Comments from Penn State Coach Joe Paterno FedEx Orange Bowl Teleconference (12/4/05)
BCS Bowl Pairings/Standings
Orange Bowl website
| Penn State is making its fifth appearance in the FedEx Orange Bowl. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; January 3, 2005 - Penn State, the 2005 Big Ten Champion, will face Florida State, the ACC Champion, in the third meeting between the two national powers tonight.
The Nittany Lions (10-1) and Seminoles (8-4) will clash in Dolphins Stadium at 8 p.m. ET. ABC will televise the Bowl Championship Series game to a national audience.
The 72nd Orange Bowl features the all-time winningest major college coaches in the game's history. In his 40th season as head coach and 56th as a member of the Penn State coaching staff, Joe Paterno owns a career record of 353-117-3 (74.9) and is second only to FSU's Bobby Bowden in wins. Bowden, who also is in his 40th season as a head coach (30th at FSU), sports a 359-106-4 career mark. Paterno (20) and Bowden (19) also rank No. 1-2 all-time in bowl victories.
"We're thrilled to have the opportunity to again play in the FedEx Orange Bowl," said Tim Curley, Director of Athletics. "Penn Staters have had fantastic experiences during our previous trips to South Florida. The hospitality extended to our team and fans has been outstanding every time we've played in the Orange Bowl. We look forward to returning to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area and providing a chance for some of our alumni in the Southeast to see our (Big Ten Championship) team in person."
"I'm excited and looking forward to it," stated Paterno on facing Florida State in his fifth FedEx Orange Bowl. "Bobby and I are good friends and have been friends for a long, long time. His wife, Ann, and my wife, Sue, are good friends."
Penn State was No. 3 in the final BCS rankings. The Nittany Lions are No. 3 in the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls, and the Seminoles were No. 22 in the BCS rankings and both polls. Florida State won its 12th ACC title in its 14 years in the league with a 27-22 victory over No. 5 Virginia Tech Saturday night in the ACC Championship game.
The Nittany Lions and Seminoles will be meeting for the third time in a bowl game. In 1967, Paterno's second team gained a 17-17 tie with Florida State in the Gator Bowl, the first of 31 bowl appearances under the legendary coach. In 1990, FSU captured a 24-17 win in the inaugural Blockbuster Bowl, in then-Joe Robbie Stadium, in a match-up of the No. 6 and 7 teams in the nation. A crowd of 74,021 was on hand for the match-up of 9-2 Independents. Penn State will be playing in its 32nd bowl game under Paterno, who is the all-time leader in post-season appearances and victories (20). The Nittany Lions' 23 bowl wins overall are fourth-best in the nation.
Penn State will be making its fifth appearance in the FedEx Orange Bowl, sporting a 3-1 record in the South Florida game. The Nittany Lions have defeated Kansas (15-14) on Jan. 1, 1969; Missouri (10-3) on Jan. 1, 1970 and LSU (16-9) on Jan. 1, 1974, with each win capping an undefeated season for Coach Joe Paterno's squads. Penn State's only loss in the FedEx Orange Bowl came in the 1985 National Championship game, when PSU lost to Oklahoma, 25-10, on Jan. 1, 1986 in a battle of unbeatens.
The Nittany Lions are playing in one of the four BCS games - the Rose, Orange, Fiesta or Sugar - for the 17th time, earning an 11-5 record all-time, including an 11-4 mark under Paterno. In addition to its 3-1 mark in the FedEx Orange Bowl, Penn State is 1-1 in the Rose Bowl, 6-0 in the Fiesta Bowl and 1-3 in the Sugar Bowl. Other than a 14-3 loss to Southern California in the 1923 Rose Bowl, Paterno has been the coach for the Lions' other 15 appearances in a BCS game. He is the only coach to win the Rose, Orange, Fiesta, Sugar and Cotton Bowls.
Paterno has an impressive 20-10-1 (66.1) winning percentage in bowl games, fourth-best all-time among coaches with at least 11 bowl appearances. Bowden is the leader with a bowl winning percentage of 69.6, posting a 19-8-1 record.
Paterno has taken Penn State to 13 different post-season contests, winning in 11 locales, more than anyone in college football history. Paterno teams are 14-6 in New Year's bowl games.
The Nittany Lions are led by senior quarterback Michael Robinson, the Big Ten Player of the Year; junior linebacker Paul Posluszny, winner of the Bednarik and Butkus Awards; senior defensive end Tamba Hali, an All-American and the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year; and senior cornerback Alan Zemiaits, a three-time All-Big Ten pick who leads the conference with five interceptions.