Holiday Bowl
Texas Overcomes Blunders, Pulls Away From Sun Devils
Texas 52, Arizona State 34
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Friday, December 28, 2007
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 27 -- Now this was a Holiday Bowl to remember.
Texas Coach Mack Brown's stepson sure won't forget it, after he reached out to touch a live ball and drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that took away a big turnover.
Colt McCoy won't either, because how often does a quarterback fumble four times and lead his team to a win?
McCoy led the way Thursday night as the No. 17 Longhorns beat mistake-prone and 12th-ranked Arizona State, 52-34, in the first game between the schools and their successful coaches.
McCoy threw for a touchdown, ran for another and fumbled into the end zone at the end of a 30-yard run, with tight end Jermichael Finley recovering for a score. The Longhorns recovered two other fumbles by McCoy, with Arizona State getting one. Jamaal Charles carried 27 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns for the Longhorns (10-3).
The 86 points were the fourth-most in the Holiday Bowl's 30-year history.
The wackiest play, though, in a bowl that's had plenty of crazy ones over the years, belonged to Texas's Chris Jessie, a member of his stepfather's football operations staff.
With the Longhorns leading 21-0 and the Sun Devils (10-3) driving early in the second quarter, Arizona State's Rudy Carpenter was sacked by linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy and the ball went squirting toward the Longhorns' sideline.
Jessie stepped about a yard onto the field and was motioning toward a player when he reached down and appeared to touch the ball. Texas defensive tackle Roy Miller slapped the ball away from the sideline and defensive end Aaron Lewis recovered around midfield.
After review, officials reversed the play, ruling that Jessie touched the ball, which is an unsportsmanlike act. Texas was penalized half the distance to the goal, and Carpenter then threw a touchdown pass to Chris McGaha on a fourth-and-three play from the 7.
"I saw the ball coming, I thought it was a forward pass," Jessie said. "It was just natural instinct."
The gaffe didn't end up costing the Longhorns, other than some embarrassment.
"I didn't touch it, I didn't touch it," Jessie said. "The focus shouldn't be on me. That was a great game."
