1982 Sugar Bowl

The 1982 Sugar Bowl was the 48th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Friday, January 1. Part of the 1981–82 bowl game season, it matched the #2 Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the defending national champions, and the #8 Pittsburgh Panthers, an independent. The slight underdog Panthers won the game 24–20.^[2][3][4]

1982 Sugar Bowl
48th edition
Pittsburgh Panthers Georgia Bulldogs (10–1) (10–1) Independent SEC 24 20 Head coach:  Jackie Sherrill Head coach:  Vince Dooley AP Coaches 10 8 AP Coaches 2 2
1 2 3 4 Total Pittsburgh 0 3 7 14 24 Georgia 0 7 6 7 20
Date	January 1, 1982
Season	1981
Stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP	Dan Marino (Pittsburgh QB)
Favorite	Georgia by 1½ points[1]
Referee	Ken Faulkner (SWC)
Attendance	77,224
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles
Sugar Bowl  < 1981  1983 >

Teams

Main article: 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season

Georgia

See also: 1981 Georgia Bulldogs football team

Pittsburgh

See also: 1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

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.^[5]

Junior quarterback Dan Marino, a future first round draft pick, started for Pittsburgh and Buck Belue for Georgia. The Bulldogs relied on their running game, powered by sophomore Herschel Walker, who rushed for two touchdowns.^[6] Scoreless in the first quarter, Georgia led early with an 8-yard run from Walker, then Pitt kicked a field goal and the score was 7–3 at halftime.

Scoring increased in the second half, with five lead changes. The Panthers scored a touchdown to go ahead 10–7; Georgia got the lead back and the game was 13–10 (as a result of a missed PAT) at the end of the third quarter. Marino threw a short touchdown to John Brown to take back the lead at 17–13. Georgia scored again with a 6-yard pass and the game was 20–17. Pitt reclaimed the lead with just 35 seconds to go with a 33-yard pass from Marino to Brown on 4th and 4 and won 24–20.^[7]

Scoring

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

• Georgia – Herschel Walker 8-yard run (Kevin Butler kick)
• Pitt – Snuffy Everett 41-yard field goal

Third quarter

• Pitt – Julius Dawkins 30-yard pass from Dan Marino (Everett kick)
• Georgia – Walker 10-yard run (kick failed)

Fourth quarter

• Pitt – John Brown 6-yard pass from Marino (Everett kick)
• Georgia – Clarence Kay 6-yard pass from Buck Belue (Butler kick)
• Pitt – Brown 33-yard pass from Marino (Everett kick)

Statistics

Statistics	Pittsburgh	Georgia
First downs	27	11
Rushing yards	44–208	36–141
Passing yards	261	83
Passing	26–41–2	8–15–2
Total offense	85–469	51–224
Punts–average	2–44.5	6–39.5
Fumbles–lost	5–3	2–2
Turnovers	5	4
Penalties–yards	14–96	5–35

Source:^[2][3]

Aftermath

Pittsburgh moved up to fourth (#2 UPI) in the final polls, while the Bulldogs dropped to sixth (#5 UPI). It has often been called one of the greatest bowl games, and bowl upsets, of all time. It also marks the last time the Pitt Panthers won a major bowl game.^[8]

This was Jackie Sherrill's final game at Pitt. Eighteen days after the Sugar Bowl, he agreed to a six-year, $1.7-million contract to become head coach and athletic director at Texas A&M^[9]. Defensive coordinator Foge Fazio was promoted to succeed Sherrill.

Legacy

Twenty-two Pittsburgh Panthers were drafted over the next four years by the National Football League.^[8] Six of them were selected in the first round, including Marino, Jim Covert, Tim Lewis, Bill Maas, Chris Doleman, and Bill Fralic. Marino, Covert and Doleman were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Covert and Tom Flynn played for the winning teams to win a Super Bowl, four years later in Super Bowl XX with the Chicago Bears, also played in the Superdome. Tom Flynn, Free Safety for Pitt also won a Super Bowl XXI with the New York Giants when they beat Denver.

References

1. Reid, Ron (January 1, 1982). "Gametime". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). p. 23.
2. Smizik, Bob (January 2, 1982). "Panthers, Lions claw out bowl wins". Pittsburgh Press. p. A8.
3. "Marino hits final bomb, kills Dawgs". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1982. p. 1B.
4. Looney, Douglas S. (January 11, 1982). "Sugar Bowl". Sports Illustrated. p. 20.
5. "Bowl games". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 1, 1982. p. 25.
6. "1982 Game Recap / Allstate Sugar Bowl". Archived from the original on September 24, 2010.
7. "Marino hits final bomb, kills Dawgs". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1982. p. 2B.
8. "PITT TO HONOR 1982 SUGAR BOWL TEAM AT SATURDay's SYRACUSE GAME - PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
9. "TEXAS A&M SIGNS SHERRILL TO RICHEST COLLEGE PACT (Published 1982)". January 20, 1982. Archived from the original on November 21, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.