Lions late rally falls short in TaxSlayer Bowl

(Jacksonville, FL) — A courageous comeback by Penn State proved to be too little too late as they fell to the Georgia Bulldogs 24-17 in yesterday’s TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida.

For most of the first three quarters Penn State’s performance pretty much mirrored that of the regular season.  The defense played tough while the offense continued to sputter.  

Georgia was able to build a 24-3 lead largly due to the play of wide receiver Terry Godwin who threw a touchdown pass on a trick play and later added a touchdown reception.

Adding to Penn State’s problems was the loss of starting quarterback Christian Hackenberg to a shoulder injury midway through the second quarter.  He was replaced by redshirt freshman Trace McSorely who found the going rough until the fourth quarter.

McSorely engineered two touchdown drives, both ending in spectacular catches in the endzone,.. one by Geno Lewis and another by DaeSean Hamilton.  The scores brought the Lions to within seven, but they eventually ran out of time. A final Hail Mary throw from McSorely fell incomplete.

McSorely finished with 142 yards passing and the two scores.  Lions receiver Chris Godwin had six catches for 133 yards.

Penn State outgained Georgia in the game, 401-327.

Following the game and as expected, quarterback Christian Hackenberg and defensive tackle Austin Johnson announced they will forego their final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft.