With the USC Trojans and Louisville Cardinals facing off in the 2023 Holiday Bowl, the memories are beginning to come back for this bowl game in San Diego. The Holiday Bowl has featured a lot of exciting and colorful matchups over the years, making the game one of the better late-December (non-January) bowls.
One of my personal favorites is the 2001 game between Texas and Washington. Another favorite is 2014, when USC edged Nebraska. The 2000 edition between Oregon and Texas was spectacular, a delicious duel featuring Chris Simms of the Longhorns and Joey Harrington of the Ducks.
However, if I had to pick one Holiday Bowl above the others, it would probably be the Cal-Texas Tech showdown in 2004. The coaching matchup was fantastic: Mike Leach for the Red Raiders and Jeff Tedford for the Golden Bears from Berkeley.
Aaron Rodgers and Marshawn Lynch were on that 2004 Cal team, which engaged USC in a classic at the Coliseum a few months earlier. The Golden Bears had a 10-1 record entering the game amid a fantastic season, but they lost to the Red Raiders, 45-31.
Texas Tech quarterback Sonny Cumbie lit up the Cal defense, throwing for over 500 yards with three touchdowns and 40 completions on 60 pass attempts.
Even though Cal lost, seeing the Lynch-Rodgers pairing was a fun sight. The Mike Leach-Jeff Tedford battle was also a terrific one to watch on the Holiday Bowl platform.
Knowing that Aaron Rodgers and Jeff Tedford are still relevant football figures today, 19 years later, enhances the memory of that 2004 Holiday Bowl. In a certain sense, that game still lives today in ways that other past Holiday Bowls do not.
USC and Louisville will create a new Holiday Bowl memory on Wednesday in Petco Park.
Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.