lions as a Top 20 team, with The Associated Press ranking them No. 12, Syracuse No. 13 and Tennessee No. 8. Texas was No. 3 behind Notre Dame and defending national champ Nebraska. The offense was built around three sen- iors: quarterback John Hufnagel and run- ning backs Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris, whom Paterno called "the two best backs I've had at Penn State." His prime defensive concern was the second- ary, so he switched highly touted sopho- more running back John Cappelletti into a starting position at defensive halfback and also made him the prime returner for punts and kickoffs. Paterno also recruited his first kicking specialist and his first junior college player, Al Vitiello, who had set junior college place-kicking records at Nassau (N.Y.) Community College. The Nittany Lions opened the season in near-80-degree heat at Annapolis, clob- bering Navy, 56-3, with Mitchell scoring five touchdowns and Vitiello kicking eight extra points. Seven days later in the rain at Iowa, Penn State crushed the Hawkeyes, 44-14, as Mitchell ran for a near-record 211 yards and one touchdown and Harris rushed for 145 yards and four scores, moving the Lions to No. 9 in the AP rankings. They slipped to No. 10 after almost losing the home opener to heavy underdog Air Force. Vitiello's 22-yard field goal with 4 minutes, 7 seconds re- maining and late interceptions by Cap- pelletti and Gregg Ducatte allowed them to escape with a 16-14 victory. Perennial Eastern rivals Army and Syra- cuse provided the fodder for Penn State to quickly rebound, as the Lions defeated the Cadets, 42-0, at Beaver Stadium and shut out the Orange, 31-0, at Archbold Stadium. They were now up to No. 7 in the polls. What happened the next week against unranked Texas Christian before a homecoming crowd in University Park would presage the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on New Year's Day, but nobody realized it at the time. For the first time, a Paterno-coached team would be up against the multifac- eted wishbone offense that had helped make Texas the national champion in 1969. TCU's new coach, Jim Pittman, had switched to the run-oriented wishbone and brought a 2-1-1 record into Beaver Stadium. As a near-record crowd of 51,893 watched, along with scouts from the Orange, Cotton and Sugar bowls, Penn State shocked TCU, 66-14. The Lions' defense limited the wishbone to 129 yards, and the offense piled up a school-record 633 total yards, including 485 yards on the ground. Mitchell fin- ished with 177 yards and four touch- downs (tying Charlie Pittman's seasonal record of 14), while Harris had 104 yards and one TD. Vitiello set a school record with nine extra points, as Penn State scored its most points since a 75-0 win over Fordham in 1947. West Virginia had lost 12 consecutive games to Penn State, but coach Bobby Bowden convinced Mountaineers fans that this was the year. His team had won six of its first seven games, and he had the wild WVU homecoming crowd psyched up for the Nittany Lions. West Virginia's defense kept it close until late in the third quarter. A controversial fumble recovery by Penn State of its own muffed punt re- turn with the score tied, 7-7, led to two touchdowns as the period was winding down, and the Lions went on to post a 35- | I The following story is adapted from two books written by the author, "The Penn State Football Encyclopedia" and "Game Changers: The Greatest Plays in Penn State Football History." P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >>

• Cover