The 2005 Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl was the 14th edition of the annual

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

. It featured the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

and the

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the West ...

Game summary

Cal scored first on a 3-yard touchdown run by

Marshawn Lynch Marshawn Terrell Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "Beast Mode", he spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. Lync ...

to take a 7–0 lead with 11:56 left in the 1st quarter. He would finish the game with 194 yards rushing on 24 carries. Just 1 minute into the second quarter, BYU scored the equalizer, by a 19-yard touchdown pass from John Beck to Curtis Brown. Beck would finish the game 35 for 53 passing for 352 yards and 3 touchdowns. With 12 minutes left in the half, Marshawn Lynch found the end zone for the second time, scoring from 23 yards out. With 38 seconds left in the half,

Naufahu Tahi Naufahu Anitoni Tahi (born October 30, 1981) is a former American football fullback. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at BYU. Tahi has also been a member of the Minnesota Viki ...

punched it in from 3 yards out to help BYU tie the game at 14. It appeared as though the game would be tied at halftime, but Cal came back quickly. With just 3 seconds in the half, Steve Levy threw a 42-yard bomb to star receiver

DeSean Jackson DeSean William Jackson (born December 1, 1986) is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears, where he was recognized as a con ...

helping Cal take a 21–14 lead to intermission. In the third quarter, Marshawn Lynch scored on a long 35 yard touchdown run, as Cal increased its lead to 28–14 with 10:47 remaining in the third quarter. Cal appeared to blow the game wide open when Steve Levy and DeSean Jackson connected for the second time of the game, leading Cal to a 35–14 lead with only 4 minutes left in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, BYU made a bit of a comeback, as John Beck threw a 7-yard touchdown pass t
Jonny Harline
cutting the lead to 35–21. With 5:35 left in the game, Beck threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to

Todd Watkins Todd Watkins (born June 22, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football for Brigham Young University. He has also been a member ...

, making it just 35–28. However, Cal was able to maintain that lead and win their first ever Las Vegas Bowl crown.

References

External links

Review of game by USA Today
{{California Golden Bears bowl game navbox

Las Vegas Bowl The Las Vegas Bowl is an NCAA Division I FBS annual post-season college football bowl game held in the Las Vegas area. First played in 1992, the bowl was originally held at the 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada before moving to the ...

Las Vegas Bowl BYU Cougars football bowl games California Golden Bears football bowl games

December 2005 sports events in the United States 21st century in Las Vegas