2013 College Football National Cup (World Cup Format)

[BuckeyeBoy315]

Alright, back on the grind with this today. I didn't abandon it! Job search got pretty crazy the last week. Posting within the next few hours.

[BuckeyeBoy315]

GROUP M - Day THIRTEEN

Penn State - 17 vs. Texas A&M - 10
Tiger Stadium - Baton Rouge, LA

Baton Rouge, LA - This matchup was supposed to be the "one to watch" in the College Football National Cup. The offense was supposed to flow like fine art and the plays were supposed to be incredibly. The atmosphere of two of the best traveling fan bases in Death Valley at Louisiana State was supposed to kick-start every offensive possession.

Penn State (1-0-0/3PTs) versus Texas A&M (0-1-0/0PTs) was a game for the ages, just not one that will be remembered for offense ... at all. It was the Nittany Lion's defense that slightly out-performed the Aggies' defense just enough to secure a thrilling 17-10 victory to open play in Group M.

The Nittany Lions took a 17-3 lead in the 4th quarter off of an incredible 45-yard touchdown catch by wide receiver Marco Ranzi, but Texas A&M stormed back as Johnny Manziel countered with a 45-yard touchdown strike to Ben Malena.

Out played by Penn State's defense all game, the Aggies' defense forced a 3-and-out with 2:06 remaining in the game and had a chance to tie the Nittany Lions late. Manziel drove the team down to the Penn State 35-yard line but was pressured, as he was all night long, and threw an incomplete pass on 4th down and 8. As the clock ran out, Texas A&M was left wondering how they managed to out-gain Penn State and still lose.

"Just didn't really add up. We had that one in the bag if you look at the stats," said Manziel. "Just makes you realize how important one play can swing a game."

The one play was a 94-yard interception return by Penn State safety Ryan Kottmeier. After forcing a 3-and-out, Texas A&m drove all the way down inside the Nittany Lions' 10-yard line before Manziel threw the pick-six.

"We can look at the stats all we want, but when push came to shove, they made the right plays," said Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin. "They were sort of off balance in the first [quarter], but they really got a spark from that interception return. That defense is no joke."

If anyone knew how good the Penn State defense was, it was Johnny Manziel. The Heisman trophy winner was sacked 5 times off of 11 pressures. Head coach Bill O'Brien recognizes the defense as the reason they won the game.

"Really just not good on offense. That was our problem," said O'Brien. "That defense was wild tonight. Our boys really brought and did so against a premier offense. [John] Butler has these guys in a groove right now and it's nice to know that, despite any offensive struggles, our defense is going to show up."

While the offense left a lot to be desired, Penn State still picked up a big 3-points and can clinch a spot in the knockout stage with a victory in their next game. The Nittany Lions will travel to San Marcos, TX as they take on Wisconsin in a Big Ten conference matchup. Meanwhile, Texas A&M may be down, but they are not rattled as they take on in-state opponent North Texas. The Aggies are still favorites to come out of Group M and will look to rebound in Baton Rouge against the Mean Green.

Copyright by STATS CFNCA and The National Cup Media Bureau

TOP PLAYS:

PLAY OF THE DAY - Presented by Leinenkugel

Ryan Kottmeier 94-yard interception return for a touchdown



BONUS PLAY:

Johnny Manziel pressured and throws an incomplete pass to seal Penn State's win



BONUS PLAY:

Marco Ranzi's incredible 42-yard toe-touch touchdown



CLICK SPOILER TO VIEW BOX SCORE

Spoiler

Texas A&M Aggies at Penn State Nittany Lions
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Texas A&M Aggies (0-1-0 (0PTs))	0	3	7	0	10
Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0-0 (3PTs))	0	10	7	0	17

Team Stats Comparison
	TA&M	PSU
Total Offense	256	160
Rushing Yards	42	12
Passing Yards	214	148
First Downs	12	6
Punt Return Yards	19	17
Kick Return Yards	0	57
Total Yards	275	234
Turnovers	1	0
3rd Down Converstion	3-7 (42%)	3-7 (42%)
4th Down Conversion	0-1 (0%)	0-1 (0%)
2-Point Conversion	0-0 (0%)	0-0 (0%)
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1-0-0 (0%)	1-0-0 (0%)
Penalties	1-5	1-5
Posession Time	7:17	8:43

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		TA&M	PSU
2:23	(PSU) TD PSU: R. Kottmeier, returned interception 97 Yds (D. Borsacl kick)	0	7
0:18	(PSU) FG PSU: D. Borsack, 41 Yd FG	0	10
0:00	(TA&M) FG TAMU: T. Bertolet, 43 Yd FG	3	10
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		TA&M	PSU
2:02	(PSU) TD PSU: M. Ranzi, 44 Yd pass from C. Hackenberg (D. Borscak kick)	3	17
1:22	(TA&M) TD TAMU: B. Malena, 45 Yd pass from J. Manziel (T. Berloet kick)	10	17

Texas A&M Aggies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT J. Manziel 14/20 214 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD J. Manziel 11 25 2.2 0 B. Malanea 2 27 13.5 0 M. Joeckel 1 -10 -10 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD D. Walker 5 64 12.8 0 M. Kennedy 3 20 6.6 0 P. Lachowsky 3 56 18.6 0 B. Malena 2 50 25 1 M. Evans 1 24 24 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD C. Vogt 6 0 0 0 F. Raven 6 0 0 0 E. Wenz 5 0 0 0 J. Obioha 3 2 0 0 D. Baggs 3 0 0 0 D. Everett 2 0 0 0 D. Harris 2 0 0 0 T. Hurd 1 0 0 0 B. Wade 1 0 0 0 S. Ward KICKING FG XP PTS LONG T. Bertolet 1/1 1/1 4 43 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 D. Kaser 3 106 35.3 1 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD B. Williams 2 19 9.5 0

Penn State Nittany Lions PASSING C/A YDS TD INT C. Hackenberg 11/14 148 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD R. Macellus 11 22 2 0 C. Hackenberg 4 -4 -1 0 T. Ferguson 1 -6 -6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD R. Macellus 3 9 3 0 K. Carter 3 58 19.3 0 M. Ranzi 3 71 23.6 1 A. Breneman 1 9 9 0 A. Robinson 1 1 1 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Lowe 4 1 0 0 M. Higgins 4 0 0 0 R. Kottmeier 4 0 1 1 D. Davis 3 0 0 0 S. Moffa 3 0 0 0 A. Ortega 3 0 0 0 B. Kearns 2 2 0 0 D. Salomone 1 0 0 0 D. Barnes 1 1 0 0 D. Jones 1 0 0 0 K. Baublitz 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG D. Borsack 1/1 2/2 5 41 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 A. Butterworth 2 88 44 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD S. Moffa 2 57 28.5 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD S. Moffa 2 17 8.5 0

GROUP M STANDINGS

GROUP M
TEAM	GP	W	D	L	PTS
Penn State	+7	1	0	0	3
Wisconsin	0	0	0	0	0
North Texas	0	0	0	0	0
Texas A&M	-7	0	0	1	0