1987 Fiesta Bowl The 1987 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game sponsored by Sunkist . It was part of the bowl season of the 1986 NCAA Division I - A football season . The game was the 16th edition of the Fiesta Bowl , played annually since 1971 . The 1987 game was played on January 2 , 1987 , at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe , Arizona . The game was played to determine college football ' s national champion for 1986 , pitting the # 1 Miami Hurricanes against the # 2 Penn State Nittany Lions . The game was carried by NBC , per their contract to carry the Fiesta Bowl , and was the most watched college football game in history to that point . Due to the special circumstances surrounding the game , the Fiesta Bowl organizers elected to move the game back from its original January 1 date to January 2 . Penn State emerged victorious over the favored Hurricanes , as the Nittany Lions defeated Miami 14 - 10 . Bowl selection . Although the Fiesta Bowl had been played on New Year ' s Day since the 1982 game , it was not considered by many to be a major bowl game . Instead , that distinction was given to four other New Year ' s bowls — the Cotton Bowl , Rose Bowl , Sugar Bowl , and Orange Bowl were all considered major bowls . Each of these bowls was required to take at least one conference ' s champion as per their charters regardless of the team ' s rank ; the Southwest Conference champion hosted the Cotton Bowl , the Big Ten Conference and Pac - 10 Conference played each other in the Rose Bowl , the Big 8 Conference champion hosted the Orange Bowl , and the Southeastern Conference champion hosted the Sugar Bowl . On occasion , this was not an issue for most bowls as the bowl organizers could invite the # 1 or # 2 ranked team to play in said bowl if they were not otherwise tied into a bowl . In fact , Penn State — like Miami , at that time , an independent — had won its first national championship in 1983 at the Sugar Bowl by defeating Georgia . As the 1986 season came to an end , however , a problem was created as there were not many bowls that did not have automatic conference tie - ins ( much different than modern day college football ) . At the time , there were two New Year ' s day games that did not have an automatic bid for any conference ' s champion . The Fiesta Bowl was one and the Florida Citrus Bowl , played in Orlando , Florida , was the other . The two bowls began bidding for the right to host the national championship game , and the Fiesta Bowl emerged victorious . The winning bid , and the wide - reaching success of the game on television and in ticket sales , allowed the Fiesta Bowl to gain much more national prestige than it had before and eventually enabled it to replace the Cotton Bowl as one of the four major bowl games ; the Fiesta Bowl became part of the Bowl Alliance and Bowl Championship Series years later . Teams . Oklahoma and Michigan began the season ranked at # 1 and # 2 respectively , but the Wolverines slipped to # 3 behind Miami following the Hurricanes 23 - 15 defeat of # 13 Florida on September 6 . A 28 - 16 defeat of Oklahoma by # 2 Miami on September 27 pushed Miami into the # 1 ranking , with Alabama moving into the # 2 spot . However , Alabama lost to Penn State 23 - 3 on October 25 , a result that jumped the Nittany Lions to the # 2 spot behind Miami . Michigan regained the # 2 spot after their 31 - 7 victory over Purdue , coupled with Penn State ' s close 17 - 15 victory over un - ranked Maryland that same day . But , the following week , Penn State once again found itself ranked # 2 following Minnesota ' s 20 - 17 upset victory over Michigan . Penn State then finished the out the regular season on November 22 with a 34 - 14 victory over in - state rival Pitt , while Miami finished their season the following Thursday with a 36 - 10 victory over East Carolina to set up the # 1 vs . # 2 showdown . Miami Hurricanes . Miami entered the game with a seemingly unstoppable team . The Hurricanes had outscored their opponents during the season 420 - 136 en route to a perfect regular season . They had held the # 1 ranking since handing the reigning champion ( and eventual # 3 ) Oklahoma Sooners their only loss during the fourth week of the season . The 1986 Heisman Trophy winner , Vinny Testaverde starred at quarterback . The team also featured All - Americans Jerome Brown and Bennie Blades on defense , future NFL Hall - of - Famer Michael Irvin at wide receiver , and running back Alonzo Highsmith , the eventual No . 3 pick in the 1987 NFL draft . Penn State Nittany Lions . Penn State came into the game with a different pedigree . Also 11 - 0 and undefeated , the Nittany Lions had nonetheless looked rather beatable , with close wins against Cincinnati , Maryland , and Notre Dame , all teams with . 500 records or worse . However , the Lions relished their underdog status and their ability to shut teams down with a stifling , highly rated defense . They had All - Americans at linebacker ( Shane Conlan ) , defensive tackle ( Tim Johnson ) , running back ( D . J . Dozier ) and offensive tackle ( Chris Conlin ) . " We were a team that couldn ' t be intimidated , and that ' s what Miami liked to do to other players , " linebacker Pete Giftopoulos later observed . " How are you going to intimidate a bunch of steel - town kids from Pittsburgh , Ohio , Pennsylvania ? You just can ' t do that . " Bowl arrangements . An Arizona State win over Cal , combined with a UCLA loss to Stanford , enabled the Sun Devils to clinch the Pac - 10 and Rose Bowl Berth on November 8 . The early clinching of the Rose Bowl bid for Arizona State began a scramble for all the Bowl games to confirm teams before the bids were to be extended on November 22 . The Michigan loss on November 15 set Miami and Penn State at # 1 and # 2 . The Cotton Bowl offered to take the loser of the Michigan - Ohio State rivalry game , as the winner would go to the 1987 Rose Bowl . With Penn State and Miami already written off to the bidding winner between the Fiesta and Citrus bowls , the other bowls made similar arrangements to take second - place teams . With Miami and Penn State the top 2 teams in the nation , and both independent teams unaffiliated with any conferences or bowl tie - ins , there was an opportunity to create a # 1 - 2 matchup in what were widely seen as a second - tier bowls By November 17 , The Citrus Bowl , which had planned to pay $ 875 , 000 per team , was offering about $ 2 . 6 million apiece to Miami and Penn State to land the game ; the Fiesta , which normally pays $ 1 . 1 million per , was offering around $ 2 . 4 million and was poised to go higher . The Sugar Bowl , Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl all had payouts in the neighborhood of $ 2 million . The Rose Bowl paid $ 6 million per team . This would be only the 21st time since 1936 that # 1 would face # 2 , and only the 7th time in a Bowl game . It was only the fifth time in college football history that there had been two # 1 vs # 2 games in the same football season . Pre - game buildup . The game was described by many commentators as a battle between " Good versus Evil . " On the flight to the game the entire Miami Hurricane team changed into military - style fatigues to play into the " warfare " element of the contest . The game had been referred to as the " Duel in the Desert . " Reggie Taylor of the Cincinnati Bearcats , who had played both teams said , " It ' s harder to run against Penn State . They ' re so disciplined you can ' t exploit their weaknesses as much . " Defensive tackle Bob Leshnak said , " Miami ' s center [ Gregg Rakoczy ] is the best I ' ve faced . Our line moves a lot , and it gave Penn State problems . " Cincinnati coach Dave Currey said , " The only place Miami has a big edge is quarterback . If Penn State can control the ball , it has less chance of beating itself . In a game like this , you ' ve first got to not beat yourself . " The behavior of the players added to the atmosphere of the game . In one famous incident the Penn State players arrived to a pregame steak - fry in suits and ties , in stark contrast to the Miami football players attire of combat fatigues . As part of Penn State ' s skit , John Bruno , Penn State ' s punter , dragged out a garbage can labeled with masking tape as " Jimmy Johnson ' s Hair Spray " and made a few jokes which the Miami players found offensive . This caused Jerome Brown , a defensive tackle for Miami , to stand up and unzip his sweat suit to reveal his fatigues . " Did the Japanese sit down and eat with Pearl Harbor before they bombed them ? " he said . " No . Well , fellas let ' s go . " Bruno replied with the snappy response , " Excuse me , but didn ' t the Japanese lose the war ? " Brown immediately made an effort to leave , but Coach Johnson required him and the rest of the Canes to sit out the remainder of Penn State ' s routine before going . As the routine ended , the entire Miami team stood up and proceeded toward their buses . Game summary . Penn State wore their blue home jerseys , while Miami wore their white road jerseys . Miami vastly out gained Penn State on the field , 445 yards to 162 , with 22 first downs compared to the Nittany Lions ' 8 . However , the Hurricanes were hampered by 7 turnovers , including 5 interceptions of the Heisman - winning Testaverde . The majority of the game was a seesaw battle . Miami ' s only touchdown was the result of a John Shaffer fumble that the Hurricanes recovered at the Penn State 23 . Miami then took four plays to score the go - ahead touchdown . The Nittany Lions responded with their only sustained drive of the night , going 74 yards in 13 plays , culminating in Shaffer ' s 4 - yard scamper into the end zone . The halftime score was a 7 - 7 tie . After Miami scored a field goal to retake the lead , Shane Conlan grabbed his second interception of the night , returning it 39 yards to the Miami 5 . The first Penn State snap was fumbled , but the Nittany Lions recovered . D . J . Dozier then followed with a 6 - yard run for the go - ahead touchdown . Miami still had over 8 minutes on the clock , but fumbled on their next possession . With Penn State unable to move the ball , Miami began their last drive on their own 23 with 3 : 07 left in the game . A 4th - down completion to Brian Blades went for 31 yards and moved Miami into Penn State territory . With a minute left , Testaverde hit Michael Irvin at the Penn State 10 . The connection put the Hurricanes inside the 5 with 45 seconds left . Even with a national championship at stake , though , Penn State linebacker Pete Giftopoulos said the Penn State defense stayed calm . " We had some great leaders - - ( seniors ) Shane Conlan , Timmy Johnson , Bob White , " he said . " They were key character people . To not see any fear in their eyes helped me as a junior and helped the other players to play the game . . . . Nobody was losing it in the huddle , nobody was screaming . Everyone was like , ' Here ' s the play ; let ' s do it . ' " On second - and - goal , Testaverde dropped back , but Tim Johnson broke free and sacked him . On third down , Testaverde threw incomplete into the flat . On fourth - and - goal , with 18 seconds left , Testaverde threw to the end zone , but was intercepted by Giftopoulos . The interception , Giftopoulos ' second of the game ( and Testaverde ' s fifth ) , ensured Penn State ' s second national title in five years . Game ' s legacy . This was a game of many firsts :