2005 Sun Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 2005 Sun Bowl
, known as the Vitalis
Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game
played on December 30, 2005 in El Paso, Texas
. It was the 72nd Sun Bowl
. It featured the , and the Northwestern Wildcats
. UCLA overcame a 22-0 deficit to Northwestern in the first quarter to win 50-38. This is the biggest comeback in UCLA football history. UCLA running backs Chris Markey and Kahlil Bell shared the most valuable player award, the first such shared award in Sun Bowl history. Defensive tackle Kevin Mims of Northwestern won the Jimmy Rogers, Jr. Most Valuable Lineman award.
The game would unexpectedly be Randy Walker
's last as Northwestern head coach. Walker died of an apparent heart attack the following June.
Northwestern's Joel Howells started the scoring with a 33 yard field goal to give Northwestern an early 3-0 lead. Kevin Mims later scored on a 33 yard interception return to increase Northwestern's lead to 9-0. Mark Philmore rushed 19 yards for a touchdown to put Northwestern up 15-0. However, the kicker missed his second consecutive extra point attempt.
Nick Roach
intercepted another UCLA pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to give Northwestern a 22-0 first quarter lead. At the end of the quarter, running back Kahlil Bell
put UCLA on the board, by rushing for a 5 yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 22-7. Less than 2 minutes later, quarterback Drew Olson
connected with wide receiver Ryan Moya for a 58 yard touchdown pass, to cut the lead to 22-14.
Kahlil Bell scored his second rushing touchdown of the game by rushing 6 yards for a touchdown. Drew Olson then found tight end Marcedes Lewis
for the two point conversion to tie the game at 22. With 29 seconds left in the first half, Olson found wide receiver Marcus Everett for an 8 yard touchdown pass to give UCLA a 29-22 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Olson connected with Michael Pitre for a 5 yard touchdown pass, to extend the lead to 36-22. Amado Villarreal connected on a 31 yard field goal for Northwestern, to cut the lead to 36-25.
The last 2:30 of the game featured a lot of scoring. Quarterback Brett Basanez
found Mark Philmore for an 8 yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 36-31 with 2:29 remaining. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Brandon Breazell and returned 42 yards for a touchdown, extending UCLA's lead to 43-31. With 24 seconds in the game, Basanez found wide receiver Shaun Herbert for a 5 yard touchdown pass, pulling NU to 42-38. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Brandon Breazell, and once again returned 45 yards for a touchdown. That made the final margin 50-38.
The UCLA Bruins broke three records.
Together Northwestern and UCLA broke or tied six records.
In addition, Brett Basanez tied the individual record of 38 completions and broke the offensive yardage record at 448 yards.
who had been the Sun Bowl broadcaster starting in 1988, and former UCLA Bruins coach Terry Donahue
were named Legends of the Sun Bowl.
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
, known as the Vitalis
Vitalis
Vitalis may refer to:* Saint Vitalis* Vitalis of Farfa, abbot circa 889...
Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
played on December 30, 2005 in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. It was the 72nd Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
. It featured the , and the Northwestern Wildcats
2005 Northwestern Wildcats football team
The 2005 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the Big Ten Conference during the 2005 NCAA Division I FBS football season.-Schedule:-External Links:*...
. UCLA overcame a 22-0 deficit to Northwestern in the first quarter to win 50-38. This is the biggest comeback in UCLA football history. UCLA running backs Chris Markey and Kahlil Bell shared the most valuable player award, the first such shared award in Sun Bowl history. Defensive tackle Kevin Mims of Northwestern won the Jimmy Rogers, Jr. Most Valuable Lineman award.
The game would unexpectedly be Randy Walker
Randy Walker (football coach)
Randy J. Walker was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1990 to 1998 and at Northwestern University from 1999 to 2005, compiling a career college football record of 96–81–5...
's last as Northwestern head coach. Walker died of an apparent heart attack the following June.
Game summary
The weather was clear and 56 degrees centigrade.Northwestern's Joel Howells started the scoring with a 33 yard field goal to give Northwestern an early 3-0 lead. Kevin Mims later scored on a 33 yard interception return to increase Northwestern's lead to 9-0. Mark Philmore rushed 19 yards for a touchdown to put Northwestern up 15-0. However, the kicker missed his second consecutive extra point attempt.
Nick Roach
Nick Roach
Nicholas Alexander Roach is an American football linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2007...
intercepted another UCLA pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to give Northwestern a 22-0 first quarter lead. At the end of the quarter, running back Kahlil Bell
Kahlil Bell
Kahlil Bell is an American football running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at UCLA.-Personal life:Kahlil was born to his parents Michael and Elizabeth Bell...
put UCLA on the board, by rushing for a 5 yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 22-7. Less than 2 minutes later, quarterback Drew Olson
Drew Olson
Drew Martin Olson is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at UCLA...
connected with wide receiver Ryan Moya for a 58 yard touchdown pass, to cut the lead to 22-14.
Kahlil Bell scored his second rushing touchdown of the game by rushing 6 yards for a touchdown. Drew Olson then found tight end Marcedes Lewis
Marcedes Lewis
Marcedes Alexis Lewis is an American football tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted from UCLA as the 28th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft...
for the two point conversion to tie the game at 22. With 29 seconds left in the first half, Olson found wide receiver Marcus Everett for an 8 yard touchdown pass to give UCLA a 29-22 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Olson connected with Michael Pitre for a 5 yard touchdown pass, to extend the lead to 36-22. Amado Villarreal connected on a 31 yard field goal for Northwestern, to cut the lead to 36-25.
The last 2:30 of the game featured a lot of scoring. Quarterback Brett Basanez
Brett Basanez
Brett Stephen Basanez is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Northwestern....
found Mark Philmore for an 8 yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 36-31 with 2:29 remaining. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Brandon Breazell and returned 42 yards for a touchdown, extending UCLA's lead to 43-31. With 24 seconds in the game, Basanez found wide receiver Shaun Herbert for a 5 yard touchdown pass, pulling NU to 42-38. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Brandon Breazell, and once again returned 45 yards for a touchdown. That made the final margin 50-38.
First quarter
- Northwestern - Joel Howells, 33-yard field goal.
- Northwestern - Kevin Mims, 30-yard interception return. Howells’ kick blocked.
- Northwestern - Mark Philmore, 19-yard run. Howells’ kick failed.
- Northwestern - Nick Roach,35-yard interception return. Howells converts.
- UCLA - Kahlil Bell,five-yard run. Jimmy Rotstein converts.
Second quarter
- UCLA - Ryan Moya, 58-yard pass from Drew Olson. Rotstein converts.
- UCLA - Bell, six-yard run. Lewis, pass from Olson.
- UCLA - Marcus Everett eight-yard pass from D. Olson. Rotstein converts.
Third quarter
- UCLA - Michael Pitre, five-yard pass from D.Olson. Rotstein converts.
- Northwestern - Amado Villarreal, 31-yard field goal.
Fourth quarter
- Northwestern - Mark Philmore, eight-yard pass from Brett Basanez. Basanez conversion pass intercepted.
- UCLA - Brandon Breazell, 42-yard kickoff return. Brian Malette converts.
- Northwestern - Shaun Herbert, five-yard pass from Basanez. Villarreal converts.
- UCLA - Breazell, 45-yard kickoff return. Rotstein converts.
UCLA Bruin team comeback records
This was the third record setting comeback for the 2005 UCLA Bruin football team. As of the 2007 season, they rank first, second, and third in all time scoring comebacks to win for the UCLA Bruins.- Down 22 points in the first quarter vs. Northwestern (2005 Sun Bowl) 0-22 / Final Score: 50-38
- Down 21 points in the fourth quarter at Stanford (2005) 3-24 / Final Score: 30-27ot
- Down 21 points in the second quarter at Washington State (2005) 7-28 / Final Score: 44-41ot
Sun Bowl records
The Northwestern Wildcats broke five records.- Most Passing Completions: 38
- Most First Downs, Team: 33
- Most Penalties, Team: 5
- First Quarter Points, Team: 22
- Total offensive yardage584 total yards and the teams combined for another record with 1,037 yards.
The UCLA Bruins broke three records.
- Kickoff Returns for Touchdowns: 2
- Most Points Game, Team: 50
- Biggest Comeback: down 22 Northwestern (22) vs. UCLA (0)
Together Northwestern and UCLA broke or tied six records.
- Most Penalties, Combined 7 Northwestern (5) and UCLA (2) (tied with Purdue and Washington in the 2001 Sun Bowl2001 Sun BowlThe 2001 Wells Fargo Sun Bowl edition to the Sun Bowl featured the Washington State Cougars, and the Purdue Boilermakers.Washington State's Jason David scored the game's first touchdown on a 45 yard interception return for a 7-0 WSU lead. Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser later threw a 46...
) - Most First Downs, Combined 57 Northwestern (33) and UCLA (24)
- Most First Quarter Points, Combined: 29 Northwestern (22) and UCLA (7)
- First Half Points, Combined: 51 UCLA (29) and Northwestern (22)
- Most Points Game, Combined: 88 UCLA (50) and Northwestern (38)
- Total offensive yardage: 1,037 yards.
In addition, Brett Basanez tied the individual record of 38 completions and broke the offensive yardage record at 448 yards.
Sun Bowl Legends
CBS Announcer Verne LundquistVerne Lundquist
Merton Laverne "Verne" Lundquist, Jr. is an American sportscaster, currently employed by CBS Sports television.-Early life and career:Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota...
who had been the Sun Bowl broadcaster starting in 1988, and former UCLA Bruins coach Terry Donahue
Terry Donahue
Terry Donahue is a former American football, player, coach, and executive and, currently, a football analyst. He served as the head football coach at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1976 to 1995, compiling a record of 151–74–8. From 2001 to 2005, Donahue served as...
were named Legends of the Sun Bowl.
External links
- AP(1) - No. 17 UCLA 50, Northwestern 38. Associated Press, December 30, 2005
- AP(2) - No. 17 UCLA Outlasts Northwestern Bruins win the Vitalis Sun Bowl 50-38. Associated Press, December 30, 2005
- Sun Bowl official web site