1979 Sugar Bowl The 1979 Sugar Bowl was the 45th edition of the Sugar Bowl , which was played on January 1 , 1979 in New Orleans , Louisiana at the Louisiana Superdome . The matchup featured the # 1 – ranked , 11 – 0 Penn State Nittany Lions and the # 2 – ranked , 10 – 1 Alabama Crimson Tide . A 14 – 7 victory gave Alabama head coach Bear Bryant his fifth National Championship . The game marked the official debut of Alabama ' s " Big Al " costumed elephant mascot . 1978 Season . Penn State . Penn State had high expectations coming into the 1978 season . The previous year , Penn State had gone 11 – 1 and won the , with their only loss coming in a four - point heartbreaker to Kentucky at home . The 1978 Penn State squad would not disappoint . After surviving a very close opener against Temple , Penn State rolled the rest of the season to a perfect 11 – 0 record . While some games were relatively close , the Nittany Lions generally won with ease . The defense , ranked # 1 in the nation in scoring defense , led the charge , as they held opposing teams to ten points or less a grand total of eight times , three of which were shutouts . In the final week of the regular season , Penn State defeated rival Pittsburgh 17 – 10 to finish an undefeated regular season . Alabama . Alabama , too , had high expectations coming into the 1978 season . The previous year , Alabama had gone 11 – 1 , losing only to Nebraska , and steamrolled Ohio State in the 1978 Sugar Bowl . Coming into that day , Alabama was third in the country , and when the top two teams lost , the Crimson Tide thought they were national champions . It was not to be , however , as Notre Dame , ranked fifth in the nation rolled over # 1 Texas in the , and subsequently jumped from 5th to 1st to become national champions . Feeling robbed , the Crimson Tide used it as motivation for the 1978 season . Alabama , however , would suffer an early season loss to USC at Legion Field . Bryant , who as athletics director made the schedules , later admitted he made a mistake and scheduled out of conference opponents that were too difficult ; the schedule included a brutal opener against Nebraska , then against Missouri , and finally against USC , before facing Washington later in the season . The Tide , however , rebounded quite well from the loss , and went on a tear . Aside from a narrow victory against Washington , the defending Rose Bowl champions , in Seattle , Alabama dominated the rest of the schedule . After beating in - state rival Auburn 34 – 16 in the annual Iron Bowl , Alabama finished the season 10 – 1 and in the thick of the national championship race . The Matchup Forms . After the end of the regular season , it was a toss - up as to who would play where in the bowl games . Joe Paterno , head coach of Penn State , wanted to play in the 1979 Orange Bowl , which would be the last game of the night and would give Penn State the nation ' s undivided attention . Moreover , Paterno wanted his vaunted defense to face Oklahoma running back Billy Sims , the Heisman Trophy winner . Bryant wanted things differently . Bryant hoped , along with Sugar Bowl committee member Aruns Callery , that he could get Penn State to agree to face Alabama in a # 1 v . # 2 matchup in the Sugar Bowl . Bryant was wary of the pollsters after the shun to end the 1977 season , but he knew that if number two Alabama could beat number one Penn State , the Crimson Tide would be guaranteed a national championship regardless of what else happened with other teams . Finally , after the urging of Callery , Bryant called Paterno and attempted to coax him into meeting the Tide in the Sugar Bowl . Bryant recanted to Paterno that the two schools and coaches had a great matchup in the 1975 Sugar Bowl , which the Tide won narrowly 13 – 6 , and that he wanted to do it again . After several calls , Bryant finally convinced Paterno , and the matchup was on . Pre - Game information . The game kicked off at 1 : 00 p . m . January 1 , 1979 , and was broadcast by ABC . The play - by - play was done by Keith Jackson , with the color commentary provided by Frank Broyles , the former Arkansas coach turned ABC color analyst . Penn State came into the game as a narrow favorite . Alabama was the home team , and thus wore its crimson jerseys . The uniforms were crimson helmets , crimson jerseys , all over the white pants with the two crimson stripes , with white numerals . Penn State was the visiting team , and thus wore its white jerseys . Their uniforms were white helmets with the blue stripe down the center , the white jerseys and white pants with blue numerals . Much of the pre - game hype surrounded the Penn State defense v . the Alabama offense . Penn State had , arguably , its best defense ever under Paterno , and was an immovable object against the run . Alabama , on the other hand , was known for its hard - nosed rushing attack out of the wishbone . However , the x - factor in the game was that Alabama was to be the first team that Penn State would face all season that ran the wishbone , a difficult - to - stop formation that forces defenses to cover the entire field against both the run and the pass . Most pre - game predictions hinged on this , and whether or not Joe Paterno would call a conservative game on offense . The game . First Quarter . The game started off with what was expected by most : a defensive struggle . Alabama attempted to run the ball hard out of the wishbone , as expected , and while it did have some success , each and every time the Penn State defense would toughen more and more the further Alabama moved the ball , eventually forcing punts . The Penn State offense , on the other hand , was simply non - existent . The Alabama defense was great in its own right , and Penn State literally struggled to gain a positive yard . As the first quarter came to a close , the game was tied 0 – 0 . Second Quarter . The first twelve minutes of the second quarter went just like the first quarter , i . e . a defensive struggle with little or no offensive success . Finally , with about three minutes to go in the second quarter , Alabama seemingly was about to break through . After getting good field position via a Penn State punt , Alabama found itself at the Penn State 22 – yard line with a 1st and 10 . Alabama quarterback Jeff Rutledge dropped back to throw , and was hit as he attempted to deliver the ball . The pass sailed high , and was intercepted by linebacker Rich Milot . Milot raced down the sideline with one man to beat . Major Ogilvie , who was on the other side of the field at the time of the interception , raced diagonally across the Superdome turf and knocked Milot out of bounds at the Alabama 37 . At this point , Penn State was in field goal range and looked to break the 0 – 0 tie before halftime . However , on third down , Penn State quarterback Chuck Fusina was sacked for a big loss by Alabama ' s Byron Braggs , putting Penn State out of field goal range . Penn State punted to Alabama with one minute , thirty - two seconds left in the first half . The Tide started at its own 20 , and Ogilvie ran for two yards on first down . Paterno chose to call time - out , hoping that he could preserve the clock and force an Alabama punt , which would hopefully give Penn State a chance to get back into field goal range . Alabama , however , took advantage , when two plays later Steve Whitman rushed for four yards and a first down . Paterno ' s gamble had backfired , and now Bryant had another opportunity . Ever the opportunist , Bryant swung for the fences . On the subsequent play , Tide fullback Tony Nathan ran for 30 yards , and followed it with another seven - yard run , down to the Penn State 30 . Bryant called timeout , and Alabama came out throwing . Rutledge fired a strike to a diving Bruce Bolton in the endzone , and Alabama had broken the tie , 7 – 0 . Halftime . At halftime , Alabama was seemingly the better team on paper . Against the number - one ranked Penn State defense , Alabama had racked up 214 yards , 129 of which were on the ground , and carried a touchdown lead at intermission . On the other hand , Penn State struggled greatly in the first half . Although the defense kept Alabama mostly out of the endzone , the Tide still racked up plenty of yards . The Penn State offense , though , was simply manhandled . At the end of the first half , Penn State had - 7 yards rushing , and only 29 yards passing , thus gaining only 21 total yards in the first half . Third Quarter . Alabama looked to further cement their lead after a solid drive in the third quarter that saw the Tide go deep into Penn State territory . Penn State , however , got tough again as the Tide drove further , and ultimately forced a field goal attempt . The usually reliable Alan McElroy , however , missed a chip - shot field goal that would have put Alabama up 10 – 0 . After that , though , the Penn State defense would make adjustments . To avoid big passing plays like those that doomed them at the end of the first half , Paterno and company chose to keep the free safety deep in case of a pass . Sure enough , the next time Rutledge went back to throw deep , Penn State safety Pete Harris snagged an interception and returned it to Alabama territory . A few plays later , Fusina finally connected with his star end Scott Fitzkee for a 17 - yard touchdown pass , and the game was tied 7 – 7 . Late in the third quarter , the game was still tied 7 – 7 , and Penn State was forced to punt . Usually , Major Ogilvie returned punts for Alabama , but on a hunch , Bryant decided to use Lou Ikner , a speedy senior who had seen limited action . As it turned out , Bryant picked the right time to gamble . Ikner fielded the punt , and raced down the left sideline , before cutting back to the middle of the field to cap a 62 – yard punt return , giving the Tide a first and goal at the Penn State ten . However , the Penn State defense got tough , and held Alabama to no gain on first and second down . On third down , Bryant and offensive coordinator Mal Moore thought Penn State would be playing a pass , and thus called an option left . Jeff Rutledge took the snap and spun away from center around left end , and a very surprised Penn State defense , which as Bryant and Moore had predicted were expecting a pass , was in no position to defend it . Rutledge forced the sole defender to commit to him , and when he did he pitched the ball to the trailing back , Major Ogilvie , who ran in untouched for the touchdown . Alabama , once more , was on top . The third quarter ended with Alabama up 14 – 7 , one quarter away from a national championship . Fourth Quarter . After getting the ball early in the fourth quarter , Penn State could do nothing . The Crimson Tide defense seemed stronger than ever , and Penn State simply could not move the ball effectively . The clock was running , and finally Alabama regained possession of the ball following a Penn State punt with eight minutes to play . The Nittany Lions were desperate , and everyone knew it ; they needed a big turnover . As if the football gods had smiled upon them , they got one . Alabama had the ball on its own 22 - yard line when Rutledge ran an option left . He engaged a Penn State defender , and pitched the ball to Major Ogilvie . However , Ogilvie was not expecting a pitch and was in fact not even looking at Rutledge ; the ball bounced off of Ogilvie ' s back and Penn State recovered the fumble deep in Alabama territory . Now with all of the momentum , Penn State found quick success . On first down , Penn State running back Matt Suhey charged up the middle for 11 yards , and Penn State had it first and goal on the Alabama eight - yard - line . On first and goal , Penn State ran the ball , which netted about two yards . On second and goal , Fusina came out firing to Fitzkee , who caught the ball at about the three and seemed destined to score . There was no Alabama defender in sight , and Fitzkee seemingly could walk in . As he turned to run into the endzone , however , Alabama cornerback Don McNeal came flying up from his position , finally free from a tangle with a wide receiver , and delivered a picture - perfect hit on Fitzkee , using his own momentum to drive him out of bounds at the one - yard line . The commentators of the game , Jackson and Broyles , gushed over the incredible tackle by McNeal . Fitzkee , who thought he had a sure touchdown , would say after the game , " I have no clue where the Alabama defensive back came from . " Now came third and goal , where Penn State ran the ball straight - ahead with Matt Suhey . After finding no hole , Suhey tried to dive in for the touchdown , but was met in the air by Curtis McGriff , a defensive tackle , and Rich Wingo , the middle linebacker . After the play , Fusina frantically searched for the ball , and asked Alabama linebacker Marty Lyons how far it was from the goalline . Lyons replied , " ' Bout a foot . You better pass . " Finally , it was fourth and goal from the one - foot line with a national championship on the line . Penn State chose to power it in , but Alabama would have none of it . Again , Alabama surged backward through the Penn State line , and Guman was hit in the hole by Barry Krauss and Murray Legg , where he was stopped dead in his tracks . The Alabama defense had held after a thunderous collision just short of the goal line . Krauss , the man who delivered the brunt of the hit , was knocked unconscious and temporarily lost feeling in his extremities , but he would get up and run off the field under his own power . Alabama had held , but the game was not over . Roughly six minutes were still left , and Alabama was pinned up deep in its own territory . Penn State needed a stop and quickly got it . Alabama went three - and - out , and was forced to punt . On fourth down , the snap was botched and bounced to Alabama punter Woody Umphrey , who subsequently had to hurry the punt , resulting in a shank that went out of bounds near the Alabama 30 . Penn State , though , had cost themselves . They were flagged for having twelve - men on the field , which gave Alabama a first down and new life . The Tide subsequently drove the ball farther and farther , nearly running out the clock . Penn State got the ball back with over a minute left , but their last drive came up short , ending on a 4th and 8 attempt by Chuck Fusina that fell incomplete .