DALLAS — Cotton Bowl Stadium has played host to some terrific games in its 82 years of existence. Doak Walker built much of his SMU legend here. The Red River Rivalry, which pits Texas against Oklahoma, annually draws more than 90,000 fans. The Cotton Bowl Classic, once one of the four major bowl games (and now played at Jerry Jones’ cavernous Cowboys Stadium in nearby Arlington), was once one of the most anticipated contests of the year in any sport.

It was difficult to remember all of this on a sunny Monday afternoon when Penn State met Houston in the TicketCity Bowl. The official attendance was 46,817, but it was hard to believe more than 35,000 fans were actually in the building. It had the atmosphere of a Blue-White Game — and was about as competitive as a spring scrimmage pitting the starters against a team of freshmen and sophomores.

Yes, the scoreboard will tell you that the Nittany Lions fell by just two scores (30-14) in their 2011 finale. But this game was not that close. It might not have even been as close as Penn State’s 45-7 loss at Wisconsin in late November. This game was, as Penn State coach Tom Bradley had predicted (and probably feared) it would be, decided by the end of the first quarter, and it was a mismatch. This was the modern game versus the old guard, titanium clubs versus persimmon, Blu Ray versus VHS.

A Penn State defense that had, for the most part, held in check Alabama’s AJ McCarron and a slew of less-than-dynamic Big Ten passers (OK, Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson had some serious game) looked like teenage drivers that had cruised around the suburbs with ease but looked utterly lost when they had to merge onto the freeway, where the Cougars pulled up alongside them, nodded politely and left them in a cloud of exhaust.

Houston quarterback Case Keenum had 227 yards passing in the first quarter.

Only one other team, Northwestern, had thrown for that many yards against the Nittany Lions in four quarters this season. And the Cougars did it with ease. Keenum marched his team to the line of scrimmage, took the snap, a couple of quick steps and — zip! — the ball was gone, usually into the hands of receivers. The senior completed 9 of his first 11 passes, nearly all out of an empty backfield and nearly all of them hitting his target in stride.

Yet another nightmarish afternoon in a nightmarish season for Penn State sophomore Rob Bolden (seven completions, three interceptions) only underscored Keenum’s brisk efficiency (his pass efficiency Monday, for you stat lovers out there, was 168.8). But, even had Bolden played well, the Nittany Lion defense would still have had massive troubles with Houston’s offense.

Why? Because Penn State was not built to stop it.

In the last several years under Joe Paterno, Penn State stacked the line of scrimmage with powerful defensive linemen and strong, versatile linebackers. The defensive backs were usually solid but unspectacular players who could come up and support the run, play solid zone defense and, when the front seven forced quarterbacks into errant throws, make a timely interception or two. This formula served the Nittany Lions well in the Big Ten, which was filled with ground-and-pound teams or those that attacked teams with quick-hitting passing systems (Northwestern, Purdue) but without the elite athletes to do much damage.

But put those defenses in bowl games against foreign opposition, and the game literally changed for Penn State. Three years ago, in the Rose Bowl, Mark Sanchez and his wide receivers took Penn State’s linebackers out of the game with an aggressive, vertical passing attack while the Southern Cal offensive line handled pass-rushing specialist Aaron Maybin.

The same thing happened Monday. Houston’s short drops and refusal to run the football made the strength of Penn State’s defense — defensive tackles Devon Still (who was nowhere close to 100 percent) and Jordan Hill — all but irrelevant. Linebackers Nate Stupar and Gerald Hodges, sound enough in pass coverage against most Big Ten offenses, were out of their league against Houston receivers that merely had to look over their shoulder to see Keenum pinpoint passes right on top of them. Penn State’s secondary was left to bear the brunt of the assault. When it didn’t break down, Keenum gashed it with underneath throws. When it did, well, touchdowns of 40 and 75 yards were the results.

The Nittany Lions had a month to prepare for a Cougar passing attack that most college defenses would be hard-pressed to slow down, let alone stop. But even an extra month of film watching wouldn’t have helped. It was a style of play, a pace of play, that they hadn’t been trained to handle.

The issues that have kept Penn State from being an elite team instead of a good team these last few years have been plodding offense, inconsistent quarterback play and a vulnerability to well-coordinated passing attacks. Houston laid those weaknesses bare for the world — or at least the ESPNU audience and the 35,000 souls in the seats — to see on Monday.

The next coach could change those areas — revamp the defense, revamp the playbook, restock the recruiting cupboard — or he could improve those areas but let some of Penn State’s traditional strengths (defensive line and linebacker play) decline. You don’t know which it will be, which is why the new year is both an exciting and terrifying time for Penn State football fans.

It’s why there might be more fans in Beaver Stadium in April than there were here on Monday — but also why there’s no guarantee that the Nittany Lions will play in a New Year’s Day game in 2013.

Jeff Rice covers Penn State football for the Centre Daily Times. He can be reached at 231-4609 or jrice@centredaily.com.