Final
Texas A&M, Cal both look for strong finish in Holiday Bowl
Dec 28, 2006 - 1:24 PM No. 21 Texas A&M (9-3) at No. 20 California (9-3) December 28 Holiday Bowl 8:00 pm ESTSAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Two teams that had rough finishes to their seasons meet up in the Holiday Bowl looking for a happy ending.
No. 21 Texas A&M meets No. 20 California in San Diego on December 28 with the winner earning its 10th victory of the season.
Texas A&M (9-3) started the season with four straight wins and victories in eight of its first nine before dropping close games to Big 12 rivals Oklahoma and Nebraska. The Aggies rebounded by upsetting Texas on November 24, knocking the Longhorns out of the conference title game and handing the Sooners the South Division title.
That win was coach Dennis Franchione's 180th of his career and propelled Texas A&M to its 29th postseason game and the second Holiday Bowl berth in school history.
The Aggies beat Brigham Young 65-14 on December 29, 1990 for the most points scored by one team in a bowl in NCAA history. That record was broken when Nebraska scored 66 in the 2000 Alamo Bowl.
Dual threat quarterback Stephen McGee leads the Aggies offense and completed 62 percent (177-of-287) of his passes for 2,118 yards and 11 touchdowns. The sophomore also rushed for 635 yards and four scores, becoming just one of three quarterbacks to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 500.
McGee was only picked off twice, leading the nation in fewest interceptions-per-passing attempt with a 0.70 percentage. He is 9-4 as a starter and was 5-0 on the road in 2006.
California (9-3), the 2006 Pac-10 co-champions, also lost two of its last three games, but did have an eight-game winning streak after suffering a 35-18 loss at Tennessee in it's season's first game. The Bears last game was a 26-17 victory over heated Pac-10 rival Stanford on December 2.
The Bears who are headed to their fourth straight bowl appearance, are led by Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year Marshawn Lynch who rushed for 1,245 yards and scored 13 TDs. He is joined by fellow All-Pac-10 performer DeSean Jackson who led the nation with four punt returns for TDs.
Jackson is also an outstanding receiver and hauled in 54 catches for 979 yards and nine scores. The two All-Americans were part of six first-team All-Pac-10 selections on the California squad.
Sophomore quarterback Nate Longshore completed 59 percent (208-of-353) passes for 2,786 yards and 23 touchdowns this season but struggled down the stretch. He failed to complete 50 percent of his passes in any of Cal's final three games, including losses at Arizona and USC.
The California defense is headed by is led by Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year Daymeion Hughes. The cornerback ranked third in the nation with eight interceptions and fifth in the country with 19 passes defended.
Texas A&M and California have met twice before, splitting games over a three-year span. The Aggies edged the Bears 29-28 on November 5, 1981 and California returned the favor two year later, beating A&M 19-17 on November 3, 1983.
- HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TEXAS A&M (21) 7 3 0 0 10
CALIFORNIA (20) 7 7 14 17 45 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: TEXAS A&M - TD, CHAD SCHROEDER 19 YD PASS FROM
STEPHEN MCGEE (LAYNE NEUMANN
KICK), 3:47. TEXAS A&M 7-0
CALIFORNIA - TD, NATE LONGSHORE 1 YD RUN (TOM
SCHNEIDER KIC
Dec 28 11:34 PM - HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF HOLIDAY BOWL
TD CALIFORNIA
BRYAN SCHUTTE 3 YD RUN
(TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
TEXAS A&M (21) 10
CALIFORNIA (20) 45 0:28 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 11:32 PM - HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF HOLIDAY BOWL
TD CALIFORNIA
JUSTIN FORSETT 8 YD RUN
(TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
TEXAS A&M (21) 10
CALIFORNIA (20) 38 3:40 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 11:24 PM - HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF HOLIDAY BOWL
FG CALIFORNIA
TOM SCHNEIDER 22 YD
TEXAS A&M (21) 10
CALIFORNIA (20) 31 7:13 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 11:08 PM - HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF END, 3RD QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TEXAS A&M (21) 7 3 0 10
CALIFORNIA (20) 7 7 14 28 END, 3RD QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: TEXAS A&M - TD, CHAD SCHROEDER 19 YD PASS FROM
STEPHEN MCGEE (LAYNE NEUMANN
KICK), 3:47. TEXAS A&M 7-0
CALIFORNIA - TD, NATE LONGSHORE 1 YD RUN (TOM
SCHN
Dec 28 10:46 PM
TD CALIFORNIA LAVELLE HAWKINS 4 YD PASS FROM NATE LONGSHORE (TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 10:38 PM
TD CALIFORNIA LAVELLE HAWKINS 4 YD PASS FROM NATE LONGSHORE (TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 10:38 PM
TD CALIFORNIA LAVELLE HAWKINS 4 YD PASS FROM NATE LONGSHORE (TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 10:38 PM- HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF HOLIDAY BOWL
TD CALIFORNIA
LAVELLE HAWKINS 4 YD PASS FROM NATE LONGSHORE
(TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
TEXAS A&M (21) 10
CALIFORNIA (20) 28 2:00 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 10:38 PM - HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF HOLIDAY BOWL
TD CALIFORNIA
MARSHAWN LYNCH 2 YD RUN
(TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
TEXAS A&M (21) 10
CALIFORNIA (20) 21 10:13 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 10:19 PM - HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TEXAS A&M (21) 7 3 10
CALIFORNIA (20) 7 7 14 HALFTIME
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: TEXAS A&M - TD, CHAD SCHROEDER 19 YD PASS FROM
STEPHEN MCGEE (LAYNE NEUMANN
KICK), 3:47. TEXAS A&M 7-0
CALIFORNIA - TD, NATE LONGSHORE 1 YD RUN (TOM
SCHNEIDE
Dec 28 9:38 PM - HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF HOLIDAY BOWL
FG TEXAS A&M
LAYNE NEUMANN 37 YD
TEXAS A&M (21) 10
CALIFORNIA (20) 14 2:08 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 9:27 PM - HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF HOLIDAY BOWL
TD CALIFORNIA
MARSHAWN LYNCH 2 YD RUN
(TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
TEXAS A&M (21) 7
CALIFORNIA (20) 14 14:14 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 9:00 PM - HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF END, 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TEXAS A&M (21) 7 7
CALIFORNIA (20) 7 7 END, 1ST QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: TEXAS A&M - TD, CHAD SCHROEDER 19 YD PASS FROM
STEPHEN MCGEE (LAYNE NEUMANN
KICK), 3:47. TEXAS A&M 7-0
CALIFORNIA - TD, NATE LONGSHORE 1 YD RUN (TOM
SCHN
Dec 28 8:55 PM - HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF HOLIDAY BOWL
TD CALIFORNIA
NATE LONGSHORE 1 YD RUN
(TOM SCHNEIDER KICK)
TEXAS A&M (21) 7
CALIFORNIA (20) 7 7:52 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 8:33 PM
TD TEXAS A&M CHAD SCHROEDER 19 YD PASS FROM STEPHEN MCGEE (LAYNE NEUMANN KICK)
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 8:22 PM
TD TEXAS A&M CHAD SCHROEDER 19 YD PASS FROM STEPHEN MCGEE (LAYNE NEUMANN KICK)
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 8:22 PM
TD TEXAS A&M CHAD SCHROEDER 19 YD PASS FROM STEPHEN MCGEE (LAYNE NEUMANN KICK)
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 8:22 PM- HOLIDAY BOWL
AT SAN DIEGO CA
NCAAF HOLIDAY BOWL
TD TEXAS A&M
CHAD SCHROEDER 19 YD PASS FROM STEPHEN MCGEE
(LAYNE NEUMANN KICK)
TEXAS A&M (21) 7
CALIFORNIA (20) 0 11:13 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Texas A&M vs. CaliforniaDec 28 8:22 PM
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