Texas A&M
9-4
(#20) California
10-3
California 45, Texas A&M 10
Dec 28, 2006 | Football
December 28, 2006
Marshawn Lynch ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 20 California's defense played impressively in a 45-10 win over No. 21 Texas A&M on Thursday night in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl.
Nate Longshore threw for a touchdown and ran for another, and Lynch's backup, Justin Forsett, ran for 124 yards and one score.
Cal (10-3) put an emphatic final touch to its second 10-win season in three years. The Golden Bears had lost to Arizona and Southern California in disheartening fashion before beating rival Stanford and then the Aggies (9-4).
In 2004, Cal was in position to end its long Rose Bowl drought but was leapfrogged in the final Bowl Championship Series standings by Texas. Although the fourth-ranked Golden Bears claimed not to be bothered by the snub, they couldn't even hang with No. 23 Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl and were humiliated 45-31.
This trip to San Diego turned out a lot better.
Lynch, the Pac-10 offensive player of the year, scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter to give Cal a 14-7 lead. While Longshore lined up at wide receiver, Lynch was in the shotgun formation, took the snap and bulled into the end zone.
Lynch scored on a 1-yard run in the third, leaping over the line and fumbling as he came down in the end zone. The Aggies recovered and referee John O'Neill signaled first down for Texas A&M, then said the play was being reviewed. Replay official Jim Augustyn ruled that Lynch had possession when he broke the plane of the end zone, making it 21-10 Cal.
While the Golden Bears moved up and down the field, their defense came up big, too.
Jorvorskie Lane, Texas A&M's 274-pound tailback, wasn't much of a factor after tying a 79-year-old school record with 19 rushing touchdowns this year. He was held to 36 yards and no touchdowns on seven carries.
Longshore scored on a 1-yard keeper to tie the game at 7 in the first quarter, eight plays after Texas A&M's Stephen McGee threw a 19-yard TD pass to Chad Schroeder.
Longshore also threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Lavelle Hawkins late in the third quarter. He finished 19-of-24 for 235 yards.
Texas A&M gambled a few times too many. After Bryce Reed gained 7 yards on a fake punt in the first quarter, the drive bogged down and the Aggies went for it on fourth-and-8 from the Cal 32. McGee was sacked by Nu'u Tafisi.
Lynch scored his first TD five plays later.
His second touchdown was set up when Texas A&M's Justin Brantly shanked a punt out of bounds for no gain at the Aggies' 41. Lynch scored four plays later.
The Aggies failed to convert on another fourth-down play in the fourth quarter.
Cal's Eddie Young intercepted Aggies backup quarterback Ty Branyon with 2:25 left, setting up a 3-yard score by freshman tailback Bryan Schutte.
Texas A&M Postgame Notes
- True freshman Mike Goodson made his first career start in the Holiday Bowl. On his first carry, Goodson handled a high pitch from quarterback Stephen McGee and gained 19 yards. Goodson finished his freshman season with 847 yards, which ranks No. 3 on A&M's all-time freshman rushing list behind Greg Hill (1,216 in 1991) and Courtney Lewis (1,024 in 2003).
- The Aggies scored a touchdown on their initial drive of the game for the second straight game and the fifth time this season. The Aggies scored a touchdown or field goal on their opening drive in eight of 13 games in 2006.
- Freshman placekicker Matt Szymanski, who opened the season as the starter, was re-inserted into the lineup for placekicks for the Holiday Bowl. His first quarter PAT was his first placekick since the Army game (third game of the season). Szymanski added a second-quarter field goal.
- The carry by senior defensive tackle Bryce Reed, who came to A&M as a fullback, was the first of his career. It came on a successful fake punt.
- True freshman wide receiver E.J. Shankle made the first catch (for 10 yards) of his career in the third quarter of the Holiday Bowl. He added another catch later in the quarter.
- The Aggies won the turnover battle, but lost the game for just the fourth time in the Dennis Franchione era. Since 2003, the Aggies are 18-4 when winning the turnover battle and 7-19 in games with an even or minus turnover margin.
- Stephen McGee finished the season as the most accurate passer in school history with a .620 completion percentage on 194 of 313 passing. He also threw just two interceptions in 313 attempts, which was the lowest interception percentage in the nation. He will enter 2007 with a streak of 80 attempts. McGee's 2,295 season passing yards rank No. 7 in school history.
- Sophomore Jorvorskie Lane went without a touchdown and remained tied with Joel Hunt (1927) for the season rushing touchdowns school record with 19.
- The loss was the Aggies' first loss away from Kyle Field this season.
FOR THE RECORD --- 1990 Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP Bucky Richardson was on the Aggies' sideline. He was inducted into the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame in 2001...The 12th Man in the Holiday Bowl was sophomore linebacker Nick LaMantia. It was the 11th 12th Man assignment of the season for LaMantia...Aggie game captains were senior Justin Warren, senior Ty Branyon, junior Chris Harrington and junior Cody Wallace. Cal won the toss and chose to receive.
Team Stats
TA 7, CAL 0
TA - Schroeder, Chad 19 yd pass from McGee, Stephen (Szymanski, Matt kick) 6 plays, 61 yards, TOP 1:57
TA 7, CAL 7
CAL - Longshore, Nate 1 yd run (Schneider, Tom kick), 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:21
TA 7, CAL 14
CAL - Lynch, Marshawn 2 yd run (Schneider, Tom kick), 5 plays, 67 yards, TOP 2:05
TA 10, CAL 14
TA - Szymanski, Matt 32 yd field goal 14 plays, 66 yards, TOP 7:41
TA 10, CAL 21
CAL - Lynch, Marshawn 1 yd run (Schneider, Tom kick), 4 plays, 41 yards, TOP 1:40
TA 10, CAL 28
CAL - Hawkins, L. 4 yd pass from Longshore, Nate (Schneider, Tom kick) 9 plays, 72 yards, TOP 4:46
TA 10, CAL 31
CAL - Schneider, Tom 21 yd field goal 10 plays, 84 yards, TOP 4:37
TA 10, CAL 38
CAL - Forsett, Justin 8 yd run (Schneider, Tom kick), 4 plays, 51 yards, TOP 1:26
TA 10, CAL 45
CAL - Schutte, Bryan 3 yd run (Schneider, Tom kick), 3 plays, 5 yards, TOP 1:57
