Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1410640
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 19 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIVE YEARS AGO, 2016 On third-and-10, with Minnesota lead- ing by 10 early in the third quarter of Penn State's Big Ten home opener, receiver Ir- vin Charles caught a pass from Trace Mc- Sorley over the middle, slipped a tackle attempt and turned upfield for an 80-yard touchdown. It was the only truly memorable mo- ment of Charles' Penn State career — he eventually transferred to IUP — but it was a monumental one, certainly one of the biggest of James Franklin's tenure at Penn State. Charles' touchdown set in motion an incredible chain of events for a Nittany Lions team that had scuffled to a 16-14 record in its first 30 games under Frank- lin. First, Penn State rallied to defeat the Golden Gophers in overtime, 29-26, on a 25-yard touchdown sprint by Saquon Barkley. Then, having built a bit of mo- mentum with wins over Minnesota and Maryland, they stunned second-ranked Ohio State at Beaver Stadium, with Grant Haley supplying the winning points when he returned a blocked field goal attempt 60 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. After winning three of its first four Big Ten games, Penn State seemed like an en- tirely different team, and maybe an en- tirely different program. The Nittany Lions finished Octo- ber with a 62-24 shellacking of Purdue in West Lafayette, setting the stage for a swift rise to the upper reaches of the polls and the College Football Playoff rankings, and it was largely due to the offensive out- burst that Charles had foreshadowed with his long catch-and-run. In their final nine games, only one opponent — Ohio State — managed to hold the Lions under 38 points. 10 YEARS AGO, 2011 On a rainy October night at Beaver Sta- dium, Penn State caught a break when Illinois, leading by four points late in the fourth quarter, was flagged for pass inter- ference on a fourth-down incompletion. The penalty revived PSU's comeback hopes, and running back Silas Redd scored a three-yard touchdown with 1 minute, 8 seconds left, lifting the Nittany Lions a 10-7 victory. The win gave Joe Paterno 409 career victories, one more than legendary Gram- bling coach Eddie Robinson. Despite the damp weather, many in the crowd of 97,828 stayed in their seats after the game to salute Paterno, the winningest coach in Division I history. Later, in the media room after the game, PSU athletic director Tim Curley and uni- versity president Graham Spanier pre- sented Paterno with a plaque commemo- rating his achievement. "I've been involved in over 700 college football games," Paterno said. "People also forget that when I went to Brown [as a player], freshmen were eligible, so I was in another 36 there. "Some years you play great defense and have great kicking, and some years you have to offset that with more offense. I think this club obviously is a very fine defensive football team, as was Illinois. I thought that was a tough football game." It was the last truly joyous moment of the Paterno era. By the time Penn State re- turned to the field two weeks later to play host to Nebraska, Paterno, Curley and Spanier had all been ousted amid the fallout from the Sandusky scandal. Their exits were among the first in a series of shockwaves that would rattle the univer- sity for years to come. 25 YEARS AGO, 1996 Penn State lost a pair of games during the 1996 football season, falling to two of the program's most vexing Big Ten foes, Ohio State and Iowa. The Lions never had much of a chance in Columbus in a battle of national title hopefuls. The third-ranked Buckeyes dealt fourth-ranked Penn State its worst loss since 1984, a 38-7 setback in which it was outgained by 354 yards. After averaging 137.5 yards in the first five games, running back Curtis Enis managed only 34 at Ohio State. The contest was so lopsided that there were no strategic decisions for Joe Paterno to regret. "We just got licked," he said. "There's nothing I can do about it. I can't even second-guess myself." The Iowa game at Beaver Stadium was a heartbreaker, in keeping with Penn State's tradition vs. the Hawkeyes. Ranked 10th in the Associated Press poll going into the game, the Lions led by six early in the fourth quarter on a rainy day in State College. But that was be- fore Iowa recovered a Wally Richardson fumble at the PSU 33-yard line. On the Hawkeyes' first play after tak- ing possession, backup tailback Rob Thein caught Penn State's defense flat- footed with an option pass. His 25-yard completion set up what would prove to be the decisive touchdown in a 21-20 victory. The loss was the Lions' second in three weeks, and unlike the defeat at Ohio State, this one left Paterno with plenty of misgivings. "We have to re-evaluate a lot of things," he said. ■ This Month in Penn State Athletics History Receiver Irvin Charles ignited a Penn State comeback against Minnesota in 2016 with an 80-yard touchdown catch. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL PSUtixman@gmail.com www.PSUtixman.com Get your PSU Football Tickets at go t ti cke t s?