Penn State football: Top-10 wins of the James Franklin Era

By Brad Weiss | Dec 1, 2020

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 30: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts to a play during the second half of the game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Beaver Stadium on November 30, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

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Cotton Bowl champs in 2019 (Photo by Benjamin Solomon/Getty Images) /

Penn State football: Top-10 wins of the James Franklin Era

Penn State wins 2019 Cotton Bowl over Memphis

The Penn State football program finished off what was a solid 2019 college football season with a berth in the Cotton Bowl, taking on Memphis and their high-powered offense. The Tigers were the No. 15th ranked team in the country head into the game, as they posted a 12-1 record, and were the AAC Conference champs.

By the end of the first quarter, it actually looked like the AAC would make some noise on a big stage, as they were up 13-7 thanks to a touchdown run by Patrick Taylor Jr., and a field goal by Riley Patterson. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Penn State had way too much firepower with Journey Brown toting the rock, as the back finished with over 200 yards rushing in the game.

Memphis made it a game in the second half, and actually only trailed by two in the third quarter, before a Garrett Taylor interception return for a touchdown off of Brady White, who threw for over 450 yards in the game. Patterson would inch the Tigers closer with a fourth-quarter field goal, but Noah Cain put the game away with a one-yard touchdown run midway through the closing frame.

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