2007 Holiday Bowl The 2007 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played December 27 , 2007 in San Diego . It was part of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season and one of 32 games in the 2007 – 2008 bowl season . It featured the Texas Longhorns against the Arizona State Sun Devils . Texas won 52 – 34 and set Holiday Bowl records for the earliest score and for most points scored in the first quarter . Texas also set a school record for most points scored in a bowl game . A bizarre play involving Chris Jessee , a member of the Longhorn football operations staff and the stepson of the Texas head coach , has been cited as one of the strangest plays of the season . Bowl background . The Holiday Bowl is a post - season NCAA - sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that has been played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego , since 1978 . The game is currently sponsored by Pacific Life Insurance , so it is known as the " Pacific Life Holiday Bowl " ; previous title sponsor s have been Sea World , Thrifty Car Rental , Plymouth , and Culligan . Bowl games typically have contracts with specific colleges to provide eligible teams . The conferences affiliated with the Holiday Bowl has changed over the history of the bowl . As of 2007 , the game features the 2nd place Pac - 10 team and the 3rd place Big 12 team . In 2004 , one - loss California was blown out in an upset by the Big 12 ' s Texas Tech , 45 – 31 . Sonny Cumbie , Tech ' s quarterback , had one of the most memorable performances in Holiday Bowl history . In 2005 , an Oregon team playing without its star quarterback ( 10 – 1 ) lost to a battered Oklahoma team , 17 – 14 , solidifying many people ' s opinions that Oregon was unworthy of a BCS bid . Oklahoma ' s victory in 2005 was vacated as penalty for having two ineligible players on the team . As a result , there is officially no winner to that game . In the 2006 Holiday Bowl , the California Golden Bears defeated the Texas A & M Aggies 45 – 10 . One of the more popular ( yet unusual ) events associated with the Holiday Bowl is the Wiener Nationals , the national championships for the U . S . dachshund racing circuit . Pre - game notes . Team selection . Before the official bowl invitations were made , executive director Bruce Binkowski speculated that the matchup would be Texas vs . USC , which would have been a rematch of the classic 2006 Rose Bowl . With Texas ' loss to Texas A & M the Longhorns fell out of contention for a BCS bowl ; their bowl situation would be decided largely by the play of other Big 12 teams . Number four Missouri beat number two Kansas to win the Big 12 North Division . Missouri rose to the top spot in the BCS rankings prior to facing Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game . Oklahoma won the game to become the Big 12 Conference champion and secure their berth in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl . Even though Missouri defeated Kansas , won their division , and outranked Kansas in the BCS standings ( number 6 compared to number 8 the Orange Bowl selected Kansas instead of Missouri to play in the 2008 Orange Bowl . BCS rules do not provide for all the highest ranked teams to be automatically included in BCS games ; considerable discretion is given to the individual bowls in choosing among eligible teams . The Tigers were invited to play in the 2008 Cotton Bowl Classic ; the Cotton Bowl Classic having first pick of Big 12 teams after the BCS bowls have made their selections . The Holiday Bowl had the next selection and they chose Texas . Arizona State University was ranked number 11 in the BCS standings and they were eligible for a BCS bowl themselves , but like Missouri , ASU was left out of the BCS selections . They were the two highest ranked teams not selected for BCS bowls . This was primarily because the Rose Bowl selection committee chose to arrange a Pac10 / Big10 matchup by pitting the lower ranked Illinois against Pac - 10 representative USC . Another factor was BCS Buster Hawaii being ranked 10th ; the rules specify that a non - BCS team is automatically selected if they are ranked 10th or higher and if an at - large bid is available . The Holiday Bowl selected the Sun Devils to face the Longhorns to set up the first meeting in the history of the two programs . Texas . The bowl was the 10th straight bowl invitation for Texas , setting a new school record by beating the previous streak of nine straight bowl games from 1977 – 85 . The Horns entered the game with a 6 – 3 bowl record under head coach Mack Brown , including victories in five of their last six bowl games and three consecutive bowl wins for the first time in school history . Texas beat Michigan 38 – 37 on a last - second field goal in the 2005 Rose Bowl and defeated USC 41 – 38 in the final minute of the 2006 Rose Bowl . They beat Iowa 26 – 24 in the 2006 Alamo Bowl . It was the Texas ’ 47th bowl appearance , which ranks second all - time in NCAA history behind Alabama ’ s 54 appearances . That made Texas one of only four schools nationally to win three bowl games in a row . Including six seasons at North Carolina , Brown had directed his teams to 16 straight bowl games – the second - longest active streak in the nation . The game was UT ’ s fourth appearance in the Holiday Bowl . Except for BYU with eleven appearances , Texas has played in the Holiday Bowl more times than any other team . All three previous UT appearances were close contests , decided by a total of 17 points . UT defeated Washington , 47 – 43 , in 2001 , and fell to Oregon , 35 – 30 , in 2000 and Washington State , 28 – 20 , in 2003 . In the 2001 game , quarterback Major Applewhite led Texas to set a Holiday Bowl record by overcoming a 19 - point second - half deficit to win the game . UT scored 27 fourth - quarter points to secure the win . Brown said , " As a team , our focus will be on getting that 10th win and keeping our bowl winning streak alive . We ' ve got a lot of work to do and the Holiday Bowl always seems to be a wild game with lots of sudden changes so we ' re looking forward to getting back on the practice field and preparing to play . " The game was the sixth time in the eight consecutive seasons that the Longhorns had played in either this game or in the Rose Bowl ; both are held in southern California . This led " Long Beach Press - Telegram " columnist Bob Keisser to joke that the team would be renamed " the University of Texas - La Jolla . " Entering the game , the Longhorns were averaging 462 . 0 yards of total offense ( 13th in the NCAA ) , 199 . 8 rushing yards ( 25th in the NCAA ) , 262 . 2 passing yards ( 36th in the NCAA ) and 36 . 0 points per game ( 19th NCAA ) . Defensively , Texas was allowing 24 . 6 points , 374 . 8 total yards , 99 . 3 rushing yards per game ( 10th in the NCAA ) . Because of the loss to Texas A & M , Mack Brown put the Longhorns through a boot camp in preparation for the bowl . Practices began at 6 : 00 am , starting positions were declared open to the best player , and players who made mistakes were forced to take ownership of those mistakes in front of the team . Arizona State . ASU completed a 10 – 2 regular season and won a share of the Pac - 10 Conference Championship . Their won – loss record tied that of the USC Trojans , but the Trojans won the tie - breaker by virtue of winning their game against ASU . The Trojans went to the 2008 Rose Bowl as conference champion and the Holiday Bowl selected ASU . The Sun Devils finished the regular season ranked number 11 in the final BCS rankings , number 11 in Coaches poll and number 12 in the AP rankings while Texas was number 19 in the BCS and number 17 in both the coaches and AP rankings . When the Holiday Bowl chose ASU , the Sun Devils head Coach Dennis Erickson said , " We ' re excited about going to the Holiday Bowl . We get to play Texas . That ' s a great program , a historic program , and great opportunity for us . As I said last night after the game , we have no control over the BCS ; all we can do is go out there and play football . Which we did a good job of 10 times . That ' s something that they have to deal with and they dealt with it and they did the best they can do with they system . This is just how it is . Our players are really excited about going where we ' re going . " Vice President for ASU Athletics Lisa Love said . " Playing a perennial power like the University of Texas , December 27 in the Holiday Bowl , which , by the way , is wonderfully hosted by that committee . This is a great , step forward . This is exactly what we wanted to do . We are very pleased to be mentioned in the same breath as a program like Texas . " The Sun Devils were competing in a bowl game for the fourth - year in a row and were appearing in the Holiday Bowl for the third time in program history . The Sun Devils lost to Arkansas , 18 – 17 in 1985 and to Kansas State , 34 – 27 in 2002 . The Sun Devils held a 12 – 9 – 1 all - time bowl record . Their most recent appearance was a 42 21 loss to Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl at the end of the 2006 season . Game summary . One week prior to the game , Las Vegas casinos favored Texas by 2 points . Rivals . com favored Texas by 1½ points . The game was played Thursday , December 27 , 2007 at 7 : 00 pm Central in San Diego ’ s 70 , 561 - seat Qualcomm Stadium and the official attendance was 64 , 020 . ESPN provided both national television and national radio coverage of the game . The temperature was at kick - off but dipped into the 40s before the first half ended . First quarter . Texas dominated the first quarter and set two Holiday Bowl records . The Longhorns ' first score , on a two - yard touchdown pass from quarterback Colt McCoy to Derek Lokey , was the quickest in game history at 13 : 39 remaining in the quarter . Lokey is best known as the Longhorns starting nose tackle but he is also used as an offensive end in short - yardage situations . He had lined up at full - back for the play . At the Holiday Bowl luncheon the day before , Lokey had joked that there was not a play in the Longhorn playbook that would result in him being deliberately given the ball . The Longhorns scored 21 first quarter points – two more than SMU scored against BYU in 1980 in the old Holiday Bowl record . After Texas took the early seven point lead , the teams traded punt s . On the first play of ASU ’ s second possession , UT ’ s Brandon Foster forced and recovered a fumble to bring about UT ’ s third offensive series . Brown put in back - up quarterback John Chiles , who is considered a greater running threat than McCoy . Chiles lined up in the zone read offense and handed off to Jamaal Charles , who ran 48 yard to the ASU 4 - yard line . On the next play , Chiles ran the ball in for UT ’ s second touchdown . The next ASU drive ended when Brandon Foster intercepted a pass at the Texas 11 - yard line . The teams traded punts and UT began a new drive on their 30 - yard line with 1 : 40 remaining in the half . McCoy threw a 55 - yard pass to Quan Cosby and on the next play Jamaal Charles ran in 15 yards for the touchdown . Texas ’ three touchdown - scoring drives were accomplished using only 2 : 04 of game clock . The UT defense forced two turnovers and held the Sun Devils scoreless for the period . Second quarter . In the second quarter , ASU ’ s Rudy Carpenter led the Sun Devils to a first down at the Texas 14 - yard line . They lost one yard on first down and an incomplete pass set up third and eleven . Carpenter attempted another pass but threw the ball hurriedly in an effort to avoid a sack by Texas linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy . The ball hit the ground and the officials initially threw a flag for intentional grounding ; it would later be ruled a backwards pass which becomes a fumble once it hits the ground . The ball continued to bounce towards the Texas sideline with players from both teams in pursuit . The most bizarre event of the game occurred as the ball came close to the sideline . Chris Jessee , a member of the Longhorns football operations staff and Mack Brown ’ s stepson , stepped onto the field and bent down as if to pick up the bouncing ball . Jessee thought that the ball was an incomplete forward pass and he was making the signal for intentional grounding as he stepped forward . The ball came close to Jessee ’ s hands but it was not clear if he managed to touch it or if it bounced over his hands cleanly . Texas ' Roy Miller slapped the ball , keeping it in - bounds . Aaron Lewis picked up the ball and advanced it 13 yards to the Arizona State 44 - yard line . Replay officials took 12 minutes to review the play . On the video replays , the ball comes very close to Jessee ' s hands but it does not seem to change speed or trajectory as it goes past them . Despite the video replays providing no conclusive proof that Jessee had actually touched the ball officials ruled that he had made contact . The ball was declared dead at that point and the officials declared that Jessee had committed illegal interference ; they declared an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed against Texas . The ball went back to the Sun Devils and they were awarded half the distance to the goal , giving ASU fourth - and - 3 at the 7 - yard line . On the next play , Carpenter threw a touchdown pass to Chris McGaha to make the score 21 – 7 Texas . The controversial penalty was a big break for ASU as it resulted in a large momentum shift in allowing the Sun Devils to score . Video replays did show several Longhorns were on the field along with Jessee , despite an earlier bench warning that was given to Texas . For his role in inadvertently penalizing his team , Jessee has been compared to Steve Bartman , the man who may have inadvertently hurt the World Series prospects of the Chicago Cubs by interfering with a ball still in play . Unlike Bartman , Jessee ’ s goof did not result in a loss for his team ; the Longhorns were able to shrug off the setback . Commentators also joked that Jessee might star in the Southwest Airlines advertising campaign called wanna get away ? which includes people in difficult or uncomfortable positions longing to leave town . Asked about the play after the game , Jessee said “ I did not touch the ball . I thought it was a forward pass and I was looking at the ball being thrown and I was signaling for a grounding penalty . Then , when I realized the ball was in play , I pulled my hands back … The guys played a great game . The focus shouldn ' t be on this . ” During the game , Mack Brown was furious with the penalty call and insisted that Jessee did not touch the ball . After the game Brown said that Jessee stepping onto the field " [ showed ] how bad our family wanted to win the game " . Commentators agreed the play was extremely unusual . The " Austin American - Statesman " said that it was one of the most bizarre moments of an odd college football season . Nick Canepa of the " San Diego Union - Tribune " said , " I ' ve been watching football since Jon Arnett and Ernie Zampese were playing for USC , and I ' ve never seen anything like that . It was as if Jessee wanted it for a souvenir . Carpenter should have autographed it . " Dennis Erickson said , " It ' s the most unusual play I ' ve seen in college football . " Former San Diego Charger Hank Bauer was asked if he had ever seen a similar play ; he replied , " Never , ever , ever , ever , ever , ever . At any level . " Kirk Bohls of the Austin American - Statesman said it was “ one of the most bizarre plays in bowl history – let ' s just say the only thing missing was the Stanford band ” . The game ’ s replay official , Bob Patrick , explained afterwards that in such a bizarre circumstance , the officials have the right to award whatever penalty they feel is equitable . Later in the second quarter , Arizona State had a fourth - and - two at the Texas 31 - yard line . ASU tried for a first - down , but tight end Brent Miller allowed the pass to bounce off his hands and the Longhorns took over on downs . Texas drove the 69 yards to take a 28 – 7 lead . The drive included a fake punt on fourth - and - one where the Longhorns snapped the ball to upback Rashad Bobino who pushed ahead for a three - yard gain and a first down . The Sun Devils made the score 28 – 10 on a 32 - yard field goal by Thomas Weber . UT took over with less than a minute remaining in the half but were unable to get into scoring position before time expired . During the first half , Jamaal Charles averaged 9 . 6 yards per carry for Texas . The Longhorn defense held the Sun Devils to only 5 rushing yards in the entire half . Third quarter . In the third quarter , as in the second quarter , the Sun Devils finished with a field - goal advantage but Texas forced another key turnover . On ASU ’ s first drive they scored on a 46 - yard field goal . Texas went three - and - out and punted to the Sun Devils who took over at the UT 40 - yard line . ASU ’ s first play was an apparent touchdown pass but it bounced out of the hands of the intended receiver and was intercepted by the Longhorns at the Texas 5 . Starting at their own 5 - yard line , UT gave the ball to Charles for a one - yard gain . Then Charles fumbled but recovered the ball himself on the 8 - yard line . A delay of game penalty moved Texas back to the 4 - yard line . McCoy connected with Nate Jones for the first down at the UT 22 . Seven plays later Texas was forced to punt but ASU ’ s Kyle Williams fumbled the ball and Texas recovered on the ASU 32 . Jamaal Charles rushed for a one - yard gain . On second down , McCoy made a 29 - yard rush but fumbled the ball into the end zone ; it was recovered by Jermichael Finley for a Longhorn touchdown , making the score 35 – 13 . Hunter Lawrence kicked off 55 yards for the Horns but ASU ’ s Rudy Burgess returned it 35 yards to the 50 - yard line . The Sun Devils scored on a 22 - yard pass to Michael Jones . The third quarter ended with Texas on offense at the ASU 21 - yard line . Texas also drew a second sideline infraction warning during the third quarter . Fourth quarter . Texas completed that drive with a 21 - yard field goal to make the score 38 – 20 . The Sun Devils could not make a first yard down and punted back to Texas . The Horns put in John Chiles at quarterback and freshman Vondrell McGee at running back . McGee scored a touchdown on a 28 - yard run . The Sun Devils replaced Carpenter with Danny Sullivan at quarterback . He led the team down the field and they scored on a 10 - yard pass to Michael Jones . That made the score 45 – 27 . The Longhorns advanced to the ASU 34 - yard line . Facing fourth - and - six , Texas took a timeout to consider their options . McCoy attempted a pass to Quan Cosby but it was incomplete and the Sun Devils took over on downs . With Sullivan still in at quarterback , the Sun Devils mounted a ten - play drive that culminated in a three - yard touchdown run by Jarrell Woods . That put Arizona State trailing by eleven points . They attempted an onside kick but Texas recovered it at the Arizona State 44 - yard line . Charles carried the ball three - straight times for gains of 5 , 7 , and 32 yards and a touchdown . The Sun Devils ’ next drive ended when Danny Sullivan ’ s pass was intercepted by Brandon Foster at the Texas 44 - yard line and returned for 5 yards to the Texas 49 - yard line . The Longhorns used three rushing plays to run out the clock . Analysis . The Longhorns won the game 52 – 34 . The 52 points were the most ever scored by the Longhorns in their 47 bowl games . With the Longhorns in control through most of the game , many fans left early . The San Diego Union Tribune estimated that 5 , 000 fans remained in the stands at the end of the game . The game lasted 4 hours and 17 minutes – equaling the 1989 Penn State – BYU game as the longest Holiday Bowl to date . UT ’ s Colt McCoy and Brian Orakpo ( defensive end ) were chosen at the game ’ s offensive and defensive MVP s respectively . McCoy went 21 - for - 31 passing for 174 yards and netted 84 yards rushing ; he gained 147 yards on the ground but also lost 63 , including 25 on two sacks . Orakpo made 4½ tackles for a loss – including two of the four sacks of Sun Devil starting quarterback Rudy Carpenter . Jamaal Charles rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns . He reached 1 , 619 yards for the season and 3 , 328 for his career . That made him the fourth - leading rusher in UT history going into his senior season . Six days after the game , Jamaal Charles announced that he would forgo his senior season with Texas to enter the 2008 NFL Draft . On the Sun Devil side , quarterback Rudy Carpenter tied Jake Plummer for the second - most career touchdowns in school history with his 64th and 65th . Carpenter went 18 - for - 36 for 187 yards and two touchdowns . He also lost 45 yards on four sacks . Arizona State had a total of five turnovers . Sports commentator Kirk Bohls of the Austin American - Statesman opined , “ The truth of the matter is that the 17th - ranked Longhorns were everything most people thought they ' d be in August as they bone - rattled a very good Arizona State team that came within an eyelash of a BCS berth . If Texas had been half this consistent all season , it ' d be playing in a bowl game [ after New Year ’ s Day ] . But Mack Brown will settle for a better - late - than - never performance with an impressive 52 – 34 victory over the Pac - 10 co - champion Sun Devils in a Holiday Bowl that was just shorter than the Bush years . Texas had made a habit of finishing strong with some spirited fourth - quarter rallies all season , but this time it started stronger than garlic breath and never let up . This Texas team knocked the ever - living stuffing out of ASU . This Texas team showed fire , showed passion and mostly showed up . These Longhorns finished the year with a fulfilling game that could possibly squeeze them into the top 10 and should titillate their fans for eight months and stoke a high 2008 preseason national ranking . ” UT ’ s first opponent of 2008 is Florida Atlantic University , who won the 2007 New Orleans Bowl and set a record for the shortest amount of time between starting a football program and securing a bowl victory .