"Remember the Nittany Lions" read the Mellon Bank button worn by many Penn State fans in the Alamodome in San Antonio the night of Dec. 28.

The slogan drew upon the theme inspired in 1836 by the valiant defenders of the Republic of Texas at the historical mission after which the Alamo Bowl is named. And the button urged all not to forget the achievements of the 1999 Penn State football team that fell just 15 points short of playing for the national championship.

The record crowd in the Alamodome that night and those who watched on ESPN as the Lions shut out Texas A&M, 24-0, will not soon forget the team that Aggie Coach R. C. Slocum insisted should have been playing in the Sugar Bowl for the national title. "They're that good," Slocum said after watching the team led by Defensive MVP LaVar Arrington and Offensive MVP Rashard Casey plunder his Big 12 aggregation in their home state, just three hours from the A&M campus and three blocks from the spot where the 19th century heroes defended their fledgling republic.

"Penn State is one of the best teams in the country," said the Aggies' 265-pound running back Ja'Mar Toombs, who was held to an average of just 3.7 yards on 19 carries against the tough Lion defense.

The Nittany Lions, who had let a shot at a third national championship slip through their paws with narrow losses in their last three regular season games, gained a measure of redemption by hanging a doughnut around the necks of the 1998 Big 12 Conference champions.

It was the first shutout by the Nittany Lions in a bowl game since they stopped Bear Bryant's Crimson Tide, 7-0, in the 1959 Liberty Bowl. And it marked the first time Texas A&M was stumped in a post-season game since Southern Cal turned the trick, 20-0, in the 1975 Liberty Bowl.

"We wanted to get the doughnut for Jerry," claimed those playing under defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who had announced before the season that he would retire at its end. And when the final whistle sounded, they doused the 32-year veteran coach with the ice bucket, then hoisted him to their shoulders for a wet ride to the center of the field, where a stage had been set for awarding the Alamo Bowl trophies.

The game trophy was accepted by the winningest bowl coach in history—Joe Paterno—and the senior players he called to surround him on the stage.

"I was concerned about winning for the seniors," Joe said later. "They were too good to go out with four straight losses. . . . This team played with tremendous emotion all season. They never dogged it."

The Offensive Player of the Game trophy was presented to junior quarterback Rashard Casey, who, in his first start, passed for one touchdown, ran for another and directed the drive to the final field goal, while giving Lion fans a glimpse of what they can expect next year.

"That was the best Rashard Casey has looked," said Paterno after the game. "I was pleased that Rashard took the bull by the horns. . . . He made good decisions. He hit the hot receiver. He took some intelligent shots."

The Defensive Player of the Game trophy went to junior Lion linebacker LaVar Arrington, who amassed 14 tackles, a quarterback sack and three forced interceptions in his final game in a Penn State uniform. (The two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, two-time All-American and Butkus and Bednarik Award winner announced three days later that he would forego his final year of collegiate eligibility and make himself available for the NFL draft.)

"There's nothing left for me to prove at the college level; I think I've done all that I can do," Arrington said at a press conference announcing his decision. Arrington said he had been told he was likely to be one of the top three picks in the pro draft next spring. Paterno wished him well.

Two seniors who have been important to Penn State's success were unable to play in the Alamo Bowl because of injury. Fullback Aaron Harris had a foot injury added to the sore knee that has bothered him since the surgical repair of the torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in the Minnesota game in 1997. Paterno hopes the man who was a star running back for the Lions in 1996 and 1997 will be able to play in the Hula Bowl on Jan. 22 to show his talent to the pro scouts.

Quarterback Kevin Thompson, who started every game for the past two years, suffered a rotator cuff injury and had not practiced for the last five days before the game. The man that Paterno called "a driving force behind this team" was throwing the ball with some pain during warm-ups, and Paterno said he probably could have played "in an emergency." But Casey, who had seen plenty of playing time throughout the season, took over command and directed the team with aplomb.

Paterno said he did not want to risk aggravating Thompson's injury and jeopardize his future, but he did ask the senior whether he wanted to get into the game in the fourth quarter. Thompson diplomatically deferred, saying it was Casey's team now. But in the locker room after the game the emotion flowed, as Thompson said, "It was hard watching from the sidelines in my final game. . . . I've given everything I have, my heart and soul, to this program. It was tough, but I'm proud to be a part of this team. I think you saw what Rashard's going to do next year."

And when Casey was given a game ball for his performance, he turned and handed it to Thompson. "Kevin always helps me out, and I am going to miss him," Casey said. "A lot of people tried to make us enemies and all that, but that couldn't happen because we're too close. . . . He wished me well and told me to bring home a victory for the team."

Casey ran for 27 yards and one touchdown and completed eight of 16 pass attempts for 146 yards and another touchdown with one interception on a pass that was so long it served the same purpose as a punt.

With the convincing win in San Antonio, the Nittany Lions won 10 games for the 18th time under Joe Paterno. In the 30th bowl game in his 34 years at the helm, Paterno broke Bear Bryant's record of 29 bowl appearances and extended his record for bowl victories to 20. Those wins have come in 12 different bowls of the 13 to which he has taken the Lions. Again, both are records.

The Penn State seniors finished with a record of 39-11 in the last four years or 48-14 in the last five. Penn State closed out the decade with a 97-26 record—the fifth best in the nation. Texas A&M was sixth for the decade with a 94-28-2 mark. The Lions had entered the Alamodome 11th in the Bowl Championship Series rankings with Texas A&M 14th. The AP had Penn State 13th and the Aggies 18th. USA Today/ESPN had A&M 13th and State 17th. The Lions could wind up in the Top Ten in at least one of the polls for the sixth time in the decade.

The win was particularly important to the Penn State defense, which wanted to send Sandusky out on a winning note. For the second time in his career, Jerry received the national Assistant Coach of the Year Award.

"He taught me and a lot of other people about a lot more than how to play football," said Co-captain Brandon Short, who wore a T-shirt with Sandusky's name on it under his game jersey. "Coach Sandusky taught me how to be a man."

"Jerry's a tremendous coach and a tremendous human being," said Short, who became Sandusky's 10th first-team All-American linebacker. "He cares about each of us like sons. He's a good friend."

Sandusky, who described his 32 years on the coaching staff as "a fantastic ride," said, "The outpouring of appreciation and gratitude from all of the Penn State people has been special. In our darkest moments, even my boss has been nice to me. I told him to be careful. If he keeps saying all these nice things about me, he'll have every coach on his staff retiring." Sandusky plans to devote his time to the Second Mile, an organization he founded that is devoted to the welfare of youths at risk and has touched more than 100,000 children in the last two decades.

Meanwhile his 73-year-old boss emphasized that he plans to stay in the job for several more years.

"I have absolutely no plans to retire," Paterno said in answer to a question from a Texas reporter at a press conference the day after the game. "I enjoy coaching, and I'll coach until I feel I can't do a good job or my health doesn't allow me."

Penn State took an early lead in the seventh Alamo Bowl game, when strong safety Derek Fox, maligned since Minnesota and Michigan completed fourth- quarter passes in his territory, picked off the first of his two interceptions and threaded his way 34 yards through the Aggies for a touchdown. It was the first interception return for a score by any Penn Stater in a bowl game.

State struck quickly for its second touchdown in the second quarter when the fleet-footed Casey scampered 17 yards on a bootleg around left end on a 3rd-and-11 situation, then tossed a 45-yard strike to wide receiver Eddie Drummond on a fly pattern to the end zone.

The Penn State defense, which had intercepted Texas A&M quarterback Randy McCown on the Aggies' first two possessions and limited the Maroon to 27 yards rushing and 50 yards passing in the first half, had a momentary lapse at the beginning of the third quarter, when McCown moved his team to the Lions' 14-yard line. But once again Arrington came to the fore. Blitzing the quarterback, he hit McCown's arm as he was trying to pass. The ball fluttered in the air and was intercepted by Lion linebacker Ron Graham at the PS-8 and A&M's best chance to score was snuffed out.

Late in the period the Aggies' All-American punter Shane Lechler launched a 59-yard boot, but Penn State rookie Rod Perry made a nifty return 21 yards to the PS-28, from where Casey directed a precision march to the Lions' third touchdown. Wide receiver Chafie Fields took a handoff from Casey on an inside reverse and gained 12 yards. Then Casey rolled right and hit tight end John Gilmore about 15 yards downfield. The burly sophomore broke three tackles and rambled for a 34-yard gain. Two plays later Casey rolled out again and connected with tight end Tony Stewart on a 20-yard pass to the A&M 4-yard line, as the third quarter expired.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Penn State lined up with a full-house backfield, but Casey faked a handoff left and rolled right on a bootleg for the TD.

The Aggies' Bethel Johnson fumbled the ensuing kickoff when he was blasted by Askari Adams, and Shawn Mayer recovered for State at the A&M 23. Four plays later Travis Forney booted a 39-yard field goal to complete the scoring.

The four interceptions picked off by Penn State tied an Alamo Bowl record and were the most by an A&M quarterback in a bowl game since 1987. That year was also the last time Penn State had more than four interceptions in a bowl game Ð when the Lions' picked off five against Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde in the Fiesta Bowl, while upsetting Miami for the national championship.

The five total turnovers forced by Penn State were the most in a bowl game since the seven it forced against Miami that year.

Despite losing 25 seniors plus Arrington from the team, Paterno was upbeat about the 2000 season. He noted that in 1981, 10 Penn State players were drafted by the NFL, but the Lions still had enough talent left to win the national championship the next year. "We have some good football players who have been waiting for their shot," he said.

For the glory,