2005–06 NCAA Football Bowl Games

The 2005–06 NCAA football bowl games were a series of 28 post-season games (including the Bowl Championship Series) that was played in December 2005 and January 2006 for Division I-A football teams and all-stars from Divisions I-AA, II, and III, as well as from the NAIA. The post-season began with the New Orleans Bowl on December 20, 2005, and concluded with the Senior Bowl, played on January 28, 2006.

For the second consecutive year, the 28 team-competitive bowl games were played by 56 teams with winning records, as no teams with non-winning seasons (6–6, or .500) were invited to participate in bowl games.

Schedule

Non-BCS bowls

With 64 teams having winning records, and 56 slots in bowl games, there were more teams than slots available for teams to get a bowl bid. Again, as in 2004, two conferences — the Pac 10 and the SEC — did not have enough teams to fill the required number of slots for their non-BCS bowls. A third conference — the Big Ten — had two teams in the BCS (Penn State as the conference champion, and Ohio State meeting Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl January 2). The biggest beneficiary this year was the ACC, which replaced the SEC at the Music City Bowl (Virginia) and the Pac-10 (Georgia Tech) at the Emerald Bowl; Conference USA also gained a slot, sending Memphis to the Motor City Bowl. Unlike last year, where a fighting incident during the game between Clemson and South Carolina led each team to impose a post-season ban, no school forfeited post-season play this year.

The eight teams with winning records that did not get bowl bids were Louisiana Tech (7–4) from the WAC, MAC teams Miami (Ohio) (7–4), Bowling Green (6–5), Western Michigan (7–4), NIU (7–5) and Central Michigan (6–5), Mountain West representative New Mexico (6–5) and the Sun Belt's Louisiana–Lafayette (6–5). Four teams made their Division I-A bowl debuts — Arkansas State (Sun Belt, New Orleans Bowl at Lafayette), South Florida (Big East, ), Central Florida (C-USA, ) and Akron (MAC, Motor City Bowl). Akron, notably, had been the only bowl-eligible team willing to accept an invitation to be left out of the 2004 bowl games. However, none of the teams benefitted from "beginner's luck", as each lost its game.

Participants in non-BCS bowls are selected on the basis of conference tie-ins. All bowl payouts are given in US dollars. All records shown are pre-bowl game.

New Orleans Bowl at Lafayette

*Southern Mississippi (6–5) 31, Arkansas State (6–5) 19
The New Orleans Bowl is usually one of two bowls that are played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Due to Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 game was played on December 20 in Lafayette, Louisiana at Cajun Field on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. C-USA's Southern Mississippi returned and defended their title as they defeated the Sun Belt Conference champion Arkansas State, 31–19. The Golden Eagles were led by quarterback Dustin Almond, who threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Cody Hull, who added 161 yards rushing and one touchdown on 37 carries. Special teams play helped the Indians to stay close, with kicker Eric Neihouse kicking a 44-yard field goal and two extra points, and with the team forcing a safety on an attempted Southern Miss punt.

GMAC Bowl

*Toledo (8–3) 45, UTEP (8–3) 13
The GMAC Bowl at Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama took place on December 21, 2005. Toledo, representing the Mid-American Conference, defeated C-USA's UTEP Miners 45–13. In his last game for the Rockets, quarterback Bruce Gradkowski threw for five touchdowns and 298 yards. Seven of the Miners' 13 points came off the leg of kicker Reagan Schneider, with Johnnie Lee Higgins' catching the only touchdown of the day for UTEP to account for the rest of the scoring.

Las Vegas Bowl

*California (7–4) 35, BYU (6–5) 28
The Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium, located about eight miles from the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Whitney, Nevada, was the first game of two to be played on December 22, 2005. In the first matchup of the bowl season to pit a BCS AQ conference team against a BCS non-AQ conference team, California, from the Pac-10, beat Mountain West representative BYU, 35–28. Golden Bears running back Marshawn Lynch, voted the game's most valuable player, ran for 194 yards and three touchdowns on just 24 carries, as California took a 35–14 lead into the fourth quarter before the Cougars recorded two late touchdowns off the arm of quarterback John Beck to make the final victory less decisive.

Emerald Bowl

*Utah (6–5) 38, Georgia Tech (7–4) 10
The Emerald Bowl at SBC Park (now known as AT&T Park), usually the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, California was played on December 29, 2005. The MWC's Utah, which last year became the first school from a BCS non-automatic qualifying conference to appear in a BCS bowl, jumped out to a 20–0 lead and played well throughout to defeat the ACC's Georgia Tech, 38–10. Utes junior transfer quarterback Brett Ratliff, filling in for Brian Johnson, who suffered a season-ending knee injury November 12, played superbly, completing 30 of 41 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns and a two-point conversion, compiling a pass efficiency rating of 112.9, bringing to mind the performance of Utah quarterback Alex Smith in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. All of Ratliff's scoring throws went to senior wide receiver Travis LaTendresse, who finished with 16 catches for 214 yards after averaging fewer than five catches per game during the regular season. Running back Quinton Ganther added 120 yards, many as the Utes ran out the clock in the fourth quarter, and a back-breaking 41-yard touchdown with 8:34 to play. Yellow Jackets running back P.J. Daniels exploited the Utah defense for 108 yards on 20 carries, but quarterback Reggie Ball played an uneven game, completing only 47 percent of his passes and throwing two interceptions, one of which came at the Utah 21-yard-line and was returned 45 yards to end a Georgia Tech scoring chance, to just one touchdown. After the Utes recorded three touchdowns in the first 16:02 of the game, Ball brought the Yellow Jackets to within ten at the half, but was unable to make consistent progress the rest of the game, finding star wide receiver Calvin Johnson only twice for 19 yards. Georgia Tech took a slot normally reserved for the Pac-10, which failed to qualify enough teams for bowl eligibility. Utah became the first BCS non-AQ school to defeat a BCS AQ conference team this bowl season. The Emerald Bowl is now known as the Fight Hunger Bowl.

Poinsettia Bowl

*Navy (8–3) 51, Colorado State (6–5) 30
The inaugural Poinsettia Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California was also played on December 22 when independent Navy beat the Mountain West's Colorado State, 51–30. Bringing the nation's number one-ranked rushing offense against the nation's 105th ranked rushing defense, the Midshipmen broke the game open in the second quarter, when running back Reggie Campbell scored two of his NCAA bowl record-tying five touchdowns; he finished with 116 yards rushing, 89 yards receiving, and 85 yards returning. Quarterback Justin Holland led the Rams in a losing effort, throwing for 381 yards and three touchdowns in completing 79% of his passes.

Fort Worth Bowl

*Kansas (6–5) 42, Houston (6–5) 13
The Fort Worth Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas was contested December 23, 2005. Kansas, from the Big 12, who qualified on the last Saturday in November for a bowl game, defeated Houston from C-USA, 42–13, thanks to Jason Swanson's four touchdown passes. Running back Jon Cornish paced the Jayhawks with 101 rushing yards on just 16 carries, while the defense pressured Cougars quarterback Kevin Kolb into three interceptions, also sacking him twice. After this season, the Bowl got a new sponsor in Bell Helicopters as well as a new name in the "Armed Forces Bowl", and started to invite a MWC teams to challenge the C-USA team as part of a rotation with the Pac 10.

Hawaii Bowl

*Nevada (8–3) 49, Central Florida (8–4) 48 (overtime)
The Hawaii Bowl at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii was played on December 24, 2005. For the first time since the game was first contested in 2002, the Hawaii Warriors did not play in this game, as they had a losing record in 2005, disqualifying them from bowl eligibility. Nevada, the WAC co-champion, beat C-USA's Central Florida, 49–48, as Golden Knights kicker Matt Prater missed an extra point in overtime, sealing a defeat for UCF, who was playing in its first ever bowl game, having gone winless as recently as 2004. Each team gained over 550 yards, and each had three players average better than five yards per carry; freshman running back Kevin Smith led the Golden Knights with 202 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries, while running backs B.J. Mitchell and Robert Hubbard combined to gain 304 yards on 38 carries, also adding five touchdowns.

Motor City Bowl

*Memphis (6–5) 38, Akron (7–5) 31
The Motor City Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan was played on December 26, 2005. C-USA member Memphis, behind the running of DeAngelo Williams, who set an NCAA Division I-A record with his 34th career 100-yard game, defeated MAC champion Akron, 38–31, preventing the Zips from winning in their first-ever Division I-A Bowl Game. Akron quarterback Luke Getsy starred in his team's loss to the Tigers, setting a bowl record with 455 yards passing and tying another with four touchdowns.

Champs Sports Bowl

* Clemson (7–4) 19, Colorado (7–5) 10
The Champs Sports Bowl, the first of two games played at Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Florida, was contested on December 27, 2005. ACC representative Clemson scored with less than two minutes remaining to ensure a 19–10 win against Big 12 representative Colorado, which was trying to a win after having lost its previous two games by a combined score of 100–6 and after having seen coach Gary Barnett fired just weeks before the bowl game. Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, playing with a sore shoulder, completed 22 of 30 passes for 210 yards and running back James Davis added 149 yards on 28 carries as the Tigers outgained the Buffaloes by 239 yards, surrendering only one touchdown, a Brian White pass to Quinn Sypniewski. Starting in 2006, a Big Ten team was invited to take the place of the Big 12.

Insight Bowl

*Arizona State (6–5) 45, Rutgers (7–4) 40
The Insight Bowl at Chase Field, home to Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks, in Phoenix, Arizona, was played as well on December 27. Pac-10 representative Arizona State, in what was a de facto home game, finally broke open a back-and-forth, sloppy affair (the teams combined for nineteen penalties) in the fourth quarter and then held off a comeback attempt, defeating Big East representative Rutgers, 45–40. In the final Insight Bowl to be played at the stadium formerly known as Bank One Ballpark, Sun Devils quarterback Rudy Carpenter threw for 467 yards and four touchdowns, two to senior wide receiver Matt Miller, who finished with five catches for 135 yards. The Scarlet Knights, playing in their first bowl since 1978, when they appeared in the Garden State Bowl against Arizona State, were paced by quarterback Ryan Hart's three touchdowns and 376 passing yards, and by kicker Jeremy Ito, who recorded four field goals, two from beyond 48 yards, and four extra points. The two teams combined for 1,211 yards of offense, a record for any bowl game at the time. Beginning next season, the Big Ten and Big 12 would send teams to the contest, which will be played on the ASU campus at Sun Devil Stadium.

MPC Computers Bowl

*Boston College (8–3) 27, Boise State (9–3) 21
The MPC Computers Bowl at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho was the first game of two that were played on December 28, 2005. Though playing at home on its blue "Smurf Turf", where it held a 31-game winning streak, WAC co-champion Boise State was unable to get its usually potent offense untracked early, falling behind ACC rep Boston College by 24 at halftime before losing, 27–21. Sophomore quarterback Matt Ryan led the way for the Eagles, throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns, two to junior wide receiver Tony Gonzalez and one to senior Will Blackmon, who led all receivers with 144 yards on just five catches. The Broncos were held scoreless by the Boston College defense for the first 43:46 of the game and hindered their own efforts with three turnovers and eight penalties. Playing their final game under coach Dan Hawkins, who would coach Colorado next season, Boise State essayed a late comeback, with junior quarterback Jared Zabransky throwing for one touchdown (a 53-yarder to Drisan James) and running for another. Junior Quinton Jones brought Boise State to within six when he took a Johnny Ayers punt 92 yards for a touchdown with less than four minutes to play in the game, but Boise State's last drive from midfield with less than two minutes stalled and Zabransky threw an end-zone interception to seal the Eagles' win. Boston College thus extended its NCAA-best bowl winning streak to six games, and also ran the BCS AQ conferences' record to 3–0 against BCS non-AQ conference teams this bowl season.

Alamo Bowl

*Nebraska (7–4) 32, Michigan (7–4) 28
The Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas was the second game played on December 28. In a battle of perennial powerhouses, Nebraska, returning to post-season play after a one-year absence, overcame an 11-point Michigan lead in the final 8:09 of the game to win, 32–28. The Big 12's Cornhuskers were buoyed by the play of senior running back Cory Ross, who carried 28 times for 161 yards and a touchdown. Though he was intercepted twice, quarterback Zac Taylor managed an efficient game, completing only 14 passes but for 167 yards and three touchdowns. In defeat for the Big Ten's Wolverines, quarterback Chad Henne used his arm (230 yards passing, three touchdowns) and legs (fourth-quarter rushing touchdown) to give Michigan a 28–17 lead, taking advantage of excellent field position provided by kickoff returners Steve Breaston and Carl Tabb II, who averaged 35 yards per return. Nebraska rallied, though, scoring two touchdowns and adding a two-point conversion on two three-play drives each of under 40 yards. The game's final play was a Henne pass to wide receiver Jason Avant, which the Wolverines followed by eight laterals, eventually reaching the Nebraska 17-yard-line; the play brought to mind the 1982 Stanford-California game in which, similarly, players from each team streamed onto the field during the last play, thinking the game to be over, and much of the blame for the confusion was later assessed to the officials, who were provided by the Sun Belt Conference. It also brought to mind the 2002 Kentucky-LSU game as Nebraska players gave their coach the Gatorade dunk before the final play had ended. Though the two offenses combined to score 60 points, neither was superb; Michigan averaged only 4.1 yards per play, committed three turnovers, and allowed five sacks, while Nebraska was only marginally better, gaining an average of 4.6 yards per play, committing two turnovers, and also allowing five sacks. The loss meant that the Michigan, who began the season ranked fourth in Associated Press writers' and USA Today coaches’ polls, would finish the year with a record of 7–5 and unranked in both polls. The Cornhuskers finished 24th in the writer's and coach's polls with a record of 8–4.

Music City Bowl

*Virginia (6–5) 34, Minnesota (7–4) 31
The Music City Bowl at The Coliseum in Nashville, Tennessee was the first of four games played on December 30, 2005. Virginia, representing the ACC in a slot forfeited by the SEC, which failed to qualify enough teams for bowl eligibility, came back from a second-quarter 14-point deficit to drive for a game-winning field goal with 1:08 to play, ultimately defeating the Big Ten's Minnesota, 34–31. The Cavaliers were paced by quarterback Marques Hagans, who threw for 359 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Wali Lundy, who ran for only 60 yards but added two touchdowns, including a game-tying score on a 72-yard drive with less than 10 minutes to go in the game. Golden Gophers quarterback Bryan Cupito shined in defeat, completing 65 percent of his passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns (including two to wide receiver Jared Ellerson), as Minnesota took a 21–7 lead with less than seven minutes to go in the second quarter. Virginia kicker Connor Hughes added a field goal as the half ended to bring the Cavaliers within 11, and he came through again with a 39-yarder to give Virginia the lead for good; Hughes finished with ten points. Although Minnesota finished with a nearly seven-minute edge in time of possession, thanks in part to the running of Laurence Maroney and Gary Russell, who combined for 190 yards on 49 carries, and to forcing two Virginia turnovers in the fourth quarter, the Golden Gopher defense allowed the Wahoos to drive from their own three-yard line to record the final field goal and break the tie. Cupito led a last-minute drive for Minnesota, crossing midfield with 37 seconds to go before throwing an end-zone interception that allowed Virginia to run out the clock.

Sun Bowl

*UCLA (9–2) 50, Northwestern (7–4) 38
The Sun Bowl at the eponymous stadium in El Paso, Texas was the second game of four that were played on December 30, and matched Big Ten (Northwestern) and Pac-10 (UCLA) teams for the only time this bowl season; the Bruins upended the Wildcats, 50–38, to finish the season with a 10–2 record. While the game was the scoring showcase expected, especially in the first half, when the teams combined for a Sun Bowl-record 51 points, each team departed in several areas from its typical play, making for a game of surprises. UCLA quarterback Drew Olson, who had finished eighth in the voting for the 2005 Heisman Trophy, threw three interceptions (two of which were returned by the Wildcats for touchdowns), matching his total for the entire regular season, when he threw 31 touchdowns. Northwestern kicker Joel Howells, who had made 44 of 45 extra points in the regular season, missed two, as well a field goal, before giving way to back up Amado Villarreal. The Bruins had two rushers top 100 yards, and neither was Maurice Jones-Drew, who had had more than double the rushing yards of any teammate during the regular season; freshman Kahlil Bell and sophomore Chris Markey, neither of whom had topped 100 yards in any regular season game, though, shined, running for 293 yards on 42 carries. Finally, Wildcats freshman running back Tyrell Sutton, the 2005 ''Sporting News'' NCAA freshman of the year, was held to 82 yards rushing by a UCLA defense that ranked 110th in the country. The first half was one of streaks, as Northwestern saw a 22–0 lead, two touchdowns of which were returns of Olson interceptions, equaled and then eclipsed as Bell rushed for two scores and Olson threw a touchdown with just 29 seconds in the half to give UCLA a seven-point lead midway through the game. UCLA continued its offensive progress in the third quarter, as Olson threw a third touchdown just six minutes in, putting UCLA up by fourteen; the Bruins had again taken advantage of good field position off a Wildcats punt, with Northwestern's Ryan Pederson's averaging but 30.8 yards per punt on the day. Northwestern slowly cut into the Bruins lead as quarterback Brett Basanez led his team on two scoring drives, finishing the game with 437 yards passing and one touchdown on 71 passing attempts; Basanez, though, did throw two interceptions. After a Mark Philmore touchdown reception cut the UCLA lead to four with 2:29 remaining in the game, UCLA kick returner Brandon Breazell returned the ensuing kickoff 42 yards for a touchdown. Basanez led a final drive deep into UCLA territory, connecting twice with Ross Lane, who finished the game as the Wildcats’ top receiver, with 135 yards on seven catches, and finally throwing a touchdown to Shaun Herbert with 23 seconds remaining; Breazell delivered a knockout blow, however, again returning an onside kick for a touchdown, and the Bruins held on for the 12-point win.

Independence Bowl

*Missouri (6–5) 38, South Carolina (7–4) 31
The third of the four games on December 30, 2005, was the Independence Bowl at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. South Carolina, representing the SEC, took an early 21-point lead but was unable to hold off a late charge from Missouri, representing the Big 12, which notched a 38–31 win, denying South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier a bowl win in his first season back in college football. The Gamecocks scored on their first possession and recovered a Missouri fumble on the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage, setting up a five-yard touchdown scamper by running back Mike Davis. A second touchdown pass by quarterback Blake Mitchell gave South Carolina a 21–0 lead just six minutes into the game, and after a series of punts, the Gamecocks took the ball on a short field and reached the Missouri 16-yard-line when a Mitchell pass was intercepted by senior Marcus King, who returned his pick 98 yards for Missouri's first score of the game. Davis, who finished the day with 124 yards on 19 carries, added his second touchdown on the ensuing drive, but Missouri option quarterback Brad Smith, who was his team's leading passer (21 completions for 283 yards) and rusher (16 carries for 138 yards), drove the Tigers 74 yards in 1:33 before hitting freshman tight end Chase Coffman, his leading receiver, who finished with eight catches for 99 yards, on a five-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Tigers’ halftime deficit to 14. Smith took the Tigers down the field once more to open the third quarter, and, even after Missouri wasted a 76-yard drive when kicker Adam Crossett missed a 22-yard field goal, the Missouri defense forced a punt and Smith engineered an 85-yard drive capped by his 31-yard rushing touchdown. A Derrick Ming interception of a Mitchell pass in Gamecocks territory led to another Smith rushing score, and Crossett atoned for his earlier miss by hitting a 50-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to give the Tigers their first lead of the game. Mitchell responded with a long drive of his own, hitting freshman wide receiver Sidney Rice, his top target in the game (catching 13 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown), three times en route to a 30-yard Josh Brown field goal. Working against a fatigued Gamecocks defense, which faced a total of 76 Missouri plays on the day, Smith shined on the ground once more, recording a 59-yard run and capping his day with a third rushing touchdown, this from one yard out. Although freshman kick returner Carlos Thomas once more gave the Gamecocks good field position, returning the Missouri kick 43 yards to bring his return average on the day to 31 yards, Mitchell threw his third interception of the day, allowing Mizzou to run out the clock.

Meineke Car Care Bowl

*North Carolina State (6–5) 14, South Florida (6–5) 0
The Meineke Car Care Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina was the first of three scheduled games played on December 31, 2005. North Carolina State, representing the ACC, defeated South Florida, which was making its first bowl appearance in its first year as a member of the Big East, 14–0. A scoreless first quarter set the tone for a game in which neither team played well offensively; each team punted twice and neither team could take advantage of a scoring chance, as the Bulls missed a 47-yard field goal on their first possession of the game and the Wolfpack failed to put points on the board after taking over the ball at midfield on a Marcus Hudson blocked punt. The NC State offense came alive in the second quarter as sophomore quarterback Marcus Stone, assuming the starting role from senior Jay Davis, hit wide receiver Brian Clark, who was his team's leading receiver with two catches for 50 yards, for a 9-yard touchdown and ran for another, giving the Wolfpack a 14–0 halftime lead. The teams reprised their offensive ineptitude in the third quarter, however, as Bulls backup quarterback Carlton Hill fumbled the ball to NC State, only to see Hudson lose a fumble on the next play; Hill fumbled once more two plays later as possession changed hands three times in four plays. Only South Florida managed sustained drives in the fourth quarter, as running back Andre Hall keyed an attack that reached the NC State 17-yard line before quarterback Pat Julmiste threw an interception, ending the Bulls’ scoring chance—a fake punt netted South Florida a first-down in Wolfpack territory with less than five minutes to play, but they turned the ball over on downs and failed to threaten again until the waning seconds of the game. Even as he completed only nine of 19 passes for 127 yards, Wolfpack quarterback Marcus Stone outshone his South Florida counterpart, and Julmiste completed just eight of 25 passes for 94 yards—with two-thirds of his total coming with less than two minutes to play—as he was outplayed by the freshman Hill, who completed one of two passes for 37 yards but was nevertheless pulled from the game after the second of his fumbles. The running of Hall, the Big East's leading rusher during the regular season, kept South Florida within striking distance, as he overcame a slow start to finish with 130 yards on 21 carries. In general, though, each defense played well, not only forcing fumbles but pressuring the passer; NC State totaled seven sacks, including three by linebacker Stephen Tulloch, and South Florida notched three, all by defensive end Terrence Royal. Running back Toney Baker helped the Wolfpack to run time off the clock in the fourth quarter and win the time-of-possession battle by nearly four minutes; he finished the day with 90 yards on 23 carries as NC State's two second-quarter scores proved to be enough for the win. The Bulls were shut out for the first time since the program started in 1997.

Liberty Bowl

*Tulsa (8–4) 31, Fresno State (8–4) 24
The Liberty Bowl at the Memorial Stadium which bears its name in Memphis, Tennessee was the second game played on December 31. Fresno State, out of the WAC, failed to end a three-game losing streak that began when the Bulldogs fell by only eight to the top-ranked team in the nation, Southern California, losing to C-USA champion (and former WAC rival) Tulsa, 31–24. Although better known for their passing offenses, each team recorded its first two scores on the ground, as the Bulldogs took a 7–0 first quarter lead on the strength of a seven-yard run carry by senior running back Wendell Mathis, who finished the day with 31 carries for 117 yards. The Golden Hurricane answered quickly and then took the lead in the second quarter as Uril Parrish and Tarrion Adams each recorded a touchdown; Adams finished as Tulsa's leading rusher, accumulating 103 yards on 11 carries. Fresno State tied the game on a Bryson Sumlin touchdown scamper with 1:14 to play—Sumlin would finish the game with 66 yards on 10 carries—in the first half before a 40-yard Brad DeVault field goal gave Tulsa a three-point halftime lead, even as the Golden Hurricane had possessed the ball for fewer than ten minutes in game's first half. Behind the play of senior quarterback Paul Pinegar, who threw efficiently if unremarkably (19 completions in 30 attempts for 215 yards), the Bulldogs tied the game early in the third quarter with a Kyle Zimmerman 27-yard field goal. Adams was tackled for a loss on a fourth-down attempt to give Fresno State the ball at the Tulsa 37-yard line, but Mathis was held for short gains by a stout Tulsa defense and Zimmerman eventually missed a field goal from 27 yards out. Golden Hurricane quarterback Paul Smith, who finished the game completing 18 of 27 passes for 236 yards, finally found senior tight end Garrett Mills, who this season broke the career receiving yards mark for a tight end in Division I-A, for productive yards in the third quarter, though Mills nevertheless finished with only four catches on the day, as Tulsa reached midfield before wide receiver Ashlan Davis fumbled the ball, committing Tulsa's only turnover; in a drive that ran more than five minutes off the clock and took the game into the fourth quarter, Fresno State capitalized, as Pinegar drove the Bulldogs 72 yards and hit wide receiver Joe Fernandez for a 21-yard touchdown, giving Fresno State a 7-point lead. Tulsa's inability to possess the ball for long stretches bade well for Fresno State, but Davis atoned for his fumble midway through the fourth quarter as he caught a Smith pass and scored from 55 yards to tie the game; Davis finished the day as the leading Tulsa receiver, catching eight passes for 129 yards. Pinegar led another Bulldogs drive but was intercepted near midfield by Golden Hurricane sophomore defensive back Anthony Germany, as Tulsa, despite having run only 55 plays (to Fresno State's 77) and having possessed the ball for only 20:44, took the lead for good on a four-yard touchdown run by Smith, as a second Pinegar interception with 2:03 to play clinched the win for the Golden Hurricane. Though they ran few plays, Tulsa made them count, averaging 7.0 yards per carry on their running plays as they ran their record to 9–4, defeating the Bulldogs for the first time in five tries.

Houston Bowl

*TCU (10–1) 27, Iowa State (7–4) 24
The last of three December 31 games that were contested on New Year's Eve was the Houston Bowl at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Mountain West champion Texas Christian, filling a slot reserved for the SEC, which failed to qualify enough teams for bowl eligibility, tallied a 27–24 win over Iowa State, representing the Big 12. The Horned Frogs, bidding to finish the year as the only team from a BCS non-AQ conference to be ranked in the top 25 in the USA Today coaches’ and AP writers’ polls, took a 14-point lead over the Cyclones just 6:36 into the game, as junior tailback Robert Merrill scored on a 20-yard run on TCU's first possession; Merrill finished the day as his team's top rusher, gaining 109 yards on just 11 carries. Setting the tone for a game in which each defense would make several key plays, cornerback Drew Coleman recovered an Iowa State fumble on the second play of the ensuing possession, and TCU capitalized in 56 seconds as freshman running back Aaron Brown took one of his 12 carries for a touchdown. Soon after Iowa State defensive back LaMarcus Hicks evened the turnover battle, intercepting TCU quarterback Ballard at midfield to set up the first of two touchdown receptions by wide receiver Todd Blythe, who finished as the leading Cyclones receiver with 105 yards on only five receptions, Cyclones defensive end Brent Curvey sacked Ballard and then halted a running play in the end zone, giving Iowa State a safety. Two minutes and twenty seconds later, Iowa State quarterback Bret Meyer, who totaled 20 completions on 33 attempts for 254 yards, threw the second of his three touchdowns, hitting receiver Jon Davis from six yards; a successful two-point conversion, a pass from Meyer to tight end Ben Barkema, gave the Cyclones a three-point lead. After the teams exchanged punts, Meyer turned the ball over again, fumbling to David Roach, and Ballard, who completed 21 of his 33 passes for 275 yards, playing similarly to Meyer and foreshadowing the game's close end, hit junior wide receiver Michael DePriest for an 84-yard touchdown. Though each defense tightened at the end of the first half, TCU took advantage of good field position conferred by a 39-yard punt return as kicker Chris Manfredini made a 29-yard field goal to give the Horned Frogs a seven-point halftime lead. Each defense held the opposing offense for most of the third quarter, as the teams combined in the game for 12 sacks (defensive end Chase Ortiz led TCU with two; defensive end Jason Berryman had four for Iowa State), before Meyer again hit Blythe for a touchdown, this time from 22 yards, as the Cyclones tied the game late in the third quarter. Even as each team lost a fumble in the fourth quarter, neither was able to mount a substantial drive, but the inability of Iowa State to run the ball on TCU (eayer was his team's leading rusher, gaining 27 of the Cyclones’ 35 yards on 12 carries) allowed the Horned Frogs to win the time-of-possession battle by seven minutes, and the Cyclones defense tired late in the game, allowing TCU to drive 49 yards in 3:42 as kicker Peter LoCoco made his first field goal since October 8, a 49-yarder that gave TCU its winning margin; the Horned Frogs defense held Iowa State scoreless the rest of the way. In winning a poorly executed game in which the teams totaled 20 penalties and seven turnovers, TCU cut the record of BCS AQ conference teams against BCS non-AQ conference teams to 3–2 in what was the last game to be played between BCS AQ and non-AQ teams of the 2005 bowl season. The game was also the last under the "Houston Bowl" banner; after the season, the marketing arm of the Houston Texans, Lone Star Sports and Entertainment, took over the game and renamed it the Texas Bowl.

Non-BCS New Year's Day Bowls

Because New Year's Day 2006 fell on a Sunday, a day when the NFL plays most of its games, the league played all but two of its final regular season games that day, and all college football bowl games traditionally held that day were moved to January 2, which fell on a Monday.

These games are generally considered to be the more important of the non-BCS bowls, with half — the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, the Toyota Gator Bowl and the Capital One Bowl — broadcast on over-the-air television rather than cable (namely ESPN), and with these six games' having larger-than-average purses; in 2005, for example, the Toyota Gator Bowl paid the lowest purse of the sextet, which, at $1.6 million still more than doubled the $750,000 purse standard for most non-New Year's Day bowls, while the Capital One Bowl handed out the largest non-BCS purse at roughly $5,312,000.

All records shown are pre-bowl game.

Holiday Bowl

*Oklahoma (7–4) 17, Oregon (10–1) 14
The Holiday Bowl, which as of 2005 became the second post-season college football game played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, is considered to be part of this group in spite of the fact that the game is not played on New Year's Day, given the bowl's payout of $2,000,000 and the frequency with which highly ranked teams participate. The 2005 edition was the second of two games played on December 29, 2005, with the Big 12's Oklahoma Sooners defeating the Pac-10's Oregon Ducks, 17–14, in a matchup of teams each with something to prove. The Ducks were playing to show that they deserved a BCS bowl bid, having gone 10–1 during the regular season (the only loss coming to the nation's top-ranked team, Southern California), while the Sooners, who had lost in the BCS championship game each of the past two years, were trying to show that they really were the team that came into the season ranked fifth in the USA Today coaches' poll and seventh in the AP writers' poll than the team that lost to Texas by 33. Although Oregon got off to an early 7–3 lead and held that lead for nearly half the game, 22:38, the offense was unable to muster much against an Oklahoma defense that recorded four sacks (two by junior defensive end C.J. Ah You), held the Ducks to 2.6 yards per carry, and allowed only six third-down conversions in 18 attempts. Rotating between Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf (whose brother, Ryan, was once the quarterback for the San Diego Chargers and played in said stadium) at quarterback, as they had done since losing starter Kellen Clemens earlier in the year, the Ducks gained 244 passing yards on 44 attempts, but much of that came in the fourth quarter as the Sooners defense tired during two extended drives. Oregon managed little success on the ground, with their top rusher, senior Terrence Whitehead, going for only 42 yards. Oklahoma's offense played largely efficiently, gaining 365 yards, with redshirt freshman quarterback Rhett Bomar completing 59 percent of his passes for 229 yards and one touchdown (freshman Malcolm Kelly was the team's top receiver, hauling in seven Bomar throws for 78 yards). Sophomore Adrian Peterson led the way on the ground, accumulating 79 yards on 23 carries. In spite of their general success, Bomar and Peterson each provided Oregon hope, with Bomar's throwing an interception and Peterson's fumbling within a yard of the goal line. The Ducks, trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter, were unable to convert a first-down in the shadow of their own goal posts against the aggressive Sooners defense and thus failed to capitalize on the Peterson turnover. Their defense, though, stymied every Oklahoma drive in the fourth quarter, getting two more possessions for the offense, and Oregon drove 81 yards in 14 plays, with Brady Leaf's hitting Tim Day for a three-yard touchdown. Once more the Sooners offense failed to convert a third-down on their ensuing possession as the Ducks defense tightened, and, behind a resurgent Leaf, Oregon drove to the Oklahoma 19-yard-line before Sooners senior linebacker Clint Ingram intercepted a Leaf pass to seal the victory for the Sooners.

On July 11, 2007, following an investigation into the use of two players being used in a fake job scandal by Sooner boosters, the NCAA announced that the game, along with eight victories from the 2005 regular season would be stricken from the record books. However, the NCAA reversed its field on February 22, 2008, and restored all eight forfeited wins to the record books, including the Holiday Bowl. Since bowl games are not sanctioned by the NCAA, Oklahoma was allowed to keep their payout.

Peach Bowl

*LSU (10–2) 40, Miami (Florida) (9–2) 3
The Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, like the Holiday Bowl, is not played on New Year's Day but is considered part of this group, given shared characteristics: a large payout and the participation of highly ranked teams. This year's game was the nightcap of four contests played on December 30, 2005, the first game of three in the span of four days at the facility, and matched the ACC's Miami (Florida), who were the defending champions of this game, and the SEC's LSU. The game was expected to be competitive and low-scoring, given that each team was ranked in top ten in the AP writers’ and USA Today coaches’ polls and that each ranked amongst the top six in Division I-A in total defense.

The outcome, though, was anything but close as the Hurricanes struck first with a field goal six-plus minutes into the game and then watched as the Tigers, led by sophomore quarterback Matt Flynn, who replaced the injured JaMarcus Russell after having thrown only 15 passes all year, scored 40 points on eight straight possessions to claim a 40–3 win. Flynn played efficiently for LSU, which was coming of an upset by Georgia in the SEC championship game, played four weeks earlier in that same stadium, completing 13 of 22 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yard strike to wide receiver Craig Davis, who was the leading Tigers receiver with five catches for 100 yards. The ground game, however, was LSU's best weapon, as the Tigers possessed the ball for 39:08 and accumulated 282 rushing yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry against a Hurricanes defense that came into the game having allowed more than 17 points only once during the regular season. Running back Joseph Addai led the way with 24 carries for 128 yards and one touchdown; fullback Jacob Hester and added 66 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries. The Tigers kicking game also added in the scoring, as Colt David made four extra points and Chris Jackson connected on four field goals, including a 50-yarder to end LSU scoring, and participated in a fake field goal the Tigers used to convert a first down already up 31.

The Hurricanes turned the ball over only once, as freshman quarterback Kirby Freeman entered the game with Miami down 37 and promptly threw an interception, but they allowed LSU to sack quarterback Kyle Wright four times; pressure and tight coverage led to Wright's making only 10 of 21 passes for just 99 yards. Neither was the running game able to get any traction for Miami, as the Hurricanes averaged just 2.0 yards per carry, with leading rusher sophomore Charlie Jones recording only 49 yards on eight carries, 42 of that on one run.

The loss was the worst in post-season history for the Hurricanes. The contest, the last to be termed the "Peach Bowl" (the game was renamed the "Chick-fil-A Bowl" after the season), was marred by a postgame scuffle in which an ersatz fight between Tigers and Hurricanes players was ostensibly misunderstood by several Hurricanes, who initiated actual physical contact, necessitating the intervention of Georgia State Patrol officers and medical treatment for Miami offensive lineman Andrew Bain, who was reported to have been briefly unconscious, but was instead dazed after being hit in the head by a helmet.

Outback Bowl

*Florida (8–3) 31, Iowa (7–4) 24
The Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida was the first of the six traditional New Year's Day games played on January 2, 2006, as Florida, representing the SEC, avenged a 2004 Outback Bowl loss to Big Ten representative Iowa, taking an early 17–0 lead and then holding off a late Hawkeyes run to win 31–24, giving coach Urban Meyer a bowl victory (his third straight bowl victory in a row; the first two coming in the 2003 Liberty Bowl and the 2005 Fiesta Bowl with Utah) and a 9–3 record in his first season with the Gators. The teams matched up fairly evenly defensively, but special teams and defensive touchdowns made the difference for the Gators, who took a 7–0 lead just 1:35 into the game when Tremaine McCollum returned a block eight yards for a touchdown. Behind junior quarterback Chris Leak, who finished the day having completed 27 of 42 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns, the Gators constructed two 70-plus-yard drives in the first and second quarters, but came away with only three points as the Iowa defense tightened and kicker Chris Hetland made only one of two field goal attempts. Florida senior cornerback Vernell Brown, forcing the game's only turnover, intercepted Iowa quarterback Drew Tate with less than two minutes to play in the first half and returned his catch 60 yards for a touchdown. Iowa responded immediately, taking advantage of a 47-yard kickoff return by Damian Sims, as Tate found wide receiver Clinton Solomon, who finished the day as Tate's leading receiver, catching seven passes for 97 yards, for a 20-yard touchdown, bringing the Hawkeyes within ten. The Gators, though, returned their halftime lead to 17 when Leak drove his team 70 yards in 1:09, finally hitting senior wide receiver Dallas Baker, his top target on the day (10 catches for 148 yards), for a 24-yard touchdown as time expired. In a third quarter in which each team punted twice and the Hawkeyes missed a field goal, Florida extended its lead once more, as Leak threw a touchdown to Baker, this one from 38 yards; with just over 17 minutes to play, the Gators led by 24. Even as Florida had success on the ground in the game, rushing 42 times for 169 yards (led by freshman running back Kestahn Moore, who went for 87 yards on 13 carries), the Gators were unable to sustain clock-consuming drives in the fourth quarter, twice turning the ball over on downs, and Tate engineered a comeback, hitting senior wide receiver Ed Hinkel, who caught nine passes for 87 yards on the day, for two touchdowns in 6:52, benefiting from a Gators lost fumble on the Florida five-yard line, to bring the Hawkeyes to within 10 with seven minutes to play. Tate, who finished with impressive passing numbers despite his having thrown an interception (32 of 55 passes completed for 346 yards and three touchdowns), connected twice with tight end Scott Chandler, who became the third Hawkeyes receiver to top 80 yards for the game (88, on seven catches), on the final Hawkeyes drive to set up a Kyle Schlicher 45-yard field goal. Iowa recovered an onside kick, but an Iowa player was ruled to have been offsides by the officials assigned by Conference USA for the game. Television replays would later show that no Iowa player was offsides, to the considerable dismay of Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz. Florida recovered the ensuing retry and ran the clock out, leaving Iowa just short in its comeback effort and dropping the Hawkeyes’ record to 7–5 for the season.

Cotton Bowl Classic

*Alabama (9–2) 13, Texas Tech (9–2) 10
The Cotton Bowl Classic, played at the eponymous stadium in Dallas, Texas as the second of the six contests on January 2, saw Alabama, representing the SEC, defeat Big 12 opponent Texas Tech, 13–10. In a matchup of the Crimson Tide's first-ranked scoring defense and the Red Raiders’ second-ranked scoring offense, Alabama held Texas Tech to ten points, thanks to numerous pressures and four sacks of Texas Tech senior quarterback Cody Hodges, who completed only 15 of 32 passes for 191 yards and was knocked out of the game for a period in the second half. The Alabama defense was assisted by an efficient offense that controlled the ball much of the game and kept the defense off the field; Alabama ultimately possessed the ball for 38:56, largely thanks to the rushing of Kenneth Darby, who notched 83 yards on 29 carries. In fact, it was the Alabama offense that finally secured the win for the Crimson Tide, as quarterback Brodie Croyle, who completed 19 of 31 passes for 275 yards, drove his team 55 yards late in the fourth quarter to set up kicker Jamie Christensen's 46-yard game-winning field goal. Alabama struck first, scoring less than four minutes into the game as Croyle hit sophomore wide receiver Keith Brown for a 76-yard touchdown; Brown finished as Croyle's top target, gaining 142 yards on five catches. An Alex Trlica

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