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Penn State Nittany Lions |
Alabama Crimson Tide © |
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Played October 25, 1986 at Bryant-Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
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Teams' Belt Records
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Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
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W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
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| Penn State | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Alabama © | 2 | 18 | 3 | 0 | .857 | 9 | 2 | 0 | .818 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 |
Previous Belt Meetings: None
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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Penn State |
0 |
14 |
3 |
6 |
23 |
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Alabama |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
The 6th ranked, 6-0 Penn State Nittany Lions of coach Joe Paterno met the 2nd ranked, 7-0 Alabama Crimson Tide of coach Ray Perkins. The Nittany Lions defense, featuring All-American LB Shane Conlan & DT Tim Johnson, held Alabama to just 44 yards rushing, forced 5 turnovers, recorded 5 sacks, while PK Massimo Manca hit 3 field goals in the 2nd half as the Nittany Lions claimed The Belt for the first time with a 23-3 win. The Crimson Tide took the lead when PK Van Tiffin hit a 40-yard field goal in the 1st quarter. Penn State got a 19-yard touchdown run from All-American RB D.J. Dozier & a 3-yard touchdown run by RB Blair Thomas as the Nittany Lions took a 14-3 halftime lead. The 2nd half saw Manca connect on field goals of 37, 29, & 42 yards for the only points as the Penn State defense completely shutdown the Alabama running game while recovering 3 fumbles. Penn State's QB John Shaffer finished with 168 yards passing as the Nittany Lions held the ball for 34:32 of the game. Alabama's QB Mike Shula threw for 172 yards but threw 2 interceptions that stopped drives while All-SEC RB Bobby Humphrey was held to 27 yards rushing. The 20-point loss by Alabama was their worst in 10 years of games at Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide finished the season 10-3; ranked 9th nationally while the Nittany Lions finished 12-0 & National Champions. Alabama would play for The Belt again in 1987.
