Fiesta Bowl
official home of the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Insight Bowl and Festival of College Football
Sponsors
Game History
Back to Game List15th ANNUAL INSIGHT BOWL
|
Attendance: 42,364 Stadium: Chase Field Offensive Player of the Game: Aaron Rodgers, California Defensive Player of the Game: Ryan Gutierrez, California Sportsmanship Award: Doug Easlick, Virginia Tech Head Coaches: Jeff Tedford, California Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech Weather: Roof Closed (Clear outside) Television: ESPN Payout Per Team: $750,000 |
 |
Whoever said “it’s never over until it’s over, must have had a front row seat at the 15th Annual Insight Bowl.
California kicker Tyler Fredrickson nailed a 35-yard field goal as time expired to give the Golden Bears a 52-49 win over Virginia Tech in one of the wildest bowl games ever played.
Virginia Tech’s Bryan Randall and Cal’s Aaron Rodgers both flirted with 400 yards passing in an aerial duel that saw both teams rally from 14-point deficits. Randall was 24-for-34 for 398 yards and four touchdown passes, while Rodgers was 27-for-35 for 394 yards and two touchdowns.
The Golden Bears, making their first bowl appearance since 1996, scored six consecutive touchdowns after falling behind 21-7 in the first quarter to take a 49-35 lead.
The Hokies came back, though, to pull within seven points on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Bryan Randall to Chris Shreve and tie the game on a spectacular 52-yard punt return by DeAngelo Hall with 3:11 remaining.
Rodgers, who was named offensive player of the game, calmly led Cal down the field for the winning field goal by Fredrickson as the Golden Bears’ bench emptied in exhilaration.
The two teams played to near perfection throughout the game with 1,081 yards of total offense, no turnovers and only 10 penalties combined. The 101 total points scored set an Insight Bowl record, surpassing the 96 between Texas Tech (55) and Air Force (41) in 1995.
California took the opening kickoff and went 79 yards in nine plays with Rodgers sneaking over from the 1 for an early 7-0 lead. The Hokies answered with three consecutive touchdowns all by Randall – one on the ground and two through the air.
Kevin Jones had 153 yards rushing on 16 carries and a touchdown in his final game for Virginia Tech. He added four receptions for 25 yards.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
California
7
14
21
10
-
52
Virginia Tech
21
7
0
21
-
49
YARDSTICK
CAL
VT
27
First Downs
27
41-136
Rushes-Yards
26-153
394
Passing Yards
398
27-35-0
Passes
24-36-0
85
Return Yards
209
4-39.8
Punts
2-41.0
1-0
Fumbles-Lost
0-0
4-25
Penalties-Yards
6-40
HOW THEY SCORED
CAL
VT
7
0
Aaron Rodgers 1-yard run (Tyler Fredrickson kick)
7
7
Bryan Randall 2-yard run (Carter Warley kick)
7
14
Keith Willis 3-yard pass from Bryan Randall (Carter Warley kick)
7
21
Marcus Vick 36-yard pass from Bryan Randall (Carter Warley kick)
14
21
Chase Lyman 33-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Tyler Fredrickson kick)
14
28
Kevin Jones 11-yard run (Carter Warley kick)
21
28
J.J. Arrington 13-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Tyler Fredrickson kick)
28
28
Chris Manderino 3-yard run (Tyler Fredrickson kick)
35
28
Adimchinobe Echemandu 9-yard run (Tyler Fredrickson kick)
42
28
Aaron Rodgers 8-yard run (Tyler Fredrickson kick)
42
35
Keith Willis 22-yard pass from Bryan Randall (Brandon Pace kick)
49
35
Vincent Strang 13-yard run (Tyler Fredrickson kick)
49
42
Chris Shreve 28-yard pass from Bryan Randall (Brandon Pace kick)
49
49
DeAngelo Hall 52-yard punt return (Carter Warley kick)
52
49
Tyler Fredrickson 35-yard field goal
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – CALIFORNIA: J.J. Arrington 11-37, Adimchinobe Echemandu 13-34, Aaron Rodgers 10-30, Vincent Strang 4-24, Chris Manderino 3-11. VIRGINIA TECH: Kevin Jones 16-153, Marcus Vick 3-5, Cedric Humes 1-3, Bryan Randall 6-(-8).
PASSING – CALIFORNIA: Aaron Rodgers 27-35-0-394. VIRGINIA TECH: Bryan Randall 24-34-0-398, Marcus Vick 0-1-0-0, Richard Johnson 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING – CALIFORNIA: Burl Toler 6-84, Chase Lyman 5-149, J.J. Arrington 5-38, Brandon Hall 3-62, Adimchinobe Echemandu 3-28, Chris Manderino 3-23, John Rust 1-7, David Gray 1-3. VIRGINIA TECH: Ernest Wilford 8-110, Marcus Vick 4-82, Kevin Jones 4-25, Chris Shreve 3-93, Richard Johnson 2-55, Keith Willis 2-25, Mike Imoh 1-8.
Got a Question?
