It will be the 29^th straight meeting as Big Ten rivals when No. 2 Ohio State takes on No. 13 Penn State this Saturday at Beaver Stadium. But prior to 1993, the two football powers only met eight times on the gridiron despite their campuses being located less than 350 miles apart.
 
The last non-conference matchup in 1980 proved to be the most memorable as it was the Fiesta Bowl's 10^th annual postseason game and, more importantly, it would be the first time the Bowl hosted a team from the Big Ten Conference.
 
This was an extraordinary step for an organization that experienced success its first nine years, hosting 12 teams ranked in the Top 20 that were Independent or affiliated with the Big 8, Southwest (SWC), Pac-10 and Western Athletic (WAC) Conferences.
 
"All roads back then led to staging a national championship game. There would have to be several steps to do that." said Bruce Skinner, who served as Fiesta Bowl Executive Director from 1980-90. "The Big Ten was the one conference that we had not hosted but felt we needed. It was extremely important because a lot of people in Arizona went to Big Ten schools."
 
The four New Year's Day bowl games had contractual relationships to host a conference champion. This meant only three spots remained for teams to receive a New Year's Day at-large bid.
 
For the remaining games, organizations needed to be strategic and negotiate the best possible matchup. This was where the Fiesta Bowl Founders and Executive Leadership Team excelled and what led to securing the Big Ten runner-up in the 1980 game.

"There were a ton of Ohio State alums in the Valley. Of course, since we had the (Big Ten Conference) runner-up, we knew it would either be Ohio State or Michigan," said Skinner. "We could not lose with either one of those teams. We were we getting a Big Ten team, one that was also one of the two big traditional programs from the conference and nationally."

Ohio State, led by second-year Head Coach Earle Bruce and junior QB Art Schlichter entered the 1980 season ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press (AP).

Nick Saban, who has won seven national and nine SEC Championships as Alabama Head Coach, was in his first year as defensive backs coach for the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes experienced their first loss in Week 5 when No. 11 UCLA shut out Ohio State in Columbus. Ohio State climbed back to No. 5 entering its season finale against rival Michigan, with plenty on the line.

Ohio State lost the game, 9-3, crowning the Wolverines as Big Ten Champions and a spot in the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes then headed to the Valley of the Sun and played in their first of a record-setting nine appearances in the Fiesta Bowl.

Penn State entered the season ranked just inside the Top 20. Head Coach Joe Paterno platooned three quarterbacks throughout the year before naming freshman Todd Blackledge as its starter Week 5.

A young team, the Nittany Lions experienced a Week 3 loss to No. 3 Nebraska before they won seven straight and reached No. 5 in the polls.

Capitalizing on the opportunity to have Penn State make its second Fiesta Bowl appearance in three years, Fiesta Bowl Founder Jim Meyer met the team in Philadelphia after its win over Temple to extend an invitation.

"We've always had the goal to have the best teams available," explained Meyer to local media after offering the bid. "And we feel the teams we have are the best teams available. We've been lucky, and we are even luckier this year to get two teams in the Top 10."

A December 26 matchup saw a then-record crowd of more than 66,000 attend the game at Sun Devil Stadium.

Ohio State won the toss and elected to receive. After a quick three and out, the Buckeyes needed punt. Penn State started on its own 36 and only need 11 seconds to get on the scoreboard.

TB Curt Warner took the hand-off from Blackledge, raced 64 yards for the opening touchdown, and a 7-0 lead.

Ohio State answered on its next possession as Schlichter led the Buckeyes on a six-play 83-yard drive capped off by a touchdown pass to WR Doug Donley. The extra point was no good and Penn State led 7-6. That would be the only scoring in the opening quarter.

The Buckeyes extended the lead to 19-7 in the second quarter as Schlichter found Gary Williams on a 33-yard TD and Donley for his second TD reception of the game. Schlichter tied a Fiesta Bowl with three touchdown passes.

Penn State cut the lead to 19-10 with a late field goal before the half. Warner led the offense with 104 yards on nine carries and one TD.

"We knew at halftime that we were still in the game," said Blackledge after the 1980 game. "We had to go out in the second half and execute better."

Penn State received the opening kickoff, marched 75 yards on 10 plays and cut the lead to 19-17 on a Blackledge 3-yard TD.

The Nittany Lions defense held the high-powered Buckeyes offense to zero net yards in the third quarter but still trailed by two. Jonathan Williams scored from four yards out early in the final quarter to give Penn State a 24-19 lead.

Ohio State had an opportunity to regain the lead on its next possession. Schlichter led the Buckeyes on a 13-play drive but was unsuccessful on fourth down from the Penn State 27-yard line. This would be the last serious threat of the game.

Booker Moore sealed the 31-19 victory in the final minute with a 37-yard TD run. He would be the fourth different player who had a rushing TD.

Penn State dominated on the ground with 351 yards on 56 attempts. Warner rushed for 155 yards on 18 carries and earned Offensive MVP honors.

Creating the signature matchup gave the Bowl founders, staff and volunteers the confidence to dream bigger. The next step after hosting one of the elite teams from the Big Ten Conference would be to challenge the status quo and celebrate its annual game on New Year's Day.

"For decades, it was the Rose, Sugar, Cotton and Orange on New Year's Day," recalled Skinner. "To become the fifth bowl to move onto New Years was significant. I don't believe we could have done that if we wouldn't have had the matchup we did in 1980."