31 unanswered second-half points turned a tense battle at intermission into
a runaway of epic proportions as the Golden Bears took a well-regarded Texas
A & M squad out to the woodshed with a 45-10 drubbing. The 35-point
margin of victory was the largest in Cal bowl-game history.
It was also the 3rd-most lopsided result in Holiday Bowl history. Ironically,
Texas A & M was involved in the most one-sided of all the Holiday Bowls,
their 65-14 pasting of BYU in 1990.
Cal came into the game knowing it had to dominate the line of scrimmage, because
A & M was a possession, ball-control team that did not turn the ball over
(with just 12 turnovers in 12 prior games).
Senior lineman Andrew Cameron was pleased by the O-line's effort to
control the game. "We put a whuppin' on some people," said
Cameron. "I think the difference today was how we practiced. Coach
Michalczik had us practicing the hardest we practiced all year these past three
weeks. It was physical. We got back to being physical. Take
a look at my helmet and I think you'll agree we were the more physical
team today. Two backs over 100 (yards)? Against a good Big-12 team,
that's pretty big-time. That's a credit to Michalczik."
DeSean Jackson had five receptions, and every one resulted in a first down
for the Bears. "I'm the type of receiver who likes to get the ball
in my hands and make the best plays," said Jackson. "I try
to help my team any time I can get the ball, stretch the defense and help out
my team by getting touchdowns. Today, they did a good job of getting
me the ball and everything went good. I have no problem playing any role
I have to play, including a supporting role. Whatever it takes to win
a football game."
When Jackson was asked why the Cal offense, rather somnolent in the final
three games of the Pac-10 season, woke up with such ferocity tonight, he stated
the obvious: "It's a bowl game, man! We've got to go
out with a bang, we can't lose. Losing wasn't even in our
mind."
The Golden Bears only had 9 possessions in the entire contest, and held the
ball for just 25:05 minutes (and even that was a little skewed by their 8:00
minute TOP in the fourth quarter). Efficiency was the required ingredient,
and they were seriously efficient: 9 possessions, one punt, 7 scores and a
missed field goal. Not bad.
The Bears wore down a usually staunch Aggie defense, one that had allowed
only 75 second-half points all season. The defeat was total for A & M - the
45 points allowed is second all-time in Aggie bowl appearances (47 vs. USC
in the 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl), and the 241 rushing yards allowed to Cal is tied
for fourth on the all-time list, while the 235 passing yards was also fourth-most
in a bowl game. The combined 476 yards of offense by the Golden Bears
was the third most ever allowed by A & M in a bowl game.
Quarterback Nate Longshore, co-MVP on the offensive side, was direct in his
explanation of the success. "The O-Line should get all the credit for
this game," said Longshore. "They did a great job. It
was fun to see them dominate like that."
On the defensive side of the ball, led by senior linebacker and Defensive
MVP Desmond Bishop, Cal held A & M to 10 points, the lowest total in the
29 Holiday Bowl games played to date.
After A & M scored on their first possession of the game, they only reached
the red zone one more time all night.
"Everybody on the sideline, after their first drive, our spirits were
still up," said Thomas DeCoud. "We knew it was just one drive,
we had to keep fighting, we knew it was going to be a dogfight when we got
here. The first drive showed us that we had to keep pushing. We
turned it around for a big win."
Cal featured a balanced attack, with 241 yards on the ground and 235 in the
air. Additionally, they had two 100-yard rushers - Marshawn Lynch
with 111 yards and two TDs in 20 carries (5.6 yd. avg.) and Justin Forsett,
who made the most of his limited opportunities with 124 yards and a TD on just
eight carries, a 15.5 yd. per carry average.
The game's turning point came early in the third quarter. Tom Schneider had missed a 43-yard field goal try to end the first half 14-10 in
Cal's favor. A & M took the opening kickoff after the intermission
and notched two first downs before it all went sour. First, wide receiver
Chad Schroeder, on a reverse that was supposed to turn into a downfield pass,
was dropped for an 11-yard loss on second and seven from Cal's 48. When
the third-and-18 pass was incomplete, Justin Brantly took the field to punt
from his own 41.
The kick could not have been more disastrous. It officially traveled
zero yards before flying over the Bears bench at the sideline.
"The punt that didn't go anywhere," lamented A & M coach
Dennis Franchione in the post-mortem, "that gave them awfully good field
position. As long as we were moving the ball, we were hanging in there
with them, but that was a pretty big swing right there."
4 plays and 41 yards later, Marshawn Lynch's two-yard run extended the
Bears lead to 21-10 at less than five minutes into the quarter.
At this point the Bear defense took over the game, as A & M's next
possession was just 5 plays for 12 yards and another punt.
"Cal did a good job of containing us," Franchione said. "We
didn't execute well enough over an extended drive to get points out of
it."
And thus began the rout. Cal's average start to a second half
possession was their own 48-yard line. They scored all five times they
had the ball, getting four TD's and a field goal. he field goal capped
their longest drive of the game, 10 plays and 84 yards.
About the only unhappy note in the entire contest came at its conclusion. With
the game well in hand, Tedford allowed the seniors to take the field on offense. In
the game's final minutes, Cal intercepted a pass and returned it to the
A & M 5 yard line.
Tedford instructed his players to take a knee and run out the clock at that
point. The players had other ideas.
"There was some miscommunication," Tedford explained. "I
had sent in for them to just take a knee. They got out there and they
all wanted to hand the ball to Bryan Schutte, one of the more quiet players
on the team, just a great young man, so they decided to do their own thing
and hand the ball to him.
"I wasn't real pleased about that, because I have a lot of admiration
and respect for Coach Fran and Texas A & M, and I would have preferred we
take a knee there"
Still and all, this was a huge win for Cal, possibly the biggest post-season
win since Pappy's Boys. Athletic Director Sandy Barbour was ecstatic
on the field post-game.
"I think every bowl win is a big one, it launches you off into the next
year and helps with recruiting and fund raising, it helps you with a lot of
things. But, this one was certainly executed in very convincing style,
and it kind of washes away the bad taste in our mouth from the Holiday Bowl
a couple of years ago.
"I think this is so important to these young men and this program, and
I think it's just a launching pad for us."
The game may have had a couple of other major effects. When asked if
the outcome might help convince his younger brother Devin to finally commit
to Cal and continue the family tradition in Strawberry Canyon, Desmond Bishop
said, "I think this victory will help him make a decision. We
are trying to persuade him. He's still young, he's still
trying to find his way, but I think this win will show him our talent and how
good we are going to be next year. The whole institution of Cal is on the rise,
especially in football. His choice should be easy now."
The final potential benefit was revealed to the Bear Insider well after the
game ended by Cal play-by-play man Joe Starkey,
"There's a large group of alumni who have been involved in raising
money for the coaching contracts, and were responsible when he (Tedford) got
his big raise a couple of years ago. The word I get is that they are VERY close
to another new contract for Tedford, more dollars for him and for his assistants
that will carry him much longer into the future."
Music to Old Blues' ears.
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