ORLANDO, Fla. — Dampened by rain, slowed by mud and trailing late in the fourth quarter Friday, Daryll Clark was determined to get Penn State some points.
The 11th-ranked Nittany Lions and their star quarterback emerged from the muck for a thrilling 19-17 victory over No. 13 LSU in the Capital One Bowl.
The late-game drive led by Clark helped set up Collin Wagner’s 21-yard field goal with 57 seconds left, and Penn State (11-2) staved off a last-ditch effort by the Tigers to preserve the victory.
“No matter what . . . whatever it takes, we have to keep these chains rolling,” the senior said in recounting a talk with the offense before the drive. “All we need is a couple of points.”
Penn State coach Joe Paterno got his record 24th bowl victory and handed Les Miles his first loss in five bowls as LSU coach.
A driving rainstorm had turned the field into a complete mess as LSU rallied from a 13-point deficit late in the second half to take a 17-16 lead on Stevan Ridley’s 1-yard touchdown run with 12:49 left.
In the final minute, the Tigers got to midfield, but right guard Lyle Hitt was whistled for a disputed personal-foul penalty that pushed them back to their 40. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson hit Rueben Randle for a 25-yard gain on the game’s last play to the Penn State 35, but Randle fumbled as time expired.
LSU (9-4) was still fuming after the game.
“So the opportunity to go down there and have a chance at a field goal late in the game certainly would have been what we planned,” Miles said. “It didn’t work out that way.”
Penn State 7 6 3 3 — 19
LSU 0 3 7 7 — 17
First quarter: PSU — Moye 37 pass from Clark (Wagner kick), 1:54. Second quarter: LSU — FG Jasper 25, 14:15. PSU — FG Wagner 26, 5:29. PSU — FG Wagner 18, :04. Third quarter: PSU — FG Wagner 20, 2:27. LSU — LaFell 24 pass from Jefferson (Jasper kick), :13. Fourth quarter: LSU — Ridley 1 run (Jasper kick), 12:49. PSU — FG Wagner 21, :57. A — 63,025. PSU LSU
First downs 21 9
Rushes-yards 40-124 25-41
Passing 216 202
Comp-att-int 18-35-0 13-24-1
Return yards 20 43
Punts-avg. 8-39.8 7-33.0
Fumbles-lost 4-0 2-2
Penalties-yards 2-10 10-64
Time of possession 38:21 21:39
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Penn State, Royster 17-65, Green 7-35, Clark 11-20, Suhey 3-9, Team 1-(minus 2), Drake 1-(minus 3). LSU, Ridley 12-13, Jefferson 8-11, Holliday 4-10, LaFell 1-7.
PASSING — Penn State, Clark 18-35-0-216. LSU, Jefferson 13-24-1-202.
RECEIVING — Penn State, Quarless 8-88, Zug 4-51, Moye 3-53, Drake 1-12, Powell 1-11, Green 1-1. LSU, Toliver 6-81, LaFell 5-87, Randle 1-27, Dickson 1-7.
