It was a sloppy game, but a win is a win. And in this case, that win saved the season.
Over winter break, the Penn State football team defeated Louisiana State, 19-17, in the Capital One Bowl, largely because of four field goals by junior Collin Wagner.
The win over LSU came at a much-needed time for the Nittany Lions, saving a successful yet forgettable season while adding even more to the Penn State football legacy. And after facing criticism over the less-than-challenging regular season schedule and not beating any top 25 opponents since 2008, it's promising to know that the Lions still have the ability to show up when it counts.
There's no denying the game was sloppy. But it's hard to fault any of the players on either side for any sloppiness. The real culprit on Jan. 1 was the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium field.
Players from both sides were frustrated with the playing conditions of the field, and the rain before and during the game didn't help either. By the end of the game, the field looked more like a swamp.
What does this say about the Citrus Bowl field's maintenance? Well, perhaps the stadium saw too much activity at the end of 2009.
In the three weeks leading up to the Capital One Bowl, the stadium hosted eight high school football games and one other bowl game. It's no surprise that the playing conditions were so awful for Penn State and LSU when a stadium hosts nine games prior.
This shouldn't happen. Not to downplay the importance of high school football games, but when compared to major college football, a certain standard has to be maintained.
But that's the stadium's problem to solve for now. For the sake of all college football teams who are scheduled to play there, the stadium must take the necessary steps in providing a better field for players to compete on in the future.
Let's just not forget that the Lions won a paramount game that helped garner national respect.
And they did it in the worst possible conditions.
