Penn State Football: Ranking the top 20 wins in program history

14. 1995 Rose Bowl vs. Oregon

Following their outstanding 1994 college football season, the Penn State football team headed to the Rose Bowl to take on the Oregon Ducks. The Nittany Lions went into this game undefeated, and they were led by a running back who would go on to be one of the best in the history of the school.

Ki-Jana Carter was one of those rare players who comes along once in a while, and against the Ducks in the Rose Bowl, he made his presence felt right away. On the first offensive play of the game for Penn State, Carter took the ball 83 yards to the house, setting the tone early for an offense that would go on to score 38 points.

While Oregon responded right back, Penn State did hold a halftime lead, going into the break with the score at 14-7. It wasn’t until the third quarter that this game got turned on its head, as a Chuck Penzenik interception of Ducks star Danny O’Neil set up Carter’s third touchdown of the game.

From there, the Nittany Lions would cruise to a 38-20 victory, and for many, this is the game that cemented Carter as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 1995 NFL Draft. Carter was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame for his efforts against Oregon, and it is widely argued that this team should have at least got a share of the national title.