Georgia holds off Penn State comeback in 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl

You either watched it on Saturday night, or you gave up on the game, went to a movie, and found out when you got out: TCU spotted Oregon a 31-0 halftime lead, flipped the script and forced overtime, then won after three overtime periods, 47-41. It was as crazy as it sounded.

There’s a point in seemingly every basketball blowout loss when your opponent, likely at home and already winning, nails some ridiculous 30-foot bank shot as the shot clock expires. That is the moment when you know your team officially has no chance. Fate has plans for you.

Penn State linebacker Ben Kline played his final game as a Nittany Lion in Saturday’s TaxSlayer Bowl loss to Georgia. Before the game, he decided to give a pregame pep talk and smash his head against his teammates’ helmets.

Unfortunately, that made him bleed like crazy.

Both Georgia and Penn State had about a month to get ready for the TaxSlayer Bowl following their final games. The long layoff can do funny things to teams, and that’s before you turn coaching tumult into the equation. And there was plenty of that here, as the Dawgs overcame a late Nittany Lion rally to win 24-17.

Georgia, of course, fired longtime head coach Mark Richt, and the staff for this game was winnowed down to the very bare bones after both coordinators left as well. Defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt left to take the same position at Alabama, where he’ll take over for Georgia’s new coach, Kirby Smart. Smart, however, is still coaching for Alabama until their playoff run is over. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, well, he’s not around anymore.

Danny Kanell got dressed in the dark on Saturday, probably.

It’s fine to wear your grandpa’s favorite sweater on TV, but just understand you’re going to get made fun of. Especially when a website like Twitter exists to make it easy to do, and double especially when you’ve occasionally been a dick to people on said website. Don’t get your feelings hurt.

Not many people get the opportunity to drive on a football field, but then again not many people are Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Penn State and Georgia are playing in the TaxSlayer Bowl, and both teams probably wish they could use Jr’s wheels at the running back position. That could get interesting.

Penn State and Georgia meet in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Saturday, in what shapes up as a test of defensive wills. Neither team is much good on offense, with the Bulldogs scoring 26.5 points per game this season (No. 84 nationally) and the Nittany Lions scoring 23.9 (No. 101). But both teams are in the top 30 in scoring defense (Georgia is all the way up at No. 9, at 16.9 points per game), and each has won plenty of games based on defense alone.

The two programs have a good bit in common. Both are in a state of transition. Georgia is set to play its first game in 14 seasons under a head coach not named Mark Richt, and Penn State just hired a new offensive coordinator. Neither new Georgia head coach Kirby Smart nor new PSU coordinator Joe Moorhead will coach in this game, so everything’s happening against a backdrop of change on the near horizon. Both teams are also working on top-15 recruiting classes for 2016.

Georgia has a makeshift, ramshackle coaching staff and a lineup that would just as soon forget that 2015 happened. Penn State is in Year 3 of a total offensive rebuild, is in-between offensive coordinators, and is preparing for life without a blue-chip quarterback who could probably use another year in school but likely won’t choose to return.

The interim coach has even found a new job. When the TaxSlayer Bowl ends, Bryan McClendon will remove his black/red Georgia pullover and don a black/red South Carolina pullover; he’s already been selected as Will Muschamp’s offensive co-coordinator and receivers coach.

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Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart is the Bulldogs’ top target, SB Nation’s Steven Godfrey reports. Smart played defensive back at Georgia from 1995-98, and was on the coaching staff in 1999 (administrative assistant) and 2005 (running backs coach).

In the statement, Georgia said Richt could remain on staff if he wishes, and will coach the bowl game.