Cal has better showing in S.D.

By Associated Press     Dec 29, 2006

California's marshawn lynch goes over the top of the Texas A&M defense to score a touchdown in the third quarter. Cal rocked Texas A&M, 45-10, in the Holiday Bowl on Thursday in San Diego.

? What a difference it made when California actually wanted to be in the Holiday Bowl.

Two years after a BCS snub led to an uninspired trip to San Diego, the No. 20 Golden Bears dominated the No. 21 Texas A&M Aggies 45-10 behind Marshawn Lynch, who ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

Nate Longshore threw for a touchdown and ran for another, and Lynch’s backup, Justin Forsett, ran for 124 yards and one score.

Plus, the Golden Bears’ defense showed a Big 12 team that the Pac-10 can be tough, too.

Cal (10-3) put an emphatic final touch to its second 10-win season in three years. The Golden Bears had lost to Arizona and Southern California in disheartening fashion before beating rival Stanford and then the Aggies (9-4).

In 2004, Cal was in position to end its long Rose Bowl drought but was leapfrogged in the final Bowl Championship Series standings by Texas. Although the fourth-ranked Golden Bears claimed not to be bothered by the snub, they couldn’t even hang with No. 23 Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl and were humiliated 45-31.

“There were a lot of things surrounding the Holiday Bowl last time,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “Obviously this was a different experience. Last time we were here we felt slighted by a computer ranking. This year we were where we deserved to play.”

The Golden Bears heard a lot of talk about how physical Big 12 teams are.

“We wanted to prove our brand of football and I think we showed ourselves well,” Tedford said. “I think we played pretty physical football in the Pac-10.”

Aggies coach Dennis Franchione agreed.

“Cal played a great game,” Franchione said. “We were not up to the task. They controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.”

Lynch, the Pac-10 offensive player of the year, scored on a two-yard run in the second quarter to give Cal a 14-7 lead. While Longshore lined up at wide receiver, Lynch was in the shotgun formation, took the snap and bulled into the end zone.

Lynch scored on a one-yard run in the third, leaping over the line and fumbling as he came down in the end zone. The Aggies recovered and referee John O’Neill signaled first down for Texas A&M, then said the play was being reviewed. Replay official Jim Augustyn ruled that Lynch had possession when he broke the plane of the end zone, making it 21-10 Cal.

While the Golden Bears moved up and down the field, their defense came up big, too.

Jorvorskie Lane, Texas A&M’s 274-pound tailback, wasn’t much of a factor after tying a 79-year-old school record with 19 rushing touchdowns this year. He was held to 36 yards and no touchdowns.

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