SN 140 Moments: No. 133 - No. 2 Penn State edges No. 1 Miami in sport-altering 1987 Fiesta Bowl

The legacy of the 1987 Fiesta Bowl between No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Penn State – teams with matching 11-0 records – started with moving the game to Jan. 2. This  game would not have any competition on New Year's Day. That set in motion the groundwork for the Bowl Alliance, Bowl Championship Series and the College Football Playoff. 

The pre-game drama inflamed the culture clash between the Hurricanes under coach Jimmy Johnson and the Nittany Lions under Joe Paterno. Miami players walked off their airplane in Phoenix wearing military fatigues. The Hurricanes left a joint team dinner after defensive tackle Jerome Brown proclaimed: "Did the Japanese go and sit down and have dinner with Pearl Harbor before they bombed 'em?"

Penn State pulled off a 14-10 upset with five interceptions of Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde – the last coming from Pete Giftopoulos at the goal line with nine seconds remaining. The 1987 Fiesta Bowl had a 24.9 Nielsen rating – which proved NBC right. The ratings still impact decisions in the sport to this day. 

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