2006 Cotton Bowl

NCAAFootballSingleGameHeader
Name=Cotton Bowl
Year=2006
Type=bg
Date=January 2, 2006
Stadium=Cotton Bowl
City=Dallas, Texas
Visitor Name Short=Texas Tech
Visitor Nickname=Red Raiders
Home Name Short=Alabama
Home Nickname=Crimson Tide
Visitor Record=9–2
Home Record=9–2
Visitor Coach=Mike Leach
Home Coach=Mike Shula
Visitor1=3
Visitor2=0
Visitor3=0
Visitor4=7
Home1=7
Home2=0
Home3=3
Home4=3
Visitor

Visitor Coaches=15
Visitor BCS=15
Home

Home Coaches=13
Home BCS=13
Attendance=
MVP=Offensive: Alabama QB Brodie Croyle Defensive: Alabama LB DeMeco RyansThe 2006 Cotton Bowl was held on January 2, 2006, in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl. The game featured the Alabama Crimson Tide, of the SEC, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders, of the Big 12 Conference.

During their 2005 season, Alabama was led by quarterback Brodie Croyle to a 9–2 regular season record, losing their final two games to rivals LSU and Auburn. The Crimson Tide's season included several memorable moments, an award-winning catch from Tyrone Prothro, [cite web| url=http://www.cleburnenews.com/news/2006/cn-local-0721-0-6g21j5246.htm| title=Ex-Cleburne star snags ESPN's top sports award| date=2006-07-21| accessdate=2008-09-10| publisher="The Cleburne News"] a 31–3 thrashing of Florida, [cite web| url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=252740333| title=Croyle throws three TDs, 'Bama improves to 5-0| publisher=ESPN| date=2005-10-01| accessdate=2008-09-10] and a 6–3 victory over rivals Tennessee. [cite web| url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=252950333| title=Christensen's late FG lifts Tide past Vols| publisher=ESPN| date=2005-10-22| accessdate=2008-09-10]

Texas Tech also suffered two defeats during their season, a 52–17 mauling at the hands of Texas, who would win the National Championship several days later, and a shock 24–17 loss versus Oklahoma State.

Game

In a matchup of the Crimson Tide’s first-ranked scoring defense and the Red Raiders’ second-ranked scoring offense, Alabama held Texas Tech to ten points, thanks to numerous pressures and four sacks of Texas Tech senior quarterback Cody Hodges, who completed only 15 of 32 passes for 191 yards and was knocked out of the game for a period in the second half. The Alabama defense was assisted by an efficient offense that controlled the ball much of the game and kept the defense off the field; Alabama ultimately possessed the ball for 38:56, largely thanks to the rushing of Kenneth Darby, who notched 83 yards on 29 carries. In fact, it was the Alabama offense that finally secured the win for the Crimson Tide, as quarterback Brodie Croyle, who completed 19 of 31 passes for 275 yards, drove his team 55 yards late in the fourth quarter to set up kicker Jamie Christensen’s 46–yard game-winning field goal. Alabama struck first, scoring less than four minutes into the game as Croyle hit sophomore wide receiver Keith Brown for a 76–yard touchdown; Brown finished as Croyle’s top target, gaining 142 yards on five catches. An Alex Trlica 34-yard field goal brought Texas Tech to within four, and the teams traded blocked field goals to end the first half; Christensen also missed a field goal from 38 yards early in the second quarter but the two kicks he made were more significant than the two he missed. Though the Crimson Tide defense kept the Red Raiders in check most of the second half, Hodges engineered late drives for Texas Tech, using both his legs (he finished as his team’s top rusher, gaining 93 yards on 13 carries) and arm. He eventually hit Jarrett Hicks for a game-tying touchdown. The Red Raiders defense, though, could not stop Croyle, and the Crimson Tide came away with a win in their first Cotton Bowl appearance since 1982. The walkoff field goal by Christensen was the first game-ending score in the game since 1979, when Joe Montana brought Notre Dame from behind to defeat Houston. [cite web| url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=260020333 | title=Last-second field goal lifts Bama to Cotton Bowl win| publisher=ESPN| date=2006-01-02| accessdate=2008-09-10]

Scoring summary

References

External links

* [http://www.attcottonbowl.com Cotton Bowl official website]