2003 Holiday Bowl
The 2003 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 30 in San Diego, California, part of the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. It featured the fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns and the Washington State Cougars, who pulled off a 28–20 upset,[3][4][5] and moved up to ninth in the final rankings.
2003 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date | December 30, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Season | 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | Qualcomm Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | San Diego, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Offense: Sammy Moore, WSU Defense: Kyle Basler, WSU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Favorite | Texas by 9 points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Randy Smith (Big East) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Halftime show | Marching bands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 61,102[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Payout | US$2,013,616 per team[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scoreless after the first quarter, Texas running back Cedric Benson scored in the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run. Washington State tied the game following a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Kegel to wide receiver Sammy Moore. Following a 39-yard field goal, Texas held a 10–7 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Washington State outscored Texas by nineteen points. They took their first lead at 13–10 on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Kegel to Moore. Jonathan Smith rushed 12 yards for a touchdown increasing the lead to 20–10, and the Cougars extended their lead to 26–10 lead after Jason David returned a fumble 18 yards for a touchdown.
Early in the fourth quarter, Texas was held to a field goal; WSU led by thirteen, and the Cougars added a safety as Texas was flagged for holding in their own end zone. Chance Mock threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Roy Williams to pull Texas to within 28–20 with over four minutes remaining, but that was the end of the scoring.[4][5]
References
- "The Latest Line". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). December 29, 2003. p. E6.
- "Holiday Bowl History". Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
- Wilson, Bernie (December 31, 2003). "Cougars make it a special Holiday". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. B1.
- Grummert, Dale (December 31, 2003). "Cougalicious". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
- Fox, Tom (December 31, 2003). "Happy Holiday". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1B.