An Ugly Ending for Penn State

All in all, it was a decidedly dreary day for the Nittany Lions, who are obviously not used to this kind of a finish.

Florida’s Fred Taylor rolled over the Penn State defense in singular fashion, as his 234 yards rushing were the most against the Nittany Lions in a bowl game.

Additionally, Penn State had its four-game bowl winning streak end, and it was the first time the Nittany Lions have lost the last two games of a season since 1988.

“If you get beat two times in a row, you look at the whole program,” Penn State Coach Joe Paterno said.

Earlier this week in Orlando, the 71-year-old Paterno talked about his immediate future.

“I have no plans to retire,” he said. “I like to go in five-year increments. After next year, if I don’t think I want to do this anymore, I’ll talk to the AD [athletic director], so we can set up a succession plan.”

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Noah Brindise certainly doesn’t look like the prototype Florida quarterback, actually he seems more the guy in charge of the pledges at the fraternity house.

But the 6-3, 222-pound Brindise serves as an example of persistence. The former walk-on was given a scholarship in the spring of 1997. His football career at Florida culminated in dream-like fashion when Gator Coach Steve Spurrier cooked up his two-headed quarterback shuffle.

Brindise and Doug Johnson alternated plays in the victory over Florida State, and Spurrier used the same system against Penn State. Brindise scored the game’s first touchdown, a one-yard run in the first quarter.

There was a sign in the stands among the Gator faithful honoring Brindise: Noah Is Our Rudy.

Brindise was asked about his next career move.

“The NFL, man, what else?” he said, smiling.