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Alabama Crimson Tide |
Penn State Nittany Lions © |
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Played September 12, 1987 at Beaver Stadium University City, Pennsylvania |
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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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| Alabama | 2 | 18 | 4 | 0 | .818 | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 |
| Penn State © | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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Alabama |
9 |
8 |
0 |
7 |
24 |
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Penn State |
0 |
7 |
0 |
6 |
13 |
First-year coach Bill Curry brought the 19th ranked, 1-0 Alabama Crimson Tide to Happy Valley to meet 11th ranked, 1-0 Penn State Nittany Lions of coach Joe Paterno. Penn State had taken The Belt from Alabama a year earlier & the Tide was primed for vengeance. Alabama's All-SEC RB Bobby Humphrey rushed for 220 yards with a touchdown in leading the Tide to a 24-13 win to reclaim The Belt. Humphrey scored in the 1st quarter when he took a pitch to the right side, cut back to the hole, broke 2 tackles & was free for a 73-yard touchdown run. Alabama's PK Phil Doyle kicked a 46-yard field goal as the Crimson Tide took a 9-0 lead into the 2nd quarter. Humphrey set-up the next touchdown when he threw a 57-yard half-back option pass that WR Clay Whitehurst carried to the Penn State 1-yard line. Alabama's QB David Smith completed the 10-play, 89-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run & the 2-point conversion made the score Alabama 17 Penn State 0. The Nittany Lions closed the gap before halftime with a 76-yard scoring drive as QB Tom Bill connected with WR Ray Roundtree for a 21-yard touchdown pass. Neither team scored in the 3rd quarter as both defenses tightened but the Crimson Tide scored early in the 4th quarter on a 10-yard touchdown run by RB Bo Wright giving Alabama a 24-7 lead. Penn State’s final touchdown came on a 60-yard pass from QB Matt Knizer to Roundtree. Smith threw for just 49 yards while Alabama held the ball for 36:07 of the game & All-SEC LB Derrick Thomas recorded 3 sacks. Knizer threw for 163 yards with his touchdown & Roundtree had 4 catches for 114 yards with his 2 scores in the loss. The Nittany Lions finished the season 8-4 while the Crimson Tide finished 7-5. Penn State would play for The Belt again in 10 weeks.
