Penn State’s offense runs wild in a big 53-39 win over Memphis in the 84th annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Saturday in AT&T Stadium. The Nittany Lions rushed for a bowl game record 396 yards and finished off the 2019 season with an 11-2 record. This was James Franklin’s third 11-win season in the last four years.
Brown Leads the Way
Journey Brown and Noah Cain led the Nittany Lion ground attack. Brown had 16 carries for 202 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. Brown broke the Penn State record of 194 yards set by Saquon Barkley in the 2017 Rose Bowl. Cain, a true freshman, added 92 rushing yards on 15 carries and also scored 2 touchdowns.
Brown and Cain did a lot of damage in the first half. Brown helped Penn State get on the board in the first quarter with a 32-yard touchdown run. Cain followed that up with a 1-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to give Penn State a 14-13 lead. Brown had another big 56-yard touchdown run mid-way through the second quarter.
The 35 points scored by Penn State in the first half is a new Cotton Bowl record.
Penn State Defense
Even though the Penn State defense gave up 542 yards of total offense, they stood strong in the red zone and forced Memphis to kick 6 field goals. They also made several key defensive stops down the stretch to help secure the victory.
With the score 38-36 late in the third quarter, the Penn State defense got a pick-six from Garrett Taylor. The interception gave the Nittany Lions a 45-36 lead going into the 4th quarter.
Marquise Wilson had another Penn State interception in the red zone with 4:36 left in the game that stopped Memphis on another drive.
Micah Parson led Penn State with 14 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and forced 2 fumbles. He was the Cotton Bowl Defensive Player of the Game.
Nittany Lions Bowl History
The Cotton Bowl victory is the 30th bowl win in Penn State history, improving the Nittany Lions to 30-18-2. The 30 wins currently rank fourth nationally, breaking a tie with Oklahoma and Texas, and lead all Big Ten Conference teams.
James Franklin has the majority of his starters back for 2020 and they should be one of the favorites to win the Big 10.
