It was on this day in 1994 when Penn State opened the football season on the road against Minnesota in Big Ten play. It was the start of something beautiful in State College. This is the first in a season-long retrospective of my experience following Penn State in 1994, how it was this team that got me hooked on college football for life, and trying to recall where I was for each game of the season. Feel free to share your experiences following the 1994 team in the comment section or on Twitter.
Penn State was not satisfied with their first season in the Big Ten. Sure, a winning record and a victory over Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl would ordinarily be the marks of a successful season for just about any school, but the big bad eastern independent turned Big Ten member was served a dose of reality in 1993 with losses to Michigan and Ohio State. The players went into the bowl game looking to end on a high note, and they did just that against Heath Shuler and the Vols. The tone was set for an offseason of preparation and focus on proving Penn State not only belonged in the Big Ten, but they could win it. The 1994 season would be much different than the first season as a Big Ten member. This Penn State with a chip on its shoulder would prove to be difficult for anyone to slow down.
While most Penn State teams throughout school history had been built around the foundation of a solid defense, the 1994 squad was loaded on the offensive side enough to overcome any weaknesses on defense. The Big Ten and college football world would see that put on display in the first game of the season, on the road against Minnesota in the Metrodome.
Or not.
In 1994 there was no Big Ten Network and the cable offerings on college football Saturdays was still very limited compared to 2014. This was years before the day when you could watch a game on as many as four different ESPN networks, three different networks, three other cable sports networks, the Big Ten Network, the Pac-12 Network as well as whatever games happen to be offered on regional sports outlets or affiliates all at the same time. Never mind the additional games you can stream online on the Internet. Commercial breaks? HA! Well, actually…
Penn State’s season opener in 1994 was not available to watch on TV. I could not tell you what games were on TV that day, but I can tell you my dad spent that evening getting his Penn State fix the way he would any time a Penn State game was not on TV. He laid on the couch in the living room and listened to the radio play-by-play on the Penn State football radio network, in all of its brilliant AM quality out of the Philadelphia market. This was all you could do unless you had a ticket to the game in Minnesota. It may be difficult for this generation of Penn State fans to comprehend just how awful this was.
I was not quite on board with my Penn State fandom at this point, but I do remember popping up from the basement periodically for a refill of my drink, a snack or perhaps a quick stop to the bathroom. Whatever the reason for coming upstairs, I remember my dad giving me the updates. I was only mildly interested in Penn State football, but I had become more of a sports fan over the past year and a half. I had been to some games, and had been warned not to get used to seeing such high scoring as I did at my first game (Penn State 81, Cincinnati 0). I was not really paying close enough attention to know who Kerry Collins or Ki-Jana Carter or Kyle Brady was.
That soon changed.
My memories of that Penn State opener in 1994 are limited to the sporadic scoring updates my dad relayed from listening on the radio. As the season played out, my memories would become much more visual. Only because I have the ability to read a box score and other recaps, I know Ki-Jana Carter rushed for 210 yards on 20 carries. Kerry Collins was 19-of-23 for 260 yards with three touchdowns. The first team players starting to get a rest for the remainder of the game at halftime, including Carter. That would be the case for much of the season. These were the two players who would become stars, but this was a complete performance from the Nittany Lions against a struggling Minnesota program, winning by a final score of 56-3.
Jeff Hartings, one of the key pieces of the offensive line that season recently recalled that season opener against Minnesota for a retrospective series featured by The Football Letter.
“We went in with some uncertainty, and then we pretty much dominated them,” Hartings recalled. “We were basically unstoppable.”
Many teams that season on Penn State’s schedule would find out just how unstoppable the Nittany Lions would be.
Photo credit: The Football Letter
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