SAN DIEGO -- At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the media were asked to choose an offensive and defensive player of the Sea World Holiday Bowl.

BYU's Ty Detmer completes 42 passes for 576 yards. One award down.

Penn State and Brigham Young combine for 89 points. Uh, a defensive player of the game? Holiday Bowl representative Bruce Binkowski gave that trophy to a sponsor and instead ordered another offensive award for Blair Thomas.

Which was just fine with everyone. Even Detmer, who didn't see Thomas all that much.

"I saw him on the replay a lot of times, though," the BYU quarterback explained. "You stop the hole he's supposed to go to and he just cuts back on you and hits another one. He did that to us all night. You can't stop someone like that."

The Cougars didn't. Thomas shredded BYU's defense for 186 yards on 35 carries and scored a touchdown to lead the run-oriented Lions past the pass-happy Cougars, 50-39.

"I guess I had a pretty good game," Thomas understated.

"I thought Blair was super," Coach Joe Paterno gushed. "I mean, he got a lot of tough yards all by himself. There weren't many easy yards out there."

It seemed only fitting that Thomas end his college career with a stunning bowl-game performance, since he almost ended it permanently at a pre-bowl practice two years ago. He never really had a chance at bowl glory until Dec. 29. He wasn't about to let it slip by.

"This is very satisfying," he added. "In deciding to come back I wanted to go out and have a good year and this game right here tops it off."

It certainly did. With his 1,341 yards rushing on the season (fourth best in Penn State history), Thomas moved his career total to 3,301, second only to Curt Warner.

He also is the only Penn State back to gain more than 1,300 yards twice and joins Warner as the only backs to rush for 3,000 yards and gain more than 4,000 all purpose yards.

His name is scattered a bunch of other times in the record book, but that's not the only reason Coach Joe Paterno has called Thomas the "best back I've ever coached."

Thomas carried the team even when he wasn't carrying the ball. He made some bone-crunching blocks for fullback Leroy Thompson. He stayed back on passing plays and gave quarterback Tony Sacca a couple extra seconds to throw. He even made two crucial receptions, his two best plays of the game, for big yardage.

But, undoubtedly, he was at his best with the ball under his right shoulder. Thomas barreled through BYU's defensive line with the same power and grace he used to sprint around corners and break upfield.

He was particularly evasive on the cutback, which he consistently -- and spontaneously -- used to squeak out extra yards.

"The cutback was a play that really hurt us," BYU coach LaVell Edwards confessed. "I've said all along that he is one of the premier running backs that we've gone against and I think he showed that tonight."

And through it all, Thomas remained as modest as ever, a quality which has made him a favorite with fans and the media.

"The only reason I'm up here is because of my offensive line," he said. "They did a great job blocking and left me and Leroy a chance to do something out there and they gave Tony Sacca a chance to find receivers."

Thomas still has two more college appearances before hanging up his black cleats and becoming a millionaire in the NFL. He will play in the Senior and Japan Bowls, then prepare for the April draft, in which he is picked to be a first-round choice.

At Paterno's post-game press conference, a West Coast reporter -- not familiar with The Blair Thomas Story -- asked if the back would return next season.

The coach laughed.

"I wish we could have him back for a couple more years," he responded.

So do a lot of people.