It came down to the final play. Penn State’s Sam Ficken drilled a 36 yard attempt through the uprights on the game’ final play. The field goal gave Penn State a thrilling and satisfying 26-24 victory over Central Florida in the Croke Park Classic in Dublin.

Time of possession. Not really big on this stat. if I were on a sideline with a headset running a team, dominating this area would be a priority. Analytically speaking, ‘TOP’ advantage does not guarantee a victory. Penn State led this category with a 34:07- 25:53 edge. And still this came down to a final play with time expiring.

A stat yours truly and coaches alike are big on is turnovers. Penn State lost the TO battle (3-1) with Central Florida intercepting two Nittany Lion passes. The Knights scored a field goal off one of those turnovers. Even in the excitement and euphoria of the victory, Penn State coach James Franklin told ESPN2 , mistakes, especially turnovers will have to be addressed.

Given the disparity in time possession it is not surprising Penn State ran more plays. The yardage difference was largely due to the performance of Christian Hackenberg. The sophomore quarterback was 32 of 47 for 454 yards (1 TD 2 Int.).

Final takeaways: Despite the turnovers and mistakes Penn State started Franklin’s tenure off with a thrilling victory. In the face of adversity they found that proverbial way to win largely due to a seven play drive in the final seventy three seconds. For all his airborne yardage, Hackenberg’s most impressive play might have been on the ground. Facing fourth and three on his own thirty three, Hackenberg found no receiver opened. Not forcing the issue he spotted a gap and rushed for a drive extending eight yards. Excellent poise for a sophomore in game one.

Central Florida showed resiliency trailing the entire game yet hanging around. The go ahead touchdown with just over a minute left put the Knights in great position. Unfortunately for George O’Leary (an O’Leary on the short end in Dublin?) his club could not close it out. O’Leary can take solace in quarterback Justin Holman. He filled in for struggling redshirt freshman Pete DiNovo early in the second half. Holman was nine of fourteen for 204 yards and a TD. Holman’s six yard TD run with just over a minute left appeared to seal the deal for the Knights. Despite the loss, Holman’s performance sheds optimism in O’Leary’s quarterback picture.