It was November of 1992 when my Dad took me to a local party in Philadelphia to see another epic matchup of Penn State vs. Notre Dame. In the previous decade ,  it had become one of the best matchups in all of college football.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Penn State vs. Notre Dame didn’t disappoint. Just a few years after Notre Dame’s victory over Penn State in the 1976 Gator Bowl, the matchup that began in 1913 with a Notre Dame 14–3 victory in South Bend moved into a whole new chapter. Legendary Penn State Coach Joe Paterno vs. Lou Holtz who had brought Notre Dame back to prominence. Just one year earlier, Penn State had thrashed Notre Dame 35–13 in Happy Valley.

Growing up around Philadelphia in an Irish Catholic household , the Nittany Lions vs. Fighting Irish seemed like a can’t-lose proposition. One of America’s oldest football programs that had become legendary against Pennsylvania’s premier NCAA Football Team whose beginnings were even older.

Tonight in the Orange Bowl will be another meeting of these titans, whose battles over the years have been evenly matched, with a 9–9–1 overall record. This year’s matchup will once again feature James Franklin’s experience coupled with the youth of one of the NCAA’s best young quarterbacks in Drew Allar against one of college football’s youngest coaches in Marcus Freeman paired with senior quarterback Riley Leonard.

But between Notre Dame and Penn State who are on opposite ends of the spectrum in youth and experience are strikingly similar in two other categories. The Nittany Lions and Fighting Irish not only have devastating defenses, they have largely annihilated opponents on the way to the Orange Bowl. Penn State has outscored opponents 69–24 in these two College Football Playoff Games, and Notre Dame has averaged 39.4 points per game during the 2024–2025 campaign. 

The 1992 game didn’t disappoint as a battle between two heavyweights. Played on the same weekend that the movie “Rudy” was being filmed in South Bend, snow began to fall during the second half. With twenty-five seconds left in the game #8 Irish quarterback Rick Mirer found Jerome Bettis for a touchdown to bring the score to 16–15 in favor of #22 Penn State. Without a moments’ hesitation , Irish Coach Lou Holtz elected to go for the two-point conversion. Mirer then found Reggie Brooks in the back of the end zone for the win.

I distinctly remember the mood at the Philadelphia party sinking with the outcome. My twelve-year old brain took comfort from the anticipation of seeing these two juggernauts battle again in the future. Little did I know that over the next thirty years these two iconic football programs would only meet twice more. This Thursday, with the help of these two great teams, that excitement will find me again.

Michael Thomas Leibrandt lives and works in Abington Township, Pennsylvania.