Bowl Awards

It's New Year's Eve 2014, I'm watching the Fiesta Bowl between Boise State and Arizona.  College football continues, but the Penn State Nittany Lions are done for the year.  Fittingly this is my last post of 2014.  From here on out we're only concerned with the 2015 season and our quest for a Big Ten Championship!  For now, however, let's get back to the task at hand.  Let's roll out the last set of awards for Pinstripe Bowl!

I'd be remiss if I disagreed with the bowl committee here.  So the final Beast Mode Award of the year goes to Pinstripe Bowl MVP Christian Hackenberg who went 34/50 for 371 yds and 4 TDs to 4 different WRs.  Those stats were good enough to break no less than 3 Penn State bowl records!  Unfortunately, the dreaded "sophomore slump" label definitely applied to Hack's 2014 season, but there were many other factors at play which Hack could not control.  It's great to see him go out on such a high note!

The Transformer Award goes to LB Nyeem Wartman.  Penn State is known as Linebacker U for a reason.  This year, we saw the emergence of Mike Hull as the next great player in a very long line at the position in Happy Valley.  But in the Pinstripe Bowl, it was Nyeem Wartman who transformed himself into the presumptive 2015 leader of a young but promising group.  His 11 tackles led the defense on a night when even Mike Hull disappointed.  The tradition looks safe under Wartman's tutelage and that's great news for Penn State fans everywhere.

This week, the Matrix Award goes to a player who shockingly hasn't won it yet this season.  True freshman WR Chris Godwin had 7 catches for 140 yds and a TD en route to his best game of the season.  Next year he'll fight for a starting spot in a suddenly crowded wide receiver corps bursting with young talent.  James Franklin might have his ideal offense sooner than we think with all the SEC speed he's ever dreamed about.  Now about that offensive line...

My final In Disguise Award of the season is a split title between TEs Jesse James and Kyle Carter.  The duo were key pieces in Penn State's overtime drive to win the Pinstripe Bowl.  Jesse James ran over a DB for a critical 1st down, and Kyle Carter caught his 3rd pass of the day in the back of the endzone for a TD that more or less sealed the deal.  They didn't get as much attention as the receivers but they were certainly as vital.  This unit will be one man stronger and another year wiser next season, so expect big things.

Finally, the Megatron Award for biggest pain in Penn State's butt goes to Boston College QB Tyler Murphy who went 11/19 for 97 yds and 2 TDs passing and ran for 111 yds and a 3rd TD on 11 carries rushing.  He made the nation's #1 rushing defense and #3 overall defense look foolish all night.  That kind of performance should be an anomaly next year as an already terrific defense brings back nearly everyone.  Should be fun!

Well, that's the end of the season, and the end of 2014.  I'm looking forward to a very exciting 2015 season and it will all kick off with National Signing Day on Feb 4th, and we'll get our first glimpse of the new team on April 18th for Blue/White.  Then things officially kick off on Sept 5th at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA as the Nittany Lions take on Temple.  I plan to be at that game by the way.  In the meantime, keep it here on the blog for all the latest news and notes on Penn State football.  Head on over to my Facebook page and give it a like or a share if you're a fan of what I'm doing.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus.  And may all of you have a very Happy New Year!  Enjoy 2015, and as always, go State!!!