Tag: Joe Paterno

Penn State Bowl History: Sean Lee’s redemption and Tony Hunt runs wild on Tennessee in 2007 Outback Bowl

Penn State bowl history: Sean Lee’s defining moment and Tony Hunt running wild in the 2007 Outback Bowl

A season removed from a run to a Big Ten championship, Penn State made a return trip to the Outback Bowl at the end of the 2006 season. And up against a Tennessee team that was ranked and believed to be the favorite, it was the Penn State fundamentals of a strong defense and dominant running game that led the Nittany Lions to pulling away for a double-digit victory against the favored Vols.

Head coach Joe Paterno watched the game from the press box as he was recovering from a broken leg suffered in a sideline collision earlier in the season.

Heading into the game, the popular suggestion was that Tennessee had better athleticism across its roster, and that would lift the Vols to a victory over Penn State. But Tony Hunt proved that sometimes it just pays to be bigger and stronger on the ground. Hunt rushed for 158 yards on 31 rushing attempts to pave the path to a 20-10 victory.

But this Penn State team was still very much reliant on its defensive successes. Against the Vols, Penn State forced three turnovers and Tennessee was held to a season-low 10 points in the game. After the game, Tennessee head coach Philip Fulmer noted Penn State played the exact kind of style you should expect against a team coached by Paterno.

“You play against Joe Paterno’s football teams, they’re going to be tough, they’re going to disciplined, they’re going to be able to run the football,” Fulmer said. “I knew that, having been there before. I learned some great lessons from him the last time. If we take care of the football better, at least it’s a more interesting game there at the end.”

For three quarters, it was a tight contest between the Nittany Lions and Vols. Tennessee opened the scoring with a field goal in the first quarter, and Kevin Kelly responded early in the second quarter to tie the game at 3-3-. Penn State took a 10-3 lead later in the second quarter when Anthony Morelli completed a short touchdown pass to tight end Andrew Quarless to cap a 92-yard drive.

Penn State’s lead did not make it to halftime, however. Out-muscling future NFL Pro Bowl linebacker Sean Lee, LaMarcus Coker sprung loose for a 42-yard touchdown run with a little over a minute before halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, Tennessee was marching into position for a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, but Tony Davis returned a Tennessee fumble, which was forced by Lee, 88 yards for a defensive touchdown to put the Nittany Lions in front for good. Kelly would later add a field goal to extend Penn State’s lead to 20-10 to seal the deal against the SEC opponent.

“I didn’t want to let our seniors down, and I felt like I was letting the whole team down playing like that,” Lee said after the game, reflecting on his forced fumble. “I knew I had to come out in the second half and make a big play. I had to make up for that play.”

With the win, Penn State improved to 3-0 all-time in the Outback Bowl. But their next trip, four years later, would not go as well. But this was Paterno’s 22nd all-time career bowl victory, extending his lead in the all-time bowl coaching victories list.

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Penn State Bowl History: Bobby Engram shreds Auburn in soggy 1996 Outback Bowl

A look back at Penn State’s first appearance in the Outback Bowl, a muddy blowout of Auburn

Penn State’s first trip to the Outback Bowl was a fun one for the Nittany Lions. Penn State blew away Auburn in what was supposed to be a fairly even matchup between the Nittany Lions and Tigers. A season after going undefeated and winning the Rose Bowl, Penn State’s 43-14 victory over Auburn helped set the tone for what would turn out to be another promising 1996 season the following fall.

Penn State handled Auburn in less than ideal weather conditions on January 1, 1996. A combination of heavy rain and mud on the field made for a sloppy game, and Penn State capitalized on Auburn’s inability to adapt to the weather conditions with their explosive offense and steady defense. After the game, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno suggested his team just had more character to adapt to the playing conditions.

“You can’t let the weather bother you,” Paterno said after the win. “If you try to fight it, it’ll even be worse. It takes character to do that, and I think our kids showed a lot of character out there today.”

The 1996 Outback Bowl was the 17th bowl victory for Paterno. He had set the record for most bowl victories the previous season with Penn State’s Rose Bowl victory over Auburn, and he would go on to add seven more for 24 career bowl victories, the most in college football history. Alabama head coach Nick Saban enters the 2021-22 bowl season with 17 career bowl victories, for the sake of comparison.

Penn State wide receiver Bobby Engram took MVP honors in his final game with the Nittany Lions. Engram had 113 receiving yards with a pair of touchdowns. even he was surprised how much Penn State dominated the Tigers.

“On a day like today, a game like this is won in the trenches, and we did it on both sides of the ball,” Engram said after the game. “I couldn’t believe just how dominant we were.”

Penn State and Auburn played a tight first quarter with Penn State kicker Brett Conway scoring the only points of the first quarter with a short field goal. Auburn took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Nix (father of Bo Nix) to Robert Baker. Conway added two more field goals to take a 9-7 lead as Auburn’s defense hung tough for a while, but a late touchdown pass from Wally Richardson to Mike Archie just before halftime gave Penn State a 16-7 lead at the break.

And then Penn State ripped Auburn apart in the third quarter. Richardson completed a touchdown pass to Engram early in the third quarter. A few minutes later, Richardson completed his third touchdown pass of the game, this time to Stephen Pitts, from four yards out for a dominant 29-7 lead.

“That was the turning point,” former Auburn head coach Terry Bowden said of the late touchdown just before halftime. “And when Penn State took their first series in the second half in for a score, we were in a catchup situation that we couldn’t handle.”

Curtis Enis added a touchdown run from the one-yard line for a 36-7 lead as Penn State blasted Auburn 27-0 in the third quarter alone. Just one minute later, Richardson completed his second touchdown strike to Engram from 20-yards. Penn State completed a 40-0 run before Auburn managed to put any more points on the board in the fourth quarter.

The Penn State defense picked off two passes by Auburn’s Nix, who completed just five of 25 pass attempts before being pulled for the blowout. the defense also forced five fumbles and recovered two.

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Joe Paterno and Doug Graber’s shouting match is the biggest moment in Penn State-Rutgers history

Remembering the time Joe Paterno and Doug Graber got into a hissyfit after Penn State defeated Rutgers in 1995

There are not too many iconic moments in the history of the Penn State-Rutgers series, which dates back to 1918. With Penn State owning an all-time record of 29-2 against the Scarlet Knights entering their Week 12 matchup in 2021 and winning 14 consecutive meetings starting in 1989, it has been perfectly clear where the two programs have stood against one another over the years.

So when Penn State let its offense throw a late touchdown pass in a 1995 meeting in Giants Stadium, with Mike McQueary completing a deep pass to Chris Campbell to extend Penn State’s lead on the Scarlet Knights to 59-34 late in the fourth quarter, a routine postgame handshake quickly became the most interesting moment in the history of Penn State and Rutgers.

Penn State head coach Joe Paterno and Rutgers head coach Doug Graber came together at midfield and, rather than exchange pleasantries, the two were caught on camera having a foul-mouthed shouting match at each other as they went their separate ways.

Graber was rightfully perturbed by Penn State tacking on a late touchdown in the way it did, knowing full well the result of the game was all but certain at that point. Graber accused Paterno of running up the score on his program, with many believing Penn State may have been attempting to attract votes in the polls, but Paterno said his young quarterback saw an open receiver instead of checking for his tight end for the first down and let it fly.

“I did not want to run up the score against Rutgers,” Paterno said after the game, according to The Daily Collegian. “Obviously, some people won’t believe that… our team and our former players and coaches know how I feel about embarrassing anybody. I’ve made that statement too many times.”

Paterno would go on to apologize for his words of anger caught on camera.

“The four-letter word was really inexcusable and I’d like to apologize to everybody who had to hear it,” Paterno said. “The people watching television in their homes should not have to put up with that stuff and especially their children. I really feel bad about that. I have no excuses. I was wrong. I’m dead wrong about it.”

Years later, when Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014, Graber was asked about this iconic moment in series history. Graber told NJ.com in an interview that that infamous moment was water under the bridge and that he has a good laugh about it to this day.

“As a matter of fact, I did two games at Penn State (as an announcer) after that when Joe was still there and he and I laughed about it,” said Graber. “Just a couple of competitive coaches — that’s all.”

The play that led to the unpleasantries after the game came back into the realm of discussion decades later. McQueary, who completed the long touchdown pass rather than look to convert for a first down to a tight end, was reportedly involved with some gambling debts into the thousands, according to an old report from ESPN. It is alleged McQueary may have gambled on Penn State games, which brought this specific moment back into the limelight. Penn State was a 20-point favorite against Rutgers in that 1995 game. The late touchdown covered the spread.

Regardless of the sequence of events that led to the postgame handshake blowing up in front of the national cameras, the fire shown between the two coaches in the heat of the moment is certainly one that will last forever in the series between the Nittany Lions and Scarlet Knights.

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Brian Kelly Makes Dodd Trophy Midseason Watch List

Brian Kelly is on a mission to prove that the 2020 iteration of Notre Dame football is the best under his watch.

Brian Kelly is on a mission to prove that the 2020 iteration of Notre Dame football is the best under his watch. Those on the outside looking in can see that, and the results have made Kelly one of 19 coaches to make this year’s Bobby Dodd Trophy Midseason Watch List. There is no higher honor for a college football coach. With an 8-0 record, No. 2 ranking and Academic Progress Rating of 970, the Irish have made Kelly worthy of this list.

Some of college football’s most prominent coaches join Kelly on this year’s list. They include Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Dabo Swinney, Jimbo Fisher, Paul Chryst, Gus Malzahn, Lincoln Riley, Mike Gundy and Pat Fitzgerald. With that type of company, there’s still a long way to go before Kelly can prove he’s the one who should take this year’s award. This would be the second time in three years he’s won it, and he would join Joe Paterno and Bill Snyder as the only two-time winners of the trophy since it first was awarded in 1976.

Notre Dame Watch Party This Saturday – 1992 “The Snow Bowl” vs. Penn State

Senior Day for Rick Mirer, Jerome Bettis and Reggie Brooks ended with each of them having a hand in the final outcome as the clock wound down on a Notre Dame victory.

I’ve been talking to Fighting Irish Wire’s own Nick Shepkowski on and off for about a year about Notre Dame Football.

You’d be hard-pressed to find any conversation we’ve had where the 1992 “Snow Bowl” game between No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 22 Penn State is not mentioned.

In our Irish Wire Greatest Games Tournament, we both had a hard time not placing this as a one seed.

“Catholics vs. Convicts” was a blood bath filled with palace intrigue and the game which eventually catapulted the Irish toward a national title.

“The Game of the Century” was a blockbuster movie on a picturesque fall afternoon with David slaying Goliath.

Both had more “stakes” than Notre Dame and Penn State playing for spots in better bowl games and pride.

But “The Snow Bowl” was a whimsical, fairy-tale of a contest. It looked more like a Norman Rockwell painting than a college football game. It was simply two teams going out on a snowy afternoon and playing football the way it was meant to be played.

And for this nine-year old transfixed on the screen at the time, the only thing that mattered was the beauty in front of him. It didn’t matter there was no hope for a championship for either team.  It was football in the snow and truly, as a kid, there are few things better. Maybe that’s why it’s imprinted on my brain the most memorable game in my fandom.

And thankfully for all of you Irish fans, you’ll have a chance to see the re-broadcast in all of its glory this Saturday night as the next in the #NDWatchParty series.

Senior Day for Rick Mirer, Jerome Bettis and Reggie Brooks ended with each of them having a hand in the final outcome as the clock wound down on a Notre Dame victory.

Will we have a live simultaneous commentary broadcast during this game? Well…I’m getting a new dog and it’s my wife’s birthday Saturday, but this is a game worth burning some bridges on the home front.