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Pastimes : College Football: Nits, Gators, Bruins, Vols - Whoever! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MythMan who wrote (1701)	2/10/2000 3:04:00 PM
From: Nittany Lion	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 11146

Deja Vu all over again? Penn State To Open 2000 Season Versus Southern California In Kickoff Classic STATE COLLEGE, Pa., February 10, 2000 -- Penn State will play Southern California in Kickoff Classic XVIII at Giants Stadium on Sunday, August 27, at 2:30 p.m., athletic director Tim Curley announced today. The game will be televised nationally by ABC-TV. This is the record fourth appearance in the Kickoff Classic for the Nittany Lions who will be playing in one of the traditional preseason games for the second consecutive year. Penn State opened the 1999 season by entertaining Arizona in the Pigskin Classic, a game the Nittany Lions won, 41-7. Southern California also was the opponent the last time the Lions played in the Kickoff Classic to open the 1996 season. Behind 241 yards rushing from tailback Curtis Enis, Penn State defeated the Trojans, 24-7. Penn State's other appearances in the Meadowlands preseason game were against Nebraska in the inaugural game in 1983 and vs. defending National Champion Georgia Tech in 1991. Penn State lost to the Cornhuskers, 44-6, and defeated the Yellow Jackets, 34-22. This is the third Kickoff Classic appearance for USC, which defeated Syracuse, 34-16, in 1990. Two of the nation's most fabled football programs, Penn State and Southern California have played seven times previously and the Lions hold a 4-3 edge in the series. The teams first met in the 1923 Rose Bowl game. This will be the Lions' last appearance in the Kickoff Classic, scheduled to be discontinued by NCAA mandate following the 2002 season. Penn State is coming off a 10-3 season and a convincing 24-0 Alamo Bowl victory over Texas A&M. The Nittany Lions wound up ranked No. 11 in the final coaches and writers polls after a year in which they climbed as high as No. 2 before suffering three narrow losses by a total of a dozen points in November. Joe Paterno, who recently signed a new five-year contract to continue his Penn State coaching tenure into a sixth decade, can anticipate the return of seven starters on offense and two on defense when he convenes spring practice in March. Quarterback Rashard Casey, the offensive MVP of the Alamo Bowl, is back after sharing the responsibilities with the graduated Kevin Thompson in '99. Casey led the Big Ten in passing efficiency, throwing for six touchdowns and rushing for a team-high five. Leading rusher Eric McCoo (739 yards) and second-leading receiver Eddie Drummond (35 rec., 652 yds, 5 TD) are among the other offensive regulars returning. Penn State is faced with rebuilding a defense that lost three first-team All-Americas -- linebackers LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short along with defensive end Courtney Brown. End Justin Kurpeikis (52 tkls, 9 sacks) and tackle Jimmy Kennedy (33 tkls, 6 TFL) are the only returning starters. "Our players were near unanimous in their endorsement to return to the Kickoff Classic," Paterno said. "USC will be a tough assignment to open the season and we expect to have our hands full on August 27. Paul Hackett has the Trojan program headed in the right direction. A Big Ten, Pac-10 game like this always has a lot of implications and we know that both teams will be anxious to get off to a good start." Paterno and Hackett have been coaching adversaries before when Hackett was skipper at Pitt from 1990-92. Penn State was 3-0 in games against the Panthers in those seasons. Southern Cal is coming off a 6-6 season in which the Trojans dropped three games by five points or less. USC closed out the campaign on a three-game winning streak. While Hackett must replace leading rusher Chad Morton, who has graduated, he can build a pass offense around returning Pac-10 Freshman-of-the-Year receiver Kareem Kelly, who was No. 2 on the team with 54 catches. General public ticket sales for the Kickoff Classic will begin Monday, April 17. Tickets are $40 and $25. To purchase tickets by phone, call Ticketmaster at 201-507-8900 or 212-307-7171.