One of the many great quips of 80’s teen movie character Ferris Bueller is “life moves pretty fast.”
This weekend, Penn State is saluting the 20th anniversary of the venerable 2005 Penn State football team.
It’s team that didn’t win it all. It was arguably a few seconds away in Ann Arbor from starting a debate whether it or Vince Young’s Texas Longhorns were the most worthy to play the dynasty of the day in Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush’s USC Trojans.
Many Penn State fans revere this group because it helped ‘restore the roar’ in Happy Valley to remind the nation that the program was among the best.
It also inspired to many fans.
One such fan, “Penn State Jerseys” Matt of Instagram, is loaning to the Penn State All Sports Museum this weekend 12 select game worn jerseys from that 2005 team.
I spoke with Matt via telephone about his collection and the story around the connection to that 2005 team so many of us share.
Matt explained that the passion started around COVID, but his priority was always this 2005 team.
“The 2005 team is my favorite of all time,” he said. “So, I always had a priority whenever I could acquire a jersey from any player from that year, from that team. I got some others from the ‘05 team. I even got like the offensive playbook, from one of the coaches years back.”
Matt’s connection like many others has similar beginnings.
Penn State had just completed its fourth losing season in five seasons. Many were wondering if it was the end for the legendary Joe Paterno as Penn State was so offensively challenged.
Defensively, the team had its foundation.
Linebacker Paul Posluszny began playing on the 2003 team and was an immediate impact player.
“It’s very humbling to be a part of the group and to think that it’s been 20 years since I’ve been at Penn State, and to see that you’re, still part of that family is special,” Posluszny told NSN’s Jarrod Prugar back in July.
The defense had a nucleus that forced offenses to be perfect – only two teams in 2004: Boston College and Ohio State, scored 21 points on Penn State.
Posluszny was the nucleus of that Penn State defense, and his was the first jersey Matt ever added to his collection.
“Penn State did a holiday auction on their auction site during Christmas time, and that was my first jersey that I won,” he said.
“He (Posluszny) wore that in every home game in 2005, most notably the famous picture where his nose is bleeding. The blood’s actually on the jersey that I have, which is absolutely incredible.”
As Penn State was seeking offensive answers, Paterno realized he was on borrowed time.
The youth infusion came by the way of five-star Greenbelt, Maryland native wide receiver Derrick Williams, who was the top overall prospect in the Class of 2005 by all outlets.
Williams would announce on ESPN, after pitches from Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, that he would be a Nittany Lion.
“I did it because I trusted in [Paterno],” Williams would say later on why he committed to Penn State. “He promised me I could help turn the program around and leave my mark there, which I did.”
One of the biggest moves early in 2005 was Paterno naming Michael Robinson the starting quarterback over five-star prodigy Anthony Morelli.
If there was a knock later in Paterno’s career at Penn State was his unwavering loyalty to seniors who paid their dues and give them the opportunity to shine.
Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t.
With Robinson, it worked.
“You know what the irony really is?” Robinson told Len Pasquarelli. “The only position at which I was ever coached was quarterback. I never went to a wide receivers meeting. I never ran routes at practice or was coached up in terms of technique. None of that. I mean, when I was playing wide receiver, Joe [Paterno] would say, like, ‘OK, line up out there, run this route, and we’ll get you the ball.’ But playing receiver probably made me a better quarterback, actually, by the time I got to play there. Even now, I think every quarterback ought to have to run some routes in practice, because it gives you a much better perspective. I’d highly recommend it. I just wouldn’t recommend having to wait so long to play [quarterback], that’s all.”
Behind Robinson, Penn State got off to a 3-0 start, matching its win total from 2003, but against Northwestern it would take two big plays to dethrone the Wildcats.
The first gut check play of the season came with under two minutes to go, on a fourth and 15 down 29-27, Robinson needed a hit a prayer to reverse the hex that had broken so many Penn State teams in games over the past five seasons.
The dart Robinson threw threaded a needle of multiple Wildcat defenders with the ball delivered to tight end Isaac Smolko’s chest for a first down.
The momentum began to take off. Robinson found wide receiver Deon Butler for another first down, navigating Penn State inside the Northwestern 40.
On a third down, as a siege of Northwestern blitzers attacked, Robinson found Williams and delivered a target that bewildered the Wildcat defensive back, shuffling into the end zone to give Penn State a 34-29 win.
The following week was Penn State’s biggest test against No. 18 Minnesota.
The Golden Gophers had one of the best backfields in the nation and the clash with Penn State was a message to the country if either could vie for a Big Ten Championship.
“The Hit,” as many know it as, was a play that didn’t just help them on the play, but it galvanized the entire team.
“That just fires up the whole team when you see your quarterback throwing his body out there on the line like that,” Posluszny said.
Robinson, who delivered a crushing hit on Minnesota safety Brandon Owens, would say later that play was the ultimate tone setter for the 2005 Penn State team.
If you recall, during Minnesota, Posluszny had an iconic moment as well.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Minnesota’s Gary Russell approached the goal line and Poslusny leapt at him like a mountain lion from Mount Nittany and wrestled him down short.
The Nittany Lions would go onto defeat Minnesota 44-14 setting up a clash with undefeated Ohio State, that would also birth one of our greatest traditions.
Leading up to the 2005 Ohio State game, Penn State called for a White Out and a tradition was born.
Paterno would feed the denizens of “Paternoville” pizza to ensure they would have the energy to be a factor in Penn State’s biggest home game in years.
The game started out like a heavyweight prized fight with a slow burn, but what punches that were thrown were epic haymakers.
In the second quarter, Williams took a pitch from Robinson and hit the edge with perfect blockers and was able to get into the end zone to give Penn State a 7-3 lead.
Later in the second quarter, safety Calvin Lowry began to pick up on Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith’s habits and tendencies.
When Lowry decided to act on what he knew, it set up Penn State for its second touchdown.
“That interception, they had run that play earlier in the game,” Lowry told The Penn State Alumni Association. “I had seen it and I had been one step short of making the play previously. I talked myself into it: ‘If it happens again, I’m going to make that play.’ Ultimately it happened. I saw it, it kind of slo-moed (slow-motion), if people could believe that. Then, being five yards short of returning it for a touchdown was the biggest hiccup I had. I would’ve loved to have seen how loud the stadium really could have got if I ran that in there.”
Lowry got it to the Penn State two-yard line where Robinson would take it in on a speed option three plays later to go up 14-3.
The iconic play of this game would be what would seal it for Penn State up 17-10 in the fourth quarter. Hali chased down Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith and forced a fumble that defensive tackle Scott Paxson would recover to seal the win.
The image for years was on display in the Lasch Football Building Complex.
The jersey somehow ended up on eBay for auction, but Matt realized quickly it wasn’t what the item listed for.
“One of them that they auctioned off (during a Penn State auction while Matt was in college) was Tamba Hali’s game-worn jersey from the Ohio State game. I was like just any broke college student, right? I didn’t have that type of money for that.
“Two years ago, the jersey wound up coming up for auction, and there’s a process for photo matching jerseys. And so the jersey went up for auction, and it was on eBay, but it was mislisted and listed as Jared Odrick’s jersey.
It wasn’t. I wind up going, I put a bid in to make sure I wouldn’t lose it, and I wound up getting it, it’s absolutely incredible.”
While Penn State’s perfect season would be extinguished the following week in Michigan on a last second touchdown from Chad Henne to Mario Manningham, many players didn’t lose sight of what was still out to gain and what they had been through.
“Those teams that we were a part of did not start off well when I was when I was a freshman, where we earned the worst record in Penn State football history, and then two years later, we go to the Orange Bowl, win the Big 10 Championship, and are in a two seconds away from having the opportunity to play in the national championship,” Posluszny said.
Penn State would win out, which would set up a clash with ACC Champion Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
In what was the penultimate game that bowl season, it lived up to be the top bout to the epic USC/Texas Rose Bowl.
When Tony Hunt was slowed with an injury, it was former five-star recruit Austin Scott who had his best game as a Nittany Lions, rushing for 110 yards, two touchdowns, on 26 carries.
Another unsung hero was wide receiver Ethan Kilmer, who capped a two-play 40 yard drive with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first half with a 25-yard touchdown.
Penn State and Florida State would duel in the second half, like a classic Ali/Frazier fight where both landed big punches but neither would go down.
Like the Thrilla in Manilla, but Late Night In Miami went until 1 am when kicker Kevin Kelly drilled the game winning field goal to give Penn State an 11-1 season, Orange Bowl championship, and restored the roar.
If anyone ever personified the grit of that team, it was Robinson.
As teams were trying to figure out how they would use Robinson, he kept it simple for them.
“I’m a football player, plain and simple, and isn’t that what they’re looking for?”
If you make the exhibit at the All-Sports Museum of the 2005 jerseys, you are looking at more than history, you are looking at a passion.
For Matt, the 2005 Nittany Lions have that magic that inspired him to a lifetime passion of curating Penn State history by collecting the jerseys that players wear.
For many others, recapturing the imagination we all experienced in 2005 we be on full display again. The players were selfless, they had been through hell and back, but more importantly, their legacy was to leave as champions.
If anything, this group was more than that to so many, saying thank you will never be enough.
If you don’t stop and take time to appreciate this weekend of this special group, you will truly miss something special.
