The 2011 Bridgepoint Education

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 ...

, the 34th edition of the game, was a postseason American

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 ...

between the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

and the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

of the

Pac-12 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 ...

(Pac-12), on December 28, 2011, at

Qualcomm Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in San Diego, California, United States. Opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium; it was renamed Jack Murphy Stadium for sportswriter Jack Murphy (sportswriter), Jack Murphy from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 t ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California. The game was the final contest of the 2011 NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-FBS) football season for both teams, and it ended in a 21–10 victory for Texas. Texas was selected to play in the 2011 Holiday Bowl following a 7–5

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

that included a last-second victory at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

and double-digit losses to then-No. 1

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, then-No. 7

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, and then-No. 18 Baylor. The Longhorns faced California, who also had an identical 7–5 regular season, highlighted by an

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

victory at

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and a 3-point loss to then-No. 8

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

. California scored the only points of the first quarter on a 49-yard

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

Giorgio Tavecchio. In the second quarter Texas' placekicker Justin Tucker missed a 38-yard field goal but were later able to score on a 4-yard reverse pass

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

reception by

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Jaxon Shipley. California answered in the third quarter on a touchdown

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

by running-back Isi Sofele, but the Golden Bears would not score any more points afterwards. Texas scored later in the third quarter on a 47-yard reception by wide receiver Marquise Goodwin and in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard run by running-back Cody Johnson to end the game. Texas

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

David Ash was named player of the game, and finished with 142 passing yards and one touchdown while also attaining a touchdown reception. Texas

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

Keenan Robinson Keenan Robinson (born July 7, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football linebacker. He played college football for the University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas, and was selected by the Washington Redskins in ...

was named the defensive

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

after finishing with eight

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

and a pass deflection.

Teams

Entering the contest, both teams shared a few similarities. Each had an identical record (7–5) and last played in a bowl during the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

season, which they both lost (Texas lost the

BCS National Championship Game The BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college football season as one of four des ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and Cal lost the

Poinsettia Bowl The Poinsettia Bowl was an annual college football bowl game held in San Diego, California, from 2005 to 2016. The game was originally played from 1952 to 1955 between military services teams; in 2005 it was re-created by the organizers of the ...

, also in San Diego, to

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

.) Both teams also identical posted losing records (5–7) during the 2010 season. Their respective records in Holiday Bowl were also split. Texas lead the series with Cal 4–0, and was ranked in the nation’s top 10 in each of the series' games. Both teams were strong on defense with the Longhorns standing at No. 14 in total defense (315.33 ypg) and the Bears No. 26 (339.42 ypg).

Texas

Texas began the season with a four-game winning streak which included a defeat of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

. Following a loss to then #1

, the Longhorns only managed to put together three more wins for the rest of the season, although three of their losses during this period came against higher ranked opponents. Texas finished with a 7–5 record following the program's first losing season since 1997. This was Texas' fifth trip to the Holiday Bowl, the most recent being in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, and their prior record was 2–2. The Texas offense came into the game with the nation's No. 19 rushing team (210.42 ypg) but only No. 85 in passing (193.58 ypg), while the defense had been stingy against the run at No. 11 (103.67 ypg) and No. 47 in pass defense (211.67 ypg).

California

California began the season with a three-game winning streak, during which head coach

Jeff Tedford Jeffrey Raye Tedford (born November 2, 1961) is an American football coach and former player. From 2002 to 2012, Tedford was the head football coach for the California Golden Bears, where he was twice named Pac-10 Coach of the Year and holds ...

became with the winningest coach in program history. The Bears then had three straight losses, including their sole home loss of the season. They were able to get four more wins, improving to a 7–5 mark following the first losing season in Tedford's tenure as head coach. This was Cal's third Holiday Bowl, the most recent being in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, and their prior record was 1–1. Coincidentally they had faced Texas teams in all of their Holiday Bowl matchups, with

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

in 2006. Notably, the 2004 appearance resulted after Texas head coach

Mack Brown William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is an American former college football coach. Brown most recently coached at the University of North Carolina, where he had two stints, first from 1988 until 1997, and again from 2019 until his firing ...

had lobbied for an invitation to the Rose Bowl over Cal. Tedford said the incident "was a long time ago. I felt bad for our team because I really felt like we deserved to be in the Rose Bowl that year, but we're in 2011 now and it is a whole different situation." Cal has a balanced offense, which is No. 37 in total offense (418.67 ypg), No. 38 in passing (251.50) and No. 48 in rushing (167.17 ypg).

Game summary

First quarter

Texas received the ball to start the game but was unable to move the ball past midfield despite a fourth down conversion in their own territory. Cal was able to drive 70 yards on its first possession for a 47-yard field goal. After a three and out, Texas got the ball back when Zach Maynard was picked off by

Quandre Diggs Quandre Diggs (born January 22, 1993) is an American professional football safety. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, and was selected by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He played his first two years ...

, but in turn went three and out. However Maynard was then sacked for a fumble in Cal territory.

Second quarter

Texas' attempt to capitalize on the turnover failed when a 38-yard field goal missed. Two possessions later the Longhorns started in Cal territory and were able to drive down to the Cal 4-yard line on a 30-yard reception by tight end Blaine Irby. They then set up a trick play in which receiver Jaxon Shipley threw a pass to quarterback David Ash for the first touchdown of the game.

Third quarter

Cal opened the half with a 69-yard drive that was capped off by a 6-yard touchdown run by Isi Sofele. However Texas came right back with a 47-yard scoring reception by receiver Marquise Goodwin to take hold of the lead. The Cal defense held following a Sofele fumble on the ensuing drive, but Maynard was sacked on the final Cal possession of the quarter. Goodwin then had a 37-yard run to put the ball on the Cal 7-yard line.

Fourth quarter

This set up a 4-yard touchdown run by running back Cody Johnson for the game's final score. Late in the quarter the final Cal turnover occurred when receiver Marvin Jones fumbled after making a reception.

Scoring summary

Statistics

Game notes

*This was Cal's second bowl loss in a row, going back to the 2009 Poinsettia Bowl, and Texas' second straight Holiday Bowl victory, following a win in

over

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

. Cal is 1–3 in its bowl trips to San Diego. *Texas' record against Cal improved to 5–0.

Notes

References

{{Texas Longhorns bowl game navbox

Holiday Bowl 2010s in San Diego California Golden Bears football bowl games Texas Longhorns football bowl games

December 2011 sports events in the United States