25 best college football bowl games in history

5. Penn State vs. Alabama, 1979 Sugar Bowl

Bear Bryant’s defense pulled off the most infamous goal line stand in history to give Alabama a title win over Penn State in one of the greatest games ever played between two outstanding teams.

Alabama already owned four national championships under Bryant, and was in line for a fifth with a No. 2 ranking and 10-1 record in 1978. Following a loss to USC early in the season, the Crimson Tide dominated down the stretch with nine straight wins to earn a shot at the championship.

No. 2 Penn State went undefeated for the fourth time under Joe Paterno, although the Nittany Lions had not yet won a championship under him. The Nittany Lions allowed just 9.2 points per game to rank third in the country to help them earn the No. 1 ranking for the final few weeks of the season.

As expected, the game was a defensive struggle, as neither team scored until Alabama’s Jeff Rutledge hit Bruce Bolton on a 30-yard touchdown pass just before halftime. Midway through the third, a Penn State interception set up a 17-yard Scott Fitzkee touchdown catch, tying the game at seven.

With time ticking down in the third quarter, Alabama got good field position on a long punt return and retook the lead on a short rush out of the wishbone by Major Ogilvie. The Penn State offense had a great chance to tie things up after getting the ball deep in Alabama territory on a fumble in the fourth, but was stuffed three times on the goal line, including an iconic fourth down hit by Barry Krauss on Mike Guman.

Aided by a 12 men on the field penalty, the Crimson Tide were able to run the clock down to under a minute left and held on for a hard-fought 14-7 win. Bryant won his sixth title the next season, which remains the most ever by a college coach.