Clark leads Penn State past LSU to win Capital One Bowl
After dominating the Tigers for most of the game, the Nittany Lions saw their lead disappear and looked to senior quarterback Daryll Clark to calmly march the offense down the field for a game-winning field goal attempt by Collin Wagner.
Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark came up big vs. LSU in the Capital One Bowl
Penn State (11-2) gave up a 13-point, second-half lead after sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson lead LSU (9-4) on back-to-back scoring drives to take a 17-16 lead over Penn State with 12:41 left in the game.
Clark led the Penn State offense on a 12-play, 6-minute drive, which included two crucial third down conversions, and ended with a 21 yard field goal from Wagner, his fourth of the game, with 57 seconds remaining and gave the 11th-ranked Nittany Lions a 19-17 victory over No. 13 LSU in the Capital One Bowl.
The win added to Joe Paterno’s record total of 24 bowl victories while ending Les Miles streak of 4 consecutive bowl victories as the head coach of LSU.
Most of the attention before the game focused on the field conditions. Heavy downpours before the game left the field saturated and muddy, causing sloppy play throughout much of the game and leading to a record 15 punts by both teams.
The terrible field conditions did not seem to bother Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark who went three for three on the final drive, including a 17-yard completion to Graham Zug which moved the Lions to the LSU 20-yard line. Penn State then ran the ball six straight times to reach the Tigers 4 yard line. After failing to put the ball into the end zone, Wagner marched onto the field and kicked the game-winner.
“I’m more overjoyed than satisfied or relieved.” Said Clark, who was named the game’s MVP. “I put this team before myself … that’s how it’s been since I’ve been here.”
“I made it clear to everyone that it’s not about me. This football team did not come down here to win for Daryll, or for Daryll’s legacy. That’s not what this is about. We bonded together to get a big-time win for this program.”
Clark completed his last six passes and finished 18 of 35 for 216 yards including a 37-yard touchdown pass to Derek Moye in the first quarter. Clark also became the first quarterback in Penn State history to pass for 3,000 yards in a season, finishing with 3003.
