With the 2000s coming to a close, we took some time to look back on a decade of Penn State football milestones and memories. Below, find some of our top picks and then vote for your favorite in the righthand column. Think we missed a moment? Below the poll you can find a place to submit your top moment from the decade while you peruse what other fans had to say.
September 30, 2000 - One week after freshman cornerback Adam Taliaferro suffered a career-ending spinal injury in a game at Ohio State, the Nittany Lions rally to beat No. 19 Purdue, 22-20, in Beaver Stadium.
September 1, 2001 - Less than one year after suffering a serious spinal injury, Adam Taliaferro leads the Nittany Lions onto the field vs. Miami (Fla.) in the first game in the newly-expanded Beaver Stadium.
October 27, 2001 - Penn State rallies from a 27-9 deficit to score the final 20 points and defeat Ohio State, 29-27, giving Joe Paterno his 324th career victory and moving him past Paul "Bear" Bryant and into the victories lead among major college coaches. The comeback is Penn State's greatest at home under Paterno. Quarterback Zack Mills gained a school record 418 yards of total offense.
September 14, 2002 - The Nittany Lions bury unbeaten and No. 8 Nebraska, 40-7, in a primetime clash in front of Beaver Stadium record crowd of 110,753.
November 16, 2002 - Senior tailback Larry Johnson rushes for a Penn State record 327 yards, scoring four touchdowns, to lead the Nittany Lions to a 58-25 win at Indiana.
November 23, 2002 - Larry Johnson rushes for 279 yards and four touchdowns against Michigan State to become the first Nittany Lion and only the ninth player in NCAA Division I-A history to gain 2,000 yards in a season. The Doak Walker Award winner, Johnson finished the season with 2,087 yards on 271 attempts, scoring 20 touchdowns.
October 9, 2004 - The first Penn State Student Whiteout makes a strong and lasting impression on the Nittany Lions, the Beaver Stadium faithful and the opposition, as No. 9 Purdue escapes with a 20-13 win.
November 13, 2004 - The Nittany Lion defense stopped Indiana on four consecutive running plays from the PSU one-yard-line to preserve Penn State's dramatic 22-18 win in Bloomington. The victory began a streak that saw the Lions beat Michigan State at home the next week and post a 52-13 (80.0) record through the end of the 2009 regular season.
September 24, 2005 - Penn State turned the ball over four times in the first half and fell behind Northwestern, 23-7, in the Big Ten opener. Trailing 29-27 with less than 2:00 to play, the Lions converted a monumental 4th and 15 play from their own 15-yard-line, gaining 20 yards on a pass from Michael Robinson to tight end Isaac Smolko. Five plays later, Robinson threw his third touchdown pass of the game, connecting on a 36-yard pass to freshman Derrick Williams with :51 to play for a dramatic and critical, 34-29 win. All-America linebacker Paul Posluszny made 22 tackles (14 solo).
October 1, 2005 - Paul Posluszny's leaping tackle at the goal line highlights the Nittany Lions' 44-14 thumping of No. 18 Minnesota, lifting Penn State to 5-0.
October 8, 2005 - All-American Tamba Hali forced a fumble near midfield with 1:21 to play that Scott Paxson recovered to preserve the Nittany Lions' pulsating 17-10 win over No. 6 Ohio State. An electric crowd of 109,839 in Beaver Stadium willed the Nittany Lions to the crucial win.
January 3, 2006 - Kevin Kelly's 29-yard field goal in the third overtime lifted Big Ten Champion Penn State to a thrilling 26-23 victory over Florida State in the 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl. In a meeting of the two winningest major college coaches of all-time, the longest game in Penn State history ended at 12:57 a.m. The Nittany Lions (11-1) finished No. 3 in the final polls.
September 30, 2006 - Deon Butler made 11 receptions for a school record 216 yards to lead the Nittany Lion to a 33-7 win over Northwestern.
January 1, 2007 - Cornerback Tony Davis picked up a fumble and returned it 88 yards to break a 10-10, fourth quarter tie, lifting Penn State to a 20-10 win over No. 17 Tennessee in the Outback Bowl. Facing their fifth ranked opponent of the season, the Nittany Lions forced three turnovers and earned their 32nd final Top 25 ranking under Joe Paterno.
September 8, 2007 - The first full stadium "Whitehouse" crowd of 110,078 sees Derrick Williams' punt return touchdown ignite the Nittany Lions to a 31-10 win over Notre Dame.
December 4, 2007 - Joe Paterno becomes just the third active coach to be inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame. The legendary coach was forced to delay his induction by one year due to leg injuries suffered in the 2006 game at Wisconsin.
December 29, 2007 - A diving 30-yard touchdown catch by Deon Butler and an 11-yard scoring run by Daryll Clark helped Penn State erase a 14-0 first quarter deficit to defeat Texas A&M, 24-17, in the Valero Alamo Bowl in Joe Paterno's 500th game as head coach.
October 18, 2008 -Jared Odrick records a safety on sack to break a 17-17 third quarter tie and ignite the Nittany Lions' 46-17 Homecoming win over Michigan. Penn State's 46 points are its highest total in the series.
October 25, 2008 - Penn State scored 10 points in the final 6:25 to record a thrilling 13-6 win over No. 10 Ohio State to take control of the Big Ten race. Mark Rubin recorded a career-high 11 tackles and forced a fumble in the fourth quarter, which was recovered by Navorro Bowman on the OSU 38. Pat Devlin scored with 6:25 to play to take the lead for good. Penn State held Ohio State its fewest points at home since a 6-0 loss to Wisconsin in 1982.
November 22, 2008 - Daryll Clark threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns to propel No. 8 Penn State past No. 15 Michigan State, 49-18, to clinch the Nittany Lions' second Big Ten Championship in four years. Penn State threw for a school record 419 yards, improving to 11-1 and earning a Rose Bowl berth vs. USC.
October 3, 2009 - Stephfon Green (120) and Evan Royster (105) gained more than 100 rushing yards to lead Penn State past Illinois, becoming the first tandem of Nittany Lion running backs to crack the century mark in Big Ten play.
October 24, 2009 - Daryll Clark threw four touchdown passes, three to Graham Zug, to lead Penn State past Michigan, 35-10, breaking a five-game losing streak in Ann Arbor. The Nittany Lions forced four turnovers and held the Wolverines 27.3 points below their season average.
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Think there's a top Penn State football moment we missed during the 2000s? Tell us what moment you think should have made it and return later for a full list of fan-submitted moments.
Submit your top moment here.
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