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Penn State rallies for Alamo Bowl win

Dec 30, 2007 - 7:08 AM By Brian Guerra PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Penn State climbed out of an early hole to hold on for a 24-17 win over Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday night.

In front of 66,166 fans at the Alamodome - most of them clad in maroon - long-time coach Joe Paterno saw his team rally from an early 14-point deficit in his 500th game and 34th bowl game as Penn State's coach.

It was its third straight bowl victory, and Paterno's 23rd postseason win.

The Aggies (7-6), who had a perfectly balanced offensive attack with 164 passing and 164 rushing yards, seemed to have the momentum early after tailback Mike Goodson scored two touchdowns in a span of 12 seconds in the first quarter.

"That was exciting," Goodson said. "It was a great thing to be able to get in the end zone twice. My offensive line played a big role in that. Those guys make it easy when your holes are that big to run through."

But the Nittany Lions (9-4) responded with 17 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a three-point halftime lead.

With just under eight minutes left in the game, the Aggies failed to get any points on a 16-play, 93-yard potential game-tying drive.

Texas A&M faced a 4th-and-1 at Penn State's 2-yard line and ran an option to the right. Quarterback Stephen McGee, responsible for 83 of those yards, lost his footing, though, and fell to the ground for a four-yard loss.

"You get one yard and I'm thinking maybe we could get the win," McGee said. "They were ready for it. They just flowed really hard after the snap. Have to give them credit, they made the stop. They made the play."

Penn State was able to seal the win with its running game, which got into a groove early and stayed there the rest of the game.

The Nittany Lions rushed for 270 yards, with Rodney Kinlaw gaining 143 yards on 21 carries and Evan Royster chipping in with a 38-yard touchdown run late in the third that proved to be the game-winning score.

Quarterback Anthony Morelli threw for 143 yards and a touchdown to Deon Butler that helped spark Penn State's second-quarter surge.

It was all Texas A&M early. The Aggies marched 70 yards to score the first points of the game.

Chris Alexander's 8-yard run gave the Aggies 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line. McGee pitched to Goodson, who easily ran it in for the early lead.

Penn State's A.J. Wallace fumbled the ensuing kickoff return, and Kenny Brown recovered it for the Aggies at the 16-yard line. On the next play, Goodson scored his second touchdown off a quick handoff, cutting hard against the grain to find a crease.

Paterno said he was still optimistic despite the quick deficit.

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

A&M's defense was doing a successful job of limiting Penn State's big plays, but for the second time in the first half, the Nittany Lions decided to go for it on fourth down.

Morelli dropped back and lofted up a 30-yard pass toward the end zone that Butler laid out for and caught with 11:06 left in the second quarter to cut A&M's lead in half, 14-7.

Penn State's defense intensified, forcing the Aggies into a 3rd-and-23. Goodson caught a short pass and fumbled the ball trying to dance around for extra yards. Wallace recovered at the 11, leading to Daryll Clark's touchdown run that knotted the game at 14-14.

Penn State was methodical on its final drive of the first half, moving 78 yards in 16 plays. Morelli completed a 32-yard pass to Terrell Golden - his longest catch of the season - that led to Kevin Kelly's 25-yard field goal, giving Penn State a 17-14 lead at intermission.