“Pitt’s Redemption” Cards for the 1977 Gator Bowl for SOM College Football
Dropbox link to cards for 1977-CLEMSON FINAL SOM-Cards.zip
Dropbox link to cards for 1977 Pittsburgh SOM Final Cards.zip
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The 1977 Gator Bowl was a college football game played on December 30, 1977, in Jacksonville, Florida, where the #10 ranked Pittsburgh Panthers defeated the #11 ranked Clemson Tigers 34-3. Pittsburgh quarterback Matt Cavanaugh set a new Gator Bowl record for passing yards with 387 yards in the game. In one of his more spectacular games, the Youngstown, Ohio, senior passed for four touchdowns and 387 yards before a record crowd of 72,289 and a national television audience. That set a couple of records—most yardage passing in a Gator Bowl game and most yardage passing in a game by a Pitt player, up until that point.
The #10 ranked Pittsburgh Panthers had high hopes as defending champions, hoping that their sturdy defense and Cavanaugh would carry them to another undefeated season. But he missed three games during the year, plus the last three quarters of the 1977 season opener with a broken arm. Doctors had expected him to be out at least six weeks, but Cavanaugh made it back early. He was injured during a play in which he threw a touchdown pass to give Pitt a 6‐0 lead over Notre Dame. The Irish came back against a strong Pitt defense and eventually won, 19‐9, and shattered the Panthers’ hope of repeating as national champions.
The other side of the field had good reason to celebrate any postseason play at all. Just the mere idea of Clemson going to a bowl Game was almost unfathomable to their long-suffering fans in 1977. After an 18 year postseason bowl drought, the Clemson Tigers were finally going bowlin’ thanks to a spectacular finish in the Clemson-South Carolina matchup. Culminating in “The Catch,” a 20 yard last minute grab by Jerry Butler of a Steve Fuller pass for a 31-27 win in Columbia, the No. 11 Tigers accepted a bid to play in the Gator Bowl.
The game was, unfortunately, one sided. There was a stark difference in the sheer size of the Pitt players versus Clemson’s - comparatively, they were monsters. Clemson would end up being crushed 34-3. The only offensive output was derived from the leg of place kicker Obed Ariri.
Clemson QB Steve Fuller
The strong Pitt defense asserted itself, as it stymied Clemson's quarterback, Steve Fuller, with four interceptions, stopped the South Carolina Tigers three times inside the 15‐yard line and held Clemson at the Pitt 1 ½ late in the fourth period after the issue was settled.
Running back Elliott Walker, also playing his last game for Pitt, helped make Cavanaugh s performance impressive as he scored three of the touchdowns on Cavanaugh passes. The first Cavanaugh-to-Walker score was on a 39‐yard touchdown play. The quarterback stood up straight after the snap and flipped the ball over the linebackers to Walker, who beat the Clemson secondary for the 33 yards he had to run. The second touchdown by this pair was a 10‐yarder on a roll right by Cavanaugh. The last one was on a screen pass of 25 yards, with Walker doing a fine job of open‐field running after catching the ball.
Mark Schubert, a sophomore placekicker, made the other 10 Pitt points with four extra‐point kicks and two field goals of 24 and 21 yards. Clemson's only points came on a 49‐yard field goal by Obed Ariri, a sophomore from Nigeria. That made distance set a Gator Bowl record.
Special Thanks to Chris Stewart, the author.
Reprinted with permission 9-15-2025
Fred Bobberts
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