Midway through the fourth quarter against Notre Dame on Nov. 17, 1990, Penn State quarterback Tony Sacca rolled to his right. Sacca stopped, threw across his body, and completed a pass to tight end Al Golden near the 5-yard line. Golden spun twice, breaking two tackles and running into the end zone to tie the game at 21-21. The Nittany Lions later made a game-winning field goal, ending the No. 1 ranked Fighting Irish’s hopes of their second national title in three seasons.
To this day, Penn State fans recall Golden with his arms raised in front of a stunned crowd at Notre Dame Stadium. It was one of the most memorable moments of what was once among the biggest rivalries in college football.
On Thursday night, No. 6 seed Penn State and No. 7 seed Notre Dame face each other in the College Football Playoff semifinals in Miami Gardens, Fla. While Golden may have played for and graduated from Penn State, it is clear where his allegiances lie. Golden is now the defensive coordinator of a Notre Dame team that has allowed just 13.6 points per game, the second-lowest average in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Since Penn State joined the Big Ten Conference in 1993, the Nittany Lions have played the Fighting Irish just twice, with Notre Dame winning at home in 2006 and Penn State winning at home a year later. But before then, they were the two most popular independent programs in the country and played each year from 1981 through 1992, with all the games occurring in November and most in cold weather.
Early in that stretch, Penn State dominated, winning six of the first seven matches. The only exception was in 1984, when the Fighting Irish won 44-7 at Notre Dame Stadium. The next year, No. 1 Penn State defeated unranked Notre Dame, 36-6, to improve to 10-0. The Nittany Lions ended up losing, 25-10, to No. 3 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.
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