NEW YORK -- Christian Hackenberg hit Kyle Carter for a 10-yard touchdown pass in overtime and Penn State kicked the extra point that Boston College could not, lifting the Nittany Lions to a 31-30 win in the Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday night.
The Nittany Lions (7-6) played in a bowl game for the first time since January 2012 after the NCAA lifted the most severe sanctions levied against the program in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.
Penn State's Sam Ficken used retired New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter's locker and some of his clutch postseason play appeared to rub off on the kicker.
He sent the game into OT with a 45-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in regulation and won it with his extra point.
Tyler Murphy hit David Dudeck for a 21-yard touchdown on Boston College's first drive of overtime. Mike Knoll shanked the extra point for the Eagles (7-6) and that was the opening Penn State needed to complete its comeback from a 21-7 deficit late in the third quarter.