2011 Holiday Bowl
The 2011 Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl, the 34th edition of the game, was a postseason American college football bowl game between the Texas Longhorns of the Big 12 Conference and the California Golden Bears of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12), on December 28, 2011, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The game was the final contest of the 2011 NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-FBS) football season for both teams, and it ended in a 21–10 victory for Texas.
| 2011 Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 34th Holiday Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 28, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Qualcomm Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | San Diego, California | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Offense: David Ash (QB, Texas) Defense: Keenan Robinson (LB, Texas) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Texas by 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Matt Moore (Southeastern Conference) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 56,313 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$1 million per team | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Rece Davis (Play-by-Play) Jesse Palmer (Analyst) Jenn Brown (Sidelines) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 2.69 | ||||||||||||||||||
Texas was selected to play in the 2011 Holiday Bowl following a 7–5 regular season that included a last-second victory at Texas A&M and double-digit losses to then-No. 1 Oklahoma, then-No. 7 Oklahoma State, and then-No. 18 Baylor. The Longhorns faced California, who also had an identical 7–5 regular season, highlighted by an overtime victory at Colorado and a 3-point loss to then-No. 8 Stanford.
California scored the only points of the first quarter on a 49-yard field goal by placekicker Giorgio Tavecchio. In the second quarter Texas' placekicker Justin Tucker missed a 38-yard field goal but were later able to score on a 4-yard reverse pass touchdown reception by wide receiver Jaxon Shipley. California answered in the third quarter on a touchdown run by running-back Isi Sofele, but the Golden Bears would not score any more points afterwards. Texas scored later in the third quarter on a 47-yard reception by wide receiver Marquise Goodwin and in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard run by running-back Cody Johnson to end the game.
Texas quarterback David Ash was named player of the game, and finished with 142 passing yards and one touchdown while also attaining a touchdown reception. Texas linebacker Keenan Robinson was named the defensive MVP after finishing with eight tackles and a pass deflection.