“Collins pitches it out to Ki-Jana Carter, he breaks a tackle, and Carter has room. (PSU fans: YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!) One play, Ki-Jana Carter, 83 yards, TOUCHDOWN PENN STATE!”
PENN STATE FOOTBALL CLASSIC GAMES
Joe Paterno, James Franklin, Ki-Jana Carter, Todd Blackledge, Kerry Collins, Saquan Barkley, Trace McSorley, Tamba Hali, and so many more household Nittany Lions.
BLACK SHOES, BASIC BLUES, NO NAMES, ALL GAME
January 2 1995: Ki-Jana Crushes the Ducks in the Rose Bowl
Created by Bragging Rights Sports (WE ARE! PENN STATE!)
Narrator: The 1994 Penn State Nittany Lions. Perhaps one of the greatest teams to never win the National Championship. Although the CFB committee gave the title to Lawrence Phillips and the Nebraska Cornhuskers, this team from PSU may have had the most talent on paper in the nation. In my opinion they should have shared the title just like Michigan did with Nebraska in 1997. (If Penn State played Nebraska in let’s say that Rose Bowl game, PSU would win but in a shootout) 3 of their top offensive weapons went in the Top 10 of the 1995 NFL Draft. Look at the names on this offense. Kerry Collins, Ki-Jana Carter, Bobby Engram, Kyle Brady, Joe Jurevicius, and Freddie Scott. The defense was still pretty good but the only marketable name on that side of the ball was S Kim Herring. (Former Raven) During the regular season this team took no prisoners. They averaged 47.2 points a game thanks to their high powered offense. They went 11-0 in the regular season with one of the harder schedules in the country. Look at some of these games they won, crushing Minnesota at the Metrodome 56-3 to open the season, blowing out Heisman Candidate Keyshawn Johnson and #14 USC in the home opener, putting up more than 50 points in a game 5 times, winning an epic against #5 Michigan at the Big House (Boy did Bobby Engram go off in that game), drubbing #21 Ohio State and Heisman Candidate Eddie George 63-14, plus they survived shootouts against Illinois and Indiana 2 teams that were ok. (That might have been why they gave the title to the Huskers) This wasn’t like older Penn State teams where they were dominant on defense especially at Linebacker, but this was still a fleshed out unit.
After trouncing Michigan State on Senior Day 59-31, the Nittany Lions were headed to the 1995 Rose Bowl, which was their appearance in Pasadena since 1923. In that game they lost to USC 14-3 which gave the Trojans the share of the National Title. This time they would be facing a Cinderella Story in the Oregon Ducks. A team that had lost to lowly Hawaii early in the season, yet had made a serious push in the 2nd Half. Their unexpected run included upset wins over #19 USC, (Who Penn State had crushed the week before) #9 Washington, and #11 Arizona. A win over Oregon State made it possible for the Ducks to make it to the Rose Bowl. Led by QB Danny O’Neil, Oregon’s offense was not PSU loaded but it had some good players like Patrick Johnson, (Former Raven) and Cristin McLemore. They were more of a team of destiny than a juggernaut. You know who likes ruining Cinderella Stories and underdog teams? JOEPA! Just like they did in the 1982, and 1986 championship seasons, the Nittany Lions destroyed the ambitions of everyone. This game would be the coronation of quite possibly the greatest team to never win the title. (“Screw you AP!” -PSU Students)
Early in this game it would be a battle to see who would make the 1st big play. Oregon took the ball first and thanks to a nice completion from O’Neill to sophomore TE Josh Wilcox. However the drive stalled thanks to a nice stop by Herring and the Lions. Even if Matt Belden pinned PSU deep, it was time to unleash the High End Talent on offense. “Collins pitches it out to Ki-Jana Carter, he breaks a tackle, and Carter has room. (PSU fans: YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!) One play, Ki-Jana Carter, 83 yards, TOUCHDOWN PENN STATE!” (Zombie Nation playing) Duck Dynasty, meet the Nittany Lion Emperor! From that moment on, Oregon knew they would have a very hard time stopping this machine. Although they definitely tried to get back in it. A long run on a screen pass by Ricky Whittle was exactly what the Ducks needed. And before you know it, O’Neil tossed a 1 yard TD to Wilcox to tie the game. After they forced the mighty Penn State offense off the field, Rich Brooks and his gang thought they would take the lead. “O’Neil off play action, he gets hit as he releases it, and it’s Picked Off!” (Optimism on the Oregon side of the Rose Bowl, GONE for now) Whenever Paterno sees an opportunity to crush an opponent, he goes for it. This interception was a prime example. The bad news was that the offense still couldn’t get going, and O’Neil and the Ducks were on the move again. They got down to the PSU 15 yard line. What is the result of this drive? “Here is 23 yarder from Belden and he missed it to the right!” WOW! Literally Wow! Sure chance to take the lead for Oregon and they miss a sure chipshot. (Are they trying to be the kickers in the PSU vs Wisconsin game last year?)
Penn State would get the ball and march it right into Ducks territory, but Ki-Jana Carter and company were held for 3 straight plays after getting to the 30. Then karma struck, PSU missed a field goal of their own which kept the game tied at 7. It made Paterno so mad that he sent the dogs after O’Neil. It worked, he got sacked twice on their next possession and the Ducks quickly were forced to punt after 6 plays. Fortunately for Ducks fans, Ki-Jana Carter fumbled for only the 3rd time all season giving Oregon primed field position. All it did was lead to YOU GUESSED IT another missed field goal, the 3rd in 13 minutes. (Something that would drive JoePa CRAZY!) With the running game being contained following the 83 yard run by Carter to start the game, Kerry Collins was looking to take some shots down the field. He threw in particular to Bobby Engram, and Joe Jurevicius. Jurevicius’ long reception set up a 1 yard touchdown by Brian Milne. Up 14-7, the Nittany Lions had to hold off a late drive by O’Neil and Oregon to preserve the lead going into the half. Luckily for Penn State, the Ducks had no timeouts when they got down to the PSU 10. “O’Neil takes the snap from center, he looks over the middle, it’s caught, but he doesn’t get out of bounds and that’s how the 1st Half ends.” Why in the world did they make that decision, all Danny has to do is throw one to the sideline, and get the field goal team on the field. To be fair when your kicker misses 2 field goals in a half including a 23 yarder it’s tempting not to give him another shot.
Penn State instead of being up by only 4 at the half, went into the break up by 7. Plus the Nittany Lions would get the ball first to start the 2nd Half. Just like he did at the end of the 1st Half, Kerry Collins connected with Bobby Engram for an important gain which got them past midfield. Brett Conway, however, missed his 2nd field goal in this game as it went wide to the right. (This is why kickers have an easier time in the NFL than in College) How can this get crazier? (Interception by Oregon) Students: ARE YOU KIDDING ME KERRY! How many opportunities have we wasted in this game? Narrator: I don’t know about 5. But this one led to the game being tied at 14 thanks to a leaping catch by Cristin McLemore. You may be asking yourself how is this a Penn State Classic Game? Here is why, the momentum would change on a single kick return. (Vintage JoePa, dominating the opponent on Special Teams) That return by Ambrose Fletcher was the turning point of the game. Why? Ki-Jana Carter went right back to dominating the Ducks defense. “They run a counter play with Carter, and he’s got an open road to the endzone, Touchdown Penn State!” (Fight On State playing) The score was now 21-14 in favor of the Nittany Lions. Now the Spread HD of a football program would turn the storm loose. O’Neil was picked off again on Oregon’s next possession. Chuck Penzenik, who had the earlier interception, returned his 2nd pick all the way down to the 10 yard line. That set up Ki-Jana Carter’s 3rd TD of the game.
JoePa could smell victory. Considering that if they held that 28-14 lead, he would become the All Time Leader for Bowl Game wins by a Head Coach. Despite Danny O’Neil, and the Ducks offense trying to keep up, their O-Line had no answers for the Penn State Pass Rush in the 2nd Half. That’s what prevented them from getting close to the endzone at the start of the 4th Quarter. At least Matt Belden can kick a field goal. “The kick is on its way and he missed it AGAIN! What is going on here?” Any time a kicker misses 3 field goals in a game like this, it will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Poor Matt Belden, he’s a nice guy but the Football Gods punished him into the den of JoePa! You can chuck the Ducks O-Line in there too since they couldn’t stop the wave of Nittany Lions coming to destroy the base in the 4th Quarter. (“RKO!” -Linebacker U) Phil Yeboah-Kodie in particular was the guy responsible for most of the sacks O’Neil took. (That name still makes me laugh, plus he was that good!) Plus even when he didn’t get to the QB he was unblockable. His 4th Down sack late in the game set up the putaway TD. And with that Joe Paterno becomes the winningest coach in Bowl Game History. A nice consolation prize despite Tom Ozbourne and his Huskers beating Ray Lewis and Miami for the National Title. Paterno even several years later said, “the only thing about this season that matters is that we won all of our football games. That’s the thing I want these guys to remember for the rest of their lives.” I agree. This was a season that featured many dominating wins for the Nittany Lions and this was the last of those. That just about does it for this document. Tune in for the next episode of PSU Football Classics, which features the 2008 Whiteout game against Illinois and the legendary voice of Brent Musberger calling that game. Stay tuned. Students: “WE ARE! PENN STATE! WE ARE!! PENN STATE!! WE ARE!!! PENN STATE!!! THANK YOU! YOU’RE WELCOME!!!”
Bragging Rights Sports 
Love that Rose Bowl representation!
LikeLike