Penn State found itself locked in a game with the Memphis Tigers that was probably a bit closer than it should’ve been.
The Nittany Lions led Saturday’s Cotton Bowl 35-23 at the half, but the Penn State defense allowed Memphis to score 13 points on the Tigers’ first three drives of the second half to close the gap.
Then, all of a sudden, Micah Parsons came to the rescue.
On third-and-eight, Tigers’ quarterback Brady White dropped back to pass, but didn’t get rid of the ball quickly enough.
Right place, right time 🎯 pic.twitter.com/2h9W6nBmV4
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 28, 2019
White attempted to toss the ball forward to avoid a sack, but Nittany Lions defensive back Garrett Taylor picked him off and returned it for a touchdown.
Just like that, Penn State led 45-36 courtesy of Micah Parsons’ pressure.
Despite a poor showing from the rest of the Nittany Lions’ defense, Parsons has put together quite a game.
Micah Parsons finished this game with 14 tackles (7 solo), 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 pass breakups and a QB hurry.
Unreal performance.
— Ben Ferree (@BFerree_) December 28, 2019
He racked up two sacks — along with this key QB hit that forced a game-changing play. That’s NFL worthy stuff. By the way, he’s only a sophomore. It’s nowhere but up from here.
[jwplayer 8DVvRxMm-q2aasYxh]
[vertical-gallery id=881465]