Smell the Roses: Honoring the 1994 Team 30 Years Later

Former Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins still gets goosebumps thinking about the play. Collins spun and pitched the ball to running back Ki-Jana Carter, who shed multiple tackles before sprinting towards an avalanche of Penn State fans draped in white beyond the end zone.

Carter’s 83-yard touchdown on the opening play from scrimmage in the 1995 Rose Bowl is forever etched in Collins’ mind. It’s a picture he can still paint in the bowels of his brain and with the atmosphere, imagery, and mystique of playing in the Rose Bowl, it’s a moment he’ll never forget.

“The colors and the roar of the crowd and watching Ki-Jana [Carter] run in general was a treat,” Collins said. “It was one of those special times and moments where I just happened to have a perfect view and to start off a game like that in that magnitude was amazing.”

Carter captured the spotlight in the ‘Granddaddy of Them All’ with three touchdowns, but set the stage for one of the greatest seasons in college football history months earlier on the practice field.

Before Penn State’s offensive unit went on to lead the nation with 47.8 points per game and 520 yards per game, they struggled mightily against their own defense in a training camp practice. The same group, comprised of first-round talents like Collins, Carter, All-American Kyle Brady, 1994 Fred Biletnikoff Award winner Bobby Engram, and 11-year NFL wideout Joe Jurevicius, was stifled with minimal success.

A heralded offense was left wondering where to turn until Carter pulled his teammates together on the field at the end of practice. He delivered a message that affirmed what was to come in Penn State’s 12-0 1994 season.

“What set the tone for us on offense was a preseason scrimmage where Ki-Jana Carter brought us together after we didn’t do real well against the defense,” offensive lineman Jeff Hartings said. “Ki-Jana [Carter] made it known that we’re not going to get stopped by anybody this year. [Joe] Paterno can do all he wants to try to stop us by setting things up in practice to make sure we don’t dominate our defense, but that’s the only way that anybody’s going to stop us.”

Collins recalled that particular practice, and said Carter brought the attitude and bravado that it was never going to happen again. That leadership and confidence always struck Hartings, who said the record-breaking offensive production happened naturally after that moment.

Shattering standards on the offensive side of the ball became commonplace for the Nittany Lions, who scored at least 28 points in each of their first five games, including 61 against Iowa and 56 in their season-opening win over Minnesota.

Facing the Penn State offense in practice is what allowed the team’s defensive players, like Kim Herring, to be prepared for a top-five clash at Michigan on Oct. 15, 1994. Herring moved from offense to defense ahead of the 1994 season and the Detroit native went into enemy territory excited for the challenge.

Penn State entered the contest ranked third in the country while the hosting Wolverines were fifth. The Nittany Lions surrendered their 16-3 halftime lead and were tied 24-24 before Collins found Engram for a game-winning touchdown with 2:53 to play. It was, what Collins called, a “perfect college football afternoon,” and marked the game the Nittany Lions knew they had “something special brewing,” according to Collins.

“To have your game on a Saturday at the Big House with Keith Jackson calling your game? That was the pinnacle at that time,” Herring said. “There was a lot of pressure because that was our first opportunity to show who we were. Even though in the beginning of that year, we beat up USC pretty early, but we didn’t really have a true challenge until that game, and for us to show up like that, it was pretty impressive.”

Penn State ascended to the No. 1 spot in the national rankings three days later and was immortalized on the front cover of Sports Illustrated on Oct. 24, 1994 with the image of Freddie Scott racing away from a Michigan defender.

Herring said the team was “living in our own clipboard readings” during the week off after the Michigan game, but was held accountable during a team meeting by head coach Joe Paterno, who re-centered his team days before their next opponent: 21st-ranked Ohio State.

“Joe did a great job of putting us back in our place,” Herring said. “You’re never as good as you are when you win, you’re never as bad as you are when you lose.’ Joe  used to always say that. He said just because you’re No. 1 today doesn’t mean you’ll be No. 1 next week. He kind of cut our legs from under us to put us back in reality.”

That mental reset was the springboard for one of the most dominant showings in Penn State history. Hartings recalled another Paterno motto: “You either get better or you get worse every day, you never stay the same.”

Those words were repeated consistently ahead of the Ohio State game, knowing the potential let-down that could occur after being ranked the top team in the nation. The players took it to heart and Hartings said, “that game was over before it began,” as Penn State thrashed Ohio State 63-14, achieving the largest margin of victory ever recorded in the illustrious matchups of the two programs.

Penn State dropped to the No. 2 team in the nation, despite its win over the Buckeyes, and suffered a scare two weeks later on the road against Illinois. Amid the cold November rain in Champaign, Collins described how “we were just off” after he threw multiple interceptions and Carter fumbled.

The uncharacteristic struggle resulted in a 21-0 first-quarter lead for Illinois, and Penn State trailed 28-14 at the half. Collins called the game a “dogfight,” and one that reached a climax in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter when Penn State needed to go 96 yards to take the lead.

The Nittany Lions dink-and-dunked their way down the field when fullback Brian Milne used the block Hartings set for him to reach the end zone, giving Penn State its first lead of the game, a 35-31 advantage, with 57 seconds to go. It was the drive that saved the undefeated season and showcased the resilient nature of the offense.

“That team had exceptional talent, but we worked hard,” Collins said. “We had the right attitude. We were selfless. We were unfazed by any success or any failures that we may have had along the way. Not only did we have exceptional talent, but we had the right kind of guys from a work ethic and an attitude standpoint.”

Thirty years have come and gone since that season, which culminated in the program’s first Rose Bowl victory. Hartings called it a privilege and an honor to play alongside his fellow offensive linemen Bucky Greeley, Andre Johnson, Marco Rivera, and Keith Conlin, as the group up front acted as the catalyst for their teammates around them.

Over 15 players from the 1994 team went on to play in the NFL, including Collins, Brady, Hartings, and Engram, all of whom spent north of a decade in the league. “We went through so much together, and that bond is something you don’t get beyond college,” Collins said.

“We were in an unselfish group,” Collins continued. “We didn’t care who got the credit. We didn’t care how it got done. We just wanted to get it. We just wanted it to be done, and not only that, the work ethic was tremendous, our attitude was really good and we were hungry. We wanted it for each other.”