Texas A&M (7-5) vs. Penn State
(8-4)
Dec. 29,
8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
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2007 Alamo Bowl History, Each Team's Best Bowl Moments, & More
 |
|
National
Rankings |
|
Penn
State |
Texas
A&M |
|
Total Offense |
|
56th 399 ypg |
54th 402.75 ypg |
|
Total Defense |
|
9th 306.58 ypg |
83rd 416 ypg |
|
Scoring Offense |
|
44th 30.83 ppg |
53rd 28.83 ppg |
|
Scoring Defense |
|
8th 17.58 ppg |
55th 26.08 ppg |
|
Run Offense |
|
32nd 187.42 ypg |
13th 215.58 ypg |
|
Run Defense |
|
6th 87.92 ypg |
57th 151.83 ypg |
|
Pass Offense |
|
70th 211.58 ypg |
98th 187.17 ypg |
|
Pass Defense |
|
46th 218.67 ypg |
104th 264.17 ypg |
|
Turnover Margin |
|
47th 0.08 |
20th 0.67 |
|
Penn State
FIU
W 59-0
Notre Dame
W 31-10
Buffalo
W 45-24
at
Michigan L 14-9
at Illinois
L 27-20
Iowa
W 27-7
Wisconsin W 38-7
at Indiana
W 36-31
Ohio State
L 37-17
Purdue
W 26-19
at Temple
W 31-0
at Mich St
L 35-31 |
Texas A&M
Montana St
W 38-7
Fresno St
W 47-45 3OT
UL Monroe
W 54-14
at
Miami L 34-17
Baylor
W 34-10
Okla State
W 24-23
at Tex Tech L 35-7
at
Nebraska W 36-14
Kansas
L 19-11
at Oklahoma
L 42-14
at
Missouri L 40-26
Texas
W 38-30 |
|
Position
Ratings
relative to each
other |
|
P |
5
highest
1 lowest |
A&M |
|
3 |
Quarterbacks |
4 |
|
3.5 |
RBs |
4 |
|
4 |
Receivers |
2.5 |
|
3.5 |
O
Line |
4 |
|
4 |
D
Line |
3 |
|
5 |
Linebackers |
3 |
|
4 |
Secondary |
3 |
|
3.5 |
Spec
Teams |
3.5 |
|
4.5 |
Coaching |
2 |
|
All Joe Paterno has done is coach 499
games while not even hinting at slowing down. All Gary Darnell has
done is coach Western Michigan to a 46-46 record and serve as a
high-level interim head man taking over at Florida in 1989 when
Galen Hall got fired, and now, stepping in for a canned Dennis
Franchione while Mike Sherman gets cozy in his new digs.
While Penn State has been great in bowl games with four wins in the
last five and nine bowl wins in the last 12, Texas A&M has been a
big fat dud losing six of its last seven including a horrible
clunker against Cal in last year's Holiday Bowl. So while the
coaching disparity might be enormous, and the difference in
post-season histories might not be pretty, this should still be a
decent game. Alamo Bowls usually are.
These might not be the two most scintillating teams around with
strong running games and decent passing attacks that rely on the
short to midrange throws more than bombing away, but it should be a
tough, hard-nosed battle with each team trying to pound the ball
down the other's throat. At least that's what each team would like
to do.
The Alamo
Bowl is always a respectable reward for Big Ten and Big 12 teams,
but Penn State probably wanted more. With a New Year's Day game a
distinct possibility, the Nittany Lions gave up 28 second half
points and lost the season finale to Michigan State to ruin a shot
for a 20th ten-win season under Paterno. There was only one moment
of greatness this year, with a breathtakingly dominant performance
in a 38-7 win over Wisconsin, but no surprise wins, losing to
Michigan, Illinois and Ohio State, while beating all the teams they
were supposed to. In other words, this was a good team that couldn't
turn the corner to become great. Beating Texas A&M might not mean
much to the overall view of the season, but a loss to a worse team
with an unsettled coaching situation (at least for the bowl game)
would be a bitter pill.
On the flip side, A&M has nothing to lose. It got the win it really
wanted, beating Texas in the regular season finale, and no one's
expecting a win over the Nittany Lions considering the all-around
turmoil. A win wouldn't mean too much considering the program will
start from scratch as soon as the game is over, but it would be a
positive step for a team trying to cleanse itself and change the
all-around attitude.
The Aggies had a strange season, needing three overtimes to beat
Fresno State and getting whacked on national TV by a mediocre Miami
team before diving into a brutal Big 12 schedule. Before the season,
who knew Missouri was going to be a national title contender and
Kansas was going to be special? Outside of a lousy performance in a
35-7 loss at Texas Tech, A&M, for the most part, didn't have a truly
bad loss, but just being average in a 7-5 season isn't nearly good
enough for Aggie fans desperate for their program to be among the
elite.
This isn't just a chance for A&M to put an official end to the
Franchione era, it's a chance for the Big 12 to make a huge
statement. Since the Alamo became Big 12 vs. Big Ten, the Big Ten
has gone 7-5, but the Big 12 has won three of the last four.
Considering all of A&M's issues, Penn State needs to win and win
big, so if the Big 12 can sneak out with a victory, it would go a
long way to boosting the league's overall profile.
It's the night game on a big day of college football with
Connecticut vs. Wake Forest in the Meineke Car Care Bowl early and
UCF vs. Mississippi State in the Liberty in the afternoon. Can it
live up to the marquee status? Probably not, each team will have
something to prove and each should come up with a nice effort.
Players to watch: Both teams will work around their running
games, but the quarterbacks are each going to have to make plays.
Texas A&M junior Stephen McGee took on more of the workload
as the season went on throwing 44 times in the loss to Kansas and 36
times for 362 yards and three scores in the win over Texas. While he
might not push the ball deep, he's an accurate passer on the move
and always keeps defenses honest with his legs rushing for 858 yards
and five touchdowns to go along with 2,147 passing yards and 12
scores. Already an established leader for the attack, a win over
Penn State would launch him into 2008 as one of the Big 12's best
all-around offensive weapons.
On the other side, Penn State's Anthony Morelli will close
out a slightly disappointing season and an underwhelming career, but
if he steps up like he did against Tennessee in last season's
Outback Bowl, when he came up with a strong 197-yard, one touchdown
day leading the team to a win, he'll be remembered as a clutch bowl
game performer. The former superstar recruit has a live arm and
plenty of experience, but he failed to have a really, really big
game this year against anyone with a pulse. He threw for 298 yards
against Illinois, but his three picks contributed to the loss. He
threw for 18 touchdown passes, but ten came against FIU, Buffalo and
Temple and didn't throw a scoring pass in showdowns against Ohio
State and Michigan.
If Penn State wins, it'll be because of the defense and linebackers
Dan Connor and Sean Lee, who combined for 260 tackles,
23.5 tackles for loss, and ten sacks. These two make plays all over
the field and should come up with at least 25 tackles against the
A&M running game. Connor might not be Paul Posluszny, but he's a top
playmaker inside and out doing a little bit of everything all season
long. With 325 career tackles, 13 sacks and 16 broken up passes,
he's seen it all and done it all. Next year, Lee will be the team's
signature star with even more mobility than Connor and enough talent
to be on everyone's All-America list.
Connor and Lee will meet up with the thunder and lightning tandem of
Jorvorskie Lane and Mike Goodson all game long.
Goodson didn't crank out the home runs like he was supposed to and
didn't score a rushing touchdown since early September, but he grow
into a reliable receiver over the final few games with 11 catches
for 149 yards and two touchdowns against Missouri and Texas.
Meanwhile, Lane pounded his way to 746 yards and 16 rushing scores,
but he was underutilized over the second half of the year only
getting 12 carries against Kansas and Oklahoma. The Aggies will try
to pound away with him early on to open things up on the outside for
McGee and Goodson.
Texas
A&M will win if... the Penn State pass rush is kept in check.
McGee might be able to throw, and he might be good on the move, but
the Aggie passing game struggles mightily when there's even a whiff
of pressure. The A&M O line has been strong all season long in pass
protection, but it hasn't faced a defensive front that gets into the
backfield like Penn State does. Until McGee proves he can light up
the Nittany Lion corners, the A&M front five will have to deal with
Maurice Evans and an aggressive defensive front that'll pin its ears
back and go. Everything will funnel into the linebacking corps, and
if McGee isn't coming up with several good passes early, Penn State
will get more and more bold in its pass rush.
Penn State will win if... it runs for 200 yards or more.
Morelli isn't all that bad, but he's at his best when he doesn't
have to carry the offense. This season, Penn State is 7-0 when it
runs for 190 yards or more, and 1-4 when it runs for fewer with 101
against Michigan, 129 against Illinois, 139 against Ohio State and
167 against Michigan State. A&M has the biggest problems with good
quarterbacks and passing teams that up the tempo, and while that's
not necessarily Penn State's game, the receivers and pieces are in
place to crank out bigger numbers if this gets into any sort of a
shootout, even if it's just for a quarter or two.
What will happen: Bowl by numbers. Penn State will come up
with a balanced attack, a solid defensive effort, and will win the
battle of running games to win in a walk. A&M will be fired up and
effective for a half, and then the Nittany Lion defense will take
over with a few key stops, the offense will take advantage, and the
game will be all but over early in the fourth quarter.
Line: Penn State -4.5 ... CFN Prediction:
Penn
State 34 ... Texas A&M 20
2007 Alamo Bowl History, Each Team's Best Bowl Moments, & More