Jeff: LSU and Penn State to meet in Orlando

The last time the LSU Tigers lost a non-conference game was the 2005 Capital One Bowl. The Tigers were defeated in the final seconds in Nick Saban’s final game on the LSU sidelines. 

The Bayou Bengals will return to Florida Citrus Stadium on January 1st and face Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nittany Lions. It will be only the second time the two storied programs have played each other. The 1974 Orange Bowl was the only other meeting, and the Nittany Lions won 16 to 9 behind Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti. Penn State was 12-and-0 that season. 

The Nittany Lions are 10-and-2 this year under legendary head coach Joe Paterno, who is in his 44th season as head coach and his 60th season on the Penn State coaching staff. 

Penn State has one of the best defenses in the country, as they’ve allowed only 12 points a game, 277 yards a contest, and they are excellent at putting pressure on the quarterback. The Nittany Lions also have the nation’s best red zone defense. 

They are led by senior defensive tackle Jared Ordrick, who is the Big Ten Player of the Year. He was selected by the media to the All-Big Ten second-team. But the coaches thought he was better than that and named him the defensive player of the year for the conference. 

Like LSU, the Lions offense has been inconsistent this season. They scored just 17 points in their two losses this season to Iowa and Ohio State. Penn State’s quarterback Daryll Clark performed poorly in those two games, but he also threw for more than 300 yards in victories over Akron and Michigan State. 

Clark has two go-to receivers in Derek Moye and Graham Zug. Moye is a 6-5 sophomore who is averaging 16 yards a catch, while Zug is a junior with 7 touchdowns on the season. 

Penn State’s leading rusher is Evan Royster. The junior from Virginia has 1,104 yards on the season and nearly 3,000 yards for his career. He’s averaging nearly 6 yards a carry this season. 

Penn State is 1-and-3 in the Capital One/Citrus Bowl and they are making their first appearance in the Orlando game since 2003 when they lost to Auburn 13 to 9.  

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