Sooners shine in bowl win
1/1/2010EL PASO - The combination of Landry Jones and Ryan Broyles was almost unstoppable for Oklahoma.
And while the Sooners' steely defense couldn't quite stop Toby Gerhart, yards were hard to come by for the Heisman Trophy runner-up.
Broyles set a Sun Bowl record with three touchdown receptions, Jones passed for 418 yards, and Oklahoma slowed Gerhart just enough to beat No. 19 Stanford 31-27 yesterday.
"It was a total business trip," said Jones, who completed 30 of 51 with one interception. "We were coming down here to take care of business. The game plan, the way we prepared, it was really good this week."
Jones took over as Oklahoma's quarterback after 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford was injured in an opening loss to BYU.
Broyles finished with 156 yards receiving and set Oklahoma's single-game record with 13 receptions in front of a Sun Bowl record crowd of 53,713.
Jones found Broyles on TD strikes of 30, 13, and 6 yards, and the Sooners led for good at 31-24 after DeMarco Murray flipped across the goal line late in the third quarter.
The victory capped an injury-plagued season that opened with national title hopes, but coach Bob Stoops said he was proud that the Sooners (8-5) never quit. "They were ready to play to the end, no matter the situation," he said. "We got some tough breaks. That happens. But we rose to the occasion and still did what we needed to do."
Gerhart, who led the nation with 1,736 yards rushing, ran for 135 on 32 carries and scored two TDs in the first half in what is likely his final game for Stanford. The senior could petition the NCAA for another season of eligibility because of injuries early in his career, but he has said he'll enter the NFL draft if he is projected to be a first-round pick.
Stanford was making its first bowl appearance since losing to Georgia Tech in the 2001 Seattle Bowl.
Oklahoma rallied with 14 straight points in the third quarter, then held on after Patrick O'Hara missed a 32-yard field goal try with 3:19 remaining. Stanford (8-5) got a final opportunity but turned it over on downs.
"We had our chances," Gerhart said. "We had the ball with two minutes and something to go. We didn't capitalize."
The Cardinal pulled to 31-27 on a 22-yard field goal by Nate Whitaker, capping a series that began when Broyles mishandled a punt. Oklahoma protested because Stanford's Johnson Bademosi hit Broyles just as the ball arrived, but officials gave possession to the Cardinal.
Gerhart did not find a lot of room against the nation's No. 7 rushing defense. He averaged 4.2 per attempt, and his longest run was a 26-yard gain in the fourth quarter.
Stanford's Tavita Pritchard, who threw three passes in four games this season, made his 20th career start because standout freshman Andrew Luck wasn't ready after surgery to repair a broken right index finger. Pritchard was 8 of 19 for 118 yards and was intercepted twice.
The Sooners' tough-luck season ended with a victory and yet another injury. Defensive tackle Adrian Taylor left the Sun Bowl with his left wrapped in an air cast.
HOUSTON - Ricky Dobbs ran for 166 yards and three touchdowns and Navy manhandled Missouri with its triple-option offense.
Dobbs also threw a touchdown pass to Bobby Doyle, and Marcus Curry ran for a score as the Midshipmen (10-4) rushed for 385 yards against Missouri's 12th-ranked run defense. Navy won time of possession by almost 22 minutes and ran 81 offensive plays to only 57 for the Tigers.
Blaine Gabbert threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Danario Alexander on Missouri's second play from scrimmage, but the Tigers mustered only 298 yards the rest of the game - largely because they only had the ball for just more than 19 minutes.
Gabbert also threw two interceptions and was sacked four times as Missouri (8-5) lost for the second time in its last five bowl appearances.
TEMPE, Ariz. - Alexander Robinson ran for 137 yards, and Austen Arnaud threw for one touchdown and ran for another as Iowa State defeated Minnesota, capping the Cyclones' first winning season since 2005.
The Cyclones (7-6) overcame four turnovers by Arnaud, who threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles. Iowa State won for the third time in 10 bowl games - and the second in Arizona.
Minnesota's Adam Weber threw for 261 yards and a score, and Kyle Theret picked off two passes for the Golden Gophers (6-7), who became the first three-time Insight Bowl loser.
FORT WORTH - Asher Clark and Jared Tew each ran for more than 100 yards with two touchdowns and Air Force's top-ranked passing defense had six interceptions against NCAA passing leader Case Keenum, leading the Falcons over Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Air Force's plan to limit Keenum and the nation's most explosive offense worked almost flawlessly. The Falcons (8-5) ran for 402 yards to go with Tim Jefferson's effective passing (10 of 14 for 161 yards), holding the ball for 41 minutes and then coming up with the big defensive plays.
Anthony Wright had three of the interceptions, and Chris Thomas had two picks to go with his 12 tackles.
Keenum was 24 of 41 with a season-low 222 yards and a touchdown for the Cougars (10-4). In his other 13 games this season, he had only nine interceptions while throwing for 5,449 yards with 43 touchdowns.