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BWI Photos: Celebration shots from Penn State's 35-21 win over Utah

Mug-Shot 4x4by: Ryan Snyder01/03/23RyanSnyderOn3
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Penn State head coach James Franklin celebrates his team's 35-21 win over Utah in the 2023 Rose Bowl (Credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)

LOS ANGELES – Penn State wrapped up its 2023 season with an important win Monday in the Rose Bowl. Facing the Pac-12 champions in Utah, the Nittany Lions racked up 448 total yards of offense in the win, averaging an impressive 8.3 yards per play. Defensively the Lions were also strong, especially in the second half, totaling nine tackles for loss and six sacks.

“I’m just proud of these guys. I was here in 2016, one of the better Rose Bowl games, and watched somebody else celebrate, and I wanted this for them,” said Penn State head coach James Franklin. “I couldn’t have wrote the script any better for Sean Clifford to be the offensive MVP, and my man Tig to be the defensive MVP. It’s awesome, sending these guys out the right way, in a time in college football that I think it’s more challenging than ever.

Highs & Lows: Penn State caps bounce-back season on brightest note

“Just really proud of our guys. Offense, defense and special teams really played a really good, complete game. I thought Kalen King’s interception really got us going and got us started. And then we were able to get pressure on their quarterback, which we weren’t able to do early in the game and that started changing some things for us. Obviously the big run by Nick Singleton, Barney Amor punted well all night long, because it was a position game, playing Coach Whittingham, is a defensive head coach. And you talk about drive-start battle, they were really winning that.

“Our guys just stuck together, made some big plays when we needed to, and we found a way to get a win against a really, really good Utah team.”

Check out our photo gallery below if you missed anything from the postgame celebration.

Penn State head coach James Franklin
Penn State head coach James Franklin (Credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)
Defensive end Adisa Isaac
Defensive end Adisa Isaac (Credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)
Penn State linebacker Curtis Jacobs
Linebacker Curtis Jacobs (Credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)
Offensive lineman Juice Scruggs
Offensive lineman Juice Scruggs (Credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)
Wide receiver Kaden Saunders
Wide receiver Kaden Saunders (Credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)

Safety Ji'Ayir Brown
Safety Ji’Ayir Brown (Credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)
Penn State tight end Brenton Strange
Tight end Brenton Strange (Credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)
Cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (Credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)
Quarterback Sean Clifford and safety Ji'Ayir Brown
Quarterback Sean Clifford and safety Ji’Ayir Brown (Credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)
Penn State head coach James Franklin
Penn State head coach James Franklin (Credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)
Quarterback Sean Clifford
Quarterback Sean Clifford (Credit: Ryan Snyder/BWI)

Running back Keyvone Lee
Running back Keyvone Lee (Credit: Ryan Snyder/Blue White Illustrated)
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford (Credit: Ryan Snyder/Blue White Illustrated)
Defensive end Adisa Isaac
Defensive end Adisa Isaac (Credit: Ryan Snyder/Blue White Illustrated)
Penn State head coach James Franklin
Penn State head coach James Franklin (Credit: Ryan Snyder/Blue White Illustrated)
Penn State Jonathan Sutherland
Penn State Jonathan Sutherland (Credit: Ryan Snyder/Blue White Illustrated)

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