1983 Sugar Bowl

1983 Sugar Bowl
1983 Sugar Bowl
49th edition; National Championship Game
Penn State Nittany Lions	Georgia Bulldogs
(10–1)	(11–0)
Independent	SEC
27	23
Head coach: ; Joe Paterno	Head coach: ; Vince Dooley
AP	Coaches
2	2
AP	Coaches
1	1
Date	January 1, 1983
Season	1982
Stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP	Todd Blackledge; (Penn State QB)
Favorite	Penn State by 4 points
Referee	Vance Carlson (Big Eight)
Attendance	78,127
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles
Sugar Bowl
< 1982	1984 >
College Football Championship Game
< 1979	1984 >

The 1983 Sugar Bowl was the 49th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Saturday, January 1. Part of the 1982–83 bowl game season, it matched the undefeated and top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the #2 Penn State Nittany Lions, an independent.^[1] Penn State won 27–23 to finish atop the final polls as national champions.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Teams

Penn State

Georgia

Game summary

The game kicked off shortly after 7 p.m. CST, televised by ABC, at the same time as the Orange Bowl on NBC.^[1]

Both teams scored on their first possession of the game. Penn State running back Curt Warner scored on a 2-yard touchdown run and the Nittany Lions led 7–0. He finished the game with 117 yards rushing. Georgia got on the board following a 27-yard field goal from Kevin Butler to make it 7–3.

In the second quarter, after two possessions for each team had ended in punts, Nick Gancitano kicked a 38-yard field goal to put the Nittany Lions ahead, 10–3.

After a 65-yard punt return by Kevin Baugh only resulted in a missed field goal for Penn State, Warner added a 9-yard touchdown run on a 65-yard drive that took just under two minutes. With only 44 seconds left in the first half, Gancitano made a 45-yard field goal for Penn State to take a commanding 20–3 lead.

After the ensuing kick-off, however, quarterback John Lastinger drove the Bulldogs down the field, completing four of five passes, including one that Kevin Harris lateralled to Herschel Walker for a 26-yard gain. With five seconds remaining in the half, Lastinger threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Herman Archie to cut the margin to 20–10 at halftime.^[2]^[3]

Opening the second half, Georgia mounted a 64-yard drive, which was capped when Herschel Walker scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, cutting the margin to 20–17. Georgia had thus scored touchdowns on consecutive possessions (one to end the first half and one to open the second), with Penn State only touching the ball intermittently to run out the clock in the first half. However, the Bulldogs wouldn't score again for almost 22 minutes of game time and John Lastinger went on to throw two interceptions.

Penn State cashed in on the second one with a 47-yard play-action touchdown pass from Todd Blackledge to wide receiver Gregg Garrity to give Penn State a 27–17 lead. Lastinger threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Clarence Kay to close the margin to 27–23 with 3:54 left. After the subsequent kick-off, however, Penn State was able to run out the clock, only having to punt as time was expiring.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	PSU	UGA
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							27	23

Statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 2 Nittany Lions	7	13	0	7	27
No. 1 Bulldogs	3	7	7	6	23

Statistics	PSU	UGA
First downs	19	19
Plays–yards	67–367	74–326
Rushes–yards	44–139	46–160
Passing yards	228	166
Passing: comp–att–int	13–23–0	12–28–2
Time of possession	30:38	29:22

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Penn State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Georgia	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

References

^ ^a ^b "Sugar Bowl foes eye No. 1 test". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 1, 1983. p. 15.
^ ^a ^b ^c Donovan, Dan (January 2, 1983). "Penn State triumphs, 27-23; No. 1 next?". Pittsburgh Press. p. C1.
^ ^a ^b ^c "No. 2 Lions sweeten bid to be No. 1". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1983. p. 1D.
^ ^a ^b Papanek, John (January 10, 1983). "But how 'bout them Lions?". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.
^ Donovan, Dan (January 3, 1983). "National title belongs to players – Paterno". Pittsburgh Press. p. C1.

[bgms-1] "Sugar Bowl foes eye No. 1 test". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 1, 1983. p. 15.

[ppninx-2] Donovan, Dan (January 2, 1983). "Penn State triumphs, 27-23; No. 1 next?". Pittsburgh Press. p. C1.

[lsbtbn1-3] "No. 2 Lions sweeten bid to be No. 1". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1983. p. 1D.

[sivbhbtl-4] Papanek, John (January 10, 1983). "But how 'bout them Lions?". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.

[ntbtply-5] Donovan, Dan (January 3, 1983). "National title belongs to players – Paterno". Pittsburgh Press. p. C1.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Sugar Bowl
History & conference tie-ins	History Tulane Stadium Georgia Dome Caesars Superdome College Football Playoff Southeastern Conference Big 12 Conference
Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 (Jan) 1972 (Dec) 1973 1974 1975 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 (Jan) 1995 (Dec) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 (Jan) 2022 (Dec) 2024 2025
Notes	The 2006 game took place in Atlanta, Georgia due to Hurricane Katrina. The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1993, 1997, 2000, and 2004. There was a Sugar Bowl in January and December in 1972, 1995 and 2022. The game was a College Football Playoff semifinal in its 2015, 2018, 2021, and 2024 editions.