Somewhere in Marco Rivera’s home in Dallas is a ring that’s supposed to evoke fond memories.
The former Penn State offensive lineman and his teammates were given rings — complete with a large No. 1 on them — by head coach Joe Paterno. The Nittany Lions coach wanted all his players from the 1994 team to have something tangible to commemorate a group that even 30 years later is still revered as one the most beloved in program history.
“We felt like we were the best team in the country the way we were rolling and beating people,” former wide receiver Bobby Engram said this week.
Ki-Jana Carter, Kerry Collins, Kyle Brady and Engram spearheaded an offense that averaged 43.8 points per game. Carter and Collins were both Heisman Trophy finalists. Carter, Collins and Brady would all be selected in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft. Between 1995 and 1996, 15 Penn State players would be selected in the draft.
The ring is a reminder of all that Penn State accomplished as it beat Oregon 38-20 in the 1995 Rose Bowl to cap an undefeated season. Rivera doesn’t know where his ring is and hasn’t bothered to look. When he thinks back to that season, he can’t help but recall a bitter ending.
“The hurt is still there,” Rivera said this week. “It is as painful today as it was 30 years ago. When we have our 30th anniversary, it’s going to hurt even more because you get to see the guys that were in the locker room with you. There are gonna be smiles and high-fives and we’re gonna walk out on the field and feel proud of what we did, but deep down inside we all feel like we were cheated.”
In the pre-BCS era, one that was driven by pollsters, Nebraska was declared national champion while Penn State, despite also going undefeated, finished No. 2 in both the AP and coaches polls. Rivera could’ve lived with the distinction of co-champions, much like what happened in 1990 (Colorado and Georgia Tech) and 1991 (Washington and Miami). Instead, one of the greatest teams in college football history was forced to settle for second.
Bobby Engram caught 52 passes for 1,029 yards in 1994. (Rick Stewart / Getty Images)
“That’s what really hurt and it made you pissed off,” Engram said. “A few years prior there had been co-champs and so they had done the split. … There was evidence of them doing that with two really good teams. How many chances do you really get to win a national championship, right? You don’t get that many cracks at it. We felt slighted.”
Penn State won national championships in 1982 and 1986. The 1994 team is one of five undefeated Paterno teams not to be named national champions. Penn State has never tried claiming non-unanimous championships — unlike other schools.
“We got a handshake and a good job, thanks for the season, thanks for the memories,” Rivera said.
Saturday night, the Beaver Stadium crowd will thank them again, this time surely with another roar when the 1994 team is honored as part of Penn State’s homecoming celebration. Friday night, when the former teammates gather at a reception, they know at some point they’ll end up talking about what could’ve been had they ever had the chance to play Nebraska.
“If we sat down and argued that Nebraska was better than we were, I think I’d argue until I fell asleep,” former Penn State fullback Brian Milne said. “I believe we were national champions, and belief is something that no one really can take away from you.”
What can’t be argued is which team provided the biggest scare in that undefeated season. As emails went out this summer inviting the lettermen back for the reunion, there were laughs when they saw who Penn State would be playing. Honoring this team against Illinois is fitting.
“The Illinois game was one of my biggest memories of my time that year,” former defensive tackle Brandon Noble said.
Playing a very good Illinois team, with its outstanding defense (led by Simeon Rice, Kevin Hardy and Dana Howard) on the road was going to be challenging enough.
What Penn State didn’t plan for was a power outage at the hotel on the day of the game. Without power, there were no alarm clocks and no functioning elevators. Players were woken up by managers banging on their doors. No power also meant no way to watch film during pregame meetings.
Paterno paced the hallway. Players recalled not wanting to get caught in anyone’s line of sight. The team’s pregame meal? Pizza and hoagies.
“I remember Joe chasing (longtime director of football operations) Tom Venturino around the hotel yelling at him,” Noble said. “Venturino was like, ‘That was all that I could find!’”
“We ended up eating pizza and hoagies in the lobby and down at the hotel bar area,” Rivera recalled. “Then, we finally get on the bus and it was just so weird. We’re driving through and there’s no lights in the town. Rumor has it that maybe frat guys knocked over a light pole and just killed the electricity in that part of the city (laughs). Then, we get to the game and it’s a disaster.”
Penn State’s 21-0 deficit in the first quarter was motivation enough for Paterno to send Rivera, who had injured his shoulder the week before, into the game. Rivera lobbied to play and told Paterno to forget about the rest of the season — there was no shot at a championship if they lost.
The players, despite the score, remained confident. There was a genuine belief that no deficit was too much to overcome.
“No one was screaming, no one was yelling,” Milne said. “Coach Paterno said pretty frankly, ‘Guys, they’re not doing anything we didn’t expect. We just have to play better.’ That’s all he said. He knew we had it in us to come back, and that’s what we did.”
Penn State trailed 31-28 with six minutes remaining and had the ball on its own 4-yard line.
“I remember looking over at the sideline and we were in our all white uniforms and it was dark and the lights had just turned on,” Engram said. “I remember vividly our whole sideline interlocking arms. In the huddle we just kind of looked at each other and we knew. It was like everybody just do your job. Everybody touched the ball. Everybody made plays.”
Collins would go 7-for-7 on the drive that was capped off by Milne’s third touchdown of the game. Penn State was finally in the lead, 35-31 with 57 seconds remaining.
Safety Kim Herring intercepted Illinois’ last-ditch attempt in the end zone to seal the game. The win clinched Penn State’s spot in the Rose Bowl and set the stage for the most painful “what if” scenario in program history.
“If we don’t squeak that one out, we’re not even having this conversation,” Noble said. “Then, we’re just a team that lost one. Instead, that Illinois game put us as a team in a position to at least be having a 30th reunion.”
Engram, now a wide receivers coach with the Washington Commanders, will be living vicariously through his former teammates this weekend. The group chat is already buzzing as they make their way back to town.
“I’ll FaceTime Ki-Jana,” Engram said of his old college roommate he remains close with. “That’s gonna be a really cool moment. We’re a bunch of proud guys and they’ll be celebrating. But they’ll be just as proud to be up there, be together and be connected to the program.”
(Photo of Kerry Collins and Ki-Jana Carter: Robert Beck / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
