SAN DIEGO - Jorvorskie Lane has the chance to dance his way into Holiday Bowl lore. "He is a unique athlete. He would be a great ballerina because his feet are as good as any big man I've ever seen," Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione said Wednesday, a day before his No. 21 Aggies face the No. 20 California Golden Bears at Qualcomm Stadium. The mental image of a 6-foot, 274-pound tailback in tights might be a bit much to handle, but Aggies (9-3) fans have gotten used to the sight of him plowing into the end zone. Lane tied a 79-year-old school record with 19 rushing touchdowns this year and will be one of the players to watch in the Holiday Bowl. Franchione correctly guessed that Cal coach Jeff Tedford had a hard time finding someone to emulate Lane on the scout team during practice. "Not many people have a 275-pound guy that they can put back there and try to give a look to," Franchione said. "He is a big guy that can get going downhill. He's a load to stop." Said Tedford: "There is no one you can do that one with. Our 275-pound guys are linemen. They're nowhere near the ballerina he talked about that he is. So it's very difficult to simulate somebody of that size and that speed and with that athleticism." Tedford is impressed with Lane's balance as much as he is with his power. "You see him sidestep, you see him do some things that guys that big normally can't do. He can shed tacklers and is very impressive." Lane, a sophomore, rushed for 689 yards.
"You're going to have to put a lot of guys on him," Tedford said. "He doesn't go down with one guy. You're going to have to put a lot of hats on the ball when he has it, and rally to it. It's very, very hard to simulate that." Lane also showed a nice touch with his hands. With the Aggies trailing Oklahoma State 27-20 and facing a fourth-and-13 from their own 32 with 1:43 left, Lane made a one-handed catch to keep the drive alive, and the Aggies won in overtime. The Golden Bears (9-3) have some talented players, too. Junior running back Marshawn Lynch and senior cornerback Daymeion Hughes were named the Pac-10 Conference offensive and defensive players of the year, the first time Cal pulled off the double. Lynch ran for 1,245 yards and nine touchdowns, and also had 31 catches for 311 yards and four scores. Hughes had eight interceptions, pushing his career total to 15, four of them for touchdowns. Cal receiver DeSean Jackson was named an All-American for returning four punts for touchdowns. With that kind of big-play potential, there's a chance for a classic wild Holiday Bowl to break out. "One thought you have to have for us is that it could get into a situation where you don't want to miss serve and miss your opportunity," Franchione said. "They can score quickly. I don't think it's the kind of game we want it to be, but we may have to match." Both teams are coming in off wins against their biggest rivals. Cal beat Stanford 26-17 on Dec. 2 and Texas A&M beat defending national champion Texas 12-7 on Nov. 24. This will be the Aggies' first appearance in the Holiday Bowl since they roughed up Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer in 1990. Both of Detmer's shoulders were separated as the Aggies routed BYU 65-14. The 51-point victory margin remains a Holiday Bowl record. After getting knocked out of the Rose Bowl picture in a 23-9 loss to Southern California on Nov. 18, Cal will be making its second trip to the Holiday Bowl in three years. In 2004, Cal was in position to end its long Rose Bowl drought but was leapfrogged in the final Bowl Championship Series standings by Texas. Relegated to the Holiday Bowl, the Golden Bears lost 45-31 to Texas Tech.
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