DUBLIN, Ireland -- Penn State won a thrilling season opener with a 36-yard field goal as time expired to defeat the University of Central Florida 26-24 in front of a raucous 55,000-strong crowd in Ireland. Behind second-half replacement quarterback Justin Holman, the Knights appeared to have scored their own unlikely come-from-behind victory when Holmans 6-yard touchdown run with 1:13 left put UCF up 24-23. But Christian Hackenberg -- capping a 32-for-47, 454-yard performance -- coolly directed a seven-play drive to set up Sam Fickens fourth successful field goal as Penn State players stormed the field in joy. Hackenberg ran 8 yards for a first down on a 4th-down play in Penn States own half of the field during the final drive. Saturdays win was the first for new Penn State coach James Franklin, who declared his pride in a team that wasnt rattled by the Knights go-ahead TD. "There was only a minute or so left in the game, and I looked across the sideline and there wasnt doubt in anybodys eye. Everybody believed. They believed in Hack. They believed in Ficken," said Franklin, who bear-hugged and lifted up his kicker moments after victory. Penn State players received the Dan Rooney Trophy, a football made of ancient Irish bog wood that was specially commissioned for the game. Cannons blasted blue-and-white streamers and confetti into the air at Dublins Croke Park, a stadium that normally hosts Gaelic football matches, not American football games. Both teams agreed to play a game in Dublin for their own reasons. Penn State was seeking an overseas trip and a bowl-like experience for a squad that is barred by NCAA sanctions from post-season contention until 2016, while UCF -- just months before its breakthrough 12-1 season and Top 10 finish in national rankings -- was seeking an international showcase. Hackenberg spoiled a stunning performance by Holman, who came on for the second drive of the second half after coach George OLeary benched the ineffective Pete DiNovo. The redshirt freshman had been 3 of 8 for just 18 yards and gave up a drive-killing sack on his final play. OLeary praised both Holman and Hackenberg, describing the Penn State QB as a player that "everybody in the country would like to have." He expressed bewilderment at DiNovos poor play. "I said at halftime that hes not moving the chains, I didnt like the way he was handling things out there. He just seemed to be all over the place," OLeary said of DiNovo. He said the UCF receivers were consistently open in both halves, but DiNovo too often misfired or hesitated. "Justin, give him credit," he said of the replacement quarterback. "He went out there and made the throws. He was the spark plug in the second half offensively." Penn State ended the first half up 10-3, but should have been ahead by more as UCF struggled to move the ball at all. Both teams looked jet-lagged in what was the first overseas game in either schools history. The Nittany Lions opening drive was extended by a roughing-the-kicker penalty, then Hackenberg dropped a 44-yard pass between two defenders to receiver DaeSean Hamilton, who set a Penn State receiving record for freshmen with 11 catches for 165 yards. Zach Zwinak finally punched the ball in from the 1-yard line on his third attempt to put Penn State up 7-0. A 68-yard kickoff return by Jordan Akins gave UCF the ball on Penn States 23, but OLeary gambled and lost with a 4th down decision to go for it on PSUs 1-yard line. DiNovos rollout straight into a pass rush ended with a throwaway. UCF cornerback Jacoby Glenn made a diving interception on Hackenbergs next possession, but the Knights could manage only a 36-yard Shawn Moffitt field goal to make the score 10-3. The game tempo accelerated as soon as Holman entered the game. He ran for two touchdowns, the first a one-yard plunge to pull UCF within 13-10 with 2:39 left in the third quarter. And he threw for a third, a 10-yard bullet to Josh Reese with 11:31 left that narrowed Penn States lead to 20-17. Between those two UCF scores, Hattenberg pulled off the longest play of the game. On 3rd and 17 deep in his own half, he lobbed a bomb to Geno Lewis, who had gotten behind three defenders and ran untouched for a 79-yard TD. The start of the fourth quarter featured a rat-a-tat three turnovers in 52 seconds. Hackenberg, rolling right and under pressure from defensive tackle Demetris Anderson, saw his pass picked off on the UCF 39-yard line by cornerback Jordan Ozerities. On the very next play Holman suffered his only miscue, failing to keep hold of the ball during a play-action move. Defensive tackle Anthony Zettel recovered. Two plays later, Chris Godwin took a bubble-screen pass and got hit hard by two defenders, particularly Glenn, whose low-shoulder tackle popped the ball loose again. Strong safety Clayton Geathers recovered. UCFs defence forced Penn State to settle for a third field goal with 3:30 left to make it 23-17. Then Holman, who finished 9 of 14 for 204 yards, marched his team down the field -- straight into a 4th down-and-10 crisis on the Penn State 37. As the heavily pro-Penn State crowd roared, Holman fired a long ball down the left sideline that looked overthrown. But Reese leaped backward and caught the ball with both hands as he fell on his back at the 6. Holman scored on the ground the next play, leaving too much time on the clock for Hackenberg. "Hes what a college quarterback should look like," OLeary said of Hackenberg. "He delivered the ball on time and with great efficiency. We shouldve had our hands on him more, but he was the difference in the game." Vapormax Herre Norge . - After sewage backups, toilet overflows and foul smells surfaced the past two years, nothing at the Oakland Coliseum surprises the home team anymore. Vapormax Til Salg .com) - James Harden had 32 points, including a tying layup late in regulation, and the Houston Rockets scored eight of their 13 points in overtime at the foul line to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-111 on Friday night. http://www.vapormaxnorge.com/ . Roma has a game in hand but now second place is even at risk for the capital side as Napoli moved to within three points with the win. "The result is not always fair," Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. "If we play like this until the end we will win many matches. Vapormax Plus Herre Norge . Cammalleri scored two goals, Corban Knight netted the winner in a shootout, and the Flames erased a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Stars 4-3 on Friday night. Vapormax China . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive.LEVERKUSEN, Germany -- Bayer Leverkusen fired Sami Hyypia as coach Saturday after an alarming mid-season slump and turned to the Finns former coaching partner Sascha Lewandowski to secure Champions League qualification. The Bundesliga club said in a statement that the former Liverpool defender Hyypia was being released "with immediate effect" following Fridays 2-1 loss at relegation-threatened Hamburger SV. Lewandowski stepped back to resume coaching Leverkusens youth side after securing Champions League qualification with Hyypia last season. He has been charged with securing at least fourth place in the Bundesliga to repeat the feat this time around. "He helped us out in a critical situation once before when he worked alongside Sami Hyypia following the release of Robin Dutt," Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voeller said. "Were firmly convinced he will succeed again." Leverkusen previously drew with bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig and is in danger of losing fourth place, with both Wolfsburg and Borussia Moenchengladbach in a position to overtake on Saturday. "This decision was more than difficult because Sami did a brilliant job over the last two years," Voeller said. Leverkusen was second at one point in the Bundesliga but had a severe change in fortune after the winter break with only three wins from 12 league games this year. IIt has also endured humiliating losses to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and second-division Kaiserslautern in the German Cup.dddddddddddd "What he and his coaching staff achieved with the team in the first half of the season was well beyond expectations and earned him praise from all sides," Voeller said. "Thats why the current slump is even more painful for us. The dramatic events of the last few weeks leave us no other choice but to bring about a separation. We want to and have to try everything to save the season." Assistant coach Jan-Moritz Lichte was also released. "Its not an easy situation for me now to take Samis place," Lewandowski said. "We had responsibility for this team together for more than a year. So you cant take over without regret that the former partner couldnt realize his dreams." Kicker magazine said that Thomas Schaaf (former Werder Bremen coach), Markus Weinzierl (Augsburg), Armin Veh (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Jos Luhukay (Hertha Berlin) are all possible candidates to take over from next season. Hyypia is the seventh coach to lose his job in the Bundesliga this season, following the dismissals of Bruno Labbadia and his successor Thomas Schneider at Stuttgart, Thorsten Fink and his successor Bert van Marwijk at Hamburger SV, Michael Wiesinger at Nuremberg and Mirko Slomka at Hannover. ' ' '