Ranking the 30 Greatest National Championship Games

17. 1983 Sugar Bowl

#2 Penn State d. #1 Georgia 27-23

BEFORE THE GAME

Nobody emerged from the regular season undefeated and untied except top-ranked Georgia. The Bulldogs boasted Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker, who finally won the award in 1982 after finishing third as a freshman and second as a sophomore. He ran for 1752 yards and 16 touchdowns to surpass the 5000-yard mark for his college career, arriving in New Orleans on a 10-game streak of games with 100 or more rushing yards. Though rather one-dimensional on offense, the Bulldogs also featured a defense that gave up 12.1 yards per game.

Behind the Bulldogs lay a slew of one-loss teams. ACC champion Clemson opened the year with a loss to Georgia and also had a tie against Boston College on their record. Pac-12 champ UCLA had fallen to Washington and tied at Arizona. Big 8 winner Nebraska was 11-1, but they had lost to Penn State and were locked into the Orange Bowl. Penn State was also in the running, also 11-1, with their only loss coming against Alabama in Birmingham.

In this period independents held outsized sway in determining whether a de facto national championship would take place. Penn State could have played a rematch against Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. The could also have faced 10-0-1 SWC champion SMU in the Cotton Bowl, another game that would have held undoubted national title interests. Instead they opted to play a 1-vs-2 showdown in New Orleans, setting up a second national championship in five years at the Sugar Bowl.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Penn State drew first blood in the Sugar Bowl, as Curt Warner ran in the first of his two touchdowns on the day. Warner added his second score in the second quarter, as the Nittany Lions built up a 20-3 lead. The Bulldogs managed to score a touchdown before halftime, but still found themselves down 20-10 heading into the third quarter. Walker pulled Georgia within a field goal on a one-yard TD run after halftime, but for most of the game he was a relative non-factor. He finished the day with 103 yards on 28 carries.

Warner outdueled his Heisman-winning counterpart on the ground, finishing with 18 carries for 117 rushing yards and the two touchdowns. Todd Blackledge guided the Penn State offense through the air as well, finishing 13-of-23 for 228 yards and a touchdown. A fumbled punt return late in the game gave Georgia hope as they pulled within four, but Blackledge and the PSU offense ground down the clock with several drive-extending plays to secure the first national championship in school history.