2007 Alamo Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 2007 Valero Alamo Bowl
is a college football
bowl game
that was part of the 2007–2008 bowl season of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
. It was the 15th Alamo Bowl
and the first Alamo Bowl sponsored by the Valero Energy Corporation. It was played on December 29, 2007 in the 65,000-seat Alamodome
in San Antonio
, Texas
and nationally televised by ESPN
.
The game featured the Penn State Nittany Lions
and the Texas A&M Aggies
, who were both unranked
in the national polls. The two teams had met once in the Alamo Bowl in 1999, when Penn State shutout
Texas A&M 24–0. The Aggies were coached by interim head coach Gary Darnell
, who had taken over after Dennis Franchione
resigned, and the Nittany Lions were coached by Hall of Famer
Joe Paterno
, who marked the 2007 Alamo Bowl as the 500th game of his head coaching career.
. In their first Alamo Bowl game in 1995, the 19th-ranked Aggies defeated the 14th-ranked Michigan Wolverines
22–20. In their second appearance in 1999, 13th-ranked Penn State defeated the 18th-ranked Aggies 24–0. Both the 1995 and 1999 games are two of the five in Alamo Bowl history that attracted sellout crowds, with the 1999 game having the second largest crowd.
One day after Texas A&M head coach Dennis Franchione
resigned after the Aggies' last regular season matchup against the Texas Longhorns
on November 23, 2007, A&M athletic director Bill Byrne
announced defensive coordinator Gary Darnell
would coach the Aggies' bowl game as the interim head coach. Two days later, Byrne hired Houston Texans
offensive coordinator and former Green Bay Packers
head coach Mike Sherman
.
Texas A&M officially accepted the invitation to play in the Alamo Bowl on December 2, 2007 against the Penn State Nittany Lions, who accepted their invitation two days earlier on November 30.
This was the Nittany Lions' 40th bowl appearance, and their second in the Alamo Bowl. The 2007 Nittany Lions, who finished 8–4 in their regular season, are led by 42nd-year head coach Joe Paterno
, a 2007 College Football Hall of Fame
inductee. With a 22–10–1 bowl game record, Paterno is the all-time winningest leader in bowl victories and appearances. He also holds the record for the most undefeated FBS seasons than any other coach in college football history. The 2007 Alamo Bowl marked Paterno's 34th bowl game appearance and 500th game as Penn State head coach.
Prior to the game, among 119 Division I-A teams, the Aggies' rushing offense ranked 13th, and their overall offense ranked 54th. Their total defense ranked 83rd, with a rushing defense ranked 57th and a passing defense ranked 104th. On the other hand, the Nittany Lions have an overall offense ranked 56th, with a 44th-ranked scoring offense. Their overall defense ranked 9th in the nation, with a 6th-ranked rushing defense and an 8th-ranked scoring defense. The defense also ranks 2nd in sacks forced.
During the week of the game, Las Vegas
casinos predicted Penn State to win by 5.5 points. A Sunday News sports writer of the Lancaster Newspapers
predicted Penn State to win 23–13. College Football News
predicted a 34–20 victory for Penn State, while WhatIfSports.com
simulated the game 1,001 times and predicted Penn State to win 29–17.
On December 27, 2007, two nights before the game, a Texas A&M yell leader made a controversial joke about Joe Paterno
at a joint pep rally
on the River Walk
. The yell leader screamed "Joe Paterno's on his death bed! And someone needs to find him a casket!" on a microphone to an audience consisting of both Penn State and Texas A&M fans. Penn State fans became stunned at his remark and subsequently booed him. A&M officials apologized to Penn State officials and sent the yell leader home. Paterno responded by saying: "I think everybody has to take things with a grain of salt. ... Some young guy went up there, trying to be funny. Maybe he's accurate, I don't know." Paterno also expressed his indifference toward the comments, adding "Sticks and stones will break your bones but names will never hurt you."
and bowl history, it only averaged a 2.7 television rating
, the lowest for the bowl since the first game in 1993 and a 55 percent drop from the 2006 Alamo Bowl
's record-breaking rating of 6.0. The last regular season matchup between the New England Patriots
and the New York Giants
— which was broadcast around the same time as the 2007 Alamo Bowl — explains this anomaly, as the NFL
game was broadcast on two television networks and attracted a total of 34.5 million viewers, the most for a regular season NFL game in more than 12 years.
, equaling his total for the rest of the 2007 season. A&M gained 96 yards of total offense in the first quarter compared to 89 for Penn State.
threw a pass to Deon Butler
for a touchdown. The play was reviewed for more than six minutes and allowed to stand as called on the field. An Aggie fumble led to a second Penn State touchdown which tied the score at 14–14. On that score, Daryll Clark
dove towards the end zone and lost possession of the ball, but the on-field official ruled that he still had the ball when he crossed the plane of the goal line. The play was not reviewed. Penn State drove inside the A&M 10-yard line but settled for a Kevin Kelly field goal with 19 seconds remaining in the half. The half-time score was 17–14 Penn State. The Nittany Lions outgained the Aggies 155 yards to 32 in the second quarter.
, who is typically very effective in short-yardage situations, the Aggie coaching staff elected to run an option play to the right side. The Penn State defense was ready for it and quarterback Stephen McGee
went down for a loss. Lane was visibly upset that he was not used on the play; he walked away from his teammates and was seen on the sidelines with tears running down his face. Penn State took over on downs but the Aggies forced a punt. A&M got the ball back near their 40-yard line with less than three minutes to play in the game. The drive led the Aggies to punt on fourth-and-twenty with 2:09 remaining. The ball went into the end zone for a touchback so Penn State took over on their 20-yard line. Penn State ran out the clock to preserve the win at 24–17.
Alamo Bowl
The Alamo Bowl is a major American college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It matches the second choice team from the Pacific-12 Conference and the third choice team from the Big 12 Conference.Traditionally, the Alamo Bowl has been...
is a college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
that was part of the 2007–2008 bowl season of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 30, 2007, progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 7, 2008, where the top...
. It was the 15th Alamo Bowl
Alamo Bowl
The Alamo Bowl is a major American college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It matches the second choice team from the Pacific-12 Conference and the third choice team from the Big 12 Conference.Traditionally, the Alamo Bowl has been...
and the first Alamo Bowl sponsored by the Valero Energy Corporation. It was played on December 29, 2007 in the 65,000-seat Alamodome
Alamodome
The Alamodome is a domed 65,000 seat, multi-purpose facility that is primarily used as a football/basketball stadium and convention center in San Antonio, Texas, U.S...
in San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and nationally televised by ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
The game featured the Penn State Nittany Lions
2007 Penn State Nittany Lions football team
The 2007 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2007 college football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania....
and the Texas A&M Aggies
2007 Texas A&M Aggies football team
The 2007 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M University in the 2007-2008 college football season. The team was coached by Dennis Franchione, who had coached at A&M since the 2003 season, but resigned at the conclusion of the annual game with the University of Texas...
, who were both unranked
2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Three polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a National Championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more...
in the national polls. The two teams had met once in the Alamo Bowl in 1999, when Penn State shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
Texas A&M 24–0. The Aggies were coached by interim head coach Gary Darnell
Gary Darnell
Gary Brent Darnell is a former American college football player and coach. Darnell is native of Arkansas and an alumnus of Oklahoma State University, where he played college football...
, who had taken over after Dennis Franchione
Dennis Franchione
Dennis Wayne Franchione , also known as Coach Fran, is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at Texas State University, a position he held from 1990 to 1991, when the school was known as Southwest Texas State University, and resumed in 2011...
resigned, and the Nittany Lions were coached by Hall of Famer
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno
Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...
, who marked the 2007 Alamo Bowl as the 500th game of his head coaching career.
Leading into the game
This was the Aggies' 30th bowl appearance, and their third in the Alamo BowlAlamo Bowl
The Alamo Bowl is a major American college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It matches the second choice team from the Pacific-12 Conference and the third choice team from the Big 12 Conference.Traditionally, the Alamo Bowl has been...
. In their first Alamo Bowl game in 1995, the 19th-ranked Aggies defeated the 14th-ranked Michigan Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
22–20. In their second appearance in 1999, 13th-ranked Penn State defeated the 18th-ranked Aggies 24–0. Both the 1995 and 1999 games are two of the five in Alamo Bowl history that attracted sellout crowds, with the 1999 game having the second largest crowd.
One day after Texas A&M head coach Dennis Franchione
Dennis Franchione
Dennis Wayne Franchione , also known as Coach Fran, is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at Texas State University, a position he held from 1990 to 1991, when the school was known as Southwest Texas State University, and resumed in 2011...
resigned after the Aggies' last regular season matchup against the Texas Longhorns
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...
on November 23, 2007, A&M athletic director Bill Byrne
Bill Byrne
Clarence William "Bill" Byrne, II is the current athletic director of Texas A&M University, a position he has held since January 2003.-Early life:...
announced defensive coordinator Gary Darnell
Gary Darnell
Gary Brent Darnell is a former American college football player and coach. Darnell is native of Arkansas and an alumnus of Oklahoma State University, where he played college football...
would coach the Aggies' bowl game as the interim head coach. Two days later, Byrne hired Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
offensive coordinator and former Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
head coach Mike Sherman
Mike Sherman
Michael Francis "Mike" Sherman is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies football team. Prior to coaching the Aggies, he served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from the 2000–05 seasons. Sherman led the Packers to five consecutive winning seasons from 2000–04 and three divisional titles...
.
Texas A&M officially accepted the invitation to play in the Alamo Bowl on December 2, 2007 against the Penn State Nittany Lions, who accepted their invitation two days earlier on November 30.
This was the Nittany Lions' 40th bowl appearance, and their second in the Alamo Bowl. The 2007 Nittany Lions, who finished 8–4 in their regular season, are led by 42nd-year head coach Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno
Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...
, a 2007 College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
inductee. With a 22–10–1 bowl game record, Paterno is the all-time winningest leader in bowl victories and appearances. He also holds the record for the most undefeated FBS seasons than any other coach in college football history. The 2007 Alamo Bowl marked Paterno's 34th bowl game appearance and 500th game as Penn State head coach.
Prior to the game, among 119 Division I-A teams, the Aggies' rushing offense ranked 13th, and their overall offense ranked 54th. Their total defense ranked 83rd, with a rushing defense ranked 57th and a passing defense ranked 104th. On the other hand, the Nittany Lions have an overall offense ranked 56th, with a 44th-ranked scoring offense. Their overall defense ranked 9th in the nation, with a 6th-ranked rushing defense and an 8th-ranked scoring defense. The defense also ranks 2nd in sacks forced.
During the week of the game, Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
casinos predicted Penn State to win by 5.5 points. A Sunday News sports writer of the Lancaster Newspapers
Lancaster Newspapers
Lancaster Newspapers Inc. owns and publishes two major newspapers, the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era Monday through Saturday mornings, and the Sunday News. Additionally, it publishes three weekly minor newspapers, Lititz Record, Ephrata Review and Lancaster Farming, and one bi-weekly...
predicted Penn State to win 23–13. College Football News
College Football News
College Football News is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includes comparisons between teams, predictions of game outcomes and...
predicted a 34–20 victory for Penn State, while WhatIfSports.com
WhatIfSports.com
WhatIfSports.com is a company based in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. that specializes in online sports simulations and fantasy-style games. It uses custom sports simulators to allow users to match teams from any era and generate a complete play-by-play of a game...
simulated the game 1,001 times and predicted Penn State to win 29–17.
On December 27, 2007, two nights before the game, a Texas A&M yell leader made a controversial joke about Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno
Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...
at a joint pep rally
Pep rally
Pep rallies are events that occur primarily in the United States and Canada. A pep rally is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the...
on the River Walk
San Antonio River Walk
The San Antonio River Walk is a network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story beneath downtown San Antonio, Texas...
. The yell leader screamed "Joe Paterno's on his death bed! And someone needs to find him a casket!" on a microphone to an audience consisting of both Penn State and Texas A&M fans. Penn State fans became stunned at his remark and subsequently booed him. A&M officials apologized to Penn State officials and sent the yell leader home. Paterno responded by saying: "I think everybody has to take things with a grain of salt. ... Some young guy went up there, trying to be funny. Maybe he's accurate, I don't know." Paterno also expressed his indifference toward the comments, adding "Sticks and stones will break your bones but names will never hurt you."
Game summary
Though the game attracted the largest audience in both stadiumAlamodome
The Alamodome is a domed 65,000 seat, multi-purpose facility that is primarily used as a football/basketball stadium and convention center in San Antonio, Texas, U.S...
and bowl history, it only averaged a 2.7 television rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, the lowest for the bowl since the first game in 1993 and a 55 percent drop from the 2006 Alamo Bowl
2006 Alamo Bowl
The 2006 Alamo Bowl Game was a college football bowl game, part of the 2006–2007 bowl season of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The 2006 Alamo Bowl was played in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on December 30....
's record-breaking rating of 6.0. The last regular season matchup between the New England Patriots
2007 New England Patriots season
The 2007 New England Patriots season was the 38th season for the team in the National Football League and 48th season overall. They finished with a perfect 16–0 regular season record but lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII....
and the New York Giants
2007 New York Giants season
The 2007 New York Giants season was the 83rd season for the New York Giants in the National Football League. The Giants finished the regular season 10–6 and in second place in the NFC East, improving upon their 8–8 record in 2006 in which they finished third in their division...
— which was broadcast around the same time as the 2007 Alamo Bowl — explains this anomaly, as the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
game was broadcast on two television networks and attracted a total of 34.5 million viewers, the most for a regular season NFL game in more than 12 years.
First quarter
Penn State won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Aggies dominated the first quarter. After a quick three and out in their first possession, they scored a touchdown on their second possession. Penn State converted on fourth-and-short to keep their drive temporarily alive, but they were forced to attempt a field goal, which went wide right. Penn State muffed a kick-return to give the Aggies possession inside the Penn State 20-yard line. A&M lined up in an unbalanced look and scored another touchdown on a run up the middle. Both touchdowns were scored by Mike GoodsonMike Goodson
Michael Darryl Goodson, Jr. is an American football running back for the Carolina Panthers. He played college football for Texas A&M.-High school career:...
, equaling his total for the rest of the 2007 season. A&M gained 96 yards of total offense in the first quarter compared to 89 for Penn State.
Second quarter
The Nittany Lions roared back in the second quarter. Their second quarter resurgence was not new as the Lions outscored their opponents 131-21 in the second quarter alone. With just over eleven minutes left in the half, Penn State faced fourth-and-three at the Texas A&M 30-yard line. Anthony MorelliAnthony Morelli
Anthony Michael Morelli is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2008...
threw a pass to Deon Butler
Deon Butler
Vincent Deon Butler is an American football wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seahawks in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State....
for a touchdown. The play was reviewed for more than six minutes and allowed to stand as called on the field. An Aggie fumble led to a second Penn State touchdown which tied the score at 14–14. On that score, Daryll Clark
Daryll Clark
Daryll Lawrence Clark is a football quarterback who is currently a member of the Chicago Rush. He was signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League as an free agent in 2010. He played collegiately for the Penn State Nittany Lions. He is the Nittany Lions' all-time leader in...
dove towards the end zone and lost possession of the ball, but the on-field official ruled that he still had the ball when he crossed the plane of the goal line. The play was not reviewed. Penn State drove inside the A&M 10-yard line but settled for a Kevin Kelly field goal with 19 seconds remaining in the half. The half-time score was 17–14 Penn State. The Nittany Lions outgained the Aggies 155 yards to 32 in the second quarter.
Third quarter
In the third quarter, A&M made a field goal and Penn State answered with a touchdown, extending their lead to 24–17.Fourth quarter
In the fourth quarter, with Penn State still leading 24–17, the Aggies were facing fourth-and-inches close to the Penn State one-yard line. Instead of giving the ball to Jorvorskie LaneJorvorskie Lane
Jorvorskie Javion Lane is an American football running back. He played tailback/fullback for the Texas A&M Aggies college football team. He played tailback during his freshman through junior seasons, and switched to fullback his senior season. He holds the school record for career rushing touchdowns...
, who is typically very effective in short-yardage situations, the Aggie coaching staff elected to run an option play to the right side. The Penn State defense was ready for it and quarterback Stephen McGee
Stephen McGee
Stephen Richard McGee is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for Texas A&M....
went down for a loss. Lane was visibly upset that he was not used on the play; he walked away from his teammates and was seen on the sidelines with tears running down his face. Penn State took over on downs but the Aggies forced a punt. A&M got the ball back near their 40-yard line with less than three minutes to play in the game. The drive led the Aggies to punt on fourth-and-twenty with 2:09 remaining. The ball went into the end zone for a touchback so Penn State took over on their 20-yard line. Penn State ran out the clock to preserve the win at 24–17.