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touchdown pass from quarterback Christian Hackenberg to true freshman wideout Chris Godwin, but their 7-0 lead evaporated quickly, as the Eagles re- sponded with a 49-yard TD run by Jon Hilliman on their next possession. The score remained tied until the 8re- works started midway through the third quarter. Complementing Hilliman – who rushed for 109 yards in the 8rst half – quarterback Tyler Murphy found his groove as the game went on. Midway through the third quarter, Murphy con- nected with Shakim Phillips for a 19- yard touchdown, then he scampered 40 yards – juking Penn State cornerback Jordan Lucas to the ground – to give the Eagles a 21-7 lead. For a Nittany Lion oense that had struggled to 8nd any rhythm aer losing guard Miles Dieenbach to an injury late in the 8rst quarter, a two-score de8cit seemed insurmountable. "The one posi- tion where we couldn't aord to lose a guy is on the oensive line. Losing him, his leadership – he's our captain – was big," coach James Franklin said. But with Derek Dowrey coming on in relief, the Lions began to 8nd some suc- cess. They converted a third-and-9 play on their next possession, as Hackenberg connected with Geno Lewis for 32 yards. Unlike two earlier drives that ended with botched snaps, this one produced points, as Lewis hauled in a deEected pass for a 7-yard touchdown on the last play of the third quarter, cutting the de8cit to 21-14. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions' defense 8nally started to 8gure out how to slow down the Eagles' dynamic running game. Forcing back-to-back three-and- outs, the Lions simpli8ed and found suc- cess. Said Franklin, "As the game went on, we said, 'Look, we don't need to make some of our more elaborate calls. Let's call base defense and allow our kids to play.' I think that was helpful." The defensive surge helped Penn State's oense gain excellent 8eld posi- tion, and Akeel Lynch burst 35 yards to set up the tying touchdown pass from Hackenberg to Hamilton. But Boston College was not done. The Eagles found their footing again on oense, as Murphy ran 26 yards deep into Penn State territory, with a late hit penalty on Adrian Amos tacked on to give them a 8rst down at the 11. Moments later, BC punched home a 20-yard 8eld goal. Having used two of their timeouts dur- ing the preceding drive, the Lions took over with 2 minutes, 10 seconds remain- ing. Just as he'd done in comeback victo- ries against UCF and Rutgers to start the season, Hackenberg went to work, quickly moving the Lions to the BC 27- yard line on a completion to Godwin and a critical 6-yard scramble. With just 25 seconds le, Sam Ficken lined up for a 45-yard 8eld goal attempt. He split the uprights with plenty of leg to spare, and the Nittany Lions forced overtime. "I love Sam Ficken," Franklin said. "He's probably been our best oensive weapon all year long. He really has. The way that guy's career started, he had some bumps along the way, but to go out here with that 8eld goal [was great]." In the overtime period, the Lions were immediately deEated when a series of missed tackles helped turn a third-and-6 play into a 21-yard TD pass from Murphy to David Dudeck. But hope remained even aer Dudeck's score, as kicker Mike Knoll shanked his PAT to the right – the eighth missed PAT of Boston College's season. Sensing the opportunity, the Nittany Lions immediately put themselves in a hole with a false start penalty, but a 17- yard 8rst-down throw to Jesse James set up the game's 8nale. Aer reaching the 10, Hackenberg threw to tight end Kyle Carter on a fake screen to tie the score. "We were running the screen earlier, and it was ef- fective," Carter said. "This time I just faked like I was going to block the outside guy and cut up8eld to the back of the end zone. Hack put it in the right spot." All that was le for the win was the for- mality of Ficken's extra point. As with all 27 of his previous attempts this season, Ficken's kick was true, sending the sen- ior streaking down the sideline to avoid the mob of teammates and Penn State personnel racing to pile on top of him. "The way the guys persevered all sea- son, it wasn't always pretty, but we stuck together," Franklin said. "To me, that's who we are – a blue-collar, hard-nosed program. I took a lot of time in the locker room to thank the seniors. These guys will be remembered forever for standing strong when we needed them to stand strong, to lay the foundation for great things to come. "It really springboards us into the o- season and next season. The future is very, very bright here." SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 5:22 PSU Godwin, Chris 72-yard pass from Hackenberg, Christian (Ficken, Sam kick) 3 plays, 70 yards, TOP 1:01....................................................................... 0-7 4:39 BC Hilliman, Jon 49-yard run (Knoll, Mike kick) 2 plays, 52 yards, TOP 0:42........................................................................ 7-7 3RD 8:07 BC Phillips, Shakim 19-yard pass from Murphy, Tyler (Knoll, Mike kick) 11 plays, 60 yards, TOP 6:45.................................................................... 14-7 2:12 BC Murphy, Tyler 40-yard run (Knoll, Mike kick) 4 plays, 63 yards, TOP 1:58...................................................................... 21-7 0:00 PSU Lewis, Eugene 7-yard pass from Hackenberg, Christian (Ficken, Sam kick) 6 plays, 63 yards, TOP 2:04.................................................................... 21-14 4TH 06:48 PSU Hamilton, DaeSean 16-yard pass from Hackenberg, C. (Ficken, Sam kick) 6 plays, 55 yards, TOP 1:44.................................................................... 21-21 2:10 BC Knoll, Mike 20-yard field goal 11 plays, 69 yards, TOP 4:31..................................................................24-21 0:20 PSU Ficken, Sam 45-yard field goal 8 plays, 49 yards, TOP 1:45.................................................................... 24-24 OT 15:00 BC Dudeck, David 21-yard pass from Murphy, Tyler (Knoll, Mike kick failed) 4 plays, 25 yards, TOP 0:00.................................................................... 30-24 15:00 PSU Carter, Kyle 10-yard pass from Hackenberg, Christian (Ficken, Sam kick) 6 plays, 25 yards, TOP 0:00.................................................................... 30-31 D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 2

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