Georgia beats Penn State 24-17 in TaxSlayer for 5th straight

Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Austin Johnson has declared for the National Football League draft, according to Dane Brugler of CBS Sports.

Turning serious, McClendon, Georgia’s interim head coach and Godwin’s position coach for this entire season, said he knows the Bulldogs have themselves another budding star in the making. I want to thank [former] Coach [Bill] O’Brien for bringing me here and his staff. There’s a lot of really good people on that staff. It’s tough to say but, I think without him, I wouldn’t have been here.

McSorley was fiery, throwing his 6-foot, 196-pound frame into teammates for celebrations, tapping on their shoulder pads and even getting a smile out of coach James Franklin, who did a double-take as the redshirt freshman who played his best football in the fourth quarter of Penn State’s TaxSlayer bowl defeat was energetic on the sideline and had teammates rallying behind him.

“Those plays included two fourth-quarter touchdowns – a 17-yard pass to Geno Lewis and a 20-yarder to Hamilton – that fueled McSorley”.

He headed to the locker room for tests and returned for the second half without a uniform.

Hackenberg, a junior, had mixed results on the field this year, but despite growing whispers that he might be better off staying, the decision should come as no surprise, as pundits across the country speculated that he’d declare for the Draft prior to the season.

He followed it up with a 20-yard touchdown to DaeSean Hamilton, who laid out to haul in a ball that was placed over top of two Georgia defenders. “It means the world to me”. “I feel like my role is gonna be the same”. Franklin hears the criticisms, but what he has seen from the 2015 team encourages him, he said. “Once it gets inflamed, you’re going to lose strength and power”.

The Bulldogs wound down the clock with a 10-play, 48-yard drive that whittled the clock to a minute and 52 seconds for the Nittany Lions’ offense to use.

Not much better, mind you, but good enough to hold off Penn State 24-17 in the 71st TaxSlayer Bowl.

Kansas State (6-7) finished a season below.

Wide receiver Chris Godwin, just a sophomore, said McSorley took a big step for the future by completing 14 of 27 passes for 142 yards and two TDs. Godwin had a big day, catching six passes for 133 yards (22.2 ypc).

In Taylor, Penn State fans were here at Lucca Restaurant watching the game while also supporting a more local team with a benefit for the Rolling Thunder Gold Softball Program. The fumble recovery was the fourth of his career and Penn State’s first fumble recovery for a touchdown since Mike Hull’s 74-yard return vs. Navy in 2012.

All three of the touchdowns for the Bulldogs came on plays over 15 yards.

With the loss, the final class to play for the late Joe Paterno has completed their Penn State career. And with 24 seconds left in the half, he caught a 17-yard touchdown from Greyson Lambert (10/20 for 115 yards).

With the Texans more than likely taking a look at every option at quarterback in the draft, Hackenberg to the Texans will be the easy connection becasue of O’Brien and Hackenberg’s past.