W
as Penn State's 1994 team the best
o, with running
back Ki-Jana Carter, quarterback Kerry
Collins and tight end Kyle Brady all
among the top 10 selections in 1995.
Before departing, those players helped
Penn State set school and Big Ten
records by averaging 47.8 points per
game. The Lions led the nation with an
average of 520.2 yards per game, of
which 269.3 came through the air and
250.9 on the ground. Both of those aver-
ages led the Big Ten.
At that time, I felt Collins had devel-
oped into the best quarterback in Penn
State history. Many asserted that Carter
was the most talented running back the
school had ever seen, and to this day,
Brady and wideout Bobby Engram are
considered to be among the very best
players Penn State has produced at their
respective positions.
Collins led the nation with a pass e=-
ciency rating of 172.86. Carter had its
best yards-per-carry average (7.8), and
Engram became the ;rst Penn State
wide receiver to eclipse 1,000 yards re-
ceiving with 52 catches for 1,029 yards.
What's even more impressive is that a
Nittany Lion player led the Big Ten in all
but one major oer watching the Nittany Lions wrap
up their 1994 season with a victory over
Oregon in the Rose Bowl, I thought that I
would never again see a Penn State of-
fense that was so productive. I contin-
ued to believe that would be the case
until the second half of the 2016 season.
During the last ;ve weeks of the Lions'
most recent regular season, they
thrashed Purdue (62-24), Iowa (41-14),
Indiana (45-31), Rutgers (39-0) and
Michigan State (45-12). They followed
up those performances with a 38-31
comeback victory over Wisconsin in the
Big Ten Championship Game and a
spectacular if ultimately unsuccessful
e
