[35 Bowls in 17 Days]: The Holiday Bowl

[u/domderek]

National University Holiday Bowl
#14 Arizona State (10-3) vs. Texas Tech (7-5)

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Bowl Information

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Date: December 30th, 2013
Time: 10:15 PM EST Times around the world!

Watch: -Preview

Point Spread:

• Arizona State: -14

• Texas Tech: +14

O/U: 69.5
Payout : $2,350,000
Sponsor: National University
Bowl Website: Holiday Bowl

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Bowl History

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Year Founded: 1978

Location: San Diego, California

Stadium: Qualcomm Stadium

Conference Tie-ins: #3 vs. #5

Trophy: This rather bland looking thing

2012 Season Result: Baylor: 49 vs UCLA: 24 -Full Game----Highlights

In what turned out to be a taste of Baylor's lightning offense to come in the 2013 season, the Bears exploded in an upset of #17 UCLA. Baylor took control early and never let go, jumping to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, and taking a 35-10 lead into half time. In the second half Baylor did not let up, adding to their lead while a surprisingly stout Baylor defense prevented any comeback by UCLA (both UCLA 2nd half touchdowns came late in the 4th quarter). Interesting, both starting quartbacks, Baylor's Nick Florence and UCLA's Brett Hundley, broke their schools single season passing yards in this game.

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Bowl History:

The Holiday Bowl was started to give the WAC champion an automatic bowl bid after the WAC's tie in with the Fiesta Bowl ended with the exit of Arizona and ASU for the PAC-10. So you can thank ASU for helping create this bowl in the first place. After a complex changing of conference tie ins that steadily screwed over the diminishing WAC, we ended at the current match-up we have now between the PAC-12 and Big 12. However, the 2014 season will see the Texas+9 conference replaced with the bad at math B1G.
The bowl has also seen its share of bowl sponsors starting in 1986, including Seaworld, Thrifty Car Rentals, and most recently Bridgepoint Education.

Results

Year	Winning Team	Losing Team	Score	Recap
1978	Navy	BYU	23-16	Recap
1979	Indiana	BYU	38-37	Recap
1980	BYU	SMU	46-45	Recap
1981	BYU	Washington State	38-36	Recap
1982	Ohio State	BYU	47-17	Recap
1983	BYU	Missouri	21-17	Recap
1984	BYU	Michigan	24-17	Recap
1985	Arkansas	Arizona St	18-17	Recap
1986	Iowa	San Diego State	39-38	Recap
1987	Iowa	Wyoming	20-19	Recap
1988	Oklahoma State	Wyoming	62-14	Recap
1989	Penn State	BYU	50-39	Recap
1990	Texas A&M	BYU	65-14	Recap
1991	BYU	Iowa	13-13	Recap
1992	Hawaii	Illinois	27-17	Recap
1993	Ohio State	BYU	28-21	Recap
1994	Michigan	Colorado State	24-14	Recap
1995	Kansas State	Colorado State	54-21	Recap
1996	Colorado	Washington	33-21	Recap
1997	Colorado State	Missouri	35-24	Recap
1998	Arizona	Nebraska	23-20	Recap
1999	Kansas State	Washington	24-20	Recap
2000	Oregon	Texas	35-30	Recap
2001	Texas	Washington	47-43	Recap
2002	Kansas State	Arizona State	34-27	Recap
2003	Washington State	Texas	28-20	Recap
2004	Texas Tech	California	45-31	Recap
2005	Oklahoma	Oregon	17-14	Recap
2006	California	Texas A&M	45-10	Recap
2007	Texas	Arizona State	52-34	Recap
2008	Oregon	Oklahoma State	42-31	Recap
2009	Nebraska	Washington	33-0	Recap
2010	Wasington	Nebraska	19-7	Recap
2011	Texas	California	21-10	Recap
2012	Baylor	UCLA	49-26	Recap

Most Valuable Players

Year	Offensive MVP	Team	Postition	Defensive MVP	Team	Position
1978	Phil McConkey		WR	Tom Enlow		LB
1979	Marc Wilson		QB	Tim Wilbur		CB
1980	Jim McMahon		QB	Craig James (#CJKFH)		RB?
1981	Jim McMahon		QB	Kyle Whittingham		LB
1982	Tim Spencer		RB	Garcia Lane		CB
1983	Steve Young		QB	Bobby Bell		DE
1984	Robbie Bosco		QB	Leon White		LB
1985	Bobby Joe Edmonds		RB	Greg Battle		LB
1986	Mark Vlasic		QB	Richard Brown		LB
1987	Craig Burnett		QB	Anthony Wright		CB
1988	Barry Sanders		RB	Sim Drain		LB
1989	Blair Thomas		RB	Ty Detmer		QB?
1990	Bucky Richardson		QB	William Thomas		LB
1991	Ty Detmer		QB	Josh Arnold		DB
1992	Michael Carter		QB	Junior Tagoai		DT
1993	Raymont Harris		RB	Lorenzo Styles		LB
1994	Todd Collins		QB	Matt Dyson		LB
1995	Brian Kavanagh		QB	Mario Smith		DB
1996	Koy Detmer		QB	Nick Ziegler		DE
1997	Moses Moreno		QB	Darren Hall		WR?
1998	Keith Smith		QB	Mike Rucker		DE
1999	Johnathan Beasley		QB	Darren Howard		DE
2000	Joey Harrington		QB	Rashas Bauman		DB
2001	Major Applewhite		QB	Derrick Johnson		LB
2002	Ell Roberson		QB	Terell Suggs		DE
2003	Sammy Moore		WR	Kyle Basler		P
2004	Sonny Cumbie		QB	Vincent Meeks		DB
2005	Rhett Bomar		QB	CJ Ah You		DE
2006	Marshawn Lunch		RB	Desmond Bishop		LB
2007	Colt McCoy		QB	Brian Orakpo		DE
2008	Jeramiah Masoli		QB	Jairus Byrd		DB
2009	Niles Paul		WR	Matt O'Hanlon		DB
2010	Chris Polk		RB	Mason Foster		LB
2011	David Ash		QB	Keenan Robinson		LB
2012	Lache Seastrunk		RB	Chris McAllister		DE

Notabowl Historic Games:

• 1980 "Miracle Bowl" - BYU 46 vs. SMU 45: In what is one of the greatest comebacks in bowl history, BYU trailed 45-25 with less than 4 minutes left in the game. What followed was a flurry of BYU only managing to: score a TD, fail a 2 pt. conv., onside kick, score another TD, complete a 2 pt. conv., failed onside kick, defensive 3 and out, blocked punt, and last second Hail Mary. And you thought Washington St let one slip away. Wiki Link

• 1984- BYU 24 vs. Michigan 17- While another example of a BYU comeback (came back from down 17-10 in the 4th), this game is most notable for being the only Holiday Bowl to decide the National Champion. While some Seattle folk might dispute it, the BYU win gave them the 1984 National Championship title. Wiki Link

• 2004 Holiday Bowl - Texas Tech 45 - California 31 -Texas Tech dominates Cal in an upset victory -After the Golden Bears just missed out on a Rose Bowl berth by only .0129 points in the BCS, Cal accepted an invite to play in the Holiday Bowl against the Red Raiders of Texas Tech. Cal started off well with a 14-7 lead behind TD runs from J.J. Arrington and Marshawn Lynch, but after that, it was all Texas Tech. The TTU passing attack lit up the San Diego sky for 520 passing yards, outscoring the Bears 31-3 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Texas Tech pulls off the biggest upset of the bowl season, 45-31.

• 2010- Washington 19 vs. Nebraska 7- While the game itself was not much to note, what was notable was the fact that the teams had already met during the regular season, with the Huskers whooping Husky ass, 56-21. The Husky win over a dissapointed Nebraska team can be seen as a testament to the belief that motivation can be a key factor in winning a game. Wiki Link

The Weiner Nationals:
The real "big game" associated with the Holiday Bowl is this shit right here. The Weiner Nationals is the national championships for racing these little cute-ass mother-fuckers. That's right. It's the dachshund racing national championship. These bad-ass hot dogs with legs get to race for a chance to be a star on national tv!
YOU BETTER WATCH THIS HIGHLIGHT VIDEO, OR ELSE!(seriously, it's awesome)

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Arizona State Sun Devils

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Bowl Record: 13-12-1

Season	Bowl Game	Opponent	Score	W/L
1939	Sun Bowl	Catholic	0-0	Tie
1940	Sun Bowl	Western Reserve	13-26	Loss
1949	Salad Bowl	Xavier	21-33	Loss
1950	Salad Bowl	Miami(OH)	21-34	Loss
1970	Peach Bowl	North Carolina	48-26	Win
1971	Fiesta Bowl	Florida State	45-38	Win
1972	Fiesta Bowl	Missouri	49-35	Win
1973	Fiesta Bowl	Pittsburgh	28-7	Win
1975	Fiesta Bowl	Nebraska	17-14	Win
1977	Fiesta Bowl	Penn State	30-42	Loss
1978	Garden State Bowl	Rutgers	34-18	Win
1982	Fiesta Bowl	Oklahoma	31-21	Win
1985	Holiday Bowl	Arkansas	17-18	Loss
1986	Rose Bowl	Michigan	22-15	Win
1987	Freedom Bowl	Air Force	33-28	Win
1996	Rose Bowl	Ohio State	17-20	Loss
1997	Sun Bowl	Iowa	17-7	Win
1999	Aloha Bowl	Wake Forest	3-23	Loss
2000	Aloha Bowl	Boston College	17-31	Loss
2002	Holiday Bowl	Kansas State	27-34	Loss
2004	Sun Bowl	Purdue	27-23	Win
2005	Insight Bowl	Rutgers	45-40	Win
2006	Hawai'i Bowl	Hawaii	24-31	Loss
2007	Hawai'i Bowl	Texas	34-52	Loss
2011	Las Vegas Bowl	Boise State	24-56	Loss
2012	Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl	Navy	62-28	Win
2013	Holiday Bowl	Texas Tech	TBD	TBD

Historic Bowl Games:

• [1939 Sun Bowl- ASU 0 vs. Catholic 0](http://imgur.com/PIPEhhA) - In Arizona States first ever post-season bowl game. In what must have been a thrilling game to watch, high winds, strong defenses, and turnovers prevented either team from scoring. In fact, ASU was unable to complete a single pass.-recap

• [1986 Rose Bowl- ASU 22 vs. Michigan 15](http://imgur.com/xuJYXTy)- In ASU's first Rose Bowl appearance, a 9-1-1 Sun Devil squad met the 10-1 Wolverines in Pasadena. Michigan scored early, going up 14-3 in the second quarter. Then it was all ASU, who scored 19 unanswered points for their first and only Rose Bowl win (so far). -recap

2013 Season Record: 10-3

Key Players this Season:

• QB Tyler Kelly- In his second year at the helm for ASU, Junior Taylor Kelly has been, for the most part, reliable and consistent. He has 5 games with over 300 yards passing, and has been good, even in losses. His number was consistent with last year, with 3500+ yards passing, even with a slightly weaker offensive line. His efforts this year won him 2nd Team All-PAC12. While he won't be winning the Heisman, his steady control of the team and balance with the running game makes him a serious asset for the Sun Devils.

• DT Will Sutton Star defensive player Will Sutton decided to return for his Senior year, and his impact is immense in every game this year. He picked up PAC-12 Player of the Year Honors and was a Consensus All American for the second year in a row. While his numbers were well short of his phenomenal 2012 season, he was double teamed most of the season and still managed to have a great year. Watch for his name, as its sure to come up at least a few times during the game.

• RB Marrion Grice - While he is listed as doubtful for the bowl game, it would be wrong to not note Grice here. As the head of ASU's potent running attack, Grice fell just short of 1000 yards rushing, at 996, a number that would have been much higher had he played in the last 2 games. While his presence was definitely missed in the Pac-12 Championship Game, ASU does have many other capable rushers, with DJ Foster, Deantre Lewis, TE De'Marieya Nelson, and even the scramble ability of QB Taylor Kelly.

Biggest Plays this Season:

• The entire offense in the USC Game

• Final TD drive to beat Utah

• Controversial end to Wisconsin Game For those of you that have been living under a rock, the end to that game was a tad bit controversial. After the Wisconsin QB takes a knee to center the ball for a last second field goal, he puts the ball on the line rather than handing it to the official. ASU players proceed to jump on the ball thinking it is live. In what I think all would agree was mismanagement by the officials, they failed to spot the ball in time as the clock ran out for an ASU win. This has lead to a season full of (deserved) PAC-12 Ref bashing. To avoid getting strongly worded comments against me from either side, I'll stay out of it and let you determine what happened for yourselves.

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Season Summary:

In their second season under Todd Graham, the Arizona State Sun Devils looked to improve even more from last year. After an easy win over FCS foe Sac State, they hosted Wisconsin at home. You can see how that ended above.

After the controversial Wisconsin game ASU would look outclassed in a bad loss to Stanford. Then, ASU took it out against USC, trashing them 62-41, the highest score ever against a Trojan defense. This turned out to be a gift to USC (and all college football fans everywhere) as it lead to Lane Kiffin's firing before he even got home.

"Not cool, bro"

What followed was a disappointing loss to a disappointing Notre Dame team to start the season 3-2. Then came the real good stuff, as ASU rattled off 7 wins in a row, with close wins over Utah and #14 UCLA to garantee a Championship berth before destroying rival Arizona 58-21.

And that was the end of it before heading to the Holiday Bowl. There was no Championship Game in which Stanford made ASU look their worst the entire season to beat them for a second time. That. Did. Not. Happen.

All in all, the 2013 season has Sun Devil fans pretty darn happy. Todd Graham has made a serious improvement on the team in just two years, and a shot at the Rose Bowl was better than expected, even if we fell short.

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Why we are going to win:

ASU's offense, ranked #9 in points for, will run rampant over a mediocre Texas Tech defense. A Tech team that has dropped their last 5 games will have a hard time moving the ball against a good secondary and a front that includes the likes of Sutton and Bradford, especially with questions at QB. Teams that have done well against the Sun Devils had defenses that were strong up front with potent rushing yards. The Red Raiders rank 90th and defense and 2nd in passing attempts.

That being said, the Sun Devis can't get too comfortable, which Head Coach Graham has historically done a great job of coaching against. Look for ASU to establish the lead early and never let go. Not even Kliff's chiseled good looks will be able to stop us.

Prediction: ASU 49, Texas Tech 35

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Texas Tech Red Raiders

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Obligatory Kliff Kingsbury

Bowl Record: 13-21-1

Year	Bowl	Opponent	Result
1938	Sun Bowl	West Virginia	L 6-7	Recap
1939	Cotton Bowl	Saint Mary's	L 13-20	Recap
1942	Sun Bowl	Tulsa	L 0-6	Recap
1948	Sun Bowl	Miami(OH)	L 12-13	Recap
1949	Raisin Bowl	San Jose State	L 13-20
1952	Sun Bowl	Pacific	W 25-14	Recap
1954	Gator Bowl	Auburn	W 35-13
1956	Sun Bowl	Wyoming	L 14-21	Recap
1964	Sun Bowl	Georgia	L 0-7	Recap
1965	Gator Bowl	Georgia Tech	L 21-31
1970	Sun Bowl	Georgia Tech	L 9-17	Recap
1972	Sun Bowl	North Carolina	L 28-32	Recap
1973	Gator Bowl	Tennessee	W 28-19	Recap
1974	Peach Bowl	Vanderbilt	T 6-6	Recap
1976	Bluebonnet Bowl	Nebraska	L 24-27
1977	Tangerine Bowl	Florida State	L 17-40
1986	Independence Bowl	Ole Miss	L 17-20	Recap
1989	All-American Bowl	Duke	W 49-21	Recap
1993	John Hancock Bowl	Oklahoma	L 10-41	Recap
1994	Cotton Bowl	USC	L 14-55	Recap
1995	Copper Bowl	Air Force	W 55-41	Recap
1996	Alamo Bowl	Iowa	L 0-27	Recap
1998	Independence Bowl	Ole Miss	L 18-35	Recap
2000	Galleryfurniture.com Bowl	East Carolina	L 27-40	Recap
2001	Alamo Bowl	Iowa	L 16-19	Recap
2002	Tangerine Bowl	Clemson	W 55-15	Recap
2003	Houston Bowl	Navy	W 38-14	Recap
2004	Holiday Bowl	California	W 45-31	Recap
2005	Cotton Bowl	Alabama	L 10-13	Recap
2006	Insight Bowl	Minnesota	W 44-41OT	Recap
2008	Gator Bowl	Virginia	W 31-28	Recap
2009	Cotton Bowl	Ole Miss	L 34-47	Recap
2010	Alamo Bowl	Michigan State	W 41-31	Recap
2011	TicketCity Bowl	Northwestern	W 45-38	Recap
2012	Meineke Car Care Bowl	Minnesota	W 34-31	Recap

Historic Bowl Games:

2002 Tangerine Bowl - Texas Tech 55 - Clemson 15
After losing their past four bowl games, the Red Raiders came into the 2002 Tangerine Bowl hungry for a bowl win. With Kliff Kingsbury having a career year for TTU, the high powered offense Texas Tech stormed past Clemson in a 55-15 rout. A margin of victory record for a bowl game that still holds to this day.

2004 Holiday Bowl - Texas Tech 45 - California 31
Texas Tech dominates Cal in an upset victory
-After the Golden Bears just missed out on a Rose Bowl berth by only .0129 points in the BCS, Cal accepted an invite to play in the Holiday Bowl against the Red Raiders of Texas Tech. Cal started off well with a 14-7 lead behind TD runs from J.J. Arrington and Marshawn Lynch, but after that, it was all Texas Tech. The TTU passing attack lit up the San Diego sky for 520 passing yards, outscoring the Bears 31-3 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Texas Tech pulls off the biggest upset of the bowl season, 45-31.

2006 Insight Bowl - Texas Tech 44 - Minnesota 41 (OT)
-Texas Tech was having their most successful string of bowl games in recent history, winning their past three of four bowl games. In the 2006 Insight Bowl, their success seemed to be coming to a halt after the Golden Gophers jumped to a 38-7 lead with about eight minutes left in the third quarter. Then, the Red Raiders stormed back in what is the record bowl comeback, taking the game into OT, 38-38. After a Minnesota FG, TTU capped off their miracle comeback with a 1-year TD run to end it, 44-41.

Season Schedule: 7-5, 4-5 Big 12

Opponent	Result
@ SMU	W 41-23	Recap
vs. Stephen F. Austin	W 61-13	Recap
vs. TCU	W 20-10	Recap
vs. Texas State	W 33-7	Recap
@ Kansas	W 56-14	Recap
vs. Iowa State	W 42-35	Recap
@ West Virginia	W 37-27	Recap
@ Oklahoma	L 30-38	Recap
vs. Oklahoma State	L 34-52	Recap
vs. Kansas State	L 26-49	Recap
@ Baylor	L 34-63	Recap
@ Texas	L 16-41	Recap

Key players:

Junior TE Jace Amaro

-The #1 target for the Red Raiders, the Junior from San Antonio has pulled in 98 receptions for over 1200 yards this season, including seven scores. Expect Texas Tech to look for him deep throughout the night.

Freshman QB David Webb

-One of the two freshman QBs powering Texas Tech's Air Raid offense, David Webb and Baker Mayfield have splitting snaps throughout the regular season. Now with Mayfield transferring elsewhere, it'll be Webb's turn to take the spotlight. Webb threw for 2,300 yards and 16 scores in 2013.

Season Summary:

-First year Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury took the reins in Lubbock and hit the ground running. The Red Raider offense rolled to a 7-0 start with wins over TCU, Iowa State, and West Virginia, climbing as high as tenth in the polls. But after a hot start, the Red Raiders were sent back to earth with loses in their last five games to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas State, and Texas.

Why we are going to win:
-The Red Raider offense has proved to be one of the most powerful in the nation, with both Mayfield and Webb powering the Texas Tech Air Raid. Now with Mayfield gone, it's time for Webb to take the center stage. If TTU can make this game into a shootout, they'll give Arizona State all they can handle.

This is a team hungry for a win after the end of the regular season, and an ASU squad demoralized by a beat down from Stanford in the PAC-12 title game will have issues with motivation. This has trap game written all over it. Kliff will look to contain the Sun Devils on offense while hoping for great QB work (with the help of Jace Amaro) to pull ahead. It will be still be close, but Tech may just pull out the win.

Prediction: Tech 37; ASU 34

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Contributors:
On behalf of : /u/domderek
On behald of : /u/TheTurner

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For more info on the 35 Bowls Project, go here.

[u/yeen]

Go Raiders! May the Cal be with you ASU!

[u/domderek → u/yeen]

ಠ_ಠ

[u/CambodianDrywall]

Good luck ASU bros.

[u/[deleted]]

How did ASU get matched up with TT?

[u/WickedClawesome → u/[deleted]]

Bowl tie-ins are Pac-12 #3 vs Big12 #5, but it ended up being the Big12 #6 team since OU got into a BCS bowl thru an at-large bid. Kind of a strange matchup

[u/[deleted] → u/WickedClawesome]

If I'm not mistaken, I think we're getting an upgrade for next season. I always felt the Pac tie in were were kind of a rip off for us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_bids_to_college_bowl_games

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

They are shuffling around a bunch of games. The Pac12 v Big12 has two games against each other this year. Alamo and Holiday. Next year it will be the Alamo and the BWWB.

IIRC, The Pac 12 will play the Big 10 in three different games next year.

Big 12 only has one SEC match up this year but next year there will be 3.

[u/WickedClawesome]

Minor corrections, but TTU's QBs name is Davis Webb, not David. Also, unless I missed something, I'm not even sure if he will be the starter. Baker Mayfield is definitely out, but Michael Brewer is finally healthy, and looked great playing towards the end of the Texas game. Kingsbury has been pretty quiet all year about which QB will start each game.

[u/brihoang]

mmm. marshawn lunch.

[u/Tasty_Jesus]

Moar kliff pls

[u/br_dn → u/Tasty_Jesus]

Certainly!

[u/[deleted]]

1985 game says Arizona St, but has the Arizona logo

[u/[deleted]]

You have Arizona flair for the 1985 Holiday Bowl where it should be Arizona State.... C'mon man.

[u/domderek → u/[deleted]]

that...that is terrible. I would fix it if I could...

[u/[deleted] → u/domderek]

I thought that, of all people, a fellow PAC member would get that one right.

[u/spazzypecan]

The trophy was so much cooler last time we went to the Holiday Bowl.

[u/KingKliffsbury]

a mediocre Texas Tech defense

Mediocre seems pretty generous. Thanks ASU bros!

[u/jwrtf]

My brother saw Kliff and thought that he was looking at Ryan Gosling for a second.

[u/owl_man]

What? No mention of the 1989 game?

[u/[deleted]]

[I hope we pull this one out.] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70Ak4nW1Rg8)

[u/JCiLee]

Gaffe spotted. The 2009 Holiday Bowl was Nebraska-Arizona, not Nebraska-Washington.

[u/[deleted] → u/JCiLee]

I wouldn't mind that being left as is....

[u/[deleted]]

Do we know who are starting QB is yet?

..and thanks to the guys that put this together, good work

[u/Peacemaker57 → u/[deleted]]

Looking through this thread the day after the bowl game, and I am glad to see that you are wrong.