1977 Sugar Bowl

Pittsburgh had been ranked #9 in the preseason AP Poll, with their first game being against #11 Notre Dame, which they won 31-10, making them rise to #3 the following week. On November 6th, they finally rose to #1 with Michigan losing to Purdue. They soon beat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl and Penn State at Three Rivers Stadium to finish the regular season undefeated, soon receiving an invite to the Sugar Bowl for the chance to win the national championship. This was the first time the Panthers had made bowl appearances in consecutive seasons since 1955-56 (with 1956 being the last year they had made the Sugar Bowl). Tony Dorsett (who had rushed for 1,948 yards) won the Heisman Trophy, the first Panther to win it. Georgia had started 4-0, but a loss to Ole Miss dropped them from #4 to #11. But the Bulldogs finished the season with six straight victories to get back to being ranked #4 along with being champion of the Southeastern Conference, their first SEC title since 1968. This was Georgia's fourth straight bowl appearance and first Sugar Bowl since 1969. This was the first year in which the SEC was the official conference tie-in to the Sugar Bowl, along with the first Sugar Bowl played on New Year's Day since 1972.^[1]

Game summary

Pittsburgh took control early, driving 80 yards in 12 plays that culminated with a Matt Cavanaugh touchdown run. Seven minutes into the second quarter, Cavanaugh heaved a pass to Gordon Jones for 59 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0. Before the half ended, Tony Dorsett scored a touchdown from 11 yards out to make it 21-0. The key to their lead was the fact that Georgia utilized a 6-2 defense that focused on Dorsett exclusively, which made it easier for the receivers to catch passes since they were being given one-on-one coverage, which Pittsburgh took advantage of in the first half, passing for 185 yards while Dorsett was held to 65 yards. But in the second half, he broke through, rushing for 137 yards in the second half. A fumble on the first drive of the second half by the Panthers gave the ball to Georgia at the Panther 26, but the Bulldogs could only forward it to the Pittsburgh 7 before Allan Leavitt kicked a 25-yard field goal to give Georgia their first (and as it would turn out, only) points of the game. In the third quarter, Panther kicker Carson Long countered with a 42 field goal to make it 24-3. In the fourth quarter, he kicked a 31 yarder to make the final score 27-3. With the win, Pittsburgh was declared national champions, their first since 1937. Tony Dorsett rushed for 202 yards on 32 carries, scoring one touchdown. Running back (and future Georgia coach) Ray Goff rushed for 76 yards on 17 carries. Matt Cavanaugh threw 10-of-18 for 192 yards for one touchdown for Pittsburgh while being named MVP. Robinson threw 2-of-15 for 2 interceptions and 33 yards. ^[2]^[3]

Scoring summary

Pittsburgh: Cavanaugh 6-yard run (Long kick)
Pittsburgh: Jones 59-yard pass from Cavanaugh (Long kick)
Pittsburgh: Dorsett 11-yard run (Long kick)
Georgia: Leavitt 25-yard field goal
Pittsburgh: Long 42-yard field goal
Pittsburgh: Long 31-yard field goal

Aftermath

Majors left Pittsburgh for his alma mater Tennessee after the game ended. This remains Pittsburgh's last championship. Pittsburgh has returned once to the Sugar Bowl, while Georgia has returned six times. The two teams would meet in the Sugar Bowl in 1982.

Statistics

Statistics	Pittsburgh	Georgia
First Downs	24	14
Yards Rushing	288	135
Yards Passing	192	46
Total Yards	480	181
Punts-Average	5-36.8	8-42.1
Fumbles-Lost	2-1	4–2
Interceptions Thrown	0	4
Penalties-Yards	6-66	4-30

References

1976–77 NCAA football bowl game season

Independence (Dec. 13) Tangerine (Dec. 18) Liberty (Dec. 20) Fiesta (Dec. 25) Gator (Dec. 27) Peach (Dec. 31) Bluebonnet (Dec. 31) Sugar (Jan. 1) Cotton (Jan. 1) Orange (Jan. 1) Rose (Jan. 1) Sun (Jan. 2)

Sugar Bowl Game

History & conference tie-ins	History Tulane Stadium Georgia Dome Mercedes-Benz Superdome College Football Playoff Broadcasters Southeastern Conference Big 12 Conference

Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1972 1973 1974 1975 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Notes	The 2006 game took place in Atlanta, Georgia due to Hurricane Katrina. The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1993, 1997, 2000, and 2004. There was a Sugar Bowl in January and December in 1972 and 1995. The game was a College Football Playoff semifinal in its 2015 edition.

Georgia Bulldogs bowl games

Pittsburgh Panthers bowl games

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