No. 15 Washington State scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to build a 16-point lead, then had a huge defensive stand late in the fourth quarter to beat No. 5 Texas 28-20 on Tuesday night.
The Holiday Bowl has a history of big plays and wild finishes, and this one had both. With the Longhorns trailing by eight, senior receiver Roy Williams caught a 45-yard pass from Chance Mock to give Texas the ball at the WSU 11 with 2:31 left.
After Mock threw an incompletion, WSU blitzed hard and forced him deep into the pocket. Don Jackson hit Mock and forced a fumble that was recovered by fellow linebacker Will Derting at the 36 with 2:16 to play.
Texas got the ball back once more, but Mock was sacked at midfield by D.D. Acholonu as time expired.
Washington State (10-3) won 10 games for the third year in a row. At times, Texas (10-3) looked nothing like the highest-ranked team not in the BCS. The Longhorns saw their six-game win streak end and with it a chance to post three consecutive 11-win seasons for the first time.
The Cougars scored on three big plays in the third quarter to take the lead for good. The big rally came 22 years after the Cougars also scored three TDs in the third quarter of their first Holiday Bowl appearance, only to fall just short in a 38-36 loss to BYU.
With the Cougars trailing 10-7, Sammy Moore hauled in a 54-yard pass from Matt Kegel with 9:23 left in the third. The Cougars forced Texas to punt, and Moore returned it 51 yards to the Texas 26. Four plays later from the 12, Kegel went into motion and the ball was snapped to running back Jonathan Smith. Smith picked up the low snap, then picked his way through the defense to score.
Two Texas possessions later, Mock threw from the end zone. Matt Melton caught the ball at the 13, but was hit and fumbled. Cornerback Jason David picked it up at the 18 and ran it in.
Symons, Texas Tech sink Navy
HOUSTON - B.J. Symons did what he has done all season, busted knee and all.
Symons completed the most prolific passing season in Division I-A history by throwing for 497 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Red Raiders 38-14 over Navy in the Houston Bowl on Tuesday, then admitted he has played with a torn ligament in his left knee for more than two months.
Neither he nor the school had revealed how badly Symons hurt himself Oct. 11 against Iowa State while jumping to celebrate a TD pass to teammate Wes Welker. After finishing his career by extending his single-season passing record to 5,833 yards, he said he will have reconstructive surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament Tuesday.
"I think I've got a lot of football left in me," said Symons, referring to the upcoming NFL draft.
His gritty performance, the seventh on the bad leg, lifted Tech (8-5) to its first back-to-back bowl victories. The Red Raiders beat Clemson in last year's Tangerine Bowl. The game ended a remarkable turnaround season for Navy (8-5), which had won three games in the previous three seasons. Quarterback Craig Candeto, heading coach Paul Johnson's top-ranked rushing offense, ran for 90 yards and both touchdowns in his last game.
Symons ended his senior year with 52 TD passes, second only to the 54 thrown by Houston's David Klingler in 1994. His favorite target, Welker, tied an NCAA record by catching a pass in his 47th consecutive game.
