| 2011 TicketCity Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Cotton Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Fair Park Dallas, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Taylor Potts (QB, Texas Tech)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Texas Tech by 9[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Terry Leyden (MWC) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 40,121 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$1.2 million (per team) | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPNU | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Dave Pasch,Bob Griese,Chris Spielman andQuint Kessenich | ||||||||||||||||||
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The2011TicketCity Bowl was acollege footballbowl game played atCotton Bowl inDallas, Texas. The game was played on January 1,2011, at 12:00 p.m. ET and was telecast onESPNU. This game replaced theCotton Bowl Classic, which moved from its long-time home toCowboys Stadium in nearbyArlington in 2010, and pitted theNorthwestern Wildcats from theBig Ten Conference against theTexas Tech Red Raiders from theBig 12 Conference.[3] The game was originally labeled "The Dallas Football Classic," but on November 8, 2010, a deal was announced for TicketCity to become the title sponsor of the bowl.[4]
Northwestern was invited to the TicketCity Bowl after posting a 7–5 record in the regular season. The Wildcats made a school-record third-consecutive bowl appearance. The Wildcats had not won a bowl game since defeatingCalifornia in the1949 Rose Bowl. They fell toAuburn, 38–35, in overtime of theOutback Bowl last season. Northwestern has gone 0–2 since losing starting quarterbackDan Persa to a season-ending injury.
Texas Tech finished the regular season with a 7–5 record. The Red Raiders lost to three ranked opponents,Oklahoma,Oklahoma State andTexas, and defeated one,Missouri. They were on a two-game winning streak leading into the bowl game. Tech was ranked #24 in Jeff Sagarin's BCS computer ranking heading into the bowl matchup. This was the Raiders' eleventh-straight bowl game. They have gone 6–2 in their last eight bowl games, including defeatingMichigan State in last year'sAlamo Bowl 41–31.
Northwestern made its first appearance in a bowl game at the Cotton Bowl, while Texas Tech playing in its fifth bowl at the Stadium. The two teams had never played each other in the history of their programs. With the win, Tech won their first bowl game at the Cotton Bowl after failing the past four times in a drought that had begun in 1939.
| Scoring Play | Score | ||
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| 1st Quarter | |||
| TTU -Matt Williams 24-yard field goal, 5:18 | TTU 3–0 | ||
| TTU -Taylor Potts 13-yard pass toAustin Zouszalik (Matt Williams Kick), 0:39 | TTU 10–0 | ||
| 2nd Quarter | |||
| NW -Kain Colter 1-yard run (Two-Point conversion failed), 6:47 | TTU 10–6 | ||
| TTU - Taylor Potts 1-yard run (Matt Williams Kick), 4:15 | TTU 17–6 | ||
| TTU - Taylor Potts 6-yard pass toLyle Leong (Matt Williams Kick), 0:11 | TTU 24–6 | ||
| 3rd Quarter | |||
| NW -Stefan Demos 18-yard field goal, 11:25 | TTU 24–9 | ||
| TTU -Eric Stephans 86-yard run (Matt Williams Kick), 11:05 | TTU 31–9 | ||
| NW - Kain Colter 1-yard run (Kain Colter pass toJosh Rooks), 6:12 | TTU 31–17 | ||
| TTU - Taylor Potts 6-yard pass toTramain Swindall (Matt Williams Kick), 2:29 | TTU 38–17 | ||
| NW -Evan Watkins 4-yard run (Stefan Demos Kick), 1:52 | TTU 38–24 | ||
| 4th Quarter | |||
| NW - Evan Watkins 18-yard pass toDemetrius Fields (Stefan Demos Kick), 10:33 | TTU 38–31 | ||
| TTU - Taylor Potts 11-yard pass to Lyle Leong (Matt Williams Kick), 7:13 | TTU 45–31 | ||
| NW - 39-yard interception return byJordan Mabin (Stefan Demos Kick), 5:37 | TTU 45–38 | ||