No. 20 California 45, No. 21 Texas A&M 10

SAN DIEGO (AP) _ There could very well come a time when the California Golden Bears end their Rose Bowl drought, which has now reached 48 years. <br/><br/>For this year, at least, they were happy to be

Friday, December 29th 2006, 6:32 am

By: News On 6

SAN DIEGO (AP) _ There could very well come a time when the California Golden Bears end their Rose Bowl drought, which has now reached 48 years.

For this year, at least, they were happy to be playing in the Holiday Bowl.

Two years after a BCS snub led to an uninspired trip to San Diego, the No. 21 Golden Bears dominated the No. 21 Texas A&M Aggies 45-10 on Thursday night behind Marshawn Lynch, who ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

Nate Longshore threw for a touchdown and ran for another, and Lynch's backup, Justin Forsett, ran for 124 yards and one score.

Just as important, the Golden Bears' defense showed a Big 12 team that the Pac-10 can be tough, too.

Cal (10-3) put an emphatic final touch to its second 10-win season in three years. The Golden Bears lost to Arizona and Southern California in disheartening fashion before beating rival Stanford and then the Aggies (9-4). The loss to USC cost the Bears a chance to play in the Rose Bowl for the first time since Jan. 1, 1959.

In 2004, Cal was in position to finally be in Pasadena on New Year's Day but was leapfrogged in the final Bowl Championship Series standings by Texas. Although the fourth-ranked Golden Bears claimed not to be bothered by the snub, they couldn't even hang with No. 23 Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl and were humiliated 45-31.

``There were a lot of things surrounding the Holiday Bowl last time,'' Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. ``Obviously this was a different experience. Last time we were here we felt slighted by a computer ranking. This year we were where we deserved to play.''

The Golden Bears heard a lot of talk about how physical Big 12 teams are.

``We wanted to prove our brand of football and I think we showed ourselves well,'' Tedford said. ``I think we played pretty physical football in the Pac-10.''

Aggies coach Dennis Franchione agreed.

``Cal played a great game,'' Franchione said. ``We were not up to the task. They controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.''

Lynch, the Pac-10 offensive player of the year, scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter to give Cal a 14-7 lead. While Longshore lined up at wide receiver, Lynch was in the shotgun formation, took the snap and bulled into the end zone.

Lynch scored on a 1-yard run in the third, leaping over the line and fumbling as he came down in the end zone. The Aggies recovered and referee John O'Neill signaled first down for Texas A&M, then said the play was being reviewed. Replay official Jim Augustyn ruled that Lynch had possession when he broke the plane of the end zone, making it 21-10 Cal.

While the Golden Bears moved up and down the field, their defense came up big, too.

Jorvorskie Lane, Texas A&M's 274-pound tailback, wasn't much of a factor after tying a 79-year-old school record with 19 rushing touchdowns this year. He was held to 36 yards and no touchdowns on seven carries.

Longshore scored on a 1-yard keeper to tie the game at 7 in the first quarter, eight plays after Texas A&M's Stephen McGee threw a 19-yard TD pass to Chad Schroeder.

Longshore also threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Lavelle Hawkins late in the third quarter. He finished 19-of-24 for 235 yards.

Texas A&M gambled a few times too many. After Bryce Reed gained 7 yards on a fake punt in the first quarter, the drive bogged down and the Aggies went for it on fourth-and-8 from the Cal 32. McGee was sacked by Nu'u Tafisi.

Lynch scored his first TD five plays later.

His second touchdown was set up when Texas A&M's Justin Brantly shanked a punt out of bounds for no gain at the Aggies 41. Lynch scored four plays later.

The Aggies failed to convert on another fourth-down play in the fourth quarter.

``It comes down to making plays,'' McGee said. ``When it mattered most, it seemed like we were always a yard short.''

Cal's Eddie Young intercepted Aggies backup quarterback Ty Branyon with 2:25 left, setting up a 3-yard score by freshman tailback Bryan Schutte.

Tedford said he would have preferred that the Golden Bears take a knee to end the game, but that the players wanted Schutte, one of the quietest players on the team, to get a touchdown.