Quarterbacks Offer Contrasting Styles

SAN DIEGO —  For a couple of guys who would prefer to be somewhere else, Texas Coach Mack Brown and Washington State Coach Bill Doba were overflowing with compliments Monday about their Holiday Bowl hosts.

“A wonderful experience,” Brown said of the luncheons and the trips to the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis and other notable sites. Ditto for Doba.

Wonderful, maybe, but not what they wanted.

Mack and Doba were desirous of a bowl championship series game. Those hopes crumbled when the Cougars lost to Washington, 27-19, and Kansas State upset Oklahoma and received the Fiesta Bowl bid that the Longhorns had thought was theirs.

So, Texas (10-2) and Washington State (9-3) will play in the 26th Holiday Bowl, which, although not a BCS game, has a tradition of high scoring and heart-pounding finishes.

This is the third appearance here in four years for Texas and the first since 1981 for Washington State.

Kickoff is at 5 tonight at Qualcomm Stadium.

Both squads feature dominant quarterbacks and sack-happy defenses.

Texas freshman Vince Young, since wresting the starter role at midseason from junior Chance Mock, has thrown for six touchdowns and run for 11 touchdowns and 948 yards.

Still, the running attack may not be enough, given the Cougars’ stingy defense, which allowed an average of only 87.5 yards rushing. “You cannot line up and run the football and beat Washington State,” Brown said.

If Young is a runner, Cougar senior quarterback Matt Kegel is a passer: 19 touchdowns and an average 228 yards a game, although, on the downside, 13 interceptions.

Beyond the numbers, there’s his moxie. Against Stanford, his shoulder was dislocated; against USC, a knee ligament was torn; and against UCLA, his throwing shoulder was badly sprained. He sat out only enough downs to get patched up.

“He’s a special kid,” Doba said.

Less special could be the weather: Rain is forecast.