Feb. 8, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - Penn State has earned an unprecedented 28th Lambert Meadowlands Trophy presented by the ECAC, symbolic of Eastern football supremacy. The Nittany Lions also have been selected ECAC Team of the Year for a record 13th time.
In addition to the team accolades, senior quarterback Daryll Clark (Youngstown, Ohio) has been selected ECAC Player of the Year for the Football Bowl Subdivision, leading a group of five Nittany Lions that were named ECAC All-Stars among FBS institutions.
Joining Clark as ECAC All-Stars were linebacker Navorro Bowman (District Heights, Md.), tackle Dennis Landolt (Burlington, N.J.), first team All-America defensive tackle Jared Odrick (Lebanon) and center Stefen Wisniewski (Bridgeville).
Joe Paterno's squad topped Big East Champion Cincinnati in the final ECAC Lambert Meadowlands Poll presented by FieldTurf to earn its 24th Lambert Trophy under the Hall of Fame coach. The Nittany Lions posted their second consecutive 11-2 mark, earning their 15th season with at least 11 wins under Paterno.
Penn State won its fourth bowl game in the past five years with a 19-17 victory over No. 13 LSU in the Capital One Bowl.
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 24 Lambert titles came in 1967, his second year as head coach.
Sixteen different institutions have captured the Lambert Meadowlands Trophy, but no four schools combined can match Penn State's 28 titles.
The Nittany Lions were selected ECAC Team of the Year for a record 13th time since becoming eligible in 1985. Penn State has won the Lambert Trophy and ECAC Team of the Year accolades three times in the past five years (2005, 2008 and 2009).
Co-winner of the 2009 Chicago Tribune Silver Football (Big Ten MVP), Clark joins some other Penn State greats as former ECAC Player of the Year recipients, including: John Cappelletti, John Hufnagel, Ted Kwalick and Mike Reid. The past three ECAC winners were Donald Brown, Matt Ryan and Pat White.
Clark ended his brilliant Penn State career by being selected Most Valuable Player of the 2010 Capital One Bowl after leading the Nittany Lions to a late game-winning drive againt LSU. Clark earned a superlative 22-4 record in his two years as Penn State's starting quarterback, garnering first team all-conference accolades in 2008 and '09.
The former Ursuline High School standout became the first Penn State signal-caller to throw for 3,000 yards in a season, accumulating 3,003 yards. He was 232 of 381 (60.9), with a school record 24 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions in leading the Lions to their second consecutive 11-2 record. The team co-captain also ran for 211 yards and seven touchdowns this past season. Clark owns numerous school records, including career touchdown passes (43) and touchdowns responsible for (65).
Joining Penn State as Lambert Meadowlands Teams of the Year are Villanova from the Football Championship Subdivision, California (Pa.) in Division II and Wesley in Division III. Villanova also was the FCS ECAC Team of the Year, with West Chester (Div. II) and Wesley (Div. III) also earning ECAC honors.
The teams will be recognized at the annual Eastern College Football Awards Banquet presented by FieldTurf on Thursday, February 18 at the Pegasus Restaurant at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J.
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, operator of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, took over the administration of the Lambert Meadowlands Awards in 1983.
To be eligible for the Lambert Meadowlands Award, a school must be located in the East or play half of its schedule against eligible Lambert teams. The territory includes New York, New Jersey, New England and Pennsylvania while teams in the bordering states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia and the District of Columbia qualify if half of their schedule features eligible teams.
Penn State is 51-13 (79.7) since the start of the 2005 season, tied for the nation's No. 7 winning percentage over that span. The Nittany Lions were No. 8 in the final USA Today Coaches poll and No. 9 in the Associated Press survey, earning their 23rd final Top 10 ranking under the Hall of Fame
The Nittany Lions return 13 starters for the 2010 season, (7 offense, 5 defense, 1 specialist), as well as 11 players that have starting experience. Penn State opens the season Sept. 4 vs. Youngstown State in Beaver Stadium and visits 2009 national champion Alabama on Sept. 11.