The real story about last night’s Holiday Bowl wasn’t the easy win by Texas (although it sure brought any ASU sackriders down to earth.) It was the strange play that, for a short time, gave Arizona State tons of momentum. A member of Texas’ football operations staff, later identified as Chris Jessie, allegedly touched a ball squirming towards the Longhorns sidelines. The ball was eventually recovered by Texas and taken into Sun Devil territory. Instead, officials called unsportsmanlike conduct on Texas and gave the ball back to ASU inside the Texas 10.

In the end, not much came of it besides some laughs. ASU’s momentum was short-lived. A fake punt by Texas and two ASU personal fouls quickly took all of that momentum away and got Jessie, Mack Brown’s step-son, off the hook. I don’t watch Texas much but it seems like their sideline must constantly get involved in these controversies. After all, on any given play, more than half the coaching staff is a couple steps on the field. Luckily for Jessie and Texas, his brain fart didn’t change the end result of the game: A convincing Texas win.

8:20 P.M. Before the start of the 4th quarter, we’re treated to the Dr. Pepper Shootout. The winner of that gets $10,000 in his pocket…or a chance for a 23 yard pass worth $1 million. Of course, he gives the million a shot and misses. This leads to the guy next to us screaming “Take the money, faggot!” Is that sort of outburst necessary? Probably not.

8:25 P.M. Where were we? Ah yes, the game. Texas’ Ryan Bailey has just drilled a 21 yard field goal to give the Longhorns a seemingly insurmountable 18 point lead. This is two straight Holiday Bowl blowouts, a rarity for this game. For the 43rd time tonight, I’m regretting not putting money on Texas.

8:26 P.M. The leg warmers in this open-aired press box aren’t helping. My legs are numb. Yes, I realize one of our readers is probably snowed in right now. No, I don’t care.

8:27 P.M. The guy next to us needs to shave his beard.

8:29 P.M. Rudy Carpenter wears the clear visor, ala Colt Brennan. Unfortunately for Arizona State fans, he’s nowhere near the quarterback Brennan is.

8:30 P.M. Another sideline warning for Texas. At what point do they actually lose yards? Read the rest of this entry »

7:31 P.M. Texas kicks-off to ASU to start the second half.

7:32 P.M. I am still upset at the fact that Erin Andrews is not in the building tonight. Instead, Lisa Salters is in her place. Those are big shoes that Lisa must fill.

7:38 P.M. ASU began their drive with a couple of first downs that would eventually result in a 47-yard field goal from red-shirt freshman place kicker Thomas Weber.

7:39 P.M. 28-13 Texas.

7:45 P.M. It looks as if ASU is picking up some steem. The Sun Devil defense stopped the Longhorns from moving forward and forced Texas to punt. ASU ball at the Texas 40.

7:46 P.M. The attendance of the game is announced in the Press Box. Over 64,000. Not bad for a game where Texas struggled to sell half their ticket allotment.

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7:00 P.M. Arizona State’s band has officially become one of the best marching bands in the world. In their biggest game of the season, they’ve decided to honor none other than Jake Plummer Guitar Hero. They performed several songs off the game before leaving the field to a great cheer. Red, blue, green. Green, blue, orange. Two points, Sun Devils.

7:05 P.M. The long line for dessert appears to be worth the wait. Not only did I come away with a slice of cake, I also landed some popcorn. Hopefully, this makes up for the mediocre barbecue food we had before kickoff.

7:15 P.M. Texas’ band is exactly why I love college football. There has to be a couple hundred band members in uniform, but they’re still moving in perfect unison. They managed to form both the state of Texas, as well as the famous Texas script. Guitar Hero is great, but you can’t beat Texas’ halftime tradition. But where the hell is Bevo?

7:18 P.M. The bands have given way to dancers and flag girls. Lots and lots of them. They’re joined by a handful of different local bands that are jamming to countless 1970s jams: Play That Funky Music, That’s The Way, Ladies’ Night, Jungle Boogie and Stayin’ Alive. In short, it’s a huge blend of great songs.

7:23 P.M. Oh look, YMCA.

7:25 P.M. A huge firework orgy caps off a very entertaining show. Unfortunately, in this cramped press box, we can’t see any of them.

7:30 P.M. The teams are coming back on the field. Sonny will bring you the 3rd quarter action and I’ll come back to wrap things up.

6:03 P.M. Coming into this one, I heavily doubted Arizona State’s ability to hang with the high-octane offense of Texas. Those doubts were quickly realized. The Longhorns’ 21 points in the 1st quarter are a new Holiday Bowl record, breaking the previous mark set by SMU in the 1980 Holiday Bowl. They mustered 19 points against the Stormin’ Mormons of BYU.

6:05 P.M. Arizona State has actually sustained a possession. They find themselves inside the Texas 20 yard line. I saw countless Beer Pong games in the parking lot before the game. Given the way ASU came out of the gates, I figure they were playing as well.

6:07 P.M. Again, the Sun Devils shoot themselves in the foot. Quarterback Rudy Carpenter is destroyed from his blindside on 3rd and 11. As he went down, he unleashed a hideous backwards pass that was recovered by the Horns.

6:09 P.M. I always knew Mack Brown was a dumbass, but I didn’t think his idiocy spread through his entire coaching staff. As Carpenter’s backwards pass squirmed towards the Texas sidelines, a Longhorns assistant attempted to pick up the ball. The ball appeared to have went off his hands and probably kept it from going out of bounds. What the hell? The refs will attempt to sort this mess out.

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5:oo P.M. Upon arriving in the Press Box at Qualcomm Stadium Ryan and I struggled to get to our seats. This non-BCS match up has brought a lot of attention to San Diego. We find our seats and Texas has won the toss. They elect to receive and take the kick-off out to midfield.

5:07 P.M. Texas has no respect for that thing called the sideline. Mack Brown was nearly involved with the tackle on the kickoff at midfield and his entire staff has been covering the hash marks on the sideline during the opening drive.

5:10 P.M. Texas is not wasting any time. With short passes from Colt McCoy and a rush of 16 yards from junior running back Jamaal Charles, the Longhorns punched it in. McCoy was able to hook up with Derek Lokey on a play action pass from two yards out. The touchdown was the fastest in Holiday Bowl history. The drive lasted 8 plays for 49 yards for 1:21. 7-0 Texas.

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