No. 15 Washington State scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to build a 16-point lead, then came up with a huge defensive stand late in the fourth quarter to beat No. 5 Texas 28-20 on Tuesday night.
The Holiday Bowl has a history of big plays and wild finishes, and this one had both.
PHOTO: AP
With the Longhorns trailing by eight, senior receiver Roy Williams caught a 45-yard pass from Chance Mock to give Texas the ball at the WSU 11 with 2:31 to play.
After Mock threw an incompletion, WSU blitzed hard and forced Mock deep into the pocket. Don Jackson hit Mock and forced a fumble that was recovered by fellow linebacker Will Derting at the 36-yard line with 2:16 to play.
Texas got the ball back one more time, but Mock was sacked at midfield by D.D. Acholonu as time expired.
Washington State (10-3) won 10 games for the third year in a row. At times, Texas (10-3) looked nothing like the highest-ranked team not in the BCS. The Longhorns saw their six-game winning streak end, and with it a chance to post three straight 11-win seasons for the first time in school history.
The Cougars scored on three big plays in the third quarter to take the lead for good. The big rally came 22 years after the Cougars also scored three touchdowns in the third quarter of their first Holiday Bowl appearance, only to fall just short in a 38-36 loss to BYU.
With the Cougars trailing 10-7, Sammy Moore hauled in a 54-yard pass from Matt Kegel to give WSU its first lead, 13-10, with 9:23 left in the third quarter. Moore caught the ball at about the 20 and came dangerously close to the right sideline as he outraced Cedric Griffin to the end zone. Drew Dunning's extra point kick hit the left upright.
WSU running back Jonathan Smith, who added a score in the third, carried 21 times for 110 yards.
Texas was held to just 131 yards rushing with Cedric Benson gaining 83 yards on 22 carries.
Later in the third quarter, the Longhorns were pinned deep and Mock had to throw from the end zone. Matt Melton caught the ball at the 13, but was hit and fumbled. Cornerback Jason David picked it up at the 18 and ran it in for a 26-10 lead. The point-after-touchdown was blocked.
Texas' David Pino kicked a 19-yard field goal with 13:32 to play, and WSU got a safety when Texas was called for holding in the end zone, giving it a 28-13 lead.
Texas closed to 28-20 when Williams, who had been a nonfactor, caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Mock with 4:29 to go.
Fresno State 17, UCLA 9
Bryson Sumlin made his first career touchdown catch and also ran for a score in Fresno State's 17-9 victory over the University of California at Los Angeles in the Silicon Valley Classic on Tuesday night.
Sumlin, a sophomore backup who began his Fresno State career as a cornerback, capitalized on two big chances to score and helped the Bulldogs beat the Bruins for the first time in six meetings.
Fresno State (9-5) made its school-record fifth straight bowl appearance and fourth in a row in this game. And once again, the Bulldogs seized the opportunity to spoil things for a bigger, more prominent program in a game dominated by defense.
Paul Pinegar passed for 133 yards, but Fresno State didn't exactly need a prolific offense to beat the inept UCLA Bruins, who managed just 164 total yards -- 97 in one series shortly before halftime.
The Bruins (6-7) lost its last five games to turn what once was a promising season into a disappointment under first-year coach Karl Dorrell. The inefficient offense was again the culprit, going 2-for-14 on third-down conversions.
Manuel Sanchez intercepted Bruins quarterback Drew Olson with 2:42 left and several Bulldogs celebrated their win by sliding face-first through the muddy field at Spartan Stadium.
Fresno State seemed to be in control until an ugly drive midway through the third quarter in which a series of mistakes left the Bulldogs facing fourth-and-37. Asi Faoa blocked the ensuing punt in the end zone for a UCLA safety.
Later in the quarter, Pinegar fumbled when he attempted to throw and left Fresno State stranded at its own 1. But the Bruins bailed out the Bulldogs by roughing punter Mike Lingua, and UCLA never mounted another significant drive.
The Bruins swore they were happy with their less than glamorous bowl destination, but they sure didn't play that way. UCLA seemed disinterested and disorganized, struggling to stop Fresno State's offense and failing to move the ball through the air or on the ground while falling behind 17-0 early in the second quarter.
Texas Tech 38, Navy 14
B.J. Symons completed the most prolific passing season in college football history by throwing for 497 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Texas Tech Red Raiders to a 38-14 victory over the Navy Midshipmen in the Houston Bowl.
Symons, who didn't get the starting job until this year, finished his career with a 5,833-yard season to extend the record he already owned. His performance Tuesday lifted Tech (8-5) to the first consecutive bowl victories in school history.
The game ended a remarkable turnaround season for Navy (8-5), which won just three games over the previous three years. Quarterback Craig Candeto, at the controls of coach Paul Johnson's top-ranked rushing offense, ran for 90 yards and both touchdowns in his last game.
Candeto's 2-yard TD run early in the third quarter pulled Navy within 14-7 against the larger, faster and more highly recruited Red Raiders. Navy did it all with virtually no threat of the pass as Candeto completed just two for 33 yards.
The Red Raiders' No. 1 passing offense responded, with Symons leading them back quickly to set up a 4-yard TD run by Taurean Henderson. Keith Toogood tacked on a 21-yard field goal for a 24-7 lead.
Tech's 110th-ranked defense never quite stopped Navy, which rolled up 289 yards rushing, but slowed the Mids enough despite a fourth-quarter scoring plunge by Candeto. Symons poured it on at the end with TD passes to Jarrett Hicks and Mickey Peters.
Tech, which beat Clemson in last year's Tangerine Bowl, improved its postseason record to 7-1-19. Navy, invited because the Southeastern Conference couldn't supply a team, returned to bowl play for the first time in seven years and only the second time since 1981.
Symons ended his senior year with 52 TD passes, second only to the 54 by Houston's David Klingler in 1994. His favorite target, Wes Welker, tied a record by catching a pass in his 41st consecutive game.
Candeto headed into his five-year service commitment with 33 career rushing touchdowns, pulling ahead of Navy all-time rushing leader Napoleon McCallum.
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