Case Keenum leads Houston past Penn State
Houston quarterback Case Keenum (7) celebrates with the championship trophy after defeating Penn State in the TicketCity Bowl. (Jan. 2, 2012) Credit: AP
DALLAS -- Not quite two months after its football program began to unravel off the field with child sex-abuse charges against former assistant Jerry Sandusky and the firing of coach Joe Paterno, Penn State's downward spiral approached rock bottom on the field Monday.
Relegated by the scandal to a lower-tier bowl despite their 9-3 record coming in, the Nittany Lions were no match for the speed and aggressiveness of Houston in the TicketCity Bowl.
With Case Keenum 45-for-69 passing for 532 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, the Cougars (13-1) raced to a 17-point lead before Penn State made a first down and coasted to a 30-14 win, leaving the Nittany Lions with bowl defeats in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 35 years and just the second time in their history.
Now, the focus turns off the field as the search for Paterno's successor intensifies -- even while coach Tom Bradley and his assistants hit the recruiting trail and players, such as junior defensive tackle Jordan Hill, wonder what's ahead.
Hill, who had said he planned to return next year, is reconsidering his decision and might enter the NFL draft. "We'd like to know [what's going to happen]," Hill said.
"They can do what they want to me," said Bradley, who played for Paterno in the '70s and was on his coaching staff for 33 seasons. "I want these players to know those coaches, those managers, those trainers, everybody there fought until the end. They worked like dogs the whole way through this thing."
Mike Harrison, the agent for San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, said yesterday that his client interviewed for the position in November and is on the "short list." Harrison said he expects to know in about a week whether Roman will be hired, but declined to offer further details.
The game was much more one-sided than the score; five Houston drives ended with field-goal attempts. Penn State's defense, ranked among the nation's top 10, had no answer for a hurry-up offense that totaled 600 yards. The Lions had been allowing 162 passing yards a game; Keenum had 227 in just the first quarter.
"The last 21/2 months, we've been to hell and back in a lot of ways, moreso for our kids. They did nothing [wrong]," quarterbacks coach coach Jay Paterno said. "There's so many people you feel for in this situation."-- With AP
