New Year's Nightmare

Lions stall twice at goal, succumb to Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The patch of green grass separating pigskin from goal line was about the size of the average male sneaker.

The Nittany Lions needed a lunge, a push, a surge. Perhaps the ever-popular quarterback sneak. Maybe a bootleg, where quarterback Mike McQueary could roll out and hit an open receiver in the flat.

In from the sidelines came the play of choice, a 27 Power. The play was designed to have tight end Brad Scioli and fullback Anthony Cleary create a wedge for the ball carrier -- in this case Chris Eberly -- to slither in for six points.

That's not how it worked. Scioli and Cleary did their jobs, but Eberly cut upfield prematurely, and instead of finding touchdown glory he found the helmet of 262-pound defensive end Tim Beauchamp.

In the shadows of the Florida sun on New Year's Day, No. 16 Penn State's rollercoaster season came to a screeching halt in a 21-6 loss to the Florida Gators (10-2) in the CompUSA Citrus Bowl.

At 9-3, the questions still remain. How good could this team have been? Why was more attention not placed on stopping the run? Would this game have gone any differently had wideout Joe Jurevicius and tailback Curtis Enis not been suspended?

As for Penn State's undoing in the trenches, yes, Enis and his run-through-'em mentality would have made a difference.

"If Curtis was in the game, he would have carried it," said McQueary of the 27 Power play.

Enis was suspended by coach Joe Paterno in the weeks leading up to the game for accepting a dress suit from professional agent Jeff Nalley. Events following the suspension have included the junior entering the NFL draft and Penn State announcing its intent to seek Nalley's prosecution for giving a gift to a student athlete.

But while mayhem swirled off the field, the show went on for the rest of the team. In the actual game, which has since taken a back seat to Enis' ongoing saga, Penn State's offense failed to make good on numerous opportunities and failed to take advantage of an upbeat defensive performance.

Penn State's defense forced three turnovers -- two interceptions and a fumble recovery -- and nearly missed a fourth when cornerback David Macklin allowed a pass to bounce off his facemask and into the arms of Gator wideout Jacquez Green for a touchdown.

"It was a game of inches," Macklin said. "It was a real learning experience. I know I learned from it and I'm gonna come out next year ready to play, and I know the rest of the players are gonna come out ready to play."

But for a disappointed batch of seniors, this was their last hurrah. McQueary, who went 10 for 32 with three interceptions, was the most sentimental of the gang.

The red-haired signal caller who waited his entire Penn State career to get a shot at quarterback said the emotions hit home after the loss.

"I just had myself a good cry in the locker room to be honest with you. So it is emotional," he said. "Senior Day, and your last regular season game, and the banquet . . . it really doesn't hit 'till you walk off that field for the last time."

Lost in the tears was a stellar performance by both the Florida defense and Gator tailback Fred Taylor. As often as Penn State's offense shot itself in the foot, the Florida defense was just as responsible for Penn State's struggles.

McQueary was under constant pressure, the running game ceased to exist, and most importantly, Florida came up with two critical goal line stands.

As for Taylor, he racked up a Citrus Bowl record 234 yards on 43 carries, enabling Green added space to reel in two touchdown grabs.

"I thought we had a decent chance to run, and we did," Florida coach Steve Spurrier said. "Fred Taylor was sensational."

Paterno said he will now have to look closely at the anything-but-sensational Lions, putting an emphasis on constructing a plan to stop the run next season.

"I'm going to take a serious look at everything," he said. "I think you lose twice in a row, you take a look at the whole program."