College Football Nation: Brut Sun Bowl
All-Big 12 bowl team dotted by seven Cornhuskers
But there were still enough top producers to fill out a team of top performers from the conference's 4-4 bowl season.
Here's a look at my top performers:
OFFENSE
QB Landry Jones, Oklahoma: Passed for career-best 418 yards and added three passing TDs to direct Sooners’ Sun Bowl victory over Stanford.
RB Alexander Robinson, Iowa State: Rushed for 137 yards -- his sixth 100-yard game of the season -- to pace Cyclones’ victory over Minnesota in the Insight Bowl.
RB Baron Batch, Texas Tech: Rushed for 100 yards, scored two TDs and produced six receptions for 85 yards in Red Raiders’ comeback victory in the Alamo Bowl over Michigan State.
WR Jordan Shipley, Texas: Overcame slow start to produce 10 catches for 122 yards and two TDs against Alabama, becoming Texas’ leading career receiver.
WR Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma: Produced career-best totals of 13 receptions, 156 receiving yards and also matched career high with three TD receptions to help beat Stanford in the Sun Bowl.
TE Trent Ratterree, Oklahoma: Grabbed three receptions for 86 yards, including pivotal 38-yard catch that was Jones’ longest pass of game in Sun Bowl victory over Stanford.
OL Ricky Henry, Nebraska: Helped Cornhuskers dominate in the trenches in biggest Cornhuskers' bowl victory since 2000.
OL Kelechi Osemele, Iowa State: Dominant effort helped Cyclones claim first bowl victory since 2004 and only third bowl victory in school history.
OL Jacob Hickman, Nebraska: Cornhuskers’ center set the tone for easy victory over Arizona.
OL Brandon Carter, Texas Tech: Colorful lineman helped Tech roll up school bowl-record 31 first downs, 579 total yards against Michigan State.
OL Trent Williams, Oklahoma: All-American moved from tackle to center and didn’t miss a beat in the Sooners’ Sun Bowl triumph.
DEFENSE
DL Sergio Kindle, Texas: Had his best game of the season with eight tackles, 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for losses against Alabama.
DL Pierre Allen, Nebraska: Set the tone for Nebraska’s pass rush with two sacks, four tackles, forced a fumble and notched a quarterback hurry in the Cornhuskers’ shutout over Arizona -- first for a Big 12 team in a bowl game in conference history.
DL Christopher Lyle, Iowa State: Insight Bowl defensive MVP produced five tackles, including two for losses and one sack to lead Cyclones’ victory over Minnesota.
DL Rajon Henley, Texas Tech: Four tackles, four quarterback hurries, one sack against Michigan State.
LB Phillip Dillard, Nebraska: Produced team-high seven stops, broke up one pass in Cornhuskers’ shutout over Arizona.
LB Ryan Reynolds, Oklahoma: Produced 12 tackles (three solo, nine assists), two quarterback hurries and one tackle for loss against Stanford.
LB Andre Sexton, Oklahoma State: Produced 10 tackles, two interceptions and one tackle for a loss in Cotton Bowl loss to Mississippi.
DB Matt O’Hanlon, Nebraska: Earned Holiday Bowl defensive MVP honors with five stops, a 37-yard interception and a pass broken up against Arizona.
DB Ter’ran Benton, Iowa State: In his first game back after recovering from mid-season broken leg, notched five tackles and game-clinching fumble recovery in Cyclones’ Insight Bowl victory over Minnesota.
DB Jamar Wall, Texas Tech: Produced six tackles, broke up two passes and one interception against Michigan State.
DB Quinton Carter, Oklahoma: Notched eight stops (five tackles, three assists) and added an interception in Sun Bowl victory over Stanford.
SPECIALISTS
P Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State: Averaged 50.2 yards per punt on his eight punts, including four punts inside 20 in Cotton Bowl.
K Alex Henery, Nebraska: Converted all four field goals of 47, 50, 43 and 22 yards to set the Holiday Bowl record. His big night gave him a Nebraska single-season record of 24 for the season.
RET Niles Paul, Nebraska: The Holiday Bowl offensive MVP amassed 94 yards in returns, including a 49-yard kickoff return and a 28-yard punt return. He also added four catches for 123 yards, including a clinching 74-yard TD grab from Zac Lee.
Best and worst of the Big 12's bowl games
Best game: In the grand scheme of things, Iowa State’s 14-13 triumph over Minnesota in the Insight Bowl was a matchup of two 6-6 teams. But the Cyclones’ pulsating victory still provided much excitement for the Cyclones. Alexander Robinson rushed for 137 yards in the victory that was settled by a late fumble recovery by ISU cornerback Ter’ran Benton, who was playing in his first game since breaking his leg on Oct. 24. Benton pounced on the turnover by Minnesota’s MarQueis Gray and the ISU did the rest with a clock-killing drive that provided an unexpected bowl victory for coach Paul Rhoads. Yes, that’s the same team that was expected to struggle to stay out of the North Division cellar before the season.
Best relief performance: Texas Tech starting quarterback Taylor Potts had a strong game in the Valero Alamo Bowl, but the Red Raiders needed a spark as they trailed Michigan State 31-27 early in the fourth quarter. Backup quarterback Steven Sheffield responded by completing his first six passes after relieving Potts, driving for two touchdowns to claim the victory. Potts earned the game’s most valuable player honors, but Sheffield finished by completing 9-for-11 passes for 88 yards as he directed the comeback.
Best use of bowl practice: Nebraska’s maligned offense showed some unexpected punch against Arizona in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson took advantage of bowl preparations to rebuild quarterback Zac Lee’s confidence and incorporate freshman Rex Burkhead into the Wildcat formation. The result was a 33-0 victory over the Wildcats with 223 yards of rushing -- most for the Cornhuskers since the first game of the season.
Best bow to youth: Injuries forced Oklahoma to employ freshmen defenders including defensive linemen David King, defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland and cornerback Demontre Hurst against Stanford in the Brut Sun Bowl. The trio came up big throughout the game to spark the Sooners’ 31-27 victory over the Cardinal. “The future’s bright,” Oklahoma defensive ends coach Chris Wilson understated to the Oklahoman after the game.
Most significant injury: Texas moved the ball smartly against Alabama, gaining 26 yards on five plays with Colt McCoy in charge. But McCoy went down with nerve damage to his right shoulder, the Longhorns’ offense unraveled during the rest of the half with backup Garrett Gilbert at quarterback. Alabama took advantage to charge a 24-6 halftime and take control of the Citi BCS National Championship Game.
Worst reaction to a defensive formation: Navy defensive coordinator Buddy Green dared Missouri to run the ball by using an alignment with two down linemen. Even with Derrick Washington in the backfield, the Tigers could produce only 65 yards rushing as they repeatedly passed and sputtered in a 35-13 loss to the Midshipmen.
Worst finish: Mississippi’s defense took over down the stretch, forcing turnovers on the Cowboys’ final six turnovers. Zac Robinson’s offense contributed four interceptions and his team lost two fumbles as the Rebels claimed a 21-7 victory over Oklahoma State in the AT&T Cotton Bowl.
Worst play call: Texas could have gone to halftime trailing by only 11 points. But Texas coach Mack Brown elected to have Garrett Gilbert attempt a seemingly safe shovel pass to D.J. Monroe. The ball was batted around and finally ended up in the arms of Alabama defensive lineman Marcell Dareus, who then stiff-armed Gilbert to the ground and pirouetted around Kyle Hix en route to a 28-yard touchdown return.
Worst officiating call: With about nine minutes remaining in a tie game, Oklahoma State had the ball on the Ole Miss 19-yard line and appeared poised to claim the lead. Ole Miss defensive tackle Jerrell Powe looked to have obviously jumped offsides on a snap as he charged past center Andrew Lewis before the snap was completed. Feeling that he had a free play, Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson threw to the end zone, where he was intercepted by Ole Miss free safety Kendrick Lewis in the end zone. Robinson begged to have the call overturned, but the officials didn’t do it. The Cowboys unraveled from that point in the game.
Worst special teams: Texas A&M’s struggles on special teams were the biggest reason the Aggies dropped a 44-20 loss to Georgia in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl. The Bulldogs blocked a field-goal attempt, returned a kick for a touchdown and blocked a punt in the first half. The Aggies capped the debacle by snapping the ball over A&M punter Ryan Epperson's head in the third quarter, leading to another Georgia touchdown. The special-teams meltdown was the major reason the Aggies dropped their 11th game in their last 13 bowl games.
Brut Sun Bowl: Oklahoma (7-5) vs. Stanford (8-4)
At 7-5, Oklahoma already has lost more games in the regular season than in any previous season during coach Bob Stoops’ tenure. But the Sun Bowl game against Stanford still is important as the Sooners try to put a positive ending to a nightmarish season.
WHO TO WATCH: Ryan Broyles, WR/KR, Oklahoma
Whether it’s catching passes, running reverses or running back punts, Broyles is the Sooners' top playmaker. He led the team with 76 receptions for 964 yards and 12 touchdown grabs and has averaged 16.5 yards per punt return. And he has a nose for the end zone with 14 touchdowns that led the conference. His 1,565 all-purpose yards rank fourth in the Bob Stoops era and he twice produced 11 catches in a game. And Broyles is in line to become the first wide receiver to lead Oklahoma in scoring in the 72 seasons that the program has been tracking football statistics. When Broyles is making big plays, the Sooners have their best shot to win and quarterback Landry Jones’ confidence is at its peak. A big game from Broyles will be vitally important if this game turns out to be a shootout as so many bowl games seem to do.
WHAT TO WATCH: Oklahoma’s rush defense against Toby Gerhart
The Sooners’ rush defense is their strength on that side of the ball, ranking seventh nationally. With Gerald McCoy and Adrian Taylor at tackle and Jeremy Beal and Frank Alexander at end, the Sooners have one of the most productive defensive fronts in the country. But the Sooners still will be challenged by Gerhart, who ranked second in Heisman balloting on the strength of a late surge that saw him rush for 1,736 yards this season -- including an average of 185.5 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns in his last four games. With Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck doubtful because of a broken right index finger, backup quarterback Tavita Pritchard likely will lean on Gerhart more than usual. And considering he averaged 29 carries in his final four games of the season, the interior of the Sooners’ defense might brace for a big test in the game.
WHY WATCH: Can the Sooners turn around their recent bowl slump?
Oklahoma’s struggles in recent bowls have made the Sooners a national punchline with five straight losses in BCS games and three consecutive losses in national championship games. While the Sun Bowl might not have the national luster of some of their recent bowl games, just winning the final game of the season would be huge for the Sooners’ psyche -- especially after all of this season’s early disappointments. A triumph over the Cardinal would enable the Sooners to produce some positive momentum heading into 2010.
PREDICTION: There might be some concern about how motivated the Sooners will be in El Paso after playing in BCS games in seven of their last nine seasons. But the struggles in those recent games should have this group excited just to try to win a bowl game for a change. With Luck likely out, the Sooners will be catching a break. Look for the Sooners to try to control Gerhart and force Pritchard to beat them passing. The Sooners also look to have too many offensive weapons against a pedestrian Stanford defense that likely will have trouble matching them athletically. Oklahoma 38, Stanford 24.
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
A look back at the best and worst of the Big East bowl season:
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| Dale Zanine/US Presswire | |
| Pat White went out with a bang, passing for a career-high 332 yards. |
Best performance: Just when you thought Pat White had shown us everything in his bag of tricks, the West Virginia quarterback goes out and shreds a good North Carolina pass defense for a career-best 332 passing yards while completing 26 of 32 throws in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. White went out the only appropriate way: a winner.
Worst performance: Cincinnati and Pittsburgh's offenses combined for seven total points in the FedEx Orange and Brut Sun bowls, respectively, and zero points in either second half. It wasn't a great year for offense in the Big East, and the league's top two scoring teams proved it in the postseason.
Best closing statement: Connecticut running back Donald Brown was wrongly ignored during awards season but showed why he was the nation's leading runner with a career-high 261 yards in the International Bowl, finishing his season with more than 2,000 yards. Then, in his postgame news conference, Brown announced he was skipping his senior year to turn pro.
Best red zone play call: Rutgers dialed up a fake field goal from the NC State 6-yard line on its first possession of the Papajohns.com Bowl, and first-time holder Rob Cervini ran past the surprised Wolfpack defenders for a touchdown.
Worst red zone play call: Trailing 20-7 midway through the fourth quarter, Cincinnati had a fourth and goal on the 1-yard line. Never a great short-yardage team, the Bearcats got away from what they do best and called for quarterback Tony Pike to try and run it in off tackle. He was stuffed, and the game was effectively over.
Best feel-good bowl win: After what amounted to a lost season, South Florida went out on a high note by blasting Memphis 41-14 in the magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl, even allowing senior quarterback Grant Gregory to play the entire fourth quarter.
Worst feel-bad bowl loss: After a breakthrough year had Pitt thinking about a 2009 Top 10 preseason ranking, the Panthers produced an unparalleled stink bomb in their 3-0 loss to Oregon State. Out of 68 bowl teams, Pittsburgh was the only one that didn't score a point, and the performance raised questions about the program's future.
Best atmosphere: The Meineke Car Care Bowl drew a sellout crowd of 73,712, fueled both by the home-state Tar Heels fans and the traveling horde of Mountaineers supporters. The game had the second-highest attendance of all the non-BCS bowls, behind only the Cotton Bowl, and fans were treated to a highly entertaining game.
Worst atmosphere: The magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl should eventually develop into one of the Big East's best postseason slots, given the sunny Florida locale. But the inaugural game attracted an announced crowd of just 25,055 (an estimate that seems generous), making it the second-lowest turnout of bowl season. It doesn't help when Memphis claims only 1,000 of its 10,000-ticket allotment.
Best postgame quote: From West Virginia coach Bill Stewart, remarking on White's accomplishments and the state of his team: "Those people out there in the old gold and blue, they all love him," Stewart said of White. "About half of them would like to hang me. The other half would probably like to make me governor. But, I'm not mad at any of them. You know why? Because I'm one of them. They have such a passion in West Virginia for football. All they want is for us to be the best."
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| AP Photo/LM Otero | |
| Pittsburgh quarterback Bill Stull is sacked by Oregon State's Casey Noack (50) and Victor Butler (90) during the first half of the Sun Bowl. Stull was sacked six times in the loss. |
Pittsburgh had hoped to use the Brut Sun Bowl as a springboard into big things next year, possibly even a preseason top 10 ranking.
What the Panthers ought to do now is find every available tape of the game and burn it, then hope no one remembers what happened.
In what has to be hands-down the worst bowl game of the year, Pitt lost 3-0 to Oregon State. Instead of building momentum, all Dave Wannstedt's team did was raise more doubts among fans whether this program can take the next step. Here's the answer: Without better quarterback play, it can't.
It's not fair to pin all the blame on quarterback Bill Stull. He was running for his life most plays, got knocked down a ton and even hurt his wrist. The biggest factor was that Pitt played without left tackle Jason Pinkston, who had a shoulder injury. Oregon State's defensive line absolutely decimated the Pittsburgh offensive front, which had been a strength of the team most of the season.Then there was a snapping wind that made throwing long patterns difficult, if not impossible, for both teams.
Still, Stull had been very shaky down the stretch this season, and he didn't have a strong enough arm to combat the wind. Why offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh didn't call more short passes or over-the-middle routes is a mystery to me. The long fades to Jonathan Baldwin had no chance of working.
The ugly numbers: Stull was 7-of-24 for 54 yards and an interception before Pat Bostick played the final four minutes. With no passing game, the Beavers loaded up against LeSean McCoy, who finished with 83 yards on 23 carries.
Pitt's only chance to score came on a late fourth-quarter field goal try by Connor Lee from 58 yards. Oregon State's score came on a 44-yarder late in the first half. Bostick was sacked near midfield to end the game.
On the plus side, Pittsburgh's defense played great and lived up to Rashaad Duncan's pregame boasts. But it had no help whatsoever.
Wannstedt can only hope recruits didn't see this game. Of course, not too many could have wanted to watch it from start to finish.
There goes the Big East's 3-0 record. The Pac-10 is now 4-0.Pitt's chances in today's Brut Sun Bowl will likely hinge on how well quarterback Bill Stull plays, Paul Zeise writes in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Will that happen? Even Dave Wannstedt doesn't sound too sure.
"I hope so, and I really wish I could tell you," Wannstedt said. "His arm is rested, I can tell you that; I just hope his mind is rested as well, but I just don't know."
Wannstedt says his slow start as the Panthers coach may be "a good omen" after early success at his NFL coaching stops led to doom and gloom, Kevin Gorman writes in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The El Paso Times' game preview focuses on the line play for each team. The same paper talks to Sun Bowl president Bernie Olivas, who dropped this nugget when asked about the future of the game after its contracts end in 2009:
"Everyone wants Notre Dame, including ourselves. If we renew our contract with the Big East we would want Notre Dame included in that and if Notre Dame continues to be a part of the Big East's bowl teams, we will keep looking at that."
• The Charleston Daily Mail's Mike Casazza analyzes West Virginia's 2009 prospects and finds that the Mountaineers have a lot of holes to fill, but a lot of talent as well. He includes this interesting prediction about the team's offense next year:
"The option will be just that and the pass will have to do just that. They'll try to incorporate the tight end and the quirky H-back. They'll go away from two-back sets in the shotgun and move toward four and five receiver sets as a staple. Newcomers will have to not only play, but make a difference."
• Bill Parcells and Cris Carter paid visits to Cincinnati's practice on Tuesday, Bill Koch writes in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
• Can Rutgers carry its momentum into 2009? A lot depends on the decision by Kenny Britt and whether the Scarlet Knights can find a suitable successor to Mike Teel, Tom Luicci writes in the Star-Ledger.
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett A brief primer on today's Brut Sun Bowl:
What to watch: Pittsburgh nose tackle Rashaad Duncan boasted that his team's defensive line is better than anything Oregon State has faced all season. We'll see. The Beavers' offensive line allowed only 16 sacks all season despite passing more than 400 times. If quarterback Lyle Moevao has time to pick on the suspect Pitt secondary, that could be bad news for the Panthers. Watch how Pittsburgh tries to get pressure from its ends and star linebacker Scott McKillop.
Who to watch: Pittsburgh running back LeSean McCoy is a threat to score every time he touches the ball. Oregon State will be loaded up to stop the sophomore, but Pitt's offensive line has done a good job all season of creating just enough space for McCoy to do his thing.
Why to watch: This could have been a marquee running back matchup between McCoy and Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers, who's injured and not expected to play. Still, it's an intriguing game between two high-scoring, young teams with lots of athletes. It's the perfect way to start your New Year's Eve party.
Rutgers and NC State are mirror images heading into this afternoon's Papajohns.com Bowl, Aditi Kinkhabwala writes in the Bergen Record. Mike Teel set a good example for the players that will follow him as Scarlet Knights quarterback, Brendan Prunty says in the Star-Ledger.
• Cincinnati's defense, a unit of mix-and-match parts, has been the team's backbone all season, Bill Koch writes in the Cincinnati Enquirer. The Bearcats will end up selling 13,000 of their 17,500 allotted tickets to the FedEx Orange Bowl, Koch reports. That's not too great, but the same story says Virginia Tech has sold only 5,000. And a lot of fans no doubt have bought tickets outside of the schools because prices are so cheap in the scalpers' market.
• Pitt defensive lineman Rashaad Duncan, in talking up his own unit to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Paul Zeise, may have provided Oregon State a little bulletin board material for Wednesday's Brut Sun Bowl. Take a listen:
"[Oregon State's offensive line] is a tight unit and seem to know where they are at. But the thing I see when I watched them is that I don't think they have faced a defensive line like us. I mean, the last defensive line they played like us was Penn State and the results speak for themselves.
"Like [Southern California], for instance, they had some big [defensive linemen] guys, but they weren't as quick as us. They might have been as strong us, but they are not as quick as us. Like I said, I don't think [Oregon State] has faced anyone like us and that will be our plan, to surprise them [with athleticism]. If not, if they want to make it a fight, we'll strap it up like we do."
This might be the last time a Big East team plays in the Sun Bowl for a while.
• West Virginia cornerback Brandon Hogan's illness remains a secret, Mike Casazza writes in the Charleston Daily Mail. Bill Stewart has nothing to apologize for in his first season at the helm of the Mountaineers, Mickey Furfari says in the Times West Virginian.
It's time for our next round of bowl picks, which for the Big East means the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Saturday, the Papajohns.com Bowl on Monday and the Brut Sun Bowl on Wednesday. Away we go ...
North Carolina 23, West Virginia 16: Never bet against Pat White in a bowl game; he's 3-0 and nobody gave him or his team a shot at beating Georgia or Oklahoma. While the Tar Heels aren't nearly as imposing as those former BCS foes, they are the wrong kind of matchup for the Mountaineers: a fast, athletic defense that can choke off the option with special teams that can cause problems. West Virginia's offense really struggled in the last two weeks of the season against similarly tough defenses from Pittsburgh and South Florida. Despite White and Co.'s big-game experience, North Carolina will beat its third Big East team of the season before a pro-Heels crowd in Charlotte.
Rutgers 34, NC State 20: The two Team Turnarounds meet in Dixie in maybe the best bowl showdown ever between a 7-5 club and a 6-6 one. Both played extremely well down the stretch, and you could argue that the Wolfpack played a tougher slate in the final month than Rutgers did. But there's no doubting how dominant the Scarlet Knights have been, and of the two quarterbacks who did their own revolutions, I like the senior Mike Teel better than the freshman Russell Wilson. Teel and Kenny Britt go out in style in Birmingham.
Pittsburgh 31, Oregon State 27: With Jacquizz Rodgers questionable for the game, Oregon State will have to find other ways to score. As bad as the Beavers' defense played in the season finale against Oregon, you have to wonder how they'll stop the Big East's top scoring team and LeSean McCoy. My guess is they won't. And if you're into the motivation aspect, Pitt is thrilled to be in El Paso, while Oregon State had its sights set on the Rose Bowl. The Panthers get their 10th win and set themselves up for a high 2009 preseason ranking.
Last week: 1-0
Season record: 47-23 (67 percent)
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