After witnessing the Big Ten lose four consecutive bowl games leading up to the Rose Bowl, Penn State ended its season on a winning note and snapped the Big Ten bowl losing streak in a big way. Penn State took full control of Pac-12 champion Utah in the Rose Bowl on Monday and celebrated a 35-21 victory in Pasadena.
After the teams played to a 14-14 tie in the first half, Penn State got the scoring started in a big way with [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] rushing 87 yards early in the third quarter on a third down and short. Just seconds into the fourth quarter, once again facing a third down deep in their own end, Clifford connected with [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] for an 88-yard touchdown pass to extend the Penn State lead to 28-14. Almost four minutes later, [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] punched one in from the goal line to push the Penn State lead to 35-14.
In fairness, the game took a huge swing in Penn State’s favor early in the third quarter when Utah starting quarterback Cam Rising left the game with an apparent leg injury. Bryson Barnes came in to lead the Utah offense but Penn State defensive coordinator [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] brought the heat and the defense took control of the game almost immediately. [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] picked off a deep pass by Bryson shortly after Utah was forced to go with the backup, and the Utes offense never regained much momentum.
Penn State closes out the season with a record of 11-2, with the only losses coming to two Big Ten teams that participated in the College Football Playoff, Michigan and Ohio State. The roster will see some roster turnover with players heading off to the NFL and another solid recruiting class coming in, and the outlook for 2023 already looks promising with the continued development of some key players from the 2022 season including Singleton, Allen and [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag]. And, of course, the potential for expected starting quarterback Drew Allar will lead to some promise in the fall.
This is the third New Years Six bowl victory for Penn State head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag]. Franklin previously coached Penn State to victories in the Fiesta Bowl and the Cotton Bowl. This is Penn State’s second Rose Bowl victory in program history, joining the 1994 team’s victory in the 1995 Rose Bowl.
Penn State’s spring game will be played on April 15, 2023 and the countdown to the start of the 2023 season is already underway. Penn State will open the 2023 season at home against West Virginia on Saturday, September 2, 2023.
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