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Penn State Prevails In Paterno's 500th Game

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The Associated Press

Published: December 30, 2007

Updated: 12/30/2007 12:33 am

SAN ANTONIO - Joe Paterno's 500th game as Penn State coach ended the way most have: with JoePa on top.
Evan Royster broke a tie with a 38-yard touchdown run and Deon Butler scored on a controversial 30-yard catch as Penn State erased an early 14-point deficit to beat Texas A&M 24-17 at the Alamo Bowl on Saturday night.

Paterno, college football's leader in bowl appearances (34), led the Nittany Lions in a thriller that brought him his record 23rd postseason win.

Nervously pacing the sideline in his standard khakis and black sneakers, Paterno couldn't breathe easy until the clock ticked down to zero.

Texas A&M's Stephen McGee led a 15-play drive to the Penn State 2 before losing 4 yards on fourth-and-goal after slipping on an option play with about eight minutes left.

Another A&M drive ended with a punt with 2 minutes left, and Penn State ran out the clock.

The Nittany Lions secured their third straight bowl victory and spoiled Gary Darnell's one-game stint as A&M's interim coach. Darnell took over Nov. 23 when Dennis Franchione resigned, and A&M has hired Mike Sherman, currently offensive coordinator for the NFL's Houston Texans, take over as coach in 2008.

Big-Play Deacons Roar Past UConn In Meineke Bowl
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Put to rest those derogatory nicknames for Wake Forest. There's nothing weak about the Demon Deacons under Coach Jim Grobe.

Behind do-it-all receiver Kenneth Moore and a swarming defense full of big plays, Wake Forest rallied to beat fellow upstart Connecticut 24-10 in the Meineke Bowl on Saturday.

Often called "Weak Forest" for a long history of ineptitude, Wake Forest (9-4) secured the second-most wins in school history, behind only last year's improbable 11-3 mark that included an Atlantic Coast Conference title and an Orange Bowl berth.

"You know 20 wins in two years for little ol' Wake Forest isn't too bad," Grobe said.

While this year wasn't as stellar, Wake Forest finished with nine wins in its last 11 games - including a bowl win after last year's loss to Louisville in the school's first Bowl Championship Series appearance.

The Demon Deacons had to come from behind to do it, reeling off the final 24 points after falling behind 10-0 at halftime against the Huskies, who were playing in only their second bowl game.

It was a disappointing end to the Huskies' best season since they completed the move from what used to be called Division I-AA six years ago. UConn was limited to nine first downs and failed to score an offensive touchdown.

Late Friday

EMERALD BOWL: Yvenson Bernard rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown in his final college game, and Oregon State pounded out a 21-14 victory against Maryland.

James Rodgers rushed for 115 yards, caught an early TD pass and recovered Bernard's fumble for the second half's only score as the Beavers (9-4) won their fourth consecutive bowl game under Coach Mike Riley and snapped Ralph Friedgen's three-game postseason winning streak at Maryland (6-7).

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