Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529598
D E C E M B E R 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 Penn State rushed for 396 yards against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl, and it needed nearly all of them to hold off the Tigers, 53-39, on Dec. 28 in Arlington, Texas. R u n n i n g ba c k Jo u r n ey Brown had 202 of those yards, setting a Penn State bowl re- cord and helping the Nittany Lions establish a team mark with their staggering total. Even so, PSU was outgained, with Memphis totaling 542 yards to the Lions' 529, and the game was competitive deep into the fourth quarter. Penn State led by only two points late in the third quar- ter, and it was still a one- score game until Noah Cain finished off a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard touch- down plunge with 6:31 re- maining to conclude the scoring at AT&T Stadium. Cain finished with 92 yards on the ground to complement Brown's huge day, and both running backs had 2 touchdowns. The Lions' defense had its hands full, but linebacker Micah Parsons came up big, tying a career-high with 14 tackles, including 3 for loss and 2 sacks, and he also forced 2 fumbles. With Brown and Parsons among Penn State's returnees in 2020, the Cotton Bowl inspired high hopes for the season to come. In his postgame press confer- ence, coach James Franklin said the Lions were "laying the foundation with two young players who are going to be re- turning next year. We're laying the foun- dation for our future." Alas, it turned out to be the final colle- giate performance for both. With the Big Ten dithering over whether to go forward with its 2020 season amid the COVID pandemic, Parsons decided to sit out and prepare for the 2021 draft. Brown was forced to medically retire due to a heart abnormality. Penn State never fully re- covered from those losses, finishing 4-5 in an abbreviated season. 10 YEARS AGO, 2014 No team was ever happier to play a December bowl game in New York than Penn State in 2014. When their campaign began four months earlier, the Nittany Lions weren't even eligible for the postsea- son. The NCAA had imposed a four- year bowl ban in 2012 as part of the consent decree that followed the San- dusky scandal, but the sanctions were rolled back in September 2014, and the ban was lifted two years early, resulting in a matchup against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. The game, held Dec. 27 at Yankee Stadium, turned out to be worth the wait. Christian Hackenberg com- pleted 34 of 50 passes for 371 yards and 4 touchdowns, and the Nittany Lions won in overtime, 31-30. Pe n n S ta te ra l l i e d ba c k f ro m a 14-point deficit in the third quarter and sent the game to overtime on a 45-yard field goal by Sam Ficken with 20 sec- onds left in regulation. Ficken then delivered again in over- time. The Eagles had missed a PAT in their overtime possession, and when the Lions countered with a 10-yard Kyle Carter touch- down catch, Ficken drilled the extra point to give the Lions their winning margin. T h e v i c to r y wa s Pe n n State's first in a postseason game since beating LSU in the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1, 2010. It brought a celebra- tory end to James Franklin's first season as the team's head coach, and he viewed it as another step forward for a program that was trying to rebuild in the wake of the NCAA's sanctions. Said the coach, "I think experiences and games like this have re- stored hope." 25 YEARS AGO, 1999 Pe n n S ta te h a d n 't ex- pected to end its 1999 season in San Antonio after start- ing out at No. 3 in the Associated Press poll and remaining in contention for the national championship for most of the year. Three losses in the final three games of the regular season ended those aspirations, and the Lions found themselves facing Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28. With All-Americans LaVar Arrington and Courtney Brown suiting up for the final time, Penn State's defense dom- inated the Aggies in a game that re- minded fans of why this team had been ranked so highly before its November swoon. The Lions held Texas A&M to 202 total yards (80 rushing, 122 pass- ing) and intercepted quarterback Randy McCown four times in a 24-0 victory. "It seemed like a Hollywood script," said Arrington, who finished with 14 tackles. "It's too bad it's too late to show what we had, but better late than never." The Lions' win over Texas A&M re- mains one of only two bowl shutouts in program history, the other being a 7-0 victory over Alabama in the 1959 Liberty Bowl. — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History Sam Ficken brought a celebratory end to Penn State's 2014 season (and his own college play- ing career) when he hit an extra point in overtime to give the Nittany Lions a 31-30 victory over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL