Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is planning to sue the National Collegiate Athletic Association in federal court over sanctions placed upon the Penn State football program in the aftermath of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky’s child sex abuse case, the governor said Tuesday.

Corbett scheduled a news conference for Wednesday on the Penn State University Park Campus in State College to make the official announcement. The full nature of the lawsuit has not yet been revealed, and it is unclear if it will look to overturn or reduce the penalties against Penn State.

On July 23, 2012 — following Sandusky’s conviction on 45 counts of child sex abuse and the release of former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s findings on the university’s handling of reports that the former coach sexually abused children — the NCAA imposed “unprecedented” sanctions on Penn State. These sanctions included a $60 million fine, 112 wins vacated from the record books, a loss of 40 scholarships and four years of postseason ineligibility.

Penn State paid the first $12 million installment of the fine in December, using an internal loan from the university’s reserves.

The suit is not being filed due to Penn State’s actions or requests. The university is not involved with the lawsuit or the announcement, Penn State Spokesman David La Torre wrote in an email.

Anthony Lubrano, member of the Penn State Board of Trustees said that the trustees themselves have not been given any information concerning in the possible impending legal action. However, if the lawsuit comes to fruition, Lubrano said he will be pleased with Corbett’s plan.

“If what we’re hearing is true, I’m glad the governor firmly agrees with my point of view, that the NCAA overstepped its authority when it imposed [the sanctions],” Lubrano said. “I’m [actually] curious as to why it took him so long to come around.”

The sanctions upon Penn State have not been taken lightly by any of those involved. Pennsylvania legislators are displeased about the distribution of the funds.

There was only one lingering negative surrounding Northwestern football — a 64-year stretch of no bowl wins.

That all changed Tuesday, when the Wildcats used a stifling pass rush and a resilient quarterback duo to defeat Mississippi State and win the 2013 Gator Bowl.

“It’s great to be a champion,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “Chicago’s Big Ten Team’s going to come back as Chicago’s Big Ten Champions.”

After having been in four losing locker rooms after the past four bowl appearances, senior offensive lineman Brian Mulroe said he wanted to see a change this year. Today’s post-game celebration lived up to his wildest dreams, as the Cats destroyed the monkey doll Fitzgerald had introduced last year to symbolize the monkey on the team’s back the bowl drought represented.

“It was great,” Mulroe said. “Everyone was hugging each other ripping up the monkey and it was awesome. It was just what I expected and I’m glad we were a part of it this time.”

The game itself could not have started better for the Cats. NU forced three interceptions and two 3-and-outs in Mississippi State’s first five possessions, jumping out to a 13-0 lead. The first interception came from senior Quentin Williams. He was trying to avoid the offensive tackle’s block when he picked off Bulldogs’ quarterback Tyler Russell on the third play from scrimmage and took it 29 yards for a touchdown.

NU lived off the big defensive plays all game, turning four Russell interceptions into 17 points. The Cats sacked Russell three times and had six tackles-for-loss as a team, which frustrated the Bulldogs’ offense. Mississippi State had less than 300 yards of offense, including just 106 yards through the air.

“I don’t know who didn’t make a play on defense today,” senior linebacker David Nwabuisi said. “It was incredible. Plays were coming from everywhere. As a defense we compete to see who can make the most plays and truthfully we have no idea.”

The defense played well on a day that offense ran into some uncharacteristic issues. Junior quarterback Kain Colter and sophomore Trevor Siemian combined for three interceptions, one fewer than they had all season. The Cats run game, which came in averaging nearly 231 yards per game and an average of five yards per carry, was held to just 161 yards and four yards per carry. Junior tailback Venric Mark, NU’s first 1,000-yard back since 2006, only picked up 56 yards on 13 carries, but he did score the game’s final touchdown on a three-yard plunge in the middle of the fourth quarter.

It was the passing game, which had struggled for most of the season, that lifted the Cats to victory. The biggest drive of the game came early in the third quarter, after Mississippi State tied the game at 13 and NU got the ball back. Colter and Siemian both threw incompletions, and it was third-and-10 from NU’s 24-yard line. On the third-down play, Siemian evaded the pressure from the defensive line and floated a pass off his back foot to junior receiver Rashad Lawrence for 13 yards and the first down. Siemian hit senior Demetrius Fields for 27 yards on the next play and immediately found freshman superback Dan Vitale on the subsequent snap for 34 yards to get the ball to the Mississippi State 3-yard line. Senior running back Tyris Jones punched it in from there, and in just four plays the Cats went 76 yards to reclaim a lead they would never surrender.

“It was big,” Siemian said of the drive. “The guys on the outside stepped up and made some plays. Those guys have been capable all year and they’ve done a really great job at capitalizing on their opportunities when they’ve gotten them.”

Siemian once again played the role of savior for NU. After leading comebacks earlier this season, Siemian also saw extended playing time in the Gator Bowl. He threw 20 passes and even showed some speed with two runs for 14 yards. His most shocking play surprised everyone in the stadium, himself included. Siemian ran the read option with junior Mike Trumpy and for the first time in his career held onto the ball and waltzed into the end zone from four yards out to give the Cats a 14-point lead.

“We really felt like both (Siemian and Colter) were playing at a high level at the end of the season,” Fitzgerald said. “We were kind of tipping our hand a little bit towards the end of the year, if Trevor went in we felt like we were seeing some things than when Kain was in. We wanted to get both guys on the field and doing some things (we hadn’t done before).”

Obscured by all the bowl celebration is Fitzgerald’s 50th victory, which makes him the winningest coach in program history. He called the title “very humbling,” deflecting credit to his players and coaches for helping him achieve this honor. He singled out defensive backs coach Jerry Brown for his 119th win as an NU assistant coach, calling Brown the true winningest coach in NU history. Despite his humility, players were quick to point the attention back to Fitzgerald.

“He deserves it,” Mulroe said. “He’s the greatest coach I’ve ever played for. For years to come he’s going to go down as one of the best ever. Just the way he prepares everyone and how he cares more about the person than the player … that’s why we love him to death.”

Mississippi State’s final offensive drive was an exclamation point on a dominating defensive performance. The defense bookended the drive with sacks while stuffing a running play and forcing an incompletion between. The bench was going crazy and the fans felt the win was imminent.

After Williams sacked Russell on the fourth down and NU took over on offense, the unit jogged out there to line up in victory formation. Mulroe knew the Cats had the game in the bag, but it did not sink in until the clock hit triple zeros.

“It was surreal,” Mulroe said. “You want to make sure there is zero seconds up there. Two minutes is coming down and we were like, ‘I think we got this.’ Once we saw zero seconds up there it was a relief.”

TAMPA , Fla. — In Tuesday’s Outback Bowl, the Gamecocks sprung up early and finished on top to spoil the Wolverines’ New Year’s Day.

Down 27-28, No. 11 South Carolina started its last drive of the game with three and a half minutes left on the clock. The quarterback combo of Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson led a meticulous drive down to the Michigan 32-yard line, putting the Gamecocks in field goal range.

But instead of settling for three, Thompson caught the Wolverine secondary napping and hit Bruce Ellington in front of the goal line. The receiver sidestepped a defender and crossed the plane with 11 ticks left.

After the kickoff, Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner’s hail mary attempt as the clock expired was tipped on the release, and that was the ball game — South Carolina trumped Michigan on New Year’s Day, 33-28.

“Very proud of our seniors and very proud of our kids that participated and came down here and how the guys have worked all year,” said Michigan coach Brady Hoke. “We’ve got a long way to go as a football program and as a football team, but our seniors continued to lay some groundwork and a foundation.”

Though the Michigan defense came into the Outback Bowl ranked second in the country in pass defense, it had trouble stopping South Carolina’s big passing plays all game long.

On the third play from scrimmage, Shaw, who is known more for his legs than his arm, aired one out 56 yards down the middle of the field to Damiere Byrd, who beat out cornerback Raymon Taylor.

In the second quarter, Thompson hit Nick Jones in stride on a seam route that went for 70 yards up the middle of the field. That play set up a four-yard touchdown pass to Ace Sanders, who finished the day with a football hat trick.

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said Monday that he deploys a run-first defense, but it was immediately clear on Tuesday that he wasn’t afraid to have his quarterbacks take shots over the top.

“There were too many big plays,” Kovacs said. “We knew coming in that if we kept the ball inside and in front as a defense that we’d be alright. But we gave up too many big plays, and that caught up with us at the end. It was just a lack of execution.”

Michigan’s special teams play was another major factor in the loss. The coverage unit did a poor job containing Sanders, who returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown, untouched — it was the third punt return for touchdown in his career.

But after that, special teams came up big for the Wolverines.

In the fourth quarter, redshirt junior defensive tackle Quinton Washington jumped up at the line and blocked a 43-yard field goal attempt, temporarily preserving a 22-21 lead.

Hoke also faked a field goal and a punt, and he was successful on both. On the fake field goal, junior wide receiver and holder Drew Dileo surveyed the field for a pass but then tucked the ball and rushed for the first down, which eventually set up a Brendan Gibbons field goal.

The fake punt was snapped directly to senior safety Floyd Simmons, who rushed forward for the first down.

“We had worked on that fake punt for nine weeks,” Hoke said. “The last game, you’d better run it, so we had to run it. The banquet’s over with, so we can’t save it for the banquet. It was something that we had seen and liked against multiple teams.”

But the conversion on the second fake didn’t yield points, as senior running back Vincent Smith fumbled the ball away on the very next play upon taking a vicious hit from star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who came into the backfield completely unhindered.

Smith’s helmet came flying off, much to the delight of the South Carolina fans in attendance.

For the most part though, the Wolverine defensive line contained Clowney as well as any team has this season. Michigan redshirt junior left tackle Taylor Lewan was matched up with Clowney for most of the game, and he limited the All-American to just four tackles.

“Everyone told me he’s unblockable one-on-one … but today I did my job, did my job for Michigan,” Lewan said. “I went up to him after the game, I said, ‘You’re one of the best defensive ends I’ve ever played against.’ And he looked right back at my eyes and said, ‘You’re the best tackle I’ve ever played against.’ That’s a great compliment to have.”

Lewan is projected by most experts to be picked in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft, should he opt out of his final year of eligibility at Michigan. After the game, he said he wants to address the team regarding his decision before he releases the information publicly.

Tuesday also marked the last time fans will get to see their already legendary quarterback, Denard Robinson, don the maize and blue. Throughout the game, he was used much in the same way as he was toward the end of the season, lining up mostly at tailback or quarterback, and occasionally in the slot. He attempted his first pass since playing at Nebraska on Oct. 27 in the third quarter, but it was incomplete, intended for Dileo in the flat. That was his only pass attempt of the game.

Robinson completed the final performance of his Michigan career with 100 rushing yards, and he surpassed Pat White as the all-time NCAA leading rusher for a quarterback, with 4,495 yards.

“I know I’m going to remember the downs and ups,” Robinson said. “It’s always going to be a bittersweet feeling because I’m leaving. (Michigan) was my home for four years.”

IOWA CITY, Iowa – As the Indiana men’s basketball team opened its conference slate Monday evening in Carver-Hawkeye Arena against Iowa, IU Coach Tom Crean’s players had to not only adjust to Big Ten talent, but Big Ten home crowds as well.

In the team’s first true road game of the season, the Hoosiers had to battle through the raucous Hawkeye crowd that filled every seat in the arena. They had to make late-game free throws with the game on the line and the fans jumping around yelling and screaming, a part of the game the Hoosiers haven’t had to factor in yet this season.

Despite a late Iowa surge in the second half, the Hoosiers were able to fend off the Hawkeyes and their fans, pulling out the victory 69-65 to begin the conference season with a win.

Leading up to Monday’s game, though, IU had struggled against the Hawkeyes, dropping five of the teams’ last six matchups, spanning three seasons. The lone win came last season when IU hosted Iowa and won an offensive battle 103-89.

The Hoosiers had last won in Iowa City in 2008. Junior guard Victor Oladipo said that the team knew coming in that they were going to have to battle hard and turn that trend around.

“They’ve been kind of punking us the last couple years, especially here,” Oladipo said. “They’ve been out-rebounding us and just out-playing us, and I think this year, it was just kind of a mentality that we were going to come in here and take the first punch. We were going to play hard, and I think we did a phenomenal job tonight.”

During the Crean era, the Hoosiers have struggled on the road in the Big Ten, and even last season, as the team broke into the rankings and the national spotlight, Crean’s squad went just 3-6 on the road in conference play.

Oladipo said that starting off the conference season with a win, especially on the road, was a big accomplishment, and teammate sophomore forward Cody Zeller agreed.

But he may have had it a little easier than the rest of the Hoosiers.

Zeller said that his family, which includes his dad’s 11 brothers and sisters, held a reunion last night in the area in hopes that several of them could come to Monday’s game.

He said his uncle bought close to 50 tickets for the Zeller clan, and it was great to have them amongst the Iowa fans, but he relishes getting to play in front of loud away crowds.

“I love playing in big crowds, whether they’re cheering for you or against you,” Zeller said. “It get’s your adrenaline flowing. You want to play on the biggest stages. It’s a lot of fun.”

Junior forward Will Sheehey, on the other hand, did not have a large block of fans cheering him on Monday.

In fact, as the “Sheehey sucks” chants exploded from the Iowa student section midway through the second half, it appeared that Sheehey may have been the most hated man in Iowa City Monday afternoon.

They began as he pleaded with the referees for a couple calls that didn’t fall IU’s way, and after that, the heckling began.

“They were classy,” Sheehey said.

He added that the boos and the derogatory chants are all apart of the Big Ten atmosphere.

“Our fans would do the same thing, our fans would do the same thing, and to think that any team in the Big Ten’s fans wouldn’t be just as involved in rallying on their team, that’s just the way it works,” Sheehey said.

This year’s Gophers are a force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten.

No. 9 Minnesota outlasted No. 18 Michigan State in the conference season opener 76-63 behind Andre Hollins’ game-highs in points (22) and assists (6).

Tubby Smith’s squad trailed 61-58 with 7:15 left in the second half when a dunk by Trevor Mbakwe sparked an 18-2 run to end the game.

“It’s not all physical,” Smith said. “I thought today we played not only with our heart [and] toughness, but we played with our head down the stretch.”

In a game with only two lead changes, Michigan State took a five-point lead with with 9:22 left after a 15-3 run.

“[In] years past we might have started arguing some or panicking,” senior Rodney Williams said, “and the game most likely would’ve gone the other way.”

After turning the ball over 16 times in the first 28 minutes, the Gophers flipped a switch and managed zero turnovers in the last 11 minutes. They forced five Spartans turnovers in the same stretch.

“We just didn’t panic,” Hollins said. “We knew this would be a close game.”

Both teams shot poorly from the charity stripe — 59 percent for Minnesota, 20 percent for the Spartans — but the Gophers finished 4-for-5 in the closing minutes.

“We made our free throws when they counted, made the big stops when we needed,” Smith said.

Steals by Williams, Mbakwe and Coleman in the final minutes created fast-break opportunities for the Gophers as they flourished outside of their halfcourt set.

Williams finished with 15 points — four shy of 1,000 on his career — six rebounds and three steals in 33 minutes.

Smith’s bench didn’t play much, as every Gophers starter except for Mbakwe (28 minutes) notched at least 30 minutes.

Mbakwe had a team-high 12 rebounds and 11 points as he competed for the first time this season without a brace on his right knee.

The sixth-year senior said he’s fully recovered from his surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and doesn’t want “people thinking about it anymore.”

“Anytime you have Trevor out there at full health, it’s going to be trouble for the other team,” Williams said.

Minnesota hadn’t beaten Michigan State since March 12, 2010, in the Big Ten tournament and not since 2006 in the regular season.

“We can’t sit on this win for too long,” junior Austin Hollins said. “It’s just the first one in a long journey.”

The Gophers (13-1) play Northwestern (9-4) next on Jan. 6.

Notes

– Williams Arena has had back-to-back announced sellouts of 14,625.

– After not playing against Lafayette, center Elliott Eliason came off the bench for 10 minutes, notching six rebounds and a block.

– Minnesota shot 57 percent from the field behind Andre Hollins’ 7-for-10 shooting.

N.C. State (7-6, 4-4 ACC), who earned its third-consecutive bowl bid under former head coach Tom O’Brien, fell to the Vanderbilt Commodores (9-4, 6-3 SEC), 38-24, in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl at LP Field. Offensive coordinator Dana Bible coached the team in his first game as the interim head coach.

“We’re disappointed, but proud,” Bible said. “This group of seniors did a special job in the last six weeks and they distinguished themselves that way.”

Graduate student quarterback Mike Glennon completed 35 of his 53 passes for 383 yards, all of which are new Music City Bowl records. His lone touchdown pass was to redshirt junior wide receiver Rashard Smith. Smith had three catches for 50 yards.

Senior wide receiver Tobais Palmer caught eight passes for 111 yards. He also broke the Music City Bowl record for kick return yards with 173, including a 94-yard touchdown, his second on the season. Greg Golden was the last State player to return a kickoff for a score when he ran back a 90-yard return against Pittsburgh in 2001. Palmer is the first State player to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same season since Lamont Reid accomplished the feat in 2002.

Palmer’s return yards brought his season total to 1,130, setting a new record for State. He is the second Pack player to amass over 1,000 yards in kickoff returns in school history with T.J. Graham earning 1,028 yards in 2008.

Vanderbilt redshirt senior quarterback Jordan Rodgers completed 16 of 25 passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Rodgers also ran for 15 yards on four carries and an additional touchdown.

“He’s a really good player that made a lot of good plays,” Redshirt senior safety Earl Wolff said.

Wolff led the team with nine tackles, earning 400 tackles in his college career, a State first for defensive backs. He ranks fifth in most tackles in school history.

The defense held strong on third downs as it had all season. Prior to the bowl game, the Pack led the nation in third down conversions. Only 50 of 184 third downs were converted by opposing offenses. The Commodores only converted three of their 14 third downs in the contest.

The Pack turned the ball over to Vanderbilt five times, including three interceptions by Glennon.  Redshirt junior tight end Asa Watson and freshman running back Shadrach Thornton accounted for the remaining turnovers by fumbling in the first half.  While only losing two, State accounted for six fumbles, another Music City Bowl record.

“When you play a team like Vanderbilt, you cannot make mistakes like that,” Bible said. “We practiced hard through the month of December specifically concentrating on ball security.  Obviously, we did not get that done.”

Thornton ended the game with 42 rushing yards on 12 carries, snapping his streak of games with 100 yards on the ground. He also caught five passes for 41 yards.

Vanderbilt began the game by scoring a touchdown, the fourth time State has allowed an opening-drive score in its 13 games this season.  Rodgers connected with Commodore redshirt sophomore Chris Boyd.  Both teams remained off the scoreboard until less than five minutes into the second quarter when senior running back Zac Stacy ran six yards to the end zone for another Vanderbilt touchdown. Stacy finished the day with 107 rushing yards on 25 carries and earned Most Valuable Player honors for the game.

Redshirt sophomore running back Tony Creecy scored the first points for the Pack, finding the end zone on a one-yard rush. Creecy ended the game with 43 yards on nine carries as well as six receptions for 50 yards.

On the next Commodore possession, redshirt junior running back Jordan Tate rushed seven yards to the goal line for another Vanderbilt touchdown. On the following kickoff, Palmer returned the ball 94 yards to the end zone. Rodgers would find pay dirt in only two plays on the next possession, connecting with junior wide receiver Jordan Matthews on an 18-yard pass, the final score of the first half.

Junior placekicker Carey Spear scored the only points in the third quarter by kicking a 30-yard field goal for the Commodores.  Sophomore placekicker Niklas Sade began the fourth quarter by notching a 24-yard field goal for the Pack. Vanderbilt’s final score came on the legs of Rodgers, who ran 15 yards for the touchdown. The last score of the game was a touchdown pass from Glennon to Smith.