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Penn State played its bowl game on a squishy field

ORLANDO - By the time Penn State came out for warm-ups before the Capital One Bowl, the field at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium resembled one of the lakes that dot the landscape around here.

ORLANDO - By the time Penn State came out for warm-ups before the Capital One Bowl, the field at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium resembled one of the lakes that dot the landscape around here.

But Tom Bradley, the Nittany Lions' defensive coordinator, watched as the rain poured, and he smiled.

"Yeah, it was bad," Bradley said, "but I was one guy that wasn't saying, 'Rain, rain go away.' I was OK with it."

The poor field conditions slowed LSU. The Tigers gained just 41 yards on the ground and 243 yards total. Trindon Holliday, their fastest player, slipped and fell a couple of times and seemed unable to get traction in traffic.

"You could see the turf was messed up. It slowed up our speed," linebacker Kelvin Sheppard said. "But Penn State was out there on the same turf, so you can't for one second use that an as excuse."

The conditions didn't help the Lions, either. Evan Royster would have scored on the second quarter with one simple cut, but his foot went out from under him at the LSU 6. Daryll Clark fumbled three center snaps - recovering all three - and bobbled one.

"If [the football] wasn't wet, it had some mud on it," Clark said. "If it didn't have mud on it, it was wet. But we took care of it in the second half; we didn't fumble a snap."

Penn State coach Joe Paterno said he was glad no one suffered a significant injury in the game.

"I don't want to gripe about it," he said. "But it was tough."

The field had been resodded after a series of Florida high school championship games, but unseasonably cool weather prevented the grass from taking root. Officials reportedly are considering installing an artificial surface in time for next season.

Wagner's memorable day

Collin Wagner

, who came to Penn State as a walk-on, had not stood out as the Nittany Lions' regular kicker this season until his vital contribution against LSU.

A junior who just won a scholarship in preseason, Wagner kicked a career-high four field goals, including the game-winning 21-yard boot with 57 seconds to play. His other kicks came from 26, 18 and 20 yards.

"It's almost indescribable actually to come out here, especially in these types of conditions, and perform the way I performed," he said.

The conditions weren't ideal. Wagner said he had to adjust his technique in the mud.

"You had to shorten your stride," he said. "I was a lot closer to the ball than I usually am. I had to take short choppy steps just to make sure. You've got to keep your body weight over your feet so you're not going to slip."

Going into the game, Wagner had made 11 field goals in 18 attempts but was just 1-of-5 from 40-plus yards.

Saying goodbye?

Royster and linebacker

Navorro Bowman

remained noncommittal on whether they will skip their senior seasons to come out for the NFL draft. They would have to declare for the draft by Jan. 15.

Royster, who finished the season with 1,169 rushing yards, said he planned to sit down with his family today to discuss his options.

"I want to see what their opinions are," he said. "There's no real timetable except for that Jan. 15 deadline."

Bowman, who is projected as a first-round pick by some Web sites, said he also will take his time in his deliberations and decide before the deadline.

Extra points

Paterno finished the season with 394 victories, the most in FBS. He improved his bowl record to 24-11-1, also a record for wins. . . . Tight end

Andrew Quarless

set a Penn State bowl record with eight catches, a career high for him. . . . In addition to becoming the first Nittany Lion to pass for 3,000 yards in a season, Clark also set a season's total offense mark with 3,214 yards.