Penn State Fumbles and Stumbles but Wins

Third-ranked Penn State won a battle of turnovers and sacks.

Penn State fumbled twice and quarterback John Shaffer was sacked four times and threw one interception, but the Nittany Lions still managed a two-touchdown second-half rally to beat Boston College, 16-12, Saturday.

Tackle Mike Russo went 21 yards with an intercepted pass early in the fourth period to cap the Lions’ comeback over the two-touchdown underdog Eagles.

Boston College turned the ball over four times on two fumbles and two interceptions. Eagle quarterback Shawn Halloran was sacked three times.

Penn State held Boston College to 114 yards rushing and Halloran to 245 yards passing on 24 completions in 48 attempts.

Penn State quarterback John Shaffer completed 9 of 22 passes for 114 yards.

The Nittany Lions trailed, 12-3, in the third quarter before D.J. Dozier keyed an eight-play, 74-yard drive with a 42-yard run for a first down at the Boston College 12. Three plays later, Shaffer dove across from the one to make it 12-10 with 1:40 left in the third quarter.

Penn State’s John Bruno punted 71 yards into the Boston College end zone, and the Eagles took over at their 20. On third down, Halloran’s pass was tipped by defensive tackle Tim Johnson into the hands of Russo, who scored the winning touchdown with 13:46 left. A pass for a two-point conversion was incomplete.

The victory boosted Penn State’s record to 8-0, while Boston College fell to 3-7.