Ticketcity Bowl

DALLAS - Penn State players and coaches chose not to point to the events of the last two months - a horrible scandal, three bowl snubs, a fight that sidelined its starting quarterback and the interminable search for a new head coach - as a reason for a lackluster performance Monday in the TicketCity Bowl. But the Nittany Lions played the first quarter against Houston as if they left their focus back at the hotel or in State College. And the offense, without junior Matt McGloin, never found a footing the entire game with sophomore Rob Bolden at the controls.

DALLAS - The stage will be set Monday for Penn State quarterback Rob Bolden as - after a two-month hiatus from a meaningful snap - the sophomore will get a shot to start and finish the TicketCity Bowl. On Sunday, Penn State interim coach Tom Bradley officially ruled out starting quarterback Matt McGloin for Monday's game against Houston after McGloin did not pass concussion tests needed to clear him for action. Walk-on Shane McGregor will serve as Bolden's backup. "I think he's done very well," Bradley said of Bolden at the TicketCity Bowl news conference, where he shared the podium with Houston coach Tony Levine.

DALLAS - A season of tragedy and upheaval finally came to an end for Penn State football Monday in a third-rate bowl game played in a half-empty stadium that has also seen much better days. There wasn't much of a final reward for the Nittany Lions players who endured the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal this season. They very nearly voted to turn down this invitation from the TicketCity Bowl after being bypassed by several bowls farther up the pecking order. The better bowls with Big Ten conference affiliation thought Penn State's distressing season would keep its normally loyal fans from traveling, and they were apparently right.

DALLAS - Penn State players and coaches chose not to point to the events of the last two months - a horrible scandal, three bowl snubs, a fight that sidelined its starting quarterback and the interminable search for a new head coach - as a reason for a lackluster performance Monday in the TicketCity Bowl. But the Nittany Lions played the first quarter against Houston as if they left their focus back at the hotel or in State College. And the offense, without junior Matt McGloin, never found a footing the entire game with sophomore Rob Bolden at the controls.

DALLAS - Joe Paterno usually got to spend time around Christmas and New Year's Day in warmer climates, having led Penn State to 37 bowl games in his 45 full seasons as the head coach. But Paterno is back in the cold and snow of State College this holiday season, battling lung cancer, recovering from a broken pelvis, and possibly reflecting on a series of shocking events that swept him out of the position that made him into one of the most familiar figures in college football history.

DALLAS - Penn State punter-kicker Anthony Fera encountered a travel hiccup on his way home to Texas for the holidays after a flight delay in State College, Pa., caused him to miss his connection in Philadelphia. No problem. Fera just went into the city and stayed overnight with his aunt, one of more than a dozen relatives of his from in and around Philadelphia. "We had a good visit," said Fera, a sophomore from the Houston suburb of Cypress. "I got a cheesesteak. That was nice.

Mike Munchak, a former Penn State All-America offensive lineman, said yesterday he is not interested in become the Nittany Lions' next head coach. Munchak is in his first year as head coach of the Tennessee Titans. "I have a great deal of respect for Penn State and I hope they find a great coach there, but I am happy where I'm at," Munchak told The Tennessean newspaper of Nashville. "I love my alma mater, but I have no interest in being the head coach at Penn State. I never want to leave Tennessee.