Birmingham Post-Herald from Birmingham, Alabama • 13

victory the arms of teammate Greg Jones after catching a touchdown pass in the Tide's 14-7 Sugar Bowl win Alabama's Bruce Bolton leaps into Barry Krauss took home MVP omea By Bill Lumpkin PHMMdSperti NEW ORLEANS Jeff Rutledge calmly triggered two touchdowns but when it came right down to the end in the 45th annual Sugar Bowl it wu what Penn State did best that won for Ala- As a record crowd of 76324 in the Superdome watched on a rainy New Day outside the Crimson Tide went to Its defense to preserve a 14-7 victory over Penn State the No 1-ranked team The triumph left the No 2-ranked Tide in a bolding pattern over Its improved chances of being national champion Wire services will decide that issue Wednesday The Nittany Lions which went to the kickoff with the country's toughest defeme against the run and pass had a golden opportunity to knot the score in the fourth quarter After end Joe Lally fell on a misdirected pitchout by Rutledge at the Tide 19 with 7:57 remaining the Lioos drove from there to a third-and-one at the goaL Fullback Matt Suhey wu sent charging into the middle He wu swarmed by Tide defenders inches short On fourth down Suhey put his head down and powered between center and guard There he wu met headon by Alabama linebacker Barry Krauss Alabama had held in one of the greatest goal line stands Paul Bryant said he thought they would go over the top run off tackle like they had done said Bryant Donahue (defensive coordinator) called it" The tremeidou defensive effort also reminded Bryant of another such stand one of Ms teams made in the Sugar Bowl in 1951 Kentucky team wu playing national champion Oklahoma and held the Soonen on the goal-line to preserve a 13-7 win one wu said Bryant State had driven to within or The game wu clow oddsmak-ers had predicted Alabama scored its first touchdown without really going for six points The Tldewu running out the first half dock when Rutledge passed 30 yards to Bruce Bolton who made a diving rolling catch in the end sone It eight seconds from the halftime Rutledge later worked a pitch to perfection to assist in the winning points He rolled left held the ball until the defensive end committed and pitched to Major Ogilvie Ogilvie turned the end and stop until be wu in the end sone eight yards away The score wu 7-7 at the time 1:11 to play in the third Penn State had tied it on a 27-yard pass from All-America quarterback Chuck Fusina to end Scott Fitzkee three minutes and 14 seconds earlier (hi its first touchdown Alabama had taken possession at its 20 Time had run down to 1:11 in the second quarter Six plays and a minute and three Coach Joe Patemo tries to find Post-Herald Tuesday January 2 1979 seconds later Alabama had scored really thinking touch-' said Rutledge were fast going to run out the clock When they dropped their end off (Tony) Nathan broke the long one They gave us that Two time outs called by Penn State also help slow the clock and give Ala-' ut additional 1 time Nathan went for 30 and came back for seven and a second-and-three at the 30 On the next play Rutledge hit Bolton for the TD wu the sameplay we had called earlier to (Steve) Whitman (Whitman dropped it) I looked for Steve and he wu covered He wu my primary receiver I saw Bolton and threw to him" Bryant also said they had called the same pass we had called before had one time out left If Jeff got thrown for a loss we were going to call time and kick a field The game wu never close the final statistics Both teams had 12 first downs Alabama had 299 yards of total offense Penn State 182 But tl the some Alabama defense which played around neck all afternoon held State to 19 yards rushing Alabama had 208 Led by Kraus Byron Bragg Wayne Hamilton EJ Junior and Rickey Gilliland the Tide had 10 sacks for 73 yards in losses Braggs had two tor minus 36 Hamilton two for minus 17 Junior four for minus 10 Krauss who wu named the outstanding player had eight tackles He wu the first lineman to receive the honor since another Bryant-coached player Walt Yowarsky of Kentucky wu the recipient against Oklahoma State linebacker Lance Mehl had a game-high 17 tackles Tackle Bruce Clark had 12 wu eight for 15 for 91 yards He had two interceptions na wu 15 of 30 for 163 yards He intercepted four times Nathan wu the game's leading rusher with 127 yards Whitman had 51 and Ogllvie 40 Suhey wu Penn top Bolton caught two passu for 48 yards Whitman had two for 27 and Ikner two for five Dmer also helped turn the game around whw he returned a punt 52 to the State 11 that set up Rut-i pitch and Ogilvie's run Mike Guman had five reception for 58 yards and Fitzkee i Lions thru for 38 for the The way the appeared it wu bama The Crimson opportunities to put the early But the Penn State started out to be all A1A- to and Tide Continued on page B5 words to comfort QB Chuck Fusina1 honors Tony Nathan's 127 yards rushing did not come easily Penn State made certain of that Fusina still backing goal-line NEW ORLEANS It was just said Penn State All-America quarterback Chuck Fusina seemed like their defense was always at the right place at the right One of the keys in the game was a fourth quarter play at the Alabama goal-line with Penh State needing only Inches for the tying touchdown The Alabama defense led by linebacker Barry Krauss stopped junior tailback Mike Guman short of the touchdown and took over on downs "It Fusina said "I a good call It would guessing if we had bama's linebacker just made a good 1 butter play (of I thought it was be only second a pitch Ala- i Lions were given an opportunity the gamei back Jeff Rutledge attempted an to tie the game after Alabama quarterage ai option to halfback Tony Nathan The ball was recovered by defensive end Joe LaUy at the Tide 19 PennState back Matt Suhey gained 11 to the Tide 8 Guman gained two to the 6 and Fusina passed to Scott Fita-kee to the one where Tide coraerback Don McNeal kept Fitzkee from jhe end lone with a fierce hit did We tried to adjust to it by keeping our backs in to block but Alabama just kept coming with the blitz just seemed to be at the right place at the right Another key play la the game came after the Tide's goal-line stand The Tide gain a first down after taking over at their 1 Tide punter Woody Umphrey who had 10 locks for a 38 average shanked his second of the game at the Tide 20 However Penn State was caught with 12 men on the field and Alabama got a first down out (4 it won one that way one time in a bowl said a disappointed Joe Paterao It was the 1969 Orange Bowl against Kansas Penn State won 13-14 we blow one the same way the first time had 12 men on the field in probably five years" While being nostalgic Patemo also recognized something the Tide did to his team from the 1975 Sugar Bowl game It wu Major 8-yard run on a pitch from quarterback Jeff 1 Rutledge which had the Penn State de- strungout was tbei was the same play they scored on us the last time we he said touchdown came on the call heels of a 62-yard punt return by Alabama halfback Lou Ikner to the 11 "The punt wu a case of us out-kicking our Paterao said (Ikner) just did a good claim to become the Na 1 college team in the nation after upsetting the Na 1 team got Perm State's support think they ought to be No said Suhey Fusina said the ume thing said before we played the game that if they but us they should be Na Said Paterao "Alabama beat an awful good football team and hu much a right to claim it anybody They played a very tough schedule I disappointment is for our seniors They woiked hard and it is unfortunate they lost it without playing their best game Alabama played well and I intend to take away anything from their performance Alabama wu the best defensive team we have played I told our seniors not to go into hibernation because they had an 11-1 record They accomplished a lot" side the one but couldn't scon Then they watched in honor a few minutes later the Lion lost the chance to take over inside the Alabama 30 because they had 12 men on the field know I don't ever remember having 12 men on the Eagle said the boy wu trying to get off the field and Alabama Just snapped the balL I think it's But Engle did come up with someone to blame a little while later when a Penn State receiver appeared to be interf erred with but no penalty wu called 'That's a bemoaned "That wu interference" Afewi and Penn State i would have been i came so Engle said wu a great Fitxkee said he was helpless after catching the ball at the 1 hit me in the air and carried me out of said Fitzkee who had three catches for SI yards including a 17-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter from Fusina Penn State center Chuck Correal explained better what Alabama's defense did on the pud-line stand pinched he said "They put their tackles in the gaps and collapsed the middle We were outnumbered I reckon they just guessed right on the Fusina who completed IS of 30 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown placed part of the blame for the loss on himself "I felt like I let them he said take a lot of glory when we win and HI take it win we That means Fusina who was about everyone's All-America this season took the glory for 11 wins and one loss But it was the defense that made Fusina's New Day a miserable one mixed up their defense Fusina said faad a team to use the blitz as much as they television from a hotel room la between worrying about a replacement for an Injured Shrine player the silver-haired Engle fidgeted through most of the game and even went out for a walk became he wu so nervous His wife Sunny remained behind to root the Nittany Lions on Engle left most of the cheering to his wife while he fiddled with his keys rubbed his forehead and muttered when things went badly for his turn He also thought back to the day more than 19 years ago when Alabama and Penn State played In the first Liberty Bowlin Philadelphia (Bryant) said it could have been Engle said only won 7-0 and I told Bear we were lucky to getthat" This Penn State coach beat the Crimson Tide AMdaMPM PALO ALTO Calif Seventy-two-- year-old Rip Engle is still the only Penn State football coach to beat Ala- bama 12 yean after he retired But Monday he wished be had lost that dis- Unction just a shame he said after Penn State lost a chance at Its first national championship by tosh to Alabin the Sugar BowL bama 14-7 in Engle who has lived in State College Pa since be retired 12 yean ago wu invited to be in New Orleans for the big game but wu here Instead because he is responsible for gathering 1 the talent for Saturday's East-West Shrine Game So the man who coached Joe Pateroo in college at Brawn and then gave him his first job coaching at Peon State wu forced to see his team on Engle who tuned his coaching job over to Paterao in 1968 when he wu 60 years old marveled at Alabama Coach ability to continue to win year after year Bin he said he wu glad he had left coaching when he did and just wished that fired Ohio8tate Coach Woody Hayes had done the Mine told him five or six years ago 'Woody why you get out? You have such a gnat record and you would have a great retirement program think the best advice I ever got Wu from Lou Little (former Columbia coach) who told me to leave when I could still walk out the front door and get out and enjoy life I wrote him a couple of years ago and told him be Both Eagle and Us wife agonised in the last quarter Penn State got in- I As p- ml.