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| Texas Tech's Trey Haverty , left,
holds on to the ball for a 35 yard completion as
California's Matt Giordano tries to defend in
the second quarter of the Holiday Bowl Thursday
Dec. 30, 2004 in San Diego.
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SAN DIEGO — One might say Texas Tech
battled against a team, city and state on Thursday
night.
With most of the 63,711 in attendance donning
the blue and gold colors of California, the Red
Raiders recorded a historic victory over the
fourth-ranked Golden Bears that had Tech fans
chanting "overrated, overrated" as their team
drove for its final score in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders, 111/2-point underdogs, picked
apart the California secondary and limited the
explosive Bears offense in recording a 45-31
victory in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. The
shocking outcome came in front of the
second-largest crowd in Holiday Bowl history at
Qualcomm Stadium, which featured local, Cal and
military fans mostly cheering for the Bears.
After the teams met at the middle of the field as
the clock was winding down, Tech senior Mike Smith
grabbed a school flag and ran to the corner of the
end zone where many of the Red Raider fans were
sitting. He waved the flag back and forth as the
crowd erupted.
Tech free safety Vincent Meeks was named the
defensive most valuable player, while quarterback
Sonny Cumbie was honored as the offensive MVP
after setting a Holiday Bowl record with 60 pass
attempts. He also threw for a career-high 520
yards and three touchdowns.
"If it weren't for Coach (Mike) Leach I might
not be here," said Cumbie, a walk-on from Snyder.
"He gave me the opportunity to play, and I want to
thank him for that."
The Raiders won against the highest-ranked team
they've faced in a bowl game. California was the
highest-ranked team to lose to Tech since the
Raiders beat No. 3 Texas in Lubbock in 2002. The
victory also was Tech's best performance on the
road against a ranked opponent.
With the heavy military presence in the San
Diego area, and the history the Holiday Bowl
officials have of working with the soldiers and
sailors, it was no surprise that most of the
pre-game festivities involved the men and women of
the military.
After both school bands performed, the Leap
Frogs, a United States Navy Demonstration
Parachute Team of Navy SEALs, had seven jumpers
descend onto the field. The first few landed to
routine applause, but the crowd gave louder
ovations when a pair of jumpers landed
simultaneously, each carrying a school flag of
Tech and California. The final jumper landed
carrying the United States flag.
After the parachuting exhibition, 250 Marines
from Camp Pendleton stretched an enormous U.S.
flag from one goal line to the other as a local
men's ensemble sang the national anthem. The "Big
Flag" weighs 850 pounds and has been a Holiday
Bowl tradition.
As the anthem concluded, four F/A-18D Hornets
from the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar raced
above the stadium as fireworks exploded over the
scoreboard.
As should be expected, most of the stands were
colored in blue and gold in support of the Golden
Bears, whose Berkley campus is about nine hours
north of San Diego.
Tech, though, had a nice show of support as
several sections throughout the stadium were
draped in red and black.
The most visible cast of Tech fans was in the
northeast end zone, where some 12 sections in the
lower two levels were a sea of red and black.
Those fans were seated behind the Tech band.
The Raiders also had scattered support in the
northwest end zone and in a few sections in the
upper deck.
jeff.walker@lubbockonline.com 766-8736
