Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1512721
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 4 19 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIVE YEARS AGO, 2019 Trace McSorley's Penn State career ended much the way it began: with an attempt to engineer a comeback victory against an SEC opponent in a Jan. 1 bowl game played in Florida. McSorley first captured the attention of Penn State fans in the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl. He came on in relief of an injured Christian Hackenberg in that game and tossed a pair of touchdown passes, only to come up short in a 24-17 loss to Georgia. Three years later in the Citrus Bowl, McSorley tried again. Thanks in part to a series of uncharacteristic special teams blunders, the Nittany Lions found them- selves in a 27-7 hole going into the fourth quarter against Kentucky. Undaunted by the deficit, or by a painful foot injury that had forced him to give way briefly to backup Sean Clifford, the senior quarter- back engineered scoring drives of 75, 60 and 61 yards to cut the deficit to a mere field goal. That, however, was as close as Penn State would get. McSorley threw for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns, but the Nittany Lions fell 27-24 to the Wildcats. It was a disappointing end to one of the great careers in Penn State football history. Mc- Sorley finished as Penn State's all-time leader in passing yards (9,899) and total offense (11,596 yards), among other re- cords. "Trace is special," coach James Franklin said afterward. "I can't put into words the type of relationship I've had with him and his family. He's a special guy for a lot of different reasons. You look out on the field and you focus on his arm and his legs, but it's his heart and his mind that really make him special." 10 YEARS AGO, 2014 On Jan. 11, just 10 days after Bill O'Brien had been introduced as the new head coach of the Houston Texans, Penn State announced his replacement. James Franklin, who had been one of O'Brien's coaching colleagues under Ralph Friedgen at Maryland in 2003 and '04, was hired to oversee a Nittany Lion program that at the time was still strug- gling under the weight of the NCAA sanc- tions that followed the Sandusky scandal. Franklin had become a hot coaching commodity by compiling a 24-15 record at Vanderbilt. Prior to Franklin's arrival, the Commodores had enjoyed only two win- ning seasons since 1980, but they equaled that total in three years under Franklin, going 9-4 and posting bowl wins in each of his last two campaigns in Nashville. His immediate success at a place where so many others had failed, coupled with his Pennsylvania roots — he was born and raised in Langhorne and attended East Stroudsburg University — made Franklin a natural fit with the Nittany Lions. "I believe in the history of this institu- tion," he said at his introductory presser. "I believe in the core values of this institu- tion, the integrity, the character that this place is all about, and I believe in where it's going." 25 YEARS AGO, 1999 The 1998-99 Big Ten men's basketball season didn't go the way Penn State had hoped. The Nittany Lions went 5-11 and bowed out of the league tourney with a first-round loss to Northwestern in which they managed just 44 points. But they did get the conference campaign off to a rousing start. On Jan. 2 at the Bryce Jor- dan Center, the Nittany Lions thrashed Michigan, 70-52. PSU had been going through a rough patch, having lost 85-67 to Florida Inter- national at the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tuc- son, Ariz., on Dec. 28. In the tournament's consolation game two nights later against Holy Cross, coach Jerry Dunn looked to send a message by benching four start- ers. The decision produced a 72-53 win and also showed "that no one across the board is assured of a certain amount of minutes," point guard Dan Earl said. Penn State took that message to heart in its Big Ten opener. Facing a Michigan team that was struggling under second- year coach Brian Ellerbe, the Nittany Li- ons romped at home. Center Calvin Booth scored 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting and added 9 rebounds, while Earl scored 11 points. The Lions had put their disappoint- ing performance behind them and, for one night at least, they were ready to flex some muscle against a traditional Big Ten power, albeit one that was going through a rough patch of its own. Said Booth, "This is a new season, and we wanted to come out ready to play hard today." — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History Trace McSorley threw for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 27-24 loss to Kentucky in the 2019 Citrus Bowl. It was his final game as a Nittany Lion. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL