The 2005 Insight Bowl was the 17th edition of the

Insight Bowl The Rate Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played in the state of Arizona since 1989, under several different names. Played as the Copper Bowl from inception through 1996, it was known as the Insight.com Bowl from 1997 ...

. It featured the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

and the

Rutgers Scarlet Knights The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football ...

. Arizona State exploded offensively in the game scoring 45 points, and an Insight Bowl record 679 yards of total offense. This was the first bowl game for Rutgers since the 1978 Garden State Bowl (whom they coincidentally played ASU in as well) and their first bowl game outside of the school's native New Jersey.

Game summary

Rutgers took an early 7–0 lead after Ryan Hart lobbed a 1-yard touchdown pass to

Clark Harris Clark Harris (born July 10, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a long snapper. He was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football for the Rutgers Scar ...

. Arizona State responded with a 43-yard touchdown pass from

Rudy Carpenter Rudy Carpenter (born April 15, 1986) is an American former professional football quarterback. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Arizona State. Early life Carpenter led Westlak ...

to Matt Miller, tying the game at 7. Rutgers answered with a 31-yard strike from Ryan Hart to

Brian Leonard Brian Leonard (born February 3, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL).He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and was selected by the St. Louis Ram ...

, making it 14–7 Rutgers. Jeremy Ito's 25-yard field goal made it 17–7, and capped the first quarter of scoring. In the second quarter, Jessee Ainsworth kicked a 20-yard field goal to pull the Sun Devils to within 17–10. With 2:30 left in the half, Brian Leonard scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, bumping the Knights' lead to 24–10. Arizona State responded with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Carpenter to tight end

Zach Miller Zach Miller may refer to: *Zach Miller (tight end, born 1984), NFL tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Chicago Bears *Zach Miller (tight end, born 1985) Zachary Joseph Miller (born December 11, 1985) is an Ameri ...

making it 24–17 at halftime. In the third quarter, Rudy Burgess scored from 1 yard out for ASU to tie it at 24. Jeremy Ito's 27-yard field goal flipped the lead back over to Rutgers 27–24. Arizona State took its first lead of the game on a 22-yard pass from Carpenter to Terry Richardson, making it 31–27 ASU. Jeremy Ito's 52-yard field goal cut the lead to 31–30 for Rutgers. In the fourth quarter, Rutgers took the lead on a 48-yard Jeremy Ito field goal, giving Rutgers a 33–31 lead. Arizona State came back with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Rudy Carpenter to Matt Miller, and a two-point conversion to make it 39–33 ASU. With 4:26 remaining in the game, Rudy Burgess scored from 4 yards out, but the 2-point conversion attempt failed, making it 45–33 ASU. With 2 minutes left, Ryan Hart threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Tres Moses making it 45–40 ASU. ASU then ran out the clock to claim the 2005 Insight Bowl. This would be last Insight Bowl played at Chase Field, as Arizona State's

Sun Devil Stadium Mountain America Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in Tempe, Arizona, located on the campus of Arizona State University (ASU). It is the home of the Arizona State Sun Devils football team of the Big 12 Conference. The stadium o ...

would become the future host of the game.

References

{{Rutgers Scarlet Knights bowl game navbox

Rate Bowl Arizona State Sun Devils football bowl games Rutgers Scarlet Knights football bowl games American football competitions in Phoenix, Arizona December 2005 sports events in the United States

2000s in Phoenix, Arizona