Back and forth they went. A kickoff return for 87 yards. A pitch around the left end for 60. Touchdown passes for 49 and 37 yards. Two touchdowns scored on fourth downs. A pair of botched onside kicks. And that was just the first half. Toledo and Air Force ran up the score early and often Wednesday at the Military Bowl and played to a wild finish, decided only when Air Force's 2-point conversion attempt went awry with 52 seconds to play to give Toledo a 42-41 victory. Air Force lined up to kick the extra point after Zach Kauth's 33-yard touchdown catch on fourth-and-3 pulled the Falcons within a point. But holder David Baska ran the option instead and fumbled the ball toward kicker Parker Herrington, who chased it until it went out of bounds in the end zone. Bernard Reedy's third touchdown of the game — a 37-yard catch, spin and run on a pass from Terrance Owens — gave Toledo a 42-35 lead with 5:01 to play and put the Rockets (9-4) over the 40-point mark for a sixth straight game. The win also marked a successful debut for Matt Campbell, the youngest coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The 32-year-old Campbell, who has been the Rockets' offensive coordinator for three years, was promoted to the head job after Tim Beckman left earlier this month for Illinois. Reedy had a career-high 126 yards on four catches and was named the game's MVP. Owens completed 19 of 24 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns. Adonis Thomas ran for 108 yards on 22 carries. Tim Jefferson, the first quarterback in service academy history to lead his team to four consecutive bowl games, completed 13 of 22 passes for 159 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for Air Force (7-6). The game matched two of the top 25 scoring teams in the country, and they wasted little time living up to their reputations. It was Mid-American Conference member Toledo's spread offense against Mountain West Air Force's triple option, and the idea of a huddle seemed a quaint, antiquated concept. Texas 21, California 10: David Ash threw for one touchdown and caught a TD pass to lead Texas to a victory against California in the Holiday Bowl. The Longhorns (8-5) had five takeaways and sacked Cal's Zach Maynard six times. The Golden Bears (7-6) are winless in five games against the Longhorns dating to 1959. Ash caught a 4-yard pass from wide receiver Jaxon Shipley in the second quarter to join BYU's Steve Young, Texas A&M's Bucky Richardson and Oregon's Joey Harrington as quarterbacks who've caught scoring passes in the Holiday Bowl. Texas coach Mack Brown joked on Tuesday how much it still bugged him that Harrington caught a TD pass in the Ducks' 35-30 win against Texas in the 2000 Holiday Bowl. The Oregon offensive coordinator then was Jeff Tedford, who has been Cal's coach since 2002. Harrington now works for the Longhorn Network.
