By Mark Carlisle

Independent Newsmedia

Penn State staved off a late comeback by Washington to remain perfect in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Nittany Lions defeated the Huskies 35-28 in the 2017 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale Saturday, improving to a 7-0 Fiesta Bowl record after returning to the game for the first time since 1997.

“I’m pretty proud,” said Penn State head coach James Franklin. “I thought we got our running game going against the defensive line, against a defense that was one of the better run defenses in the country.”

Saquon Barkley and company thrashed the Husky defense’s previous average of 96 rush yards allowed per game – the best in the country – totaling 203 rushing yards, including 92 on a single Barkley touchdown run. The Penn State offense kept drives alive, converting 13 of 17 third downs, and the Nittany Lion’s 545 yards of total offense was a Penn State bowl record.

Washington’s three takeaways kept them in the game, namely two drive-killing interceptions inside the 15-yard line, including a highlight-reel interception catch in the end zone by Scottsdale native Byron Murphy.

The Huskies kept the Nittany Lions from pulling away and cut the lead to a touchdown on three separate occasions.

“You’re never out of it,” Washington head coach Chris Peterson said. “I mean, that’s what these guys know for sure: You’re never out of it. We have too many playmakers. We have good players on both sides of the ball. So, you just keep playing and we have a chance at the end.”

After a missed field goal by Penn State, the Huskies had one final chance to tie game, needing to drive 73 yards for a touchdown in 34 seconds with no timeouts. After three incomplete passes, with 15 second on the clock, the Huskies broke out a hook-and-ladder play reminiscent of Boise State’s wild 2007 Fiesta Bowl win – a team coached by Peterson.

Washington quarterback Jake Browning completed a pass just beyond the chains to Aaron Fuller, who shoveled it to Dante Pettis, who ran another 14 yards, across midfield before attempting a second lateral which was intercepted by Penn State’s Brandon Smith to ice the victory.

Saturday's game was shaping up to be a blowout early when Penn State scored two touchdowns before Washington had a first down. On the Huskies third possession, they moved the chains for the first time on a Penn State penalty and then Peterson reached into his bag of tricks. Browning threw a lateral pass to receiver Andre Baccellia who they hurled it down field to a wide open Will Dissly. The 6-foot-4, 267-pound tight end wasn't speedy enough to outrun his pursuers, however, and was tackled at the 12-yard line.

Washington’s Will Dissly (98) catches a pass from wide receiver Andre Baccellia on a trick play against Penn State that went for 52 yards. The play set up Washington’s first touchdown and jumpstarted the Husky offense, which had -3 yards before the big gain. [Jacob Stanek/Independent Newsmedia][/caption]Before that 52-yard game, the Huskies had had -3 yards of offense on seven plays.

The trick play gave Washington momentum, Franklin said.

“We were really able to suffocate the running game early on,” he said. “The double pass, I think, is something that kind of got them going.”

Washington finished the drive when Browning punched it in for a touchdown from the 1-yard line on a quarterback sneak, cutting Penn State’s lead to 14-7.

The Nittany Lions took a 28-14 lead into the second half, but the Huskies would not let them pull away. Washington junior running back Myles Gaskin cut the lead to a touchdown – 35-28, which would be the final score – with a long run of his own with just under seven minutes left in the fourth.

The 69-yard run gave him a total of 98 yards on the day and made him Washington’s all-time rushing leader with 4,055 career yards. Chris Polk, who played from 2008-2011, had held the record with 4,049 rushing yards. The record didn’t seem to be much comfort to Gaskin, who was the most visibly upset over the loss of the four Huskies on the podium in the postgame press conference.

Aside from their long runs, both teams’ lead backs were bottled up for most of the game. Excluding Gaskin’s 69-yard run, he averaged 2.3 yards per carry and excluding Barkley’s 92-yard run, he averaged 2.6 – right in line with what Washington had allowed on average entering the game.

Both junior running backs now face the decision of whether to declare for the NFL draft or return for their senior seasons. The deadline to declare is Jan. 15; the draft will begin April 26 in Arlington, Texas.

Both Barkley and Gaskin ran for two touchdowns Saturday. Barkely finished with 137 rushing yards and 38 receiving yards, but finished the year 89 yards short of Penn State’s all-time rushing record.

Penn State senior safety Marcus Allen, left, and junior quarterbckTrace McSorley hold up Fiesta Bowl the trophy after their 35-28 win against Washington [Jacob Stanek/Independent Newsmedia][/caption]Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley had his second-highest passing yardage total of the year with 342 yards. He threw for two touchdowns, was intercepted twice and added 60 yards with his feet as well.

“I think McSorley is a heck of a player,” Peterson said. “He’s a great competitor and he makes that whole thing go. As good as Barkley is, I think it’s that quarterback that makes the whole offense go. And he did a terrific job tonight.”

Browning had 175 passing yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

Harsh desert

The Huskies did not fare well in the desert this season, with their two biggest losses coming in the Valley of the Sun. Arizona State upset Washington 13-7 on Oct. 14 in Tempe. Washington was favored in that game by 17.5 points.

Pacific sinking

It’s been a bowl season to forget for the Pac-12 Conference, whose teams went 1-8 in bowl games – the worst bowl season in history for a Power-5 conference. Utah had the only win, defeating West Virginia in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

The previous worst winning percentage of a Power-5 conference playing in at least five bowl games was the Big Ten in 2008, which went 1-6. The Big Ten, thanks in part to Penn State’s Fiesta Bowl win, has had a brilliant bowl season this season, winning their first seven bowl games with one remaining Monday. Four of the Big Ten’s victory’s have come against Pac-12 teams.

Should I stay or should I go?

Barkley, who finished fourth in Heisman voting, is projected by most to be the first running back taken should he go pro, likely in the first half of the first round. Gaskin is projected to be drafted between the fourth and sixth rounds (of seven).

Though the running backs star on both offenses, each team’s junior quarterback – Jake Browning for Washington and McSorley for Penn State – could elect to go pro as well, though neither is projected to be selected higher than the sixth round.

Good to be home

One of the more spectacular plays of the day came from the only Arizonan in the game, Washington redshirt freshman defensive back Byron Murphy. In the first quarter, McSorley took a deep shot to the back-right corner of the end zone, but overthrew his receiver. It looked as though it would sail out of bounds but Murphy made a tip-toe interception in the end zone. The play was reviewed but the call was confirmed, saying that Murphy, who went to Saguaro High in Scottsdale, kept a toe in bounds while he had possession of the ball.

Murphy also had seven tackles in the game, tied for second most on the Huskies, and had his team's only sack. The seven tackles was a season high for Murphy. The freshman, who missed seven games with a broken foot, had nine tackles over five games including a five-tackle game in a key win over Washington State Nov. 25. Murphy started his college career with a two-interception game at Rutgers, Sept. 1.

Though he did not play in Arizona Saturday, the Huskies' other Arizonan on the roster might make a splash in the future. Redshirt freshman quarterback Daniel Bridge-Gadd from Paradise Valley High in Phoenix, could one day lead the Husky offense. Starter Jake Browning, a junior, will decide whether to return for his senior year or go pro. Should Browning leave a vacancy, Bridge-Gadd would compete for the starting spot.

Senior sendoff

Penn State senior wideout DaeSean Hamilton finished his senior season in style, catching five passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Hamilton now has four receiving touchdowns in bowl games, a new Penn State record.

“I’m happy that we were able to send the seniors off on a good note,” Barkley said.

On the other side, despite a bitter-sweet ending for Washington fifth-year senior Keishawn Bierria, the linebacker kept a positive outlook on his college career.

“This will be my last game. I can’t be nothing but be proud,” he said after the game. “It didn’t go out the way I wanted to, but how I seen this team play, how I seen them battle, the mindset they had at halftime, that just shows they’re ready. They’re ready for me to leave and for them to take over.”

Bierria had a game-high 11 tackles Saturday.

Can’t recreate history

Saturday’s game was Chris Peterson’s first time back to University of Phoenix Stadium, since his Boise State Broncos upset the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl – a game that earlier this year was named the best Fiesta Bowl game of all time by the Fiesta Bowl organization.

The Broncos successfully completed a hook-and-ladder play for a 50-yard score to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation. In overtime, Peterson deployed the “Statue of Liberty” trick play to score a winning two-point conversion. The quarterback faked a screen pass to a receiver on the right side but instead tucked the ball with his left hand, handing it off to the running back who cruised into the end zone. The game was made more memorable when a Boise State player proposed to a Boise State cheerleader after the game.

Ten years later, Peterson was back in the Fiesta Bowl, leading a different team. One trick play – the double pass – worked and gave the Husky offense life. However, this year’s last-second hook-and-ladder attempt fell short.

“You get to that situation where you have to score,” Peterson said. “You don’t have a chance to throw it and get out of bounds and all that. So, you’ve got to try something that’s out of left field… I don’t think we’ve ever called it again except for today, since then (2007).”

While the play’s first lateral was clearly designed, the second lateral resembled a desperation lateral often seen on the last play of a game. However, that didn’t need to be Washington’s last play Saturday. There were seven seconds on the clock when Pettis attempted the lateral. Had he been tackled instead, the clock would have stopped for the first down, giving the Huskies enough time to spike it and have one final shot at the end zone from Penn State’s 48-yard line. Instead Pettis’ attempt to keep the play alive failed and the Nittany Lions took a knee to seal the victory.

Not this time

Penn State was happy to avoid history repeating itself in another way. In the Jan. 2, 2017 Rose Bowl, the Nittany Lions blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead and lost 52-49 to the USC Trojans in one of the wildest bowl games since Boise State’s Fiesta Bowl bash in 2007.

In this season’s bowl game, Penn State had a 14-point second-half lead that Washington cut to seven on two separate occasions, but this time the Nittany Lions were able to withstand the comeback. Franklin said Washington’s comeback did not bring flashbacks of last season’s blown lead.

“I think our coaches and our players, we thought about last year’s bowl game in the offseason, in how we attacked the weight room and how we attacked morning workouts and spring ball and summer camp and things like that,” said the Penn State head coach. “I don’t think it impacted us more than that. It was motivation for the offseason that we wanted to have a better season this year and finish stronger and grow from it and learn from it and evolve.”

Safety Marcus Allen said he and some of the other players did keep the Rose Bowl in mind as a reminder to stay sharp to the finish.

“I know the defense and offense kept on harping on playing our butt off and just remember what happened last bowl game,” he said. “And I’ll just say this is just fantastic. And I’m ecstatic.”

Success for successors

Penn State’s offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead took a job as the head coach of Mississippi State and did not coach in the Fiesta Bowl. Ricky Rahne, who had been Penn State’s passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, was promoted to offensive coordinator, and had an excellent debut, setting a Penn State Bowl record with 545 yards of offense.

Head Coach James Franklin said the credit belonged to more than just Rahne, describing his team’s offensive coaching approach as “by committee.”

“We made a decision and stayed internal (to fill the coaching vacancy),” Franklin said. “And I thought our guys handled it really well. Ricky Rahne, our offensive coordinator. Josh Gattis (was promoted to) our passing game coordinator. Matt Limegrover, the run game. And obviously getting Tyler Bowen (tight ends coach) back. I thought those guys did a fantastic job.”

Rahne kept his role as quarterbacks coach in addition to his role as offensive coordinator.

Moorhead’s new team had a bowl victory Saturday as well, though Moorhead did not coach the game. The Bulldogs defeated the Louisville Cardinals 31-27 in the TaxSlayer Bowl.

“We wish him nothing but the best,” Franklin said of Moorhead.