Blue White Illustrated

season of eligibility. Paterno turned to his three exceptional redshirt sophomores, each with a different running style: Mike Archie (cutbacks), Ki-Jana Carter (speed) and Stephen Pitts (slashing). Engram was back to beef up a receiver corps weakened by graduation and injuries, and the offensive line Isaac Smolko catching a 20-yard pass on fourth-and-15 and freshman Derrick Williams scoring on a 36-yard pass to give the Lions a 3429 victory. OHIO STATE, 2005 Before an electrifying White Out crowd, Penn State held the sixth-ranked Buckeyes to 230 yards of total offense, building a 143 lead that would, thanks to the steadfast play of its defense, become a 17-10 victory. Quarterback Michael Robinson called it "one of the highlights of my career. One of the highlights of my life." @ OHIO STATE, 2008 This particular Horseshoe hadn't brought Penn State much luck over the years; the Lions had gone 0-7 in Columbus since joining the Big Ten. But their ravenous defense forced a critical fumble by freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor, and backup quarterback Pat Devlin enjoyed his one shining moment at Penn State, leading two scoring drives to lift the third-ranked Lions to a 13-6 victory over the ninth-ranked Buckeyes. NEBRASKA, 2011 A dreadful week, full of scandalous accusations and some of the most wrenching decisions in Penn State history, had preceded the Cornhuskers' visit to Beaver Stadium. Their coach, Bo Pelini, said he thought the game shouldn't even be played. But play it they did. And when players and coaches from both teams gathered at midfield in a moving gesture of solidarity prior to kickoff, it provided a moment of solace in a time of turmoil. WISCONSIN, 2012 This was the signature was again a combination of veterans and highly regarded youngsters. The defense was solid, with nine regulars returning. Paterno also had to adjust his philosophy about going undefeated and winning the national championship. They were still the ultimate team goals, he told the players, but now they could lose a couple of games and still win the Big Ten title and go to the Rose Bowl. It was a new mindset they needed to immediately embrace. Paterno and his coaches also had to take a different approach to evaluating and preparing for their new Big Ten win of Bill O'Brien's first season. The Badgers were unranked but were headed to the Big Ten Championship Game (and eventually the Rose Bowl). After a rough start, Penn State fought them to a stalemate and eventually won in over- time, 24-21, on a 37-yard field goal by Sam Ficken. The buoyant ending sent Penn State into the off-season with a burst of momentum. We'll soon see how far it carries them as they head into their 21st year in the Big Ten. MINNESOTA, 1999 Dan Nystrom kicked a 32-yard field goal on the final play of the game, and just like that, Penn State's national championship dreams were over. The undefeated, second-ranked Lions had appeared headed for a championship showdown against Florida State, but their 24-23 loss to the Gophers – on Homecoming weekend no less – was the start of a three-game tailspin that landed them in the Alamo Bowl. during the Lions' bounce-back season, dealing Paterno his only loss, 27-25, thanks to some questionable timekeeping that gave Carr a few extra seconds and an equally questionable decision by Penn State to kick deep to Steve Breaston in the final moments. Breaston's 41-yard return allowed the Wolverines to start their last drive at their own 47yard line, and they ended it with a 10-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the game. @ OHIO STATE, 2000 It ended up being one of the most uplifting stories in Penn State football history, but when freshman cornerback Adam Taliaferro went down with a neck injury in the fourth quarter of a 45-6 loss to Ohio State, everyone in a hushed Ohio Stadium feared they had just witnessed a tragedy. Unable to move, Taliaferro was taken out of the stadium in an ambulance, leaving the Lions' sideline in shock. A long, life-changing ordeal had just begun. @ MICHIGAN, 2005 No one had Joe Paterno's number like Lloyd Carr. Carr's Wolverines had beaten Penn State six times in a row heading into the 2005 matchup, and they did it again @ WISCONSIN, 2006 The Badgers won, 133, but Penn State's on-field performance was overshadowed by what happened to Paterno. The veteran coach was bowled over on the sideline at the end of a tackle, leaving him with a fractured shin and damaged knee ligaments. It was the first in a string of health concerns that marred the final years of his career. @ IOWA, 2008 Paterno's final national championship run ended on a windy day in Iowa City, as the thirdranked Lions fell to the unranked Hawkeyes, 24-23, on a last-second field goal. It was Penn State's seventh loss in nine games against Iowa.

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