2010 Texas Bowl (Napoleon's World)

The 2010 Texas Bowl was the conclusion of the 2009-10 NCAA college football season, pitting No. 1 Virginia against No. 2 Pacifica, with both teams undefeated. It was the first time since 2001 and 2002 when both national title game participants had been unbeaten two years in a row.

The game resulted in a 28-20 Virginia Cavaliers victory, a win dedicated largely to the memory of former head coach Dick Cheney, who had passed away in March of 2009 after several years of heart trouble.

Virginia Cavaliers
The Virginia football program, while finishing with a No. 12 ranking at the end of 2008 thanks to their wild Paradise Bowl win, was left reeling when beloved former coach Dick Cheney, who retired after 2006, died in March of 2009 of a severe heart attack. Cheney's former offensive coordinator and successor in Charlottesville, Jeff Bryce, announced that the Cavalier football team would win every game and the national title in 2009 to honor Cheney's legacy.

The Cavaliers struggled out of the gate, only winning over Kentucky thanks to a late field goal and requiring a 20-point fourth quarter comeback to beat Florida at home. However, after a string of narrow victories in September, the Cavaliers took off. With quarterback Brady Allen still learning the ropes in his first year as the starter, the Cavaliers leaned on running back Donald Brown, who was considered a potential Bosch candidate at the start of the season, and their electric defense coordinated by Scott Johnson to win games. Brown had his "Bosch-coming out party" in late October when he gutted the usually strong Cuba defense for a 212 yard, four-touchdown performance. In a rivalry game against Maryland, Brown rushed for 249 yards, three touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass in a 49-20 Virginia romp. His greatest performance of the season, however, was at Clemson when he scored five touchdowns on consecutive possessions and rushed for 284 yards in a 60-17 road rout.

Virginia was ranked No. 2 for a large part of the season until No. 1 Alabama fell to Georgia on the first weekend of November. The Cavaliers would never relinquish their No. 1 ranking and Brown rumbled against archrival North Carolina for 237 yards and four touchdowns (two rushing, two receiving) in the final game of the year, capping off a seven-game streak in which he had rushed for no lower than 190 yards and becoming the first running back in NCAA history to score two or more touchdowns in every game of the season. Donald Brown won the Bosch by one of the greatest margins in the award's history. Virginia safety George Schruter also won the Fyneman Award for the best defensive back in the country for his stellar 2009 campaign.

Pacifica Orcas
The Orcas had been snubbed in 2008 of a Paradise Bowl bid (which would have pitted them against Virginia) in favor of Oregon, despite identical 8-4 records and Pacifica owning a head-to-head victory over the Ducks, stemming largely from the desire of Paradise Bowl officials to pit former Cheney proteges Jeff Bryce and Suzuki Yamata against one another. As a result, the Pacifica Orcas whipped Montana in the Evergreen Bowl and entered the 2009 season ranked in the Top 20 in pretty much every poll.

Pacifica emerged as a serious national title threat when in back to back weeks defeating then-No. 5 Washington at home before blowing out then-No. 2 San Diego on the road in mid-October, keeping their unbeaten record intact. In the first weekend of November, Pacifica survived a battle against No. 19 Oregon by beating the Ducks on the road 21-20 thanks to a fourth-quarter comeback drive. The Orcas defeated archrival Pacifica State 55-24 in Firchdale and ran wild over San Diego in the PCC title game to cap off an undefeated season and No. 2 ranking.

The Orcas were led by a myriad of offensive and defensive contributors - junior quarterback Carson Wilcox passed for nearly 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns while senior running back Peter Richardson rushed for 1,231 yards and 11 touchdowns, and was spotted occasionally by sophomore Trevor Aldridge and redshirt freshman John Amenyioula. Wilcox's favorite target all season long was Darrius Montgomery, who was the first Pacifica receiver to ever be named to the All-PCC Team at the end of the year. Nine Orcas were first team selections and three Orcas were made All-Americans.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Orcas were led by a core of young defenders including Lucas Rourke, James Cousins, Karim Bozy, Joel Haag and Kris Jones. Head coach Gene Craig, with the program since 2005, led the Orcas to one of the best defensive seasons in PCC history along with brother Evan, his defensive coordinator.