Nov. 18, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State and Michigan will collide for the 19th time on Saturday afternoon when the Nittany Lions welcome the Wolverines for a noon kick on ABC.
Today marks a historic day in the history between two of college football's greatest programs.
On Nov. 18, 1995, Penn State and Michigan battled in a game simply known as "The Snow Bowl" inside Beaver Stadium. A surprise storm blanketed 18 inches of snow in Happy Valley just three days before the game. Penn State Athletics paid hundreds of volunteers to feverishly remove the snow from Beaver Stadium before the game.
The snow removal crew included 188 prisoners from area correctional institutions. And despite the significant snowfall and severely limited parking around the stadium, approximately 80,000 spectators filled Beaver Stadium to watch the Hall of Fame head coach Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions and the Wolverines, led by first-year head coach Lloyd Carr.
The play of the game came in the final three minutes of action when the Nittany Lions used a fake field goal attempt to seal a 27-17 victory over the Wolverines. With the clock reading 2:40 to play and the Lions leading 20-17, kicker Brett Conway lined up for a 19-yard field goal attempt. However, the snap went to holder Joe Nastasi, a sophomore wide receiver at the time, who breezed into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown to help clinch the win over the 12th-ranked Wolverines.
"We were going to run it all game, we just didn't know when," Nastasi said to the media after the game. "It felt good, especially against Michigan. I just knew it was going to happen. I wasn't going to be denied on that one."
With snow piles lining the perimeter of the Beaver Stadium playing surface, the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter following a 49-yard field goal from Conway and a 13-yard touchdown pass from Wally Richardson to Mike Archie. Michigan answered in the form of a Brian Griese touchdown pass to Amani Toomer, but Conway added a 51-yard field goal to make it a 13-7 game at halftime.
Michigan tallied a field goal to set the score at 13-10 heading into the fourth quarter. Richardson and Bobby Engram connected on a 12-yard scoring play in the fourth quarter to make it a 20-10 game. Michigan pulled to within three on an 18-yard touchdown run from Tim Biakabutuka before Nastasi's clinching touchdown run.
Led by Coach Paterno, the victory marked the second of three-straight for Penn State against Michigan.
The Nittany Lions finished with 438 total yards, including 245 on the ground. Penn State running back Stephen Pitts rushed for a career-high 164 yards on 17 carries. Richardson was 17-for-31 for 193 yards and had two touchdowns through the air. Engram was Penn State's leading receiver with five catches for 87 yards.
In a series marked by close games, the 1995 victory is one of 11 games between the Nittany Lions and Wolverines decided by 10 points or fewer.