Journey Brown looks like Saquon Barkley in Penn State’s Cotton Bowl win
By John Buhler
Journey Brown had an unforgettable game in the Cotton Bowl vs. the Memphis Tigers, as the Penn State Nittany Lions running back set records in the victory.
Journey Brown ran into the record books as the Penn State running back led the Nittany Lions to a Cotton Bowl win.
In the first game of the New Year’s Six slate, No. 10 Penn State finished the season with an 11-2 record in the highest-scoring Cotton Bowl with a 53-39 win over No. 17 Memphis who fell to 12-2.
Leading the way for the Penn State offense was sophomore running back Brown. He ran the football 16 times for a Penn State bowl record 202 yards and two trips to pay dirt. The previous Nittany Lions bowl game rushing record had belonged to Saquon Barkley, whose 194 rushing yards came in the iconic 2017 Rose Bowl defeat at the hands of the USC Trojans.
Brown’s first rushing touchdown on the afternoon came at 9:56 remaining in the first quarter. He capped off a three-play, 75-yard drive by scampering 32 yards to the house. Penn State would take a brief 7-3 after the made Jake Pinegar PAT.
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We’d have to wait a tad longer for Brown to pull off his most impressive run of the day. With Penn State already up 21-13 with 5:51 left in the first half, Brown would take a handoff from quarterback Sean Clifford 56 yards to pay dirt after a Memphis punt. This would give Penn State a 28-13 lead, but both teams would score before halftime with Penn State leading, 35-23.
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Even though Penn State didn’t play in its conference championship game this season, the Nittany Lions certainly got up for their New Year’s Six opponent in Memphis in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Sure, Memphis had lost its head coach Mike Norvell to the Florida State Seminoles job, but the Tigers certainly played their tails off in their first-ever appearance in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
This combined for a 92-point ball game that set a Cotton Bowl record in the process. No, neither team was just happy to be in Arlington, as both schools definitely wanted to win this marquee bowl game. Had it not been for a dominating performance on the ground by Brown, Penn State probably doesn’t win this bowl game. Memphis gave the Nittany Lions their best shot.
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