Nov. 26, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 26, 2012 - Penn State has been named the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl's National Team of the Week, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), following the Nittany Lions' Senior Day 24-21 overtime win over Wisconsin.
With the thrilling victory over the defending Big Ten champions, Coach Bill O'Brien's Nittany Lions won for the eighth time in their last 10 games and finished with a 6-2 Big Ten mark and 8-4 overall. O'Brien became the first Penn State first-year coach to win eight games in the 126 years of the program.
The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Team of the Week announcement was made this morning on "College Sports Today" on SiriusXM Channel 91.
The Nittany Lions are the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl's National Team of the Week for the third time. The previous times were after victories against Ohio State in 2005 and 2008. Penn State is the first Big Ten team to earn the weekly honor this season.
In the victory over the Badgers, sophomore Zack Zwinak ran for a career-high 179 yards and a touchdown. Matt McGloin connected with freshman tight end Jesse James on a 41-yard touchdown pass for a 21-14 lead in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Sam Ficken connected on a 37-yard field goal in overtime for his first career game-winner, making his 10th consecutive field goal over the last five games, including a 3of-3 effort vs. Wisconsin.
After Wisconsin took a 14-7 lead in the first quarter, the Nittany Lions forced eight consecutive punts and senior Jake Fagnano grabbed a fourth quarter interception at the Penn State six-yard-line. Junior linebacker Glenn Carson made a game-high 13 tackles (nine solo) and senior defensive tackle Jordan Hill made a career-best 12 hits (eight solo), with two sacks and 3.0 TFL for minus-14 yards.
Thirty-one Penn State seniors were introduced during an emotional pre-game ceremony in Beaver Stadium.