Red Raiders make it woes bowl for Cal

SAN DIEGO - That Rose Bowl-sized chip on Cal's shoulder wouldn't last long in the fireplace now. Might burn up in, oh, about two minutes.

That's how long it took Texas Tech to drain the life out of Cal's misplaced anger. No. 23 Tech (8-4), an afterthought to most in the 27th Holiday Bowl, stunned respect-starved No. 4 Cal (10-2) with a 45-31 upset in front of 63,711 fans at Qualcomm Stadium.

Tech scored two third-quarter touchdowns, the first coming two minutes into the second half, to take a 38-17 lead. Cal, perturbed since Dec. 5 at being passed over by Texas for a BCS berth in the Rose Bowl, drowned in its own silly penalties, one-dimensional offense and porous defense.

For Tech's offense and defense, the ante was higher than in two previous bowl victories. Cal was by far more highly regarded, and Tech would need something approaching perfection on both sides.

That didn't happen, but Tech was otherwise so solid for most of four quarters that it was enough to pull the Raiders' biggest bowl upset in team history. Tech's previously highest-ranked opponent in a bowl was No. 9 Nebraska in the 1976 Bluebonnet, a 27-24 Cornhuskers victory.

At 13:01 in the third quarter, Tech steered toward inevitable victory when quarterback Sonny Cumbie (39-of-60 for 520 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions) found receiver Joel Filani in stride for a 60-yard touchdown and 31-14 lead. The score followed Cumbie passes for 11 and 23 yards, as Cal defenders kept playing Tech receivers a little too close most of the night.

"If it wasn't for coach [Mike] Leach, I wouldn't even be here," said Cumbie, who was chosen offensive MVP of the game. "I especially want to thank him for the opportunity he gave me. I'm on the best team in the country and I love everyone of them."

Cal eventually allowed a back-breaking Tech possession, one in which the Golden Bears were called for roughing the passer and a face mask. Tech's Johnnie Mack rumbled for the drive's last 11 yards and a 38-17 lead. Tech fan chants of "overrated" rained down after the Raiders tacked on a fourth-quarter touchdown for a 45-24 lead.

In the first half, Tech looked like a team rising out of the weeds, ready to pounce on an emotionally fragile Cal team. The Raiders led 24-14 at halftime and held the Golden Bears scoreless for the half's final 15:29. The damage to Cal could have been more, but Filani inexplicably fumbled the ball while running downfield after a catch with the secondary trailing him.

With Tech leading 17-14, Filani had hauled in a long pass from the Raiders' 10-yard line. A mad scramble for the recovery, which finally went to Cal's Harrison Smith, ended at the Cal 27.

Lucky for Filani, Tech's defense forced a three-and-out, capped by Keyunta Dawson's sack of Cal's Aaron Rodgers. Trey Haverty then burned Cal's Francis Blay-Miezah down the right side. Cody Fuller (16-yard catch) and Taurean Henderson (15-yard run) moved Tech to the Cal 9 before Henderson took handoffs on two of the last three plays.

His 2-yard run gave Tech a 24-14 lead with 2:53 to play. Tech's defense then forced the fifth Cal punt of the half, but Tech couldn't move the ball downfield in 43 seconds for a tack-on field goal.

Tech had 351 yards in 43 plays at halftime to Cal's 219 in 40. Cumbie put Tech ahead 7-0 in the first quarter, getting a knee-high pass to Jarrett Hicks from 10 yards to cap a drive helped along by a pass-interference call on Cal.

Tech cornerbacks Khalid Naziruddin and Antonio Huffman and safety Vincent Meeks, chosen the defensive MVP, had an active first half. All three batted away long passes by Rodgers that would have gone for touchdowns. Meeks returned a second-quarter interception tipped to him 48 yards to set up Hicks' second touchdown grab for a 17-14 Tech lead.

Both of Cal's first-half touchdowns came on J.J. Arrington runs in the first quarter for a 14-7 Golden Bears lead.

IN THE KNOW

BREAKDOWN

Why Texas Tech won: Save for a stretch in the second half, Cal had no answers for Tech's spread offense. Tech's defense made impact plays all night.

Why Cal lost: The Golden Bears were a penalty machine, particularly of the careless variety. Tech drives stayed alive with Cal penalties, and the Bears' passing game was hardly a factor.

Notable

• Tech sophomore Jarrett Hicks' two first-half scores set a team record for receiving touchdowns in a season with 13, passing Lloyd Hill (12 in 1992) and Mickey Peters (12 in 2003).

• Tech finished with eight or more victories for the third consecutive season for the first time in school history. Tech's 25 victories in three seasons is its best three-year stretch ever.

• Former Grace Prep running back Justin Forsett, a Cal true freshman and the team's only Texan, returned one kickoff for 11 yards.

TEXAS TECH 45, CALIFORNIA 31

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Senioritis

Texas Tech senior quarterbacks in the Red Raiders' past three bowl games have teed off on opposing defenses in three consecutive victories. A look at each QB's game: