1982 Sugar Bowl

The 1982 Sugar Bowl was played on January 1, 1982, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. It featured the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference, the defending national champions, and the eighth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers. The Panthers won the game 24–20,^[2][3] and 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 ^[4]

Teams

Game

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.^[5] 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, and won 24–20.^[6]

Legacy

Twenty-two Pittsburgh Panthers were drafted over the next four years by the National Football League.^[7] Six of them were selected in the first round, including Marino, Jim Covert, Tim Lewis, Bill Maas, Chris Doleman, and Bill Fralic. Marino and Doleman were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Covert is the only player on the winning team to win a Super Bowl, four years later with the Chicago Bears. Coincidentally, the Louisiana Superdome was also the site of Super Bowl XX, where Covert and the Bears won.

References