2005 Vitalis Sun Bowl
Northwestern Wildcats UCLA Bruins
(7–4) (9–2)
Big Ten Pac-10
38 50
Head coach: 
Randy Walker		 Head coach: 
Karl Dorrell
APCoachesBCS
NRNR25
APCoachesBCS
171716
1234 Total
Northwestern 220313 38
UCLA 722714 50
DateDecember 30, 2005
Season2005
StadiumSun Bowl
LocationEl Paso, Texas
MVPChris Markey (UCLA RB) and Kahlil Bell (UCLA RB)
National anthemNorthwestern Wildcat Marching Band
RefereeDan Romeo (WAC) [1]
Halftime showNorthwestern Wildcat Marching Band & Diamond Rio
Attendance50,426
PayoutUS$1.575 million per team[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersVerne Lundquist, Todd Blackledge, Tracy Wolfson

The 2005 Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 30, 2005, in El Paso, Texas. Sponsored by the Vitalis brand of hair tonic made by Bristol-Myers, the game was officially known as the Vitalis Sun Bowl. It was the 72nd Sun Bowl. It featured the UCLA Bruins, and the Northwestern Wildcats. UCLA overcame a 22–0 deficit to Northwestern in the first quarter to win 50–38. 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. This was the biggest comeback in UCLA football history,[3] until the 2017 UCLA vs. Texas A & M game, in which the Bruins scored 34 points.[4] It still stands as of 2021 as the largest comeback in Sun Bowl History.[5] It also is the highest scoring Sun Bowl game.[5]

The game would unexpectedly be Randy Walker'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 Fahrenheit.[3]

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 43–38. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Breazell, and once again returned 45 yards for a touchdown. That made the final margin 50–38.

Scoring

2005 Vitalis Sun Bowl
Period 1 2 34Total
Wildcats 22 0 31338
No. 17 Bruins 7 22 71450

at Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Game information
First quarter
  • NU – Joel Howells 33-yard field goal, 7:53. Wildcats 3–0. Drive: 14 plays, 61 yards, 5:38.
  • NU – Kevin Mims 30-yard interception return (kick blocked), 6:27. Wildcats 9–0.
  • NU – Mark Philmore 19-yard run (kick failed), 5:36. Wildcats 15–0. Drive: 4 plays, 36 yards, 0:39.
  • NU – Nick Roach 35-yard interception return (Joel Howells kick), 4:21. Wildcats 22–0.
  • UCLA – Kahlil Bell 5-yard run (Jimmy Rotstein kick), 0:15. Wildcats 22–7. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 4:06.

Second quarter

  • UCLA – Ryan Moya 58-yard pass from Drew Olson (Jimmy Rotstein kick), 13:57. Wildcats 22–14. Drive: 1 play, 58 yards, 0:09.
  • UCLA – Kahlil Bell 6-yard run (Drew Olson pass to Marcedes Lewis), 8:26. Tied 22–22. Drive: 5 plays, 90 yards, 2:23.
  • UCLA – Marcus Everett 8-yard pass from Drew Olson (Jimmy Rotstein kick), 0:29. Bruins 29–22. Drive: 10 plays, 79 yards, 2:27.

Third quarter

  • UCLA – Michael Pitre 5-yard pass from Drew Olson (Jimmy Rotstein kick), 9:04. Bruins 36–22. Drive: 5 plays, 16 yards, 2:03.
  • NU – Amado Villarreal 31-yard field goal, 4:40. Bruins 36–25. Drive: 12 plays, 72 yards, 4:24.

Fourth quarter

  • NU – Mark Philmore 8-yard pass from Brett Basanez (pass intercepted), 2:29. Bruins 36–31. Drive: 8 plays, 84 yards, 1:11.
  • UCLA – Brand Breazell 42-yard kickoff return (Brian Malette kick), 2:24. Bruins 43–31.
  • NU – Shaun Herbert 5-yard pass from Brett Basanez (Amado Villarreal kick), 0:24. Bruins 43–38. Drive: 16 plays, 83 yards, 2:00.
  • UCLA – Brand Breazell 45-yard kickoff return (Brian Malette kick), 0:18. Bruins 50–38.

Statistics

Aftermath

The 2005 Sun Bowl game, sponsored by Vitalis, had a $1.5 million payout.[6]

UCLA Bruin team comeback records

This was the third record setting comeback for the 2005 UCLA Bruin football team. Until the 2017 season, they ranked first, second, and third in all-time scoring comebacks to win for the UCLA Bruins.[3]

  1. Down 22 points in the first quarter vs. Northwestern (2005 Sun Bowl) 0-22 / Final Score: 50-38
  2. Down 21 points in the fourth quarter at Stanford (2005) 3-24 / Final Score: 30-27ot
  3. 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 yardage: 584 total 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 Bowl)
  • 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 Lundquist who had been the Sun Bowl broadcaster starting in 1988, and former UCLA Bruins coach Terry Donahue were named Legends of the Sun Bowl.

References

  1. ↑ "Northwestern vs UCLA Bruins (Dec 30, 2005)". UCLABruins.com. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  2. ↑ "NCAA.com – The Official Website of NCAA Championships | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com.
  3. 1 2 3 UCLA football Media Guide (PDF copy available at www.uclabruins.com)
  4. ↑ "Josh Rosen leads UCLA to 34-point comeback to stun Texas A&M | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  5. 1 2 72nd Sun Bowl Recap Sun Bowl Official Site
  6. ↑ AP - No. 17 UCLA 50, Northwestern 38. Associated Press, December 30, 2005
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