It will be a holiday in San Diego for the Cal Golden Bears and the Texas A&M Aggies, this year’s participants in the 29th annual Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. The nationally televised event kicks off Thursday, Dec. 28, at 5 p.m., with coverage on ESPN.
This year marks the Golden Bears’ second appearance in the Holiday Bowl, entering with an overall mark of 8-3, 6-2 in the Pac-10. In 2004, Cal ” feeling left out of the national championship picture ” played one of its more lackluster games, losing 45-31 to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. This will be Cal’s fourth straight bowl appearance, most recently defeating BYU 35-28 in the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl.
“The University of California is excited about partnering with our friends at the Holiday Bowl for another great post-season bowl experience for the entire Cal community,” said California Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour in a release. “San Diego is a great holiday destination, and as our student-athletes and staff know from experience, the Holiday Bowl really knows how to host a spectacular event.”
The Golden Bears are led by senior cornerback Daymeion Hughes, who leads the Pac-10 with eight interceptions.
On the offensive side of the field, junior running back Marshawn Lynch has rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the second straight year, while sophomore quarterback Nate Longshore has thrown for 21 touchdowns and more than 2,500 yards.
This will also be the Aggies’ second Holiday Bowl appearance. In 1990, they rolled past the BYU Cougars, 65-14. That 51-point victory margin remains a bowl record.
Texas A&M (9-3, 5-3) ended regular-season play with a big 12-7 win at arch-rival Texas. Texas A&M is currently ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press poll and No. 24 in the USA Today poll.
Texas A&M Director of Athletics Bill Byrne has been a part of the Holiday Bowl tradition once before.
“Texas A&M University is very excited about playing in the Holiday Bowl,” said Byrne in a release. “This is a great reward for the players who have worked so hard.”
Tickets to the game are $65 to $80 and can be purchased by visiting the bowl’s ticket office at Qualcomm Stadium, Gate A. Tickets can also be purchased through Ticketmaster at (619) 220-TIXS.