JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Bryan McClendon grew up a Georgia football fan, played receiver for the Bulldogs, spent two years as a Georgia graduate assistant and has worked the last seven years as a full-time Bulldogs assistant coach.
Saturday afternoon, McClendon served as their interim head coach and guided them to a 24-17 victory over Penn State in the TaxSlayer Bowl before an announced crowd of 58,212. Freshman receiver Terry Godwin threw a touchdown pass and caught a touchdown pass as the Bulldogs clinched a 10-win season and a 40th triumph for the senior class.
McClendon touched on those things in a news conference afterward and then he left his alma mater, heading for a fresh opportunity under new South Carolina coach Will Muschamp after not being retained by new Bulldogs boss Kirby Smart.
"It definitely is bittersweet," McClendon said. "This business is about people and building relationships. I've spent more time with Terry Godwin than I have my own kids throughout this season, and you pour so much into their lives, which is ultimately why these decisions are so hard when it gets to the business side of it.
"The bottom line is that the University of Georgia was playing football long, long before Bryan McClendon or Terry Godwin or whoever it may be, and it will keep on way after I am dead and gone. It's a lot bigger than me, and we've been able to keep it about the 'G' and these guys."
The Bulldogs took a 24-3 lead into the fourth quarter and survived as the Nittany Lions rallied after starting quarterback Christian Hackenberg left during the first half with a shoulder sprain. Backup Trace McSorley threw two touchdown passes and drove Penn State to Georgia's 39-yard line before his desperation attempt to the goal line fell incomplete as time expired.
Georgia notched its second consecutive 10-3 season, while Penn State wound up 7-6 for a second straight time under James Franklin. The Nittany Lions have gone three straight years without an eight-win season for the first time since 1963-66, when the Rip Engle era ended and the Joe Paterno era began.
"I do think there is progress," said Franklin, whose last two seasons at Vanderbilt yielded an 18-8 mark. "You look at the conference record and there is progress being made. It's not as much as anybody wants, but there is progress being made."
Hackenberg announced after the game that he would be making himself available for the 2016 NFL draft.
Georgia's win coupled with an Arkansas triumph over Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl gives the Southeastern Conference an 8-2 bowl record with Alabama still to meet Clemson for the national championship.
The Bulldogs managed just 327 yards against Penn State and gave up 401, but they held together in their first bowl ever after losing a head coach (Mark Richt), offensive coordinator (Brian Schottenheimer) and defensive coordinator (Jeremy Pruitt). Winning for McClendon provided extra motivation.
"He wanted this just as bad as the players," senior receiver Malcolm Mitchell said. "He's been a Bulldog his whole life. He played here. He was a graduate assistant here, and he's coached here. Now he's moving on to another chapter, so he probably feels just like us seniors."
Said Godwin: "This was all about him and the seniors. The coaches have done a great job. In the practices, guys were flying around and having fun, and it showed up in the game."
The Bulldogs do not play again until opening their 2016 season against North Carolina at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic in Atlanta. Midway through next season, they will travel to South Carolina, which is when McClendon will face the school he knows best for the first time.
"Players know that wherever I'm working, they're going to get all I've got," he said. "Just like I did with these guys, all my effort and energy will be with those guys, and these guys are going to get a coach where it's the exact same thing. It's hard to get a bad coach at the University of Georgia, so these guys have nothing to worry about in that regard."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.