2007 Holiday Bowl

Bowl background

The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that has been played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, since 1978. The game is currently sponsored by Pacific Life Insurance, so it is known as the "Pacific Life Holiday Bowl"; previous title sponsors have been SeaWorld, Thrifty Car Rental, Plymouth, and Culligan. Bowl games typically have contracts with specific colleges to provide eligible teams. The conferences affiliated with the Holiday Bowl has changed over the history of the bowl. As of 2007, the game features the 2nd place Pac-10 team and the 3rd place Big 12 team.

In 2004, one-loss California was blown out in an upset by the Big 12's Texas Tech, 45–31. Sonny Cumbie, Tech's quarterback, had one of the most memorable performances in Holiday Bowl history. In 2005, an Oregon team playing without its star quarterback (10–1) lost to a battered Oklahoma team, 17–14, solidifying many people's opinions that Oregon was unworthy of a BCS bid. Oklahoma's victory in 2005 was vacated as penalty for having two ineligible players on the team. As a result, there is officially no winner to that game. In the 2006 Holiday Bowl, the California Golden Bears defeated the Texas A&M Aggies 45–10.

One of the more popular (yet unusual) events associated with the Holiday Bowl is the Wiener Nationals, the national championships for the U.S. dachshund racing circuit.

Game summary

One week prior to the game, Las Vegas casinos favored Texas by 2 points. Rivals.com favored Texas by 1½ points. The game was played Thursday, December 27, 2007 at 7:00 pm Central in San Diego’s 70,561-seat Qualcomm Stadium and the official attendance was 64,020. ESPN provided both national television and national radio coverage of the game. The temperature was 53 °F (12 °C) at kick-off but dipped into the 40s before the first half ended.

First quarter

Texas dominated the first quarter and set two Holiday Bowl records. The Longhorns' first score, on a two-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Colt McCoy to Derek Lokey, was the quickest in game history at 13:39 remaining in the quarter. Lokey is best known as the Longhorns starting nose tackle but he is also used as an offensive end in short-yardage situations. He had lined up at full-back for the play. At the Holiday Bowl luncheon the day before, Lokey had joked that there was not a play in the Longhorn playbook that would result in him being deliberately given the ball. The Longhorns scored 21 first quarter points – two more than SMU scored against BYU in 1980 in the old Holiday Bowl record.

After Texas took the early seven point lead, the teams traded punts. On the first play of ASU’s second possession, UT’s Brandon Foster forced and recovered a fumble to bring about UT’s third offensive series. Brown put in back-up quarterback John Chiles, who is considered a greater running threat than McCoy. Chiles lined up in the zone read offense and handed off to Jamaal Charles, who ran 48 yard to the ASU 4-yard line. On the next play, Chiles ran the ball in for UT’s second touchdown.

The next ASU drive ended when Brandon Foster intercepted a pass at the Texas 11-yard line. The teams traded punts and UT began a new drive on their 30-yard line with 1:40 remaining in the half. McCoy threw a 55-yard pass to Quan Cosby and on the next play Jamaal Charles ran in 15 yards for the touchdown. Texas’ three touchdown-scoring drives were accomplished using only 2:04 of game clock. The UT defense forced two turnovers and held the Sun Devils scoreless for the period.

Second quarter

In the second quarter, ASU’s Rudy Carpenter led the Sun Devils to a first down at the Texas 14-yard line. They lost one yard on first down and an incomplete pass set up third and eleven. Carpenter attempted another pass but threw the ball hurriedly in an effort to avoid a sack by Texas linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy. The ball hit the ground and the officials initially threw a flag for intentional grounding; it would later be ruled a backwards pass which becomes a fumble once it hits the ground. The ball continued to bounce towards the Texas sideline with players from both teams in pursuit. The most bizarre event of the game occurred as the ball came close to the sideline.

Chris Jessee, a member of the Longhorns football operations staff and Mack Brown’s stepson, stepped onto the field and bent down as if to pick up the bouncing ball. Jessee thought that the ball was an incomplete forward pass and he was making the signal for intentional grounding as he stepped forward. The ball came close to Jessee’s hands but it was not clear if he managed to touch it or if it bounced over his hands cleanly. Texas' Roy Miller slapped the ball, keeping it in-bounds. Aaron Lewis picked up the ball and advanced it 13 yards to the Arizona State 44-yard line.

Replay officials took 12 minutes to review the play. On the video replays, the ball comes very close to Jessee's hands but it does not seem to change speed or trajectory as it goes past them. Despite the video replays providing no conclusive proof that Jessee had actually touched the ball officials ruled that he had made contact. The ball was declared dead at that point and the officials declared that Jessee had committed illegal interference; they declared an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed against Texas. The ball went back to the Sun Devils and they were awarded half the distance to the goal, giving ASU fourth-and-3 at the 7-yard line. On the next play, Carpenter threw a touchdown pass to Chris McGaha to make the score 21–7 Texas.

The controversial penalty was a big break for ASU as it resulted in a large momentum shift in allowing the Sun Devils to score. Video replays did show several Longhorns were on the field along with Jessee, despite an earlier bench warning that was given to Texas. For his role in inadvertently penalizing his team, Jessee has been compared to Steve Bartman, the man who may have inadvertently hurt the World Series prospects of the Chicago Cubs by interfering with a ball still in play. Unlike Bartman, Jessee’s goof did not result in a loss for his team; the Longhorns were able to shrug off the setback. Commentators also joked that Jessee might star in the Southwest Airlines advertising campaign called wanna get away? which includes people in difficult or uncomfortable positions longing to leave town.

Asked about the play after the game, Jessee said “I did not touch the ball. I thought it was a forward pass and I was looking at the ball being thrown and I was signaling for a grounding penalty. Then, when I realized the ball was in play, I pulled my hands back… The guys played a great game. The focus shouldn't be on this.” During the game, Mack Brown was furious with the penalty call and insisted that Jessee did not touch the ball. After the game Brown said that Jessee stepping onto the field "[showed] how bad our family wanted to win the game".

Commentators agreed the play was extremely unusual. The Austin American-Statesman said that it was one of the most bizarre moments of an odd college football season. Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune said, "I've been watching football since Jon Arnett and Ernie Zampese were playing for USC, and I've never seen anything like that. It was as if Jessee wanted it for a souvenir. Carpenter should have autographed it." Dennis Erickson said, "It's the most unusual play I've seen in college football." Former San Diego Charger Hank Bauer was asked if he had ever seen a similar play; he replied, "Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. At any level." Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman said it was “one of the most bizarre plays in bowl history – let's just say the only thing missing was the Stanford band”. The game’s replay official, Bob Patrick, explained afterwards that in such a bizarre circumstance, the officials have the right to award whatever penalty they feel is equitable.

Later in the second quarter, Arizona State had a fourth-and-two at the Texas 31-yard line. ASU tried for a first-down, but tight end Brent Miller allowed the pass to bounce off his hands and the Longhorns took over on downs. Texas drove the 69 yards to take a 28–7 lead. The drive included a fake punt on fourth-and-one where the Longhorns snapped the ball to upback Rashad Bobino who pushed ahead for a three-yard gain and a first down.

The Sun Devils made the score 28–10 on a 32-yard field goal by Thomas Weber. UT took over with less than a minute remaining in the half but were unable to get into scoring position before time expired. During the first half, Jamaal Charles averaged 9.6 yards per carry for Texas. The Longhorn defense held the Sun Devils to only 5 rushing yards in the entire half.

Third quarter

In the third quarter, as in the second quarter, the Sun Devils finished with a field-goal advantage but Texas forced another key turnover. On ASU’s first drive they scored on a 46-yard field goal. Texas went three-and-out and punted to the Sun Devils who took over at the UT 40-yard line. ASU’s first play was an apparent touchdown pass but it bounced out of the hands of the intended receiver and was intercepted by the Longhorns at the Texas 5.

Starting at their own 5-yard line, UT gave the ball to Charles for a one-yard gain. Then Charles fumbled but recovered the ball himself on the 8-yard line. A delay of game penalty moved Texas back to the 4-yard line. McCoy connected with Nate Jones for the first down at the UT 22. Seven plays later Texas was forced to punt but ASU’s Kyle Williams fumbled the ball and Texas recovered on the ASU 32. Jamaal Charles rushed for a one-yard gain. On second down, McCoy made a 29-yard rush but fumbled the ball into the end zone; it was recovered by Jermichael Finley for a Longhorn touchdown, making the score 35–13.

Hunter Lawrence kicked off 55 yards for the Horns but ASU’s Rudy Burgess returned it 35 yards to the 50-yard line. The Sun Devils scored on a 22-yard pass to Michael Jones. The third quarter ended with Texas on offense at the ASU 21-yard line. Texas also drew a second sideline infraction warning during the third quarter.

Fourth quarter

Texas completed that drive with a 21-yard field goal to make the score 38–20. The Sun Devils could not make a first yard down and punted back to Texas. The Horns put in John Chiles at quarterback and freshman Vondrell McGee at running back. McGee scored a touchdown on a 28-yard run. The Sun Devils replaced Carpenter with Danny Sullivan at quarterback. He led the team down the field and they scored on a 10-yard pass to Michael Jones. That made the score 45–27.

The Longhorns advanced to the ASU 34-yard line. Facing fourth-and-six, Texas took a timeout to consider their options. McCoy attempted a pass to Quan Cosby but it was incomplete and the Sun Devils took over on downs. With Sullivan still in at quarterback, the Sun Devils mounted a ten-play drive that culminated in a three-yard touchdown run by Jarrell Woods. That put Arizona State trailing by eleven points. They attempted an onside kick but Texas recovered it at the Arizona State 44-yard line. Charles carried the ball three-straight times for gains of 5, 7, and 32 yards and a touchdown.

The Sun Devils’ next drive ended when Danny Sullivan’s pass was intercepted by Brandon Foster at the Texas 44-yard line and returned for 5 yards to the Texas 49-yard line. The Longhorns used three rushing plays to run out the clock.

Analysis

The Longhorns won the game 52–34. The 52 points were the most ever scored by the Longhorns in their 47 bowl games. With the Longhorns in control through most of the game, many fans left early. The San Diego Union Tribune estimated that 5,000 fans remained in the stands at the end of the game. The game lasted 4 hours and 17 minutes – equaling the 1989 Penn State – BYU game as the longest Holiday Bowl to date.

UT’s Colt McCoy and Brian Orakpo (defensive end) were chosen at the game’s offensive and defensive MVPs respectively. McCoy went 21-for-31 passing for 174 yards and netted 84 yards rushing; he gained 147 yards on the ground but also lost 63, including 25 on two sacks. Orakpo made 4½ tackles for a loss – including two of the four sacks of Sun Devil starting quarterback Rudy Carpenter. Jamaal Charles rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns. He reached 1,619 yards for the season and 3,328 for his career. That made him the fourth-leading rusher in UT history going into his senior season. Six days after the game, Jamaal Charles announced that he would forgo his senior season with Texas to enter the 2008 NFL Draft.

On the Sun Devil side, quarterback Rudy Carpenter tied Jake Plummer for the second-most career touchdowns in school history with his 64th and 65th. Carpenter went 18-for-36 for 187 yards and two touchdowns. He also lost 45 yards on four sacks. Arizona State had a total of five turnovers.

Sports commentator Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman opined, “The truth of the matter is that the 17th-ranked Longhorns were everything most people thought they'd be in August as they bone-rattled a very good Arizona State team that came within an eyelash of a BCS berth. If Texas had been half this consistent all season, it'd be playing in a bowl game [after New Year’s Day]. But Mack Brown will settle for a better-late-than-never performance with an impressive 52–34 victory over the Pac-10 co-champion Sun Devils in a Holiday Bowl that was just shorter than the Bush years. Texas had made a habit of finishing strong with some spirited fourth-quarter rallies all season, but this time it started stronger than garlic breath and never let up. This Texas team knocked the ever-living stuffing out of ASU. This Texas team showed fire, showed passion and mostly showed up. These Longhorns finished the year with a fulfilling game that could possibly squeeze them into the top 10 and should titillate their fans for eight months and stoke a high 2008 preseason national ranking.”

UT’s first opponent of 2008 is Florida Atlantic University, who won the 2007 New Orleans Bowl and set a record for the shortest amount of time between starting a football program and securing a bowl victory.