Dec. 29, 2006

SAN DIEGO - Marshawn Lynch capped his junior season with the California Golden Bears by leading the Bears to a 45-10 victory over Texas A&M in the 29th annual Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. Lynch earned Co-Offensive MVP honors after rushing for 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the victory. It marked the second straight year that Lynch was a bowl MVP as he also collected the honor in 2005 at the Las Vegas Bowl.

The Oakland product tallied his first score on a two-yard run early in the second quarter when he took a direct snap and darted into the end zone to put the Bears on top 14-7. He added another score on a one-yard plunge over the top of the pile early in the third quarter to make the score 21-10 in favor of Cal.

Lynch shared Offensive MVP honors with sophomore quarterback Nate Longshore, who completed 19-of-24 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown. Senior linebacker Desmond Bishop was the Defensive MVP after tallying 12 tackles and being the driving force behind Cal's defense stopping the vaunted Texas A&M option attack.

Lynch closes his career with 3,230 rushing yards, second all-time at Cal. He had 1,356 yards in 2006, the third-best single season effort in school history. He is also just the second Bear back to gain 1,000 rushing yards in two separate seasons. His 15 touchdowns (11 rushing, four receiving) this year are the fifth-most in a single season at Cal.

Lynch also closed the year as the Pac-10 leader in rushing yards per game (104.3), all-purpose yards per game (137.3) and touchdowns (15).