The 1982 Sugar Bowl was the 48th

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of the

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, played at the

Louisiana Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, on Friday, January 1. Part of the 1981–82 bowl game season, it matched the #2 Georgia Bulldogs of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC), the defending national champions, and the #8

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. The slight underdog Panthers won the game

Teams

Georgia

Pittsburgh

Game summary

The game kicked off shortly after 7 p.m. CST, televised by

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, at the same time as the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...

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. Junior quarterback Dan Marino, a future first round draft pick, started for Pittsburgh and

Buck Belue Benjamin Franklin "Buck" Belue played American football and baseball at the University of Georgia from 1978 to 1981. He was the quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs in 1980, when the team went 12–0, and, after beating Notre Dame in the Suga ...

for Georgia. The Bulldogs relied on their running game, powered by sophomore Herschel Walker, who rushed for two touchdowns. Scoreless in the first quarter, Georgia led early with an 8-yard run from Walker, then Pitt kicked a field goal and the score was 7–3 at halftime. Scoring increased in the second half, with five lead changes. The Panthers scored a touchdown to go ahead 10–7; Georgia got the lead back and the game was 13–10 (as a result of a missed PAT) at the end of the third quarter. Marino threw a short touchdown to John Brown to take back the lead at Georgia scored again with a 6-yard pass and the game was Pitt reclaimed the lead with just 35 seconds to go with a 33-yard pass from Marino to Brown on 4th and 4 and won

Scoring

First quarter :''No scoring'' Second quarter *Georgia – Herschel Walker 8-yard run ( Kevin Butler kick) *Pitt – Snuffy Everett 41-yard field goal Third quarter *Pitt –

Julius Dawkins Julius Dawkins is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and Arena Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 12th round of the 1983 NFL Draft. As a college football player with the Univ ...

30-yard pass from Dan Marino (Everett kick) *Georgia – Walker 10-yard run (kick failed) Fourth quarter *Pitt – John Brown 6-yard pass from Marino (Everett kick) *Georgia –

Clarence Kay Clarence Hubert Kay (born July 30, 1961) is a former professional American football player. A 6'4", 237-lb. tight end from the University of Georgia, Kay was selected by the Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American footbal ...

6-yard pass from

(Butler kick) *Pitt – Brown 33-yard pass from Marino (Everett kick)

Statistics

: :

Aftermath

Pittsburgh moved up to fourth in the final polls, while the Bulldogs dropped to sixth It has often been called one of the greatest bowl games, and bowl upsets, of all time. It also marks the last time the Pitt Panthers won a major bowl game.

Legacy

Twenty-two Pittsburgh Panthers were drafted over the next four years by the

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. Six of them were selected in the first round, including Marino,

Jim Covert James Paul "Jimbo" Covert (born March 22, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons during the 1980s and early 1990s. Covert played college f ...

, Tim Lewis,

Bill Maas William Thomas Maas (born March 2, 1962) is a former American football defensive tackle who played for the Kansas City Chiefs (1984–1992), and the Green Bay Packers (1993). Maas was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1986 and 1987. In 1984 Maas was ...

Chris Doleman Christopher John Doleman (October 16, 1961 – January 28, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He spent the majority of his career with the Minnesot ...

, and

Bill Fralic William P. Fralic Jr. ( ) (October 31, 1962 – December 13, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a guard for the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1985 to 1993. He played colle ...

. Marino and Doleman were elected to the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

. Covert is the only player on the winning team to win a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

, four years later in Super Bowl XX with the

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, also played in the Superdome. Tom Flynn, Free Safety for Pitt also won a Super Bowl XXI with the New York Giants when they beat Denver

References

{{Pittsburgh Panthers bowl game navbox Sugar Bowl Sugar Bowl Georgia Bulldogs football bowl games Pittsburgh Panthers football bowl games Sugar Bowl Sugar Bowl