With the first 25 seasons of college football in the books, Penn State has left an indelible mark on college football.ย
Throughout it all, Penn State has left its mark on the sport and created memories both good and bad for the Nittany Faithful.
In this five-part series, I will be ranking the 25 best games Penn State football played in the first 25 seasons of the 21st century. Not all will be wins, there will be some heartbreak, but the overall greatness of the games are ones all Nittany Lions fans have a story about.
You can read Part 1 that looked at the five games that were 25 to 21 HERE.
In Part 2 I examine games 20 to 16.
20. 2005 Minnesota
Joe Paterno began to see the writing on the wall entering the 2005 season, it was either to perform or retire.
Paterno knew he had a special team entering the 2005 season, but he had to understand that four losing seasons in the previous five was unacceptable, especially when you consider the previous four seasons prior came over a 68 year period that included a NCAA record 49 consecutive season of non losing.
While Penn State breezed through its out of conference slate, it needed a late Derrick Williams touchdown to get past Northwestern. Minnesota entered with a running attack led byย Laurence Maroney was amongst the nationโs best.
This game will always be remembered for one play, it was quarterback Michael Robinsonโs pop on Minnesota safety Brandon Owens that sent notice to the rest of the country that Penn State was back.
It was Penn Stateโs first win against Minnesota since 1998.ย
19. 2017 Iowa
Kinnick at night has been a house of horrors for any visitors. Penn State was not exempt from the curse of Kinnick.
Penn Stateโs national championship aspirations were extinguished in the 2008 game, losing 24-23.
While Penn State had Iowaโs number in recent years there was a chippiness to the rivalry and the 2017 game put all that on display.
The game will fondly be remembered for displaying Saquon Barkleyโs athleticism, whether it was his stop and go Barry Sanders style of running or his Edwin Moses style of hurdle taking a pass from McSorley in the flat and just hurdling a defender.
Despite Barkleyโs herculean efforts, Penn State trailed until the final seconds, with McSorley locating Juwan Johnson on the gameโs final play to secure the win. ย
18. 2018 Pitt
It was a return to the scene for James Franklin, after the failed comeback in the 2016 contest that left many annoyed – remember Trace McSorleyโs reaction to Tony Dorsett chirping โHail To Pittโ in the background.
The game was played in an autumn monsoon in Pittsburgh, with Penn State up 14-6 at the half it looked like it was going to be another nail biter in this long rivalry.
It was a 37 point second half by Penn State that saw dominance in all three phases whether it was Trace McSorleyโs on the ground or through the air, DeAndre Thompkins 39-yard punt return for a touchdown, or the defense creating a safety via a Pitt holding penalty, it was a 51-6 win that emphasized to Pat Narduzzi that Penn State dominates the state.
17. 2019 Michigan
This game will forever be known as โThe Mo Bamba Game,โ and will forever be used to show how extreme โWhite Outโ conditions can be in Beaver Stadium.
On the very first play as Mo Bamba blared and the fans roared, Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson could not communicate at all to the rest of his offense because they couldnโt hear to force a time out.
While that moment will live forever in Penn State lure, the game was a tug of war with a mixture of explosive plays. Wide receiver KJ Hamer who had a 53-yard touchdown and quarterback Sean Clifford had four touchdowns.
As Penn State led 28-21, Michigan faced a fourth and goal and a chance to tie it up from the Penn State three yard line. Patterson tried to locate intended receiver Ronnie Bell, but Bell dropped the ball with just over two minutes to go and Penn State was able to keep it away from Michigan to secure the win.ย
16. 2007 Notre Dame
The first all stadium White Out occurred for the clash against Notre Dame. Penn State lost to Notre Dame 41-17 in Notre Dame the season before surrendering the most points by a Penn State defense since 1999.
What added fuel to the fire was Notre Dame landed five-star quarterback prodigy Jimmy Clausen, who would eventually be much closer to Ron Powlus hype than actually living up to all the superlatives.
The play many will remember was Derrick Williams 78-yard punt return for a touchdown that put Penn State up and they did not look back.
For Clausen, many will remember his hair style of gelling it up in spikes, well linebacker Dan Connor when given the opportunity rushed and was able to get a monster sack on Clausen that gave the White Out an additional rush.
