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THE 2007 PACIFIC LIFE HOLIDAY BOWL
Arizona State (10-2) vs. Texas (9-3)
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| FINAL
| ARIZONA STATE
| 0
| 10
| 10
| 14
| 34
| TEXAS
| 21
| 7
| 7
| 17
| 52 |
The Texas Longhorns withstood four fumbles by their
quarterback and a bizarre play to win the 30th annual Pacific Life Holiday Bowl
as they defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils 52-34 in front of 64,020 fans at
Qualcomm Stadium.
The Longhorns jumped out to an early 21-0 lead after a
15-yard TD run by junior running back Jamaal Charles, and they never looked
back after that. Arizona State got on the scoreboard early in the second
quarter and cut the lead to 28-10, but never got closer than that the rest of
the way as their defense had no answers for the Texas attack.
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Despite his four fumbles, sophomore quarterback Colt McCoy
caused problems for the Sun Devil defense all night with his ability to
scramble and avoid the pass rush. McCoy threw for 174 yards and a touchdown,
and rushed for 84 yards and another touchdown on way to earning Offensive MVP
Honors. Charles finished the game with 161 yards and two touchdowns on only 21
carries.
While the Longhorn offense was firing on all cylinders,
Arizona State’s offense was sputtering. Junior quarterback Rudy Carpenter never
found an offensive rhythm as he completed only 50% of his passes and threw two
interceptions. The Sun Devils were also held to a season-low 22 rushing yards
and committed five turnovers.
In typical Holiday Bowl fashion, the game featured high
scores and a bizarre play featuring Texas head coach Mack Brown’s step-son,
Chris Jessie. Early in the second quarter, Jessie came onto the field during a
broken play and appeared to touch a live-ball, which led to a 12-minute
official review. The officials ruled that Jessie had indeed touched the ball,
an unsportsmanlike foul. When asked about the play after the game, coach Brown
joked and said “[I]t just shows you how much our family wanted to win the game.
He even got involved.” |
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