Penn State program wins eastern football trophy

Penn State has earned a 26th Lambert Meadowlands Trophy presented with the ECAC, symbolic of Eastern football supremacy.

Coach Joe Paterno's squad earned six of the seven first place votes in the final ECAC Lambert Poll to out-distance West Virginia for the honor. The Nittany Lions capped an 11-1 season by defeating ACC Champion Florida State in the FedEx Orange Bowl on Jan. 3. Penn State won the Big Ten Championship and was No. 3 in the final national polls, earning its 13th Top 5 finish under Paterno.

Established in 1936 by brothers Victor and Henry Lambert in memory of their father, August, the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy was first captured by Penn State in 1947, led by Coach Bob Higgins. Coach Rip Engle guided Lambert winners in 1961, '64 and '65. The first of Paterno's 22 Lambert titles came in 1967, his second year as head coach.

Fifteen different institutions have captured the Lambert Meadowlands Trophy, but no four schools combined match Penn State's 26 titles.

Defensive tackle Alford named to all-bowl team

Penn State defensive tackle Jay Alford has earned a spot on ESPN.com's 2005-06 All-Bowl Team for his efforts in the Nittany Lions' 26-23 triple overtime victory over Florida State in the FedEx Orange Bowl.

Alford was instrumental in Penn State's defensive effort against the ACC Champions. A second team All-Big Ten selection, he made four tackles (three solo), including 2.5 tackles for losses, with 1.5 sacks, and forced a fumble deep in FSU territory.

Alford was one of only three players from Big Ten squads selected to the All-Bowl Team.

A starter in all 12 games this season, Alford helped the Nittany Lions limit the Seminoles to 26 rushing yards on 26 carries, 12 first downs and 3 of 17 on third down conversions. Florida State was held to 284 total yards and scored nine points on the Nittany Lion defense in regulation. For the season, Alford ranked fourth in the Big Ten with 8.5 sacks for minus-57 yards and was tied for seventh in the conference with 11.5 TFL for minus-63 yards. The former Orange High School standout was second on the squad in sacks and minus-yardage plays. Alford made 37 tackles, forced one fumble, recovered one fumble and had two pass break-ups this season.