The Penn State Nittany Lions are set to honor the 1986 National Championship team on Saturday at halftime.
Greatness will be in the building on Saturday afternoon when the Penn State Nittany Lions matchup with the Buffalo Bulls.
The game will likely be one that is over quickly, but what will keep the fans in the stands, at least for the first half, is what is set to happen at halftime. The Nittany Lions will be honoring the 1986 National Championship team at the break.
My how times have changed.
Penn State was still an independent school in '86, and they went into the season under then-head coach Joe Paterno, who was entering his 21st year as the Nittany Lions' head coach. They entered the year with high expectations as they were the No. 6 ranked preseason team with hopes to make a run.
They never once took their foot off the gas pedal, and week after week, they bested their opponent.
Huge wins over Temple, Boston College, East Carolina, and Rutgers set up a tough, hard-fought win over Cincinnati. It was a blowout over Syracuse that set up the game of the year: No. 6 Penn State at No. 2 Alabama.
It wasn't even close as the Nittany Lions wiped the floor with the Crimson Tide, 23-3, which had Penn State in the driver's seat. They jumped all the way up to No. 2, preceding victories over West Virginia, a two-point win over Maryland, a win at Notre Dame, and a drubbing of Pittsburgh.
This regular season set up the Fiesta Bowl, a matchup between the No. 2 Nittany Lions and the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes.
The game went Penn State's way as they took down the 'Canes 14-10 and grabbed the title of college football for the rest of time.
Penn State finished a perfect 12-0 and now lives in immortality in college football forever.
Their coming back on Saturday underscores a really important facet of what Matt Campbell is doing. He is dead set on reconnecting all of the alumni of the program to the current program. He has said several times how important that is to him, and he is bringing it to life.
It will be an incredible day on Saturday as the Nittany Lions and the Buffalo Bulls square off on the field. It will be a day filled with great memories of the 1986 season and one that celebrates the past and the present of Penn State football.
