The last five minutes of the fourth quarter were probably the toughest of the game for Penn State University starting quarterback Robert Bolden, and he wasn't even playing.
By that point, his Nittany Lions were down, 24-3, to the home team Alabama Crimson Tide, the top-ranked team in the country. Bolden, a true freshman making his first road start (doing so, no less, in front of a crowd of nearly 100,000 in Tuscaloosa), had had a respectable night passing, completing 13 of 29 attempts for 144 yards. He had been sacked a few times, and had drives wither and die under his watch, but he had also gained a key 4th & 1 single-handedly, and kept his team in the ballgame.
The last five minutes of the game were probably the toughest for Bolden because his team had the ball, and he wasn't taking the snaps.
One can only speculate why it was fellow freshman Kevin Newsome under center for that final, short Penn State drive, and, while it would probably be pushing it-and inaccurate-to say he was 'demoted' or 'benched' during that final drive, one thing is for sure: he could have been under center, and probably would have been, had he and the Lions not made some crucial mistakes.
On the Nittany Lions' second drive, one in which they gained more than 70 yards in response to a stunningly succinct Alabama scoring drive, Bolden had the ball at the 20 for a 3rd & 8. The ball was snapped, he backpedaled, saw his offensive line collapsing, and started backpedaling faster. He had a receiver downfield, near the end zone, and as the red jerseys swarming at him closed in, and knocked him to the ground, he tossed a wobbly spiral toward the end zone. It fell, neatly, into the hands of an Alabama defender, for an interception, that would turn into a touchdown and a 14-0 deficit.
Just minutes into the second quarter, the Lions had another chance, especially after Bolden and receiver Stephen Kesey pulled off a perfect screen pass for a 25-yard gain. But on a 2nd & 6, he tossed the ball to one of his receivers. His teammate was hit, lost the ball, and Bolden was soon jogging half-heartedly downfield after a sprinting Crimson Tide team.
Maybe there was nothing he could have done about the fumble. It wasn't his fault. Nor was it necessarily his fault that, in the early moments of the third quarter, another pass he threw under pressure was caught by a sprawling Alabama defender for a second interception. Nor was it his fault that on the next possession, he threw a perfect spiral to a wide-open receiver who dropped the ball, losing a first down on a crucial 3rd & 12.
Penn State and its legendary coach, all-time NCAA football wins leader Joe Paterno (395 wins), aren't going to blame their 24-3 loss to #1 Alabama on Bolden. He played hard, and, for a true freshman, showed grit and, often, poise, in the face of adverse conditions that included the nation's best team, at home, against an opposing quarterback (Greg McElroy) who hasn't lost a start since 8th grade, and an opposing running back (sophomore Trent Richardson) who shrugs off tacklers like sweaters and can out-sprint most defenders.
The number speak for themselves. Bolden's teammate, Collin Wagner, saved Penn State from an uglier loss, on paper, by kicking a 36-yard field goal with about 10 minutes left. The Lions were beaten soundly by a team favored to defend a national championship. They gave up more than 150 yards on the ground (144 by Richardson), and 229 through the air (McElroy completed 16 of 24 passes, including touchdowns of 36 and 14 yards). They picked up just 5 of 14 third-down conversions.
But, the real sting in this game comes not from the final score or the 1 in Penn State's loss column. It comes from the fact that, yes, Bama's offense looked unstoppable more than once during this game, but the Lions, but for a few costly mistakes, displayed amiable enough offense to counter it. Had Bolden not forced a pass or two, or had someone held the ball more tightly, this game could very well have gone down to the wire.
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