The 1983 Sugar Bowl was the 49th

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of the

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, played at the

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New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

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, on Saturday, January 1. Part of the 1982–83 bowl game season, it matched the undefeated and top-ranked

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

of the

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(SEC) and the #2

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, an

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. Penn State to finish atop the final polls as

Teams

Penn State

Georgia

Game summary

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

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. Both teams scored on their first possession of the game. Penn State running back Curt Warner scored on a 2-yard touchdown run and the Nittany Lions He finished the game with 117 yards rushing. Georgia got on the board following a 27-yard field goal from

Kevin Butler Kevin Butler may refer to: * Kevin Butler (American football) (born 1962), American football placekicker * Kevin Butler (character) Kevin Butler (portrayed by Jerry Lambert) was a marketing character used by Sony Computer Entertainment America a ...

to make In the second quarter, after two possessions for each team had ended in punts, Nick Gancitano kicked a 38-yard field goal to put the Nittany Lions ahead, 10–3. After a 65-yard punt return by Kevin Baugh only resulted in a missed field goal for Penn State, Warner added a 9-yard touchdown run on a 65-yard drive that took just under two minutes. With only 44 seconds left in the first half, Gancitano made a 45-yard field goal for Penn State to take a commanding 20–3 lead. After the ensuing kick-off, however, quarterback John Lastinger drove the Bulldogs down the field, completing four of five passes, including one that Kevin Harris lateralled to

Herschel Walker Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia. ...

for a 26-yard gain. With five seconds remaining in the half, Lastinger threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Herman Archie to cut the margin Opening the second half, Georgia mounted a 64-yard drive, which was capped when Herschel Walker scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, cutting the margin to 20–17. Georgia had thus scored touchdowns on consecutive possessions (one to end the first half and one to open the second), with Penn State only touching the ball intermittently to run out the clock in the first half. However, the Bulldogs wouldn't score again for almost 22 minutes of game time and John Lastinger went on to throw two interceptions. Penn State cashed in on the second one with a 47-yard play-action touchdown pass from

Todd Blackledge Todd Alan Blackledge (born February 25, 1961) is a former American football quarterback in both the NCAA and National Football League. In college, he led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a national championship. A member of the famed Class of 19 ...

to wide receiver Gregg Garrity to give Penn State a Lastinger threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to

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 in the 7th round of the 1984 NFL Draft The 1984 NFL ...

to close the margin to 27–23 with 3:54 left. After the subsequent kick-off, however, Penn State was able to run out the clock, only having to punt as time was expiring.

Scoring summary

Statistics

References

{{Penn State Nittany Lions bowl game navbox

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

Sugar Bowl Georgia Bulldogs football bowl games Penn State Nittany Lions football bowl games