The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Arizona State
No. 17 Texas defeats No. 12 Arizona State in Holiday Bowl, 52-34
12.27.2007 | Football
Dec. 27, 2007
Box score | Notes | Quotes
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Now this was a Holiday Bowl to remember.
Colt McCoy led the way Thursday night as the No. 17 Longhorns beat the mistake-prone and 12th ranked Arizona State Sun Devils 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 ASU 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.
Texas' Mack Brown and ASU's Dennis Erickson have been friends for years, but had never coached against each other. Erickson won two national championships at Miami and Brown coached Texas to the national title two years ago.
ASU committed five turnovers, with Carpenter throwing two interceptions before leaving the game in the fourth quarter.
Texas cornerback Brandon Foster had a monster game, with two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a tipped pass that was picked off by teammate Marcus Griffin.
McCoy was 21-of-31 passing for 174 yards, and carried 16 times for 84 yards.
The Longhorns raced to a 21-0 first-quarter lead, including the fastest score in Holiday Bowl history. McCoy threw a 2-yard TD pass to Derek Lokey just 1:21 in. John Chiles scored on a 4-yard run, and Charles had a 15-yard scoring run.
After ASU's score following the bizarre play, McCoy added a 9-yard TD run.
It looked like he was going to score again in the third quarter when he went zigzagging through ASU's defense. But he fumbled as he was tackled at the 3 and the ball rolled into the end zone. Finley was the third player into the pile and ended up with the ball and the TD.
Vondrell McGee scored on a 28-yard run for Texas in the fourth quarter, and Charles added a 32-yard score.
Carpenter had a horrible night, going 18-of-32 for 187 yards. He was sacked four times.
