In weather and field conditions more fitting for the famed duck parade at the Peabody Hotel—where the Penn State players and fans stayed in Orlando—the Nittany Lions slogged to a 19-17 victory over Louisiana State in the 64th Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Proving that Lions are better mudders than Tigers, 11th-ranked Penn State out-gained, out-played and out-lasted No. 13 LSU in the muck of the swamp-like field in the city-owned Citrus Bowl Stadium to earn its 27th post-season victory—third most by any Division I-A school.

Four hours of heavy rainfall ruined pre-game tailgates for Lion and Tiger fans alike and turned the field—which had been churned up three days earlier by Wisconsin and Miami playing in the Champs Sports Bowl—into a quagmire. The mud-stained uniforms and mud-caked arms and legs of the players reminded long-time football fans of classic bad-weather battles of a half-century ago, rather than the slick contests of today.

Penn State’s first triumph of 2010 was an NCAA-record 24th bowl win for Coach Joe Paterno in his record 36th post-season appearance and concluded the 15th 11-win season of his tenure at Penn State. In his 44th season as the Nittany Lions’ headmaster, the veteran mentor raised his bowl record to 24-11-1 and his bowl-winning percentage to 68—just two-tenths of a point behind Florida State’s retiring Bobby Bowden (22-10-1), who is No. 1 among coaches with at least 15 bowl appearances. In total victories, Bowden is five behind Paterno, whose all-time record now stands at 394-129-3 (75.2 percent).

Penn State finished 11-2 for the second straight year and ran its record to 52-13 (80 percent) through the last five years. The Lions’ senior class posted a career record of 40-12 (76.9 percent) in the past four years.

“It was a heckuva game,” Paterno said after the contest. “LSU never gave up and did a great job on their goal line. But I’m proud of our guys.”

Lion quarterback Daryll Clark said, “We banded together to get a big-time win for this program. I can’t stress enough how prepared we were.…We were able to get it done when we needed to.”

Clark was voted the game’s Most Valuable Player after throwing for 216 yards and one touchdown, running for 20 yards and directing his team on a come-from-behind fourth quarter victory drive. Paterno said the game was a great climax to Clark’s career, as he became the first Nittany Lion to pass for more than 3,000 yards in a season and set season and career records for touchdown passes and touchdowns responsible for.

LSU linebacker Kelvin Sheppard said, “I take my hat off to Penn State. They had a great scheme and great players, and Daryll Clark did a great job of managing the game.”

During the incessant rain throughout the first half, when players would have appreciated goggles with windshield wipers, Lion receivers let several passes slip through their wet hands, and Clark had several sail off his wet fingers over the heads of intended recipients. Clark and center Stefen Wisniewski had difficulty with several snaps, and Penn State had four fumbles but recovered every one.

Nevertheless, the Lions minimized their miscues the remainder of the game and won the turnover battle. Penn State surrendered no fumbles or interceptions, while picking off one Louisiana State pass and recovering one Tiger fumble to set up two field goals after short drives. They also dominated time of possession (38:21 to 21:39), while running off 75 plays to 49 for LSU and converting seven of 19 third-down attempts, while holding the Tigers to three of 12.

Sophomore wide receiver Derek Moye, who could not hold onto the first two passes from Clark on short curl routes, beat aggressive LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson on an out-and-fly route to catch Clark’s 37-yard toss into the end zone for the game’s first score 11 minutes into the first quarter. On the previous play, Clark completed a 21-yard pass to junior wideout Graham Zug in a 3rd & 10 situation, as the Lion drive covered 58 yards in just four plays.

Late in the first quarter, the Tigers showed their first signs of life when quarterback Jordan Jefferson hit his favorite receiver, Brandon LaFell, with a 36-yard pass. The Lions’ stopped the drive at their 8-yard line on the first play of the second quarter, so Josh Jasper kicked a 25-yard field goal for LSU’s first points.

In the middle of the quarter, Clark’s 24-yard pass to senior tight end Andrew Quarless on a 3rd & 7 call sparked a 48-yard drive that was kept alive by Moye’s eight-yard catch on another 3rd & 7. The drive stalled at the LSU-9, and junior Collin Wagner booted a 26-yard field goal.

With less than four minutes left in the half, senior cornerback A.J. Wallace intercepted a pass that skittered off the hands of a Tiger receiver at the LSU-23. Junior tailback Evan Royster burst through the right side for the game’s longest run of 17 yards. But the Tiger defense stopped a rush and a pass from their one-yard line, so State settled for an 18-yard field goal by Wagner to take a 13-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Penn State’s stout defense stymied the Tiger offense through the first 30 minutes, stuffing LSU runners to minus-2 yards on 12 carries and limiting QB Jefferson to 69 yards on just four completions in 11 attempts with one interception. Meanwhile, the Lions’ offensive line gave Clark excellent protection so he could virtually double Jefferson’s yards through the air, while State’s runners sloshed through the soaked sod for 49 yards, and the blue and (muddy) white dominated the time of possession, 19:48 to 10:12.

The halftime show limited the two schools’ bands to playing but not marching while the grounds’ crew spent 20 minutes trying to stomp down clumps of torn up turf, fill up mud holes with sand and replace ankle-deep divots. After the break, the Lions continued to control the game. Junior defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu forced a Tiger fumble, which senior linebacker Sean Lee recovered on the LSU-20 with just 4:44 left in the third quarter.

Clark completed an 11-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Chaz Powell on 3rd & 10 to move the Lions to the LSU-9. When two incompletions and one rush left State with a fourth down on the three, Wagner kicked his third field goal for a 16-3 lead, and Penn State fans began to relax and shed their ponchos as the curtain of rain lifted.

Their relaxation reflex came too early, however, as LSU returned the ensuing kickoff across midfield. And with three successive pass completions by Jefferson, the Tigers scored their first touchdown on a 24-yard post pattern to LaFell.

After Penn State’s next possession was a yard short of moving the sticks at the PSU-44, senior punter Jeremy Boone boomed one to the LSU-12, but the Tigers’ Trindon Holliday—reputed to be the fastest player in college football—dashed 37 yards through the Lion coverage until being knocked out of bounds by Boone himself.

Holliday, the NCAA 100-meter dash champion, followed this with Louisiana State’s longest run from scrimmage—an 11-yarder. Penn State stopped the next two plays, but Jefferson scrambled out of the pocket on a 3rd & 10 and sailed a 39-yard bomb to Terrance Toliver, streaking down the right sidelines. Sophomore corner D’Anton Lynn knocked him out of bounds at the one-yard line. But Stevan Ridley, who averaged only 1.1 yards on 12 carries against the Lions, found that was enough for LSU’s second TD, and suddenly Penn State was facing its first deficit of the day, 17-16.

Finally, with 6:54 left in the game, co-captain Clark took charge and told his offense, “We’re not losing this game no matter what.…Whatever it takes, we have to keep these chains and the ball moving.”

Clark did his part, completing one pass to freshman receiver Curtis Drake for 12 yards and two to Zug for 22 more, while rushing three times for 15 yards, until the Lions had a fourth down at the LSU-4.

Enter State College-native Wagner, who calmly booted his fourth field goal of the game with just 57 seconds left to lift the Lions out of the muck to an eventual victory celebration—where they didn’t mind the mud at all.

Ironically, after the fans tromped through the puddles to their cars and buses, the famed Florida sun finally broke through, and, as it set, the sky glowed as orange as the Citrus Bowl Stadium seats.

For the glory,