TEXAS HOLD ’EM

Nittany Lions survive rocky start to rally past Aggies

By Jeff Rice

- jrice@centredaily.com

SAN ANTONIO — They were, as they almost always have been these last few years at Penn State, the question marks on a team that thought it had answers almost everywhere else.

In the end, the Nittany Lions’ offensive line was, without question, the best unit on the team.

Saturday, that line helped the Nittany Lions roll up 413 yards of total offense and earn coach Joe Paterno a win in his 500th game, a 24-17 defeat of Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl before a crowd of 66,166, the largest sports crowd in Alamodome history.

Senior tailback Rodney Kinlaw ran for 143 yards on 21 carries in his Penn State finale, and redshirt freshman Evan Royster added 65 more yards and picked up a first down that sealed the game in the final minutes. Both ran hard, fast and broke tackles all evening, but tackles Gerald Cadogan and Dennis Landolt, guards Rich Ohrnberger, Mike Lucian and Stefen Wisniewski and center A.Q. Shipley provided them with Texas-sized holes against a sizable Aggie front as the Nittany Lions rolled up a season-high 270 yards on the ground.

Penn State (9-4) won its third straight bowl game and its 23rd bowl game under a satisfied Paterno.

“Both teams played one heckuva football game today,” Paterno said. “You don’t see many football games with both teams playing so well. Good, tough, hitting, and I’m proud of my guys and I know Texas A&M is proud of their team, but if I had a choice, I’d hope we won.”

Texas A&M (7-6) lost its first and likely only game under interim coach Gary Darnell. The Aggies jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead but allowed the Nittany Lions to score 24 of the game’s last 27 points.

During the week, the Aggies talked about trying to wear Penn State down late in the game, and the Nittany Lions’ defense, down two defensive tackles, allowed second-half drives of 18 plays for 78 yards and 16 plays for 93 yards. But the Aggies came away with just three points on those occasions, stalling at the Penn State 6-yard line after driving all the way from their own 1 on the last. A&M’s final drive came to a halt at its own 33-yard line and, facing a fourth-and-20, Darnell was forced to punt, and Royster and the offensive line ran out the clock.

The line, which lost All-America tackle Levi Brown to the NFL last spring and suffered injuries to Lucian, Wisniewski and guard John Shaw throughout the season, was more than solid all season.

“Once they started to get healthy and they could practice, we started to get better,” Paterno said. “You would expect them to get better. I knew they’d get better if I could just keep them healthy.”

Penn State senior quarterback Anthony Morelli — given lots of time to operate by his line — completed 15 of 31 passes for 143 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His backup, seldom-used sophomore Daryll Clark, provided a change-of-pace threat throughout the evening, rushing for 50 yards and a touchdown on six carries out of the quarterback spot.

But it was an old favorite of Paterno’s that did the most damage.

“I knew going into it they have a play,” said Darnell, a good friend of Penn State offensive coordinator Galen Hall. “They always have a play, and it’s kind of been the power, there would be something power involved with it. That was what I was most concerned with.”

With the score tied at 17-17 and the final seconds of the third quarter ticking off the clock, Penn State ran that power play. Royster took the handoff, got a terrific clearout block from Shipley and sprinted 38 yards into the end zone.

That would be the final points of the game, but the Aggies made it close. After Jeremy Boone’s punt pinned A&M at its own 1-yard line, Aggies quarterback Stephen McGee, converting three third downs, led his team all the way to the Penn State 2. But on fourth-and-1, he sprinted right on an option play and, pressured by Penn State linebacker Bani Gbadyu, slipped for a loss of four yards and the Nittany Lions took over on downs.

McGee, who completed 19-of-31 passes for 164 yards and an interception, struggled to find his receivers most of the day but made the play that sparked A&M’s early spurt.

On a third-and-6 from his own 34 late in the first quarter, he scrambled up the right sideline for 18 yards, then found tight end Martellus Bennett down the middle for 24 more. Five plays later, Mike Goodson took an option toss from McGee and coasted easily into the end zone from a yard out, giving the Aggies a 7-0 lead with 4:22 left in the first quarter.

Just 12 seconds later, the score was 14-0.

A.J. Wallace fumbled the ensuing kickoff return, and A&M’s Kenny Brown recovered it at the Penn State 16-yard line. Goodson took the handoff on the very next play, cut back and raced untouched for another score.

“When you’re down 14-0 you don’t feel great,” Paterno said. “I knew we had work ahead of us, but I thought we could get it done.”

Penn State turned to Kinlaw, who ripped off a total of 34 yards on three carries to put the Nittany Lions deep into Texas A&M territory. Three plays later, after Derrick Williams was stopped for no gain on a third-down reception, Paterno decided to go for it on fourth-and-3 from the A&M 30-yard line.

Morelli dropped back and lofted a high, wobbly pass toward the end zone. Deon Butler broke past defensive back Arkeith Brown, dove and pulled the ball in just before hitting the ground. Officials took several minutes to review the play but upheld the call, and Penn State was on the board.

Just 119 seconds later, the Nittany Lions scored their second touchdown.

Clark took an option read 11 yards up the middle, fumbling the ball as he dove into the end zone but not before it crossed the goal line. Kevin Kelly’s extra point tied the score at 14-14 with 9:02 left in the second quarter.

The Nittany Lions closed out the half with a 16-play, 78-yard drive — eight of those plays originating from the red zone — capped by Kelly’s 25-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in the half.