DeLuca went from walk-on to captain with the Nittany Lions. 'You can't help but love Dom,' Penn State DC Tom Allen said.

SMU's Kevin Jennings was deep in his own territory and on his back foot, but he airmailed the checkdown right into DeLuca’s hands.

DeLuca’s performance matched the likes of fellow Nittany Lions linebackers Shane Conlan and Pete Giftopoulos, who each had two picks of Miami’s Vinny Testaverde to deliver the program’s last national championship in 1986.