PASADENA, Calif. — Penn State’s Chris Godwin had a great game. Only the final score betrayed his surname.
“He was,” said his position coach, Josh Gattis, “unbelievable.”
“He had a huge game,” said his head coach James Franklin. “Obviously.”
Chris Godwin’s numbers read nine catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns – all Penn State Bowl records, the two scores tying Bobby Engram’s 1996 Outback Bowl performance.
But the statistics – in what may have been his final game as a Nittany Lion — don’t do him justice.
“You really challenge kids and tell them to leave it on the field,” Gattis said in the Penn State locker room after the game. “Well, Chris left it on the field today. He played a spectacular game.”
There was the leaping grab in the far corner end of the zone for a 30-yard touchdown he finished off with the double-hand raise of an Olympic gymnast.
Then there was the one-handed Beckhamian catch he made across the middle.
And he topped it off with a 50-50 ball that was tipped by USC corner Iman Marshall, juggled and then grabbed by a twisting Godwin, who turned and raced to the end zone for a second TD. (The 72-yard score fittingly tied the equally-spectacular scooped behind-the-back TD catch by Chuck Herd in the 1974 Orange Bowl, a record Godwin had already tied in the 2014 Pinstripe Bowl.)
“The catch where he reached behind and made an unbelievable catch, the bobble for the touchdown – he’s a special player, no doubt about it,” said Franklin.
That score came 3:33 in the third quarter. He also made a 2-yard gain on a bobble in the first quarter. The second quarter, when Penn State rallied from a 20-7 deficit, was where he really shined. That’s when he grabbed seven passes for 113 yards, with that 30-yard score, to play a huge role in Penn state’s comeback. Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley, after beginning 0-for-5 with two interceptions, completed 12 passes in the first half – two-thirds of them to Godwin. With Saaed Blacknall sidelined due to a suspension, McSorley completed only one other pass to a wide receiver in the first half, an eight-yarder to DeAndre Thompkins.
(Godwin and Thompkins, who added another catch for a single yard in the second half, who the only two Penn State wide receiver to catch a pass against USC. Tight end Mike Gesicki had one grab in the second quarter for an 11-yard TD.)
“Chris been asked to fill a lot of roles this year,” said Gattis. “And unselfishly, he’s accepted each and every one of them. To see him go out and play at this level, you know he’s a big-time player. He made a ton of plays.”
Godwin finished the season with 59 catches (6th-most in PSU history) for 982 yards (6th), with 11 TDs (tied for 2nd). On the heels of his 2015 season – 69 catches, 1,101 yards, five TDs – Godwin now ranks as one of the top receivers in Penn State history.
His career stats: 153 receptions (7th), 18 touchdowns (tied for 4th) and 2,404 yards (4th). Those very well could be his final numbers. A true junior, Godwin – who is 6-foot-1 and a very solid 205 pounds – used the Rose Bowl as a showcase for his inside-out skills and his already-known ability to do great things deep.
The NFL Draft could be calling.
Godwin has until Jan. 16 to file declaration papers with the league. The official list of underclassmen accepted by the NFL will be released on Jan. 20. (The current list is here.) The draft will be held April 27-29.
“I’m really proud of him,” said Gattis, who’s mentored Godwin for all three of his seasons at Penn State, “and what he brought to this program.”
