SAN ANTONIO — With Penn State down two touchdowns early, victory for Joe Paterno in his 500th game looked bleak.

JoePa said his confidence never wavered, and the Nittany Lions ended the Alamo Bowl like most of Paterno's 499 other games: with a Penn State win.

Evan Royster broke a tie with a 38-yard touchdown run, Deon Butler caught a debatable 30-yard TD pass and Penn State erased an early two-touchdown deficit to beat Texas A&M, 24-17, last night at the Alamo Bowl.

Paterno, college football's leader in bowl appearances (34), led the Nittany Lions (9-4) in a thriller that brought him his record 23rd postseason win.

The 81-year-old coach now has 372 career victories, one behind Florida State's Bobby Bowden for the most in major college football.

"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."

Penn State's Rodney Kinlaw ran for 143 yards on 21 carries and Royster finished with 65 on nine carries.

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

With the Nittany Lions up 24-17, 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.

McGee said the defense appeared to have snuffed out the play anyway.

"That's just tough. You get one yard and I'm thinking maybe we could get the win," McGee said. "They were ready for it."

Another Texas A&M (7-6) drive ended with a punt with two 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 interim head coach for Texas A&M. Darnell took over Nov. 23, when Dennis Franchione resigned, and A&M has hired Mike Sherman, currently offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans, to take over next season.

Asked about his future, Darnell referenced a quote from the movie, "Forrest Gump."

"Life is a box of chocolates," Darnell said. "I'll open that box and see which cherries and chocolates come out."

McGee finished 19 of 31 passing for 164 yards and an interception, and ran for 34 yards on 10 carries.

It was the kind of win that makes Paterno want to keep coaching.

"You guys drive me nuts sometimes," Paterno said when asked about his future. Paterno's contract expires after the 2008 season, though he has said he'd like to go at least another three years.

"Did you see that crowd and that atmosphere tonight," Paterno said. "Where would I want to be?"

Penn State's defense clamped down and the offense gained traction behind the running of backup quarterback Darryl Clark and Kinlaw and a couple clutch throws from Anthony Morelli.

"We just kept pressing and the offense came around," said Kinlaw, who was picked as the game's top offensive player.

"I thank God," he said. "I thank my offensive line."

Make a difference. Donate to The Advertiser Christmas Fund.