1979 Liberty Bowl

1979 Liberty Bowl
21st edition
Penn State Nittany Lions Tulane Green Wave (7–4) (9–2) Independent Independent 9 6 Head coach:  Joe Paterno Head coach:  Larry Smith AP Coaches NR 20 AP Coaches 15 15
1 2 3 4 Total Penn State 0 6 0 3 9 Tulane 0 0 0 6 6
Date	December 22, 1979
Season	1979
Stadium	Liberty Bowl
Location	Memphis, Tennessee
MVP	Roch Hontas (Tulane QB)
Favorite	Penn State by 2½ points[1]
Referee	Courtney Mauzy (ACC)
Attendance	50,021
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Keith Jackson, Ara Parseghian, Verne Lundquist

The 1979 Liberty Bowl was the 21st edition of the college football bowl game, held at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee, on Saturday, December 22. Part of the 1979–80 bowl game season, it matched the Tulane Green Wave and the Penn State Nittany Lions, both independents. In a game without a touchdown, Penn State won 9–6.^[2][3]

Teams

Main article: 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season

Penn State

Main article: 1979 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

The 1979 Penn State squad finished the regular season with a record of 7–4 and losses against Texas A&M, Nebraska, Miami and Pittsburgh.^[4] The appearance marked the third for Penn State in the Liberty Bowl, and the school's 18th overall bowl game.^[5]

Tulane

Main article: 1979 Tulane Green Wave football team

The 1979 Tulane squad finished the regular season with a record of 9–2 and losses against Rice and West Virginia.^[6] The appearance marked the second for Tulane in the Liberty Bowl, and the school's sixth overall bowl game.^[7]

Game summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Penn State Tulane 2 9:57 Penn State 33-yard field goal by Herb Menhardt 3 0 2 1:59 Penn State 27-yard field goal by Menhardt 6 0 4 12:30 Tulane 26-yard field goal by Eddie Murray 6 3 4 2:40 Tulane 26-yard field goal by Murray 6 6 4 0:18 Penn State 20-yard field goal by Menhardt 9 6 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 9 6

References

1. "The latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 22, 1979. p. 11.
2. "Penn State topples Tulane". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 23, 1979. p. D1.
3. "Menhardt's 3 field goals save Penn State in the Liberty Bowl". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. December 23, 1979. p. 3B.
4. "Game-by-Game under Joe Paterno (1966–2007)" (PDF). goPSUsports.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
5. "College Football Data Warehouse: Penn State bowl games". Archived from the original (English) on November 9, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
6. "Year-By-Year Summaries (1970s)". Tulane Athletic Communications Office. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
7. "College Football Data Warehouse: Tulane bowl games". Archived from the original (English) on May 22, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2011.