Chicago — The Big Ten Network will be the place to relive stunning upsets, incredible finishes and stellar individual performances as the popular series The Big Ten’s Greatest Games returns for its third season.
Penn State will be featured four times among the 24 episodes that debut this fall, including two each week, premiering on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays. The first episode will be the 1989 Holiday Bowl classic between Penn State and BYU, scheduled for 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
The Big Ten’s Greatest Games series features the TV broadcast of the game, as well as interviews with players, coaches and media involved in the contest.
“We receive suggestions for Greatest Games literally every day,” Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said, “and many of these new episodes are a result of those suggestions. These games give fans a chance to relive so many great memories.
The network is in the planning stages for a third basketball season of The Big Ten’s Greatest Games. Fans are encouraged to nominate their favorite historical contests by visiting www.bigtennetwork.com/greatest.
Penn State’s four new episodes for The Big Ten’s Greatest Games are as follows:
Tuesday, September 1
Dec. 29, 1989 – Holiday Bowl – #18 Penn State 50, #19 BYU 39
With BYU marching down the field in the final minute for the potential game-winning touchdown, Penn State’s Gary Brown stripped BYU quarterback Ty Detmer and sprinted 53 yards for the game’s final score. Halfback Blair Thomas led Penn State’s offensive attack with 35 carries for 186 yards and a touchdown. Detmer’s NCAA bowl record 576 passing yards weren’t enough for the Cougars.
Tuesday, September 22
Oct. 12, 1985 – State College, Pa. – #8 Penn State 19, #10 Alabama 17
Penn State came from behind to defeat Alabama, 19-17, and hand the Crimson Tide their first loss of the season. The Nittany Lions went on to complete an 11-0 undefeated regular season en route to playing Oklahoma for the national championship. After Alabama scored the game’s first touchdown, Penn State climbed to a 12-7 lead, scoring all of their points on field goals. The Crimson Tide sliced the lead to two with a 45-yard field goal, but the Nittany Lions responded with an 11-yard touchdown pass from back-up quarterback Matt Knizer to push the game out of reach.
Tuesday, September 29
Nov. 27, 1993 – East Lansing, Mich. – #14 Penn State 38, #25 Michigan State 37
Penn State trailed by 20 late in the third quarter, but after an interception by Derek Bochna, Penn State’s offense exploded for three touchdowns in a span of about five minutes. Quarterback Kerry Collins had the second-best passing day in Penn State history, with 352 yards and three touchdowns, as the Nittany Lions edged Michigan State to win the first game in the Land Grant Trophy series.
Tuesday, October 27
Jan. 3, 2006 – Orange Bowl – #3 Penn State 26, #22 Florida State 23
Two college football legends matched wits in the 2006 Orange Bowl as Joe Paterno and Penn State faced Bobby Bowden and Florida State. The Nittany Lions secured a 26-23 victory in a triple-overtime thriller. Penn State’s Kevin Kelly, nailed a 29-yard field goal in the third overtime to win the game for the Nittany Lions.
The Big Ten Network’s 2009 Penn State Football Preview Show debuted Thursday night, with several repeat airings on the network prior to the Nittany Lions’ Sept. 5 season opener vs. Akron. The “Penn State Football 2009 Season Preview” Special will be airing during the week on a variety of stations and regional sports networks.
A complete listing of stations and networks carrying the “Penn State Football 2009 Season Preview” Special and The Penn State Football Story can be found on www.GoPSUsports.com.
About the Big Ten Network: The Big Ten Network is the first nationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With approximately 350 live events, and nearly all of them in HD, the network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. The network operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, showcasing a wide array of classic-to-current sports and televising more Olympic sporting events and women’s sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation’s finest universities. Each year, the network offers between 35 and 40 football games, 105 regular season men’s basketball games; 55 women’s basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Championship events; Big Ten Tonight, a nightly studio show; coaches’ shows; and classic games. Available to all cable and satellite providers nationwide and in Canada, the network currently has agreements with more than 250 affiliates, including AT&T U-Verse, Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox (Cleveland, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas), DirecTV, DISH Network, Insight, Mediacom, Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct (Canada), Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS. For updated information on the Big Ten Network, go to www.BigTenNetwork.com.