The 2006 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic was held on January 2, 2006, in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

at the Cotton Bowl. The game featured the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a me ...

of the SEC, and the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raide ...

of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

. During the 2005 season, Alabama — led by quarterback Brodie Croyle — earned a 9-2 regular season record (all nine wins were later vacated by the NCAA due to violations). Following a 9-0 start, the Crimson Tide's two losses came to SEC West rivals

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

and

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

. Texas Tech — led by quarterback

Cody Hodges Cody Hodges (born November 20, 1982) is a philanthropist, motivational speaker, and former professional American football player, playing in the National Football League, Arena Football League, and the Arena League 2. Hodges is best known for his ...

— also suffered two defeats during their season, including a 52–17 defeat to eventual national champion

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and a 24–17 loss at

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. In 2009, the NCAA vacated Alabama's Cotton Bowl win due to infractions committed during the season.

Game

In a matchup of Alabama's first-ranked scoring defense and Texas Tech's second-ranked scoring offense, the Crimson Tide held the Red Raiders 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 Kenneth Darby, who rushed for 83 yards on 29 carries. Alabama scored first — less than four minutes into the game — as Croyle hit sophomore wide receiver Keith Brown for a 76–yard touchdown. Replay showed Brown's knee was down when he caught the ball, but referees refused to review the only touchdown Alabama scored. Brown finished as Croyle’s top target, gaining 142 yards on five catches. An

Alex Trlica Alex Trlica (born August 11, 1984) is a former American football placekicker for the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team.Jarrett Hicks Jarrett Hicks (born on April 4, 1984 in Houston, Texas) is an American football player. Career Collegiately, Hicks was a wide receiver for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Out of college, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the San Diego Char ...

for a game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter. 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 45–yard game-winning field goal attempt on the final play. The kick was low, wobbly, and spinning sideways yet somehow managed to find its way through the uprights, giving Alabama the 13-10 victory. The game-winning field goal by Christensen was the first game-ending score in a Cotton Bowl Classic since 1979, when

Joe Montana Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", ...

brought Notre Dame from behind to defeat the University of Houston.

Scoring summary

Notes

References

{{Texas Tech Red Raiders bowl game navbox 2005–06 NCAA football bowl games

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Alabama Crimson Tide football bowl games Texas Tech Red Raiders football bowl games January 2006 sports events in the United States 2006 in sports in Texas 2000s in Dallas 2006 in Texas