Penn State Gets a Kick Out of Return

TEMPE, Ariz. — John Mackovic, that eminent Austin, Texas, philosopher, talks of success being a journey, not a destination.

If so, Texas has a long way to go.

Mackovic’s record against top-10 teams slipped to 1-8-1 and Texas’ record in alliance bowls slipped to 0-2 Wednesday night when the Longhorns slipped in the second half of a 38-15 loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Slipped? The game’s sponsor should use them in a commercial. They crumbled like a tortilla chip.

Penn State rushed for 292 yards in the second half, Texas for minus-19.

“It was close well into the third quarter, when they got some field position with the kicking game and were able to get control of the game,” Mackovic said. “They were able to dominate it from there on out, and we were never able to get control again.”

Texas controlled the ball almost two-thirds of the first half, but led only, 12-7, at halftime of a game that seemed to offer a breather from the theatrics of the Rose Bowl and the national championship pyrotechnics promised in tonight’s Sugar Bowl.

There were 65,106 on hand, far from a sellout and their enthusiasm wasn’t sparked until freshman Kenny Watson returned the second-half kickoff 81 yards, to the Longhorn 19.

Five plays later, Aaron Harris was in the end zone, scoring from five yards out. When Wally Richardson threw to Curtis Enis for a two-point conversion pass, Penn State led, 15-12.

Maybe they weren’t in control, but the Nittany Lions were getting there.

“I can’t say enough how big that kickoff return was for us,” said Enis, the game’s most valuable offensive player with 95 rushing yards in 16 carries.

“What’s so funny about it is that Coach [Fran Gantner] came up to me and said: ‘He’s going to run this back and we’re going to go for two.’ I was like, ‘OK,’ and sure enough, there went Kenny Watson down the sideline running. That really gave our offense a spark.”

OK, Gantner’s prescience skipped a few steps, but his logic was solid. And, after the No. 7 Nittany Lions (11-2) answered a bit of 20th-ranked Texas’ subterfuge with some of their own, the result seemed preordained.

“We had a little letdown when they went for that fake punt thing,” said Enis, “but we overcame that adversity.”

Faced with fourth and one on the Texas 34, Mackovic, who established himself as a trickster with a fourth-down pass for 62 yards against Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game, went into his bag again. Cody Danaher, a reserve defensive back and the up-back in punt formation, passed to Bryant Westbrook, usually a cornerback, for 33 yards for a first down on the Penn State 33.

Danaher was a high school quarterback, Westbrook a high school receiver, among other things.

But the Lions held Texas (8-5) to a 48-yard Phil Dawson field goal, one of his three, and came away briefly tied, 15-15.

Eight plays later, they led, 22-15.

“Well, we figured we were just jumping all over the place in the first half,” said Penn State Coach Joe Paterno, who should run for mayor of Tempe when he retires. He is 6-0 in the Fiesta Bowl and 18-8-1 in all bowls.

Nobody is better.

“We had put in some things that we hadn’t gotten around to doing in the first half. We went back to what we thought we could do. We thought we could run the ball at them.”

The Lions definitely could.

Enis chewed up 40 yards of a 65-yard drive with four carries, the last one covering the final two yards to the end zone.

Still, Paterno had a little something up his sleeve. Penn State is deceptive, pounding away, kicking the ball well and playing defense. Maybe it’s those blue-and-white plain uniforms, but the Lions also have a way of lulling teams to sleep, then rudely waking them.

In this case, it was a double reverse, with Chafie Fields taking a handoff from Chris Eberly, who had taken one from Richardson.

A play that began on the 11 ended on the Texas five, with Richardson leading the blocking for Fields, a reserve running back who became a wide receiver two weeks ago because he could see into the future.

Enis, a sophomore, was there.

“I went to [Paterno] because I just wanted to get on the field,” said Fields, who ran 32 times for 151 yards and three touchdowns during the season. “This looked like the best way.”

Two plays later, the last a one-yard run by Anthony Cleary behind Enis’ block, Penn State led, 28-15. And after a 30-yard punt return by Chris Campbell to the Texas 36 set up a 23-yard field goal by Brett Conway, it was 31-15.

Enis’ 12-yard touchdown produced the game’s final points.

By then, Texas had become unraveled, and quarterback James Brown, who had thrown for 186 first-half yards, became prey for a pride of Lions.

“In the second half, when we got a little bit of a rush on him and we changed up a little more of our zones, I think some of his kids got tired,” Paterno said. “Some of his receivers didn’t look like they were quite as quick in the second half. Really, he had a couple of times he couldn’t find anybody open.”

Brown finished with 254 yards, completing 26 of 42 passes, and was sacked three times for losses totaling 27 yards.

“They have a great pass defense,” Brown said. “We didn’t do anything differently in the second half. We ran the same plays, did the same thing.”

But without the same success, which keeps Texas on the trail of success, a long way from the end.