EL PASO, Texas (AP) -Jonathan Stewart set a Sun Bowl record with a career-high 253 yards rushing and Justin Roper threw four touchdown passes in his first start as Oregon beat South Florida 56-21 on Monday.
The Ducks (9-4) scored 28 straight points in the third quarter to snap a four-game postseason losing streak. Oregon made it look easy against the Bulls (9-4) in a matchup of teams that were ranked No. 2 during the season.
The Ducks won for the first time since losing quarterback Dennis Dixon to a knee injury in November, snapping a three-game losing streak even though they set a Sun Bowl record with 138 penalty yards.
Roper started the scoring avalanche with a 14-yard TD strike to Jaison Williams and added a 15-yard scoring pass to Ed Dickson.
On the next play from scrimmage, Walter Thurmond stepped in front of a pass by South Florida’s Matt Grothe and returned it 25 yards for another TD, giving the Ducks a 39-14 lead midway through the third.
Grothe had another interception on the ensuing possession, the first of two for Oregon’s Jairus Byrd, setting up Roper’s 8-yard TD pass to Stewart.
On that drive, Stewart got free on a 16-yard gain, breaking the previous Sun Bowl record of 197 yards rushing set in 1977 by LSU’s Charles Alexander in a 24-14 loss to Stanford.
Just like that, Oregon’s 18-14 halftime lead had swelled to 46-14.
South Florida, which reached No. 2 in the country in just its 11th season playing football, missed a chance to win 10 games for the first time.
Music City Bowl
Kentucky 35, Florida State 28
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Andre Woodson threw four TD passes against a depleted Seminoles defense, and the Wildcats handed Bobby Bowden his first bowl loss in December.
Kentucky hadn’t ended back-to-back seasons with bowl wins since 1951-52, but the Wildcats pulled off the feat in Nashville one year after surprising Clemson.
Florida State was playing three dozen players short due to injuries and suspensions stemming from an academic cheating scandal.
Woodson capitalized on the missing depth and finished the season with 40 touchdown passes, breaking Tim Couch’s school-record of 37 set in 1998. It was Woodson’s 19th consecutive game with at least 200 passing yards and a scoring pass.
The Wildcats took the lead for good midway through the third quarter on Woodson’s 2-yard pass to Rafael Little, who ran for a season-high 152 yards. It was the 13th 100-yard rushing game for the senior running back, tying him for second on Kentucky’s career list.
Humanitarian Bowl
Fresno State 40, Georgia Tech 28
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Clifton Smith rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns, Tom Brandstater threw for a score and ran for another and the Bulldogs beat another BCS conference team in a bowl game.
Fresno State’s offense was surprisingly unstoppable against a Yellow Jackets (7-6) defense that was among the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference. After punting on its opening possession, the Bulldogs (9-4) scored 27 straight points, taking a 34-14 lead midway through the third quarter.
It’s Fresno State’s second bowl win over Georgia Tech, beating the Yellow Jackets 30-21 in the 2002 Silicon Valley Football Classic, and it made the Bulldogs 3-0 against the ACC in bowls. Fresno State has won four of its last five bowl appearances, all four wins coming against teams from the six conferences with automatic bids to the Bowl Championship Series.
M) and Chris Thurmond (Houston).
Armed Forces Bowl
California 42, Air Force 36
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – DeSean Jackson and Robert Jordan returned from their first-quarter benchings and caught touchdown passes to help California rally from a three-TD deficit.
California (7-6), ranked No. 2 in the nation in October before losing six of seven games, managed to finish with its sixth straight winning season.
Jackson, Jordan and leading tackler Thomas DeCoud were held out of the starting lineup and didn’t play the first quarter because of unspecified violations of team rules that occurred before the team got to Fort Worth for the bowl.
Helped by a botched kickoff, Air Force (9-4) led 21-0 after scoring twice in a 2-minute span early in the second quarter – before Jackson and Jordan even got on the field.
Jordan finished with six catches for 148 yards, and Jackson caught five passes for 81 yards. Justin Forsett ran for 140 yards and two TDs on 23 carries for Cal.
Air Force lost four-year starting quarterback Shaun Carney to serious right knee injury when his leg buckled awkwardly while being tackled near the Cal goal line in the third quarter.
Carney had 15 carries for 108 yards rushing and a TD. He was 5-of-8 passing for 68 yards.
Insight Bowl
Oklahoma State 49, Indiana 33
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – Zac Robinson threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores, leading Oklahoma State past Indiana.
A sophomore making his 11th college start, Robinson completed 24 of 34 passes for 302 yards. He also threw an interception.
Dantrell Savage ran for 100 yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys (7-6, 4-4 Big 12), who matched their season-high point total.
The loss capped an emotional year for the Hoosiers (7-6, 3-5 Big Ten), whose coach, Terry Hoeppner, died of complications a brain tumor in June. Kellen Lewis passed for 204 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 83 yards and another touchdown for the Hoosiers in their first postseason appearance since 1993.
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