New York • Christian Hackenberg hit Kyle Carter for a 10-yard touchdown pass in overtime and Penn State kicked the extra point that Boston College could not, lifting the Nittany Lions to a 31-30 win in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night.
The Nittany Lions (7-6) played in a bowl game for the first time since January 2012 after the NCAA lifted the most severe sanctions levied against the program in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.
Penn State's Sam Ficken used retired New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter's locker and some of his clutch postseason play appeared to rub off on the kicker.
He sent the game into OT with a 45-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in regulation and won it with his extra point.
Tyler Murphy hit David Dudeck for a 21-yard touchdown past on Boston College's drive. Mike Knoll shanked the extra point for the Eagles (7-6) and that was the opening Penn State needed to complete its comeback from a 21-7 deficit late in the third quarter.
Penn State has played under the cloud of scandal and sanctions for the most of the last four years, tearing at the fabric of the community known as Happy Valley and tarnishing the legacy of Joe Paterno.
Moments after Penn State hoisted the bowl trophy on the field, first-year coach James Franklin took the microphone and thanked the seniors "who stayed with this program when we needed them most."
He told the thousands of die-hards that packed the stadium, "You want to talk about closure? Look around! This is closure!"
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