UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Former Penn State quarterback Chuck Burkhart will be inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame, presented by AutoNation, on December 30. Burkhart will be inducted along with former Oklahoma defensive back Bud Herbert and former Arkansas running back Ronald Sales.
Burkhart and the rest of the 2023 Hall of Fame class will join 133 others who have made a significant impact on Orange Bowl since its inception in 1935. He will be honored at the annual AvMed Orange Bowl Coaches Luncheon presented by AutoNation on December 29 at Jungle Island in Miami and will be featured in an on-field ceremony at the 90th Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30 at Hard Rock Stadium.
Burkhart led Penn State to a pair of Orange Bowl wins in 1969 and 1970 and was a part of two undefeated seasons that resulted in two, top-two finishes in the AP Poll.
During the 1969 Orange Bowl, with the Nittany Lions trailing Kansas by seven points with less than two minutes remaining, Burkhart completed a 47-yard pass to the 3-yard line and ran in the game-winning touchdown with seconds to go. The following year, he followed up that performance to earn MVP honors in the 1970 game, his final game at Penn State, by orchestrating his offense to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter and cruising the Nittany Lions to a 10-3 victory over Missouri.
1969 Orange Bowl: Penn State 15, Kansas 14
The Nittany Lions posted perhaps the school's most dramatic victory with an unbelievable 15-14 win over sixth-ranked Kansas in the 1969 Orange Bowl. In the final 1:16 of the game, Penn State turned what appeared to be a Jayhawk victory into an incredible cap to an 11-0 season and the No. 2 national ranking.
With Kansas leading, 14-7, with 10 minutes to play, Jayhawk coach Pepper Rodgers passed on a field goal from the Penn State five-yard line and running back John Riggins was stopped on fourth-and-one by Paul and Pete Johnson, keeping the Lions within a touchdown.
The game took on legendary status in the last two minutes after Penn State was forced to punt. The Lions had all three timeouts left and used them well. After tackle Mike Reid dropped quarterback
Bobby Douglass for 13 yards in losses on consecutive plays of Kansas' final offensive series, Penn State helped its cause when Neal Smith partially blocked the punt, providing one last opportunity from the 50 yard-line with 1:16 left. Burkhart connected with Bob Campbell on a 47-yard pass to the Kansas three, just as Kansas running back Donnie Shanklin was being announced as the game MVP. After fullback Tom Cherry tried the middle twice, Burkhart faked a handoff to Charlie Pittman and carried around the left end for the touchdown with just eight seconds remaining.
Penn State elected to go for the win, but Burkhart's two-point pass to Campbell was knocked away and the Kansas players began to celebrate with fans who were coming onto the field. But a penalty had been called on the Jayhawks for 12 men on the field and, as game films would later reveal, Kansas had 12 men on the field for four plays, including Burkhart's touchdown.
Presented with a second opportunity, this time from the one and-a-half-yard line, Campbell swept around the left side and into the end zone for the scintillating 15-14 victory as Penn State became
the first Eastern school to win the Orange Bowl since 1937.
1970 Orange Bowl: Penn State 10, Missouri 3
If ever a defense won a bowl game, it happened in the 1970 Orange Bowl as Penn State repeatedly slammed the door on Missouri's highly-touted offense for a 10-3 victory. It was a superlative performance by the Lion defenders as they led Penn State to its second straight Orange Bowl victory, its 22nd straight win and its 30th consecutive game without defeat.
The Nittany Lion defense was outstanding in stopping the Big Eight champions. Nineteen times the powerful Missouri offense got possession of the ball and nine times the Lion defenders forced a turnover, intercepting seven passes and recovering two fumbles. The seven interceptions remain an Orange Bowl record, bettering the six turned in by Georgia against TCU in the 1942 contest, as well as being tied for the second-highest ever for any bowl game.
All of Penn State's scoring came within a 21-second span late in the first quarter, with Mike Reitz kicking a 29-yard field goal with 3:44 remaining and Burkhart passing moments later to Lydell Mitchell for a 28-yard touchdown. The second score was set up after All-American Mike Reid jarred the ball loose from Missouri's Joe Moore on the kickoff and Mike Smith recovered the fumble. Burkhart completed 11 of 26 passes for 187 yards to earn Most Valuable Player honors, while Reid was chosen Most Valuable Lineman.
Missouri connected on a 33-yard field goal late in the first half and reached the Penn State 14-yard line with 1:42 to play. But, George Landis grabbed his second interception of the game at the two and the Lions remained unbeaten in their 30th straight game, tying the school mark set from 1920-22.
The 2023 Penn State football season is presented by PSECU.
