The 2010 Alamo Bowl (known via corporate sponsorship as the Valero Alamo Bowl) was a

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

played at the

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

on Saturday, January 2, 2010. It was the 17th edition of the

Alamo Bowl The Alamo Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and the second ...

. The game featured the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 Varsity team, varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan Army, Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the sc ...

against the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, United States. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams us ...

. The 2010 game was the last one to feature a team from the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. In the fall of 2009, it was announced that the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

's second-place team would take part in the Alamo Bowl instead of the

Holiday Bowl The Holiday Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in San Diego, California. Operating since 1978, its current conference tie-ins are with the Pac-12 Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The bowl is held at Snapdragon S ...

. This was the third Alamo Bowl appearance and first Alamo Bowl win for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Their previous appearance was a 19–16 loss to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

in the 2001 game. Michigan State played in one previous Alamo Bowl, losing the 2003 game to

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, 17–3. The game also marked the first-ever meeting between the two schools. With approximately 5,553,630 households watching it, the game was the most viewed Alamo Bowl in history. It also drew the highest rating of any bowl ever shown by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. Behind the BCS bowl games and the Capital One Bowl, it was the most viewed bowl shown up to that point in the 2009–10 bowl season.

Game buildup

The game featured two programs which, prior to the event, were undergoing controversies. On December 28, 2009, Texas Tech suspended, and fired two days later, head coach Mike Leach over the alleged mistreatment of an injured player. Defensive Coordinator

Ruffin McNeill Ruffin Horne McNeill Jr. (born October 8, 1958) is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the special assistant to the head coach at NC State University. He previously served as the assistant head coach and outside l ...

was named interim head coach. Meanwhile, on November 22, 2009, Michigan State had suspended 14 players for the bowl resulting from a fight at one of the school's dormitories.

Game summary

First quarter

Texas Tech won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The 67 yard kick off by the Red Raiders was returned by Keshawn Martin for 33 yards. The Spartans made it all the way to the Texas Tech 32-yard line before their opening driving ended in disappointment, when Jamar Wall intercepted a pass by quarterback Kirk Cousins. The Red Raiders opening drive ended with a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Barron Batch. Both teams went

three-and-out A down in gridiron football is an attempt by the offensive team to run a play to advance the ball, while the defending team simultaneously attempts to halt their advance. The down is a distinguishing characteristic of the game compared to oth ...

in their next drive. Michigan State's first score came in their third drive of the game by way of an explosive run by Edwin Baker for a 46-yard rushing touchdown. The Spartan's scoring drive would be the last of the quarter, bringing the score at the end of the quarter to 7–7.

Second quarter

At the end of the second quarter the Red Raiders were leading with a score of 20–14.

Third quarter

At the end of the third quarter the Spartans were leading with a score of 28–27.

Fourth quarter

Michigan State took a four-point lead with 8:05 left in the game after a field goal, but it was all Red Raiders after that point. The game ended with Texas Tech winning the game with a final score of 41–31.

Scoring summary

, - , Final , colspan="6", , 31 , 41 Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2010 Alamo Bowl (01)

Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alam ...

Alamo Bowl Michigan State Spartans football bowl games Texas Tech Red Raiders football bowl games January 2010 sports events in the United States 2010 in sports in Texas