With Hackenberg out, Penn State comes up short vs. Georgia

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Christian Hackenberg couldn't stand the pain in his right shoulder any longer, so redshirt freshman Trace McSorley became Penn State's best hope to move his team's offense against Georgia on Saturday in the TaxSlayer Bowl.

After a slow start, McSorley helped the Nittany Lions make up a 21-point deficit with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes. The Lions moved toward a potential game-tying touchdown, but a Hail Mary try on the last play fell incomplete, giving the Bulldogs a 24-17 victory at EverBank Field.

The Nittany Lions finished 7-6 for the second consecutive season, having lost their last four games. The Bulldogs ended up 10-3.

Hackenberg, who announced after the game that he will enter the NFL draft, suffered a sprained throwing shoulder after he was tackled on a scramble early in the second quarter. He threw four passes after the injury, each one in obvious pain, and then was replaced by McSorley. He returned to the sideline after halftime in street clothes.

McSorley went 2 of 3 for only 4 yards the rest of the first half and then fired up his teammates in the locker room.

"Trace is a very capable quarterback," center and cocaptain Angelo Mangiro said. "I didn't have to say anything to him. He came in and commanded the huddle right away. At halftime, after the coaches talked, I was going to stand up, but Trace pushed me down and delivered a message to the team. He took the reins there and let everyone know he was going to help us make a comeback."

When freshman wide receiver Terry Godwin, who had thrown a touchdown pass earlier, caught a 17-yard scoring flip from Greyson Lambert midway through the third quarter, Georgia held a 24-3 lead. But McSorley launched a rally on the initial play of the fourth quarter with a 17-yard, fourth-down pass to Geno Lewis for a TD.

McSorley went on to convert three more fourth downs, including a 16-yard pass to Lewis that set up his 20-yard scoring strike to DaeSean Hamilton that cut the deficit to seven with 6 minutes, 14 seconds to play.

"When we got back to the sidelines, everyone was cheering," McSorley said. "It just felt kind of ecstatic, a lot of energy. The whole team started feeling that energy."

The Bulldogs held the ball for more than four minutes after the touchdown before turning the ball over on downs at the Penn State 25. The Lions took over with 1:52 left and no timeouts.

A 14-yard scramble on fourth down by McSorley moved the ball to the Georgia 39, and a spiked pass left eight seconds on the clock. McSorley then gathered himself and heaved the ball in the direction of four receivers at the goal line, but the pass failed to connect, and Penn State's 2015 season ended on a down note.