2019 Cotton Bowl Classic

2019 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
2019 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
CFP New Year's Six; 84th Cotton Bowl Classic
Memphis Tigers	Penn State Nittany Lions
(12–1)	(10–2)
AAC	Big Ten
39	53
Head coach: ; Ryan Silverfield	Head coach: ; James Franklin
Date	December 28, 2019
Season	2019
Stadium	AT&T Stadium
Location	Arlington, Texas
MVP	Journey Brown (RB, Penn State); Micah Parsons (LB, Penn State)
Favorite	Penn State by 6.5
Referee	Jeff Flanagan (ACC)
Attendance	54,828
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN and ESPN Radio
Announcers	ESPN: Mark Jones (play-by-play); Dusty Dvoracek (analyst); Olivia Dekker (sideline); ESPN Radio: Brad Sham, Jordan Rodgers, Kris Budden
Nielsen ratings	3.8 (6.22 million viewers)
International TV coverage
Network	ESPN Brasil
Announcers	Matheus Suman (play-by-play); Weinny Eirado (analyst)
Cotton Bowl Classic
< 2018	2020 >

The 2019 Cotton Bowl Classic was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2019, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST (11:00 a.m. local CST) on ESPN.^[3] It was the 84th edition of the Cotton Bowl Classic, and was one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, the game was officially known as the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

Teams

The participants were selected by the College Football Playoff selection committee on December 8, 2019.^[4] This was the first meeting between the Memphis and Penn State programs.^[5]

Memphis Tigers

Memphis entered the game with a 12–1 record (7–1 in conference), ranked 15th in the AP Poll. The Tigers tied with Navy for first place of the West Division of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Due to their win over Navy during the regular season, Memphis advanced to the AAC Championship Game, where they defeated Cincinnati, 29–24.

Memphis was selected to the Cotton Bowl as the highest-ranked team from the Group of Five conferences, a spot they secured by winning the AAC championship. This was Memphis' first Cotton Bowl Classic, as well as their first New Year's Six game overall. At the time the Tigers received their bowl invitation, the status of head coach Mike Norvell was unclear, as he had accepted an offer to become the new head coach of the Florida State Seminoles.^[6] On December 9, Norvell announced that he would not coach Memphis in the bowl, allowing interim head coach Ryan Silverfield to do so.^[7] On December 13, it was announced that the interim tag would be removed and that Silverfield was being hired as the new head coach of Memphis.^[8]

Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State entered the game ranked 13th in the AP Poll, with a 10–2 record (7–2 in conference). The Nittany Lions finished second in the Big Ten's East Division. They split their four games against ranked opponents, defeating Iowa and Michigan while losing to Minnesota and Ohio State.

Penn State was selected to the Cotton Bowl as the highest-ranked team not already selected to a New Year's Six bowl. This was Penn State's fourth Cotton Bowl Classic; the Nittany Lions have a 2–0–1 record in the game, most recently their 1974 team winning the 1975 Cotton Bowl Classic over Baylor, 41–20.

Game summary

2019 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Memphis	13	10	13	3	39
No. 10 Penn State	7	28	10	8	53

at AT&T Stadium • Arlington, Texas

Date: Saturday, December 28, 2019
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST (11:00 a.m. CST)
Game weather: Indoors (roof closed)
Game attendance: 54,828
Referee: Jeff Flanagan
TV announcers (ESPN): Mark Jones (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst) and Olivia Dekker (sideline)
ESPN game summary

Game information

First Quarter

(10:52) MEM – Riley Patterson 48 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards, 2:59; Memphis 3–0)
(9:56) PSU – Journey Brown 32 yard rush, Jake Pinegar kick (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 0:56; Penn State 7–3)
(7:44) MEM – Patrick Taylor 3 yard rush, Riley Patterson kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:12; Memphis 10–7)
(2:55) MEM – Riley Patterson 37 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 40 yards, 3:36; Memphis 13–7)

Second Quarter

(11:14) PSU – Noah Cain 1 yard rush, Jack Pinegar kick (Drive: 8 plays, 45 yards, 3:27; Penn State 14–13)
(7:47) PSU – Devyn Ford 2 yard rush, Jack Pinegar kick (Drive: 4 plays, 32 yards, 1:14; Penn State 21–13)
(5:51) PSU – Journey Brown 56 yard rush, Jack Pinegar kick (Drive: 1 plays, 56 yards, 0:10; Penn State 28–13)
(3:15) MEM – Kenneth Gainwell 2 yard rush, Riley Patterson kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:36; Penn State 28–20)
(0:51) PSU – Sean Clifford 4 yard pass to Jahan Dotson, Jack Pinegar kick (Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 2:24; Penn State 35–20)
(0:00) MEM – Riley Patterson 44 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards, 0:51; Penn State 35–23)

Third Quarter

(12:16) MEM – Brady White 1 yard rush, Riley Patterson kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:44; Penn State 35–30)
(10:24) MEM – Riley Patterson 51 yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, –4 yards, 1:45; Penn State 35–33)
(7:13) PSU – Jake Pinegar 45 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 46 yards, 3:06; Penn State 38–33)
(3:32) MEM – Riley Patterson 41 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 52 yards, 3:41; Penn State 38–36)
(0:38) PSU – Garrett Taylor 15 yard interception return, Jake Pinegar kick (Penn State 45–36)

Fourth Quarter

(12:01) MEM – Riley Patterson 42 yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 51 yards, 3:37; Penn State 45–39)
(6:31) PSU – Noah Cain 1 yard rush, 2-point pass good (Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 5:30; Penn State 53–39)

Statistics

Statistics	MEM	PSU
First downs	27	25
Plays–yards	86–542	73–529
Rushes–yards	33–63	53–396
Passing yards	479	133
Passing: comp–att–int	33–53–2	11–20–1
Time of possession	32:42	27:18

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Memphis	Passing	Brady White	32/51, 454 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Patrick Taylor	8 carries, 50 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Damonte Coxie	8 receptions, 132 yards
Penn State	Passing	Sean Clifford	11/20, 133 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Journey Brown	16 carries, 202 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	K. J. Hamler	2 receptions, 46 yards

References

^ "Memphis vs. Penn State - Game Summary". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
^ "2019-20 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
^ "2019-20 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, times, TV channels". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
^ "84th GOODYEAR COTTON BOWL CLASSIC MATCHUP IS SET!". cottonbowl.com. December 8, 2019.
^ "Memphis Tigers vs. Penn State Nittany Lions football series history". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
^ Crawford, Brad (December 8, 2019). "Mike Norvell's bowl-season plan at Florida State". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
^ Barnes, Evan (December 11, 2019). "What it means that Ryan Silverfield will coach Memphis in the Cotton Bowl". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, Tennessee. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
^ Giannotto, Mark; Barnes, Evan (December 13, 2019). "Ryan Silverfield to be hired as Memphis football head coach". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 13, 2019.

External links

Official website
Game statistics at statbroadcast.com

[1] "Memphis vs. Penn State - Game Summary". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 28, 2019.

[2] "2019-20 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.

[3] "2019-20 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, times, TV channels". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019.

[4] "84th GOODYEAR COTTON BOWL CLASSIC MATCHUP IS SET!". cottonbowl.com. December 8, 2019.

[5] "Memphis Tigers vs. Penn State Nittany Lions football series history". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 25, 2019.

[6] Crawford, Brad (December 8, 2019). "Mike Norvell's bowl-season plan at Florida State". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 8, 2019.

[7] Barnes, Evan (December 11, 2019). "What it means that Ryan Silverfield will coach Memphis in the Cotton Bowl". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, Tennessee. Retrieved December 12, 2019.

[8] Giannotto, Mark; Barnes, Evan (December 13, 2019). "Ryan Silverfield to be hired as Memphis football head coach". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 13, 2019.

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v t e 2019–20 NCAA football bowl game season
Bahamas (Dec. 20) Frisco (Dec. 20) Celebration (Dec. 21) New Mexico (Dec. 21) Cure (Dec. 21) Boca Raton (Dec. 21) Camellia (Dec. 21) Las Vegas (Dec. 21) New Orleans (Dec. 21) Gasparilla (Dec. 23) Hawaii (Dec. 24) Independence (Dec. 26) Quick Lane (Dec. 26) Military (Dec. 27) Pinstripe (Dec. 27) Texas (Dec. 27) Holiday (Dec. 27) Cheez-It (Dec. 27) Cotton (Dec. 28) Camping World (Dec. 28) First Responder (Dec. 30) Music City (Dec. 30) Redbox (Dec. 30) Orange (Dec. 30) Belk (Dec. 31) Sun (Dec. 31) Liberty (Dec. 31) Arizona (Dec. 31) Alamo (Dec. 31) Citrus (Jan. 1) Outback (Jan. 1) Rose (Jan. 1) Sugar (Jan. 1) Birmingham (Jan. 2) Gator (Jan. 2) Famous Idaho Potato (Jan. 3) Armed Forces (Jan. 4) LendingTree (Jan. 6)
College Football Playoff games: Peach (Dec. 28) Fiesta (Dec. 28) National Championship Game (Jan. 13)
All-Star Games East–West Shrine Bowl (Jan. 18) NFLPA Collegiate Bowl (Jan. 18) Senior Bowl (Jan. 25) Hula Bowl (Jan. 26)

v t e Cotton Bowl Classic
History & conference tie-ins	History Cotton Bowl AT&T Stadium College Football Playoff Playoff at-large Group of Five
Games	1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 (January) 1966 (December) 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (January) 2015 (December) 2017 (January) 2017 (December) 2018 2019 2020 2021 2023 (January) 2023 (December) 2025 (January) 2025 (December)
Notes	There was a Cotton Bowl Classic in January and December in 1966, 2015, 2017, 2023, 2025. The 2015 (December), 2018, 2021, and 2025 (January) editions were College Football Playoff semifinals.