Holiday Bowl Player Profile, History & More

2006 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Player Profile, History & More

Texas A&M (9-3) vs. California (9-3)

Dec. 28, 8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN

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Holiday Bowl History
2005	Oklahoma 17, Oregon 14
2004	Texas Tech 45, California 31
2003	Washington State 28, Texas 20
2002	Kansas St 34, Arizona State 27
2001	Texas 47, Washington 43
2000	Oregon 35, Texas 30
1999	Kansas State 24, Washington 20
1998	Arizona 23, Nebraska 20
1997	Colorado St. 35, Missouri 24
1996	Colorado 33, Washington 21
1995	Kansas St. 54, Colorado St. 21
1994	Michigan 24, Colorado St. 14
1993	Ohio State 28, BYU 21
1992	Hawaii 27, Illinois 17
1991	BYU 13, Iowa 13
1990	Texas A&M 65, BYU 14
1989	Penn State 50, BYU 39
1988	Oklahoma St 62, Wyoming 14
1987	Iowa 20, Wyoming 19
1986	Iowa 39, San Diego State 38
1985	Arkansas 18, Arizona State 17
1984	BYU 24, Michigan 17
1983	BYU 21, Missouri 17
1982	Ohio State 47, BYU 17
1981	BYU 38, Washington State 36
1980	BYU 46, SMU 45
1979	Indiana 38, BYU 37
1978	Navy 23, BYU 16

By Richard Cirminiello

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Player Profile
CB Daymeion Hughes, Cal – After watching Hughes patrol the Bear secondary over the last four years, it would be easy to type-cast the senior with labels, such as lock down corner, playmaker or future first-day draft choice.  They’d all be accurate, but would tell just half the story about a young man that’s so much more than just an elite athlete.  Yeah, Hughes is one of the nation’s most exceptional defensive backs, a true student of the game with terrific hands and 15 career interceptions.  However, he’s also an accomplished artist and a first-class citizen when he’s out of pads.  A few days after being tabbed the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, Hughes was named the recipient of the Lott Trophy given to the defensive player that best combines athletic prowess with integrity, maturity and community service.  He’s a leader in all aspects of life, inspiring his teammates in Berkeley and young football players back home in Los Angeles that hang on his every word when he visits and consider him to be a role model.  Once football is over, Hughes would like to work with children, teaching them about painting, design and art, those things he’s most passionate about when the helmet and the cameras are finally off.  Go ahead and call Hughes one of the most gifted corners in the country.  You won’t be wrong, but you’ll be failing to mention those qualities and characteristics that have made him such a special part of the Cal program since 2003.                       

Best Golden Bear Bowl Moment – You’ve got to venture all the way back to 1938 and the days of Vic Bottari to find a really meaningful Cal bowl victory.  The “Thunder Team”, as they were dubbed, shut out Alabama 13-0 in the Rose Bowl, en route to the Bears’ second and last national championship.  Cal finished its season in Pasadena eight times from 1921-1959, but hasn’t been back since.

Best Aggie Bowl Moment – In one of the most important wins of the modern era for Texas A&M, the Aggies shackled Heisman winner Tim Brown and defeated No. 12 Notre Dame 35-10 in the 1988 Cotton Bowl.  The A&M attack was spearheaded by a couple of freshmen, QB Bucky Richardson, who was named game MVP and RB Darren Lewis, who tosses a game-tying touchdown pass on a halfback option. 

California's best win ... California 38 ... UCLA 24
Cal got outgained 516 yards to 433 and controlled the ball for long stretches, but the Bears hit the home runs early with Nate Longshore throwing three touchdown passes, including two to Robert Jordan, while Marshawn Lynch scored on 24-yard pass and a four-yard run. DeSean Jackson put the game out of reach on a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown. UCLA got short touchdown runs from Pat Cowan and Chane Moline with the big play coming in the fourth on a 70-yard Chris Markey touchdown run. The Bruins ended up netting -7.5 yards per punt.

California's worst loss ... Arizona 24 ... California 20
Arizona scored 21 second half points with Chris Henry running for two short scores and Antoine Cason picking off a tipped pass for a 39-yard score. Cal had one last shot driving deep into Arizona territory, but Ronnie Palmer picked off a Nate Longshore pass to seal the win. DeSean Jackson was the story of the first half with a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the first and a 62-yard catch in the second on the way to a 17-3 Cal lead. The Wildcat defense held in the second half finishing with three interceptions and keeping the high-octane Bear offense to 356 yards.

Texas A&M's best win ... Texas A&M 12 ... Texas 7
Texas A&M's Stephen McGee ran the option for an eight-yard touchdown to cap off a 16-play, 88-yard drive with 2:32 to play, and then the defense held on with two interceptions while knocking UT QB Colt McCoy from the game. McCoy, who was carted off on a stretcher, threw three picks, while Jevan Snead threw a pick to kill a final chance. A&M took the early lead on a 41-yard Mike Goodson run, but the extra point went wide right. Jamaal Charles ran for a six-yard score on the way to a 7-6 lead, but the defense couldn't hold on late. A&M outrushed Texas 244 yards to 70.

Texas A&M's worst loss ... Texas Tech 31 ... Texas A&M 27
Texas Tech's Graham Harrell connected with Robert Johnson for a 37-yard touchdown with :26 to play to overcome a 32-yard Layne Neumann field goal that capped a second half A&M comeback. Tech bombed away in the first half getting up 24-14 on two Johnson scoring grabs including a five-yard play with nine seconds remaining, but the highlight was a 54-yard catch-and-run for a score by Joel Filani. Texas A&M's offense struggled to put points on the board in the first half, but it got a 99-yard kickoff return for a score from Kerry Franks and a two-yard Jorvorskie Lane touchdown run to keep things close. The Aggie running game led the way in the second half comeback with two Layne Neumann field goals and a four-yard Chris Alexander scoring run, but the secondary couldn't handle Harrell on an 80-yard final drive that took 1:46. A&M's final drive stalled at the Texas Tech 21 after a 44-yard pass to Chad Schroeder.

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Texas A&M Bowl History (13-15)

2004	Cotton	Tennessee 38, Texas A&M 7
2001	Gallery furniture.com	Texas A&M 28, TCU 9
2000	Independence	Miss St 43, Texas A&M 41 (OT)
1999	Alamo	Penn State 24, Texas A&M 0
1998	Sugar	Ohio State 24, Texas A&M 14
1997	Cotton	UCLA 29, Texas A&M 23
1995	Alamo	Texas A&M 22, Michigan 20
1993	Cotton	Notre Dame 24, Texas A&M 21
1992	Cotton	Notre Dame 28, Texas A&M 3
1991	Cotton	Florida State 10, Texas A&M 2
1990	Holiday	Texas A&M 65, BYU 14
1989	John Hancock	Pittsburgh 31, Texas A&M 28
1987	Cotton	Texas A&M 35, Notre Dame 10
1986	Cotton	Ohio State 28, Texas A&M 12
1985	Cotton	Texas A&M 36, Auburn 16
1981	Independence	Texas A&M 33, Oklahoma State 16
1978	Hall of Fame	Texas A&M 28, Iowa State 12
1977	Bluebonnet	USC 47, Texas A&M 28
1976	Sun	Texas A&M 37, Florida 14
1975	Liberty	USC 20, Texas A&M 0
1967	Cotton	Alabama 20, Texas A&M 16
1957	Gator	Tennessee 3, Texas A&M 0
1950	Presidential	Texas A&M 40, Georgia 20
1943	Orange	LSU 19, Texas A&M 14
1941	Cotton	Alabama 29, Texas A&M 21
1940	Cotton	Texas A&M 13, Fordham 12
1939	Sugar	Texas A&M 14, Tulane 13
1921	Dixie Classic	Texas A&M 22, Centre 14

California Bowl History (8-8)

2005	Las Vegas	California 35, BYU 28
2004	Holiday	Texas Tech 45, California 31
2003	Insight	California 52, Virginia Tech 49
1996	Aloha	Navy 42, California 38
1993	Alamo	California 37, Iowa 3
1992	Citrus	California 37, Clemson 13
1990	Copper	California 17, Wyoming 15
1979	Garden State	Temple 28, California 17
1959	Rose	Iowa 38, California 12
1951	Rose	Michigan 14, California 6
1950	Rose	Ohio State 17, California 14
1949	Rose	Northwestern 20, California 14
1938	Rose	California 13, Alabama 0
1929	Rose	Georgia Tech 8, California 7
1922	Rose	California 0, Washington & Jefferson 0
1921	Rose	California 28, Ohio State 0

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