Penn State Edges Central Florida on Last-second Field Goal

Penn State edges Central Florida on last-second field goal
By Chris Adamski
http://triblive.com/sports/college/c...#axzz3BzPKdnoq

DUBLIN — The Gaelic term for “hello” to a group of people is “Dia daoibh.”
Plenty of Penn State football members emphatically introduced themselves to the program — and to the college football world — during a last-second 26-24 win Saturday against Central Florida at Croke Park Stadium.
James Franklin said “Dia daoibh” to PSU Nation, winning his debut as coach.
Redshirt freshman receiver DaeSean Hamilton said “Dia daoibh” to Nittany Lions fans who were fretting the loss of Allen Robinson to the NFL.
Four new starters on the offensive line — three of whom never had taken a snap there in a college game before — said “Dia daoibh” in proving they can be, at the very least, a passable unit.
Maybe — just maybe — Christian Hackenberg said “Dia daoibh” to Heisman voters?
Hackenberg passed for a school-record 454 yards on a career-high 32 completions, and Hamilton had 11 catches for 165 yards. Penn State led from the first quarter until falling behind with 1:13 remaining in the game before Sam Ficken connected on the winning 26-yard field goal as time expired.
“When there was only (1:08) left in the game, I looked across the sideline, and there wasn't doubt in anybody's eye,” Franklin said. “Everybody believed.
“That's what I'm most proud of.”
Hackenberg scrambled for 8 yards on fourth-and-3 at the Lions 33-yard line to keep the game alive. An 18-yard pass to Geno Lewis put Penn State within range for Ficken to make his fourth field goal of the game.
“I didn't hit it real good. I kind of chopped it a little bit,” Ficken said. “It kind of went up right at the right pole. I was a little nervous it might clink. The wind pushed it back in.”
That set off a wild, on-field celebration, with Penn State players sprinting down the field, lunging into each other.
An estimated 15,000 Lions fans reacted similarly at the end of this rare American football game on an Irish pitch during a chilly, breezy late-August afternoon.
Officials said 35,000 fans among the crowd of 53,304 were Irish. Those who had the football aptitude to know what they were seeing watched the Lions run up a 511-246 yardage advantage. But the Golden Knights kept it close by way of special teams and a quarterback change that provided a spark.
UCF took its only lead when backup Justin Holman scrambled 6 yards for a touchdown with 1:13 left to play after he hit Josh Reese for a 37-yard catch on fourth-and-10.
Holman threw for 204 yards in less than a half after replacing ineffective freshman Pete DiNovo and paced UCF's comeback from down 20-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
“(Holman) was the spark of the whole thing,” Knights coach George O'Leary said.
But it was too little, too late for UCF, which finished in the top 10 in the country last season at 12-1, including a 34-31 victory at Beaver Stadium that wasn't as close as the final score indicated.
The same was true Saturday: Only three of UCF's 11 possessions went for more than 22 yards, and five resulted in a net loss. Meanwhile, just one of Penn State's 11 possessions went for fewer than 22 yards.
Penn State punted just once but kept UCF in the game via three turnovers and nine penalties for 90 yards.
“The only time we were stopped today was when we stopped ourselves,” Franklin said. “We didn't play the prettiest game. We did the things that you typically can't do: We had too many penalties, and we had turnovers. But the more important thing is these guys never stopped believing in each other.”
Lewis had eight catches for 173 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown during the third quarter, the longest reception of his career.
Penn State's Zach Zwinak opened the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown 6:40 into the game, and Ficken also hit from 22, 22 and 24 yards on a day in which he was perfect.
Other than left tackle Donovan Smith, the Lions had no career starts among their offensive linemen entering the game. Right tackle Andrew Nelson and left guard Brendan Mahon are redshirt freshmen, and right guard Brian Gaia was moved from the defensive line in the spring.
“I'm sure all three had jitters, but they handled it really well,” center Angelo Mangiro said. “We kept calm and kept loose, acted like ourselves and went out there and executed.”
Playing without receiver Rannell Hall and running back Will Stanback, UCF's offense sputtered until Holman permanently took over for the second drive of the second half. The Knights managed just 24 net yards rushing.
Still, UCF was in position to win.
Hackenberg described the mood as Penn State huddled up for the final drive: “We were excited. We've been there before. We've been down before. Even though we're young, we understand what we can do.”
No matter what continent they're on.