| 2003 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 30, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Qualcomm Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | San Diego, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Offense: Sammy Moore, WSU Defense: Kyle Basler, WSU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Texas by 9 points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Randy Smith (Big East) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Marching bands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 61,102[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$2,013,616 per team[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2003 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 30 in San Diego, California, part of the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. It featured the Washington State Cougars, and the fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns. Washington State pulled off a 28–20 upset,[3][4][5] and moved up to ninth in the final rankings.
Scoreless after the first quarter, Texas running back Cedric Benson scored in the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run. Washington State tied the game following a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Kegel to wide receiver Sammy Moore. Following a 39-yard field goal, Texas held a 10–7 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Washington State outscored Texas by nineteen points. They took their first lead at 13–10 on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Kegel to Moore. Jonathan Smith rushed 12 yards for a touchdown increasing the lead to 20–10, and the Cougars extended their lead to 26–10 lead after Jason David returned a fumble 18 yards for a touchdown.
Early in the fourth quarter, Texas was held to a field goal; WSU led by thirteen, and the Cougars added a safety as Texas was flagged for holding in their own end zone. Chance Mock threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Roy Williams to pull Texas to within 28–20 with over four minutes remaining, but that was the end of the scoring.[4][5]