Roper, Stewart lead Oregon over USF in Sun Bowl
Running back sets record with career-high 253 yards rushing in 56-21 rout
David J. Phillip / AP |
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EL PASO, Texas - If anyone forgot how good Oregon looked earlier this season, Jonathan Stewart and Justin Roper offered a reminder.
Stewart set a Sun Bowl record with a career-high 253 yards rushing, while Roper, a redshirt freshman, threw four touchdown passes in his first start to help Oregon beat No. 23 South Florida 56-21 on Monday.
“I knew I was ready to play,” Stewart said. “I knew I was ready to run today. I think I played well, but I’ll give all the credit to the offensive line for opening up the truck lanes.”
The Ducks (9-4) scored 28 straight points in the third quarter to snap a four-game postseason losing streak, their first bowl win since beating Colorado 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl after the 2001 season.
Oregon made it look easy against the Bulls (9-4), who boasted one of the nation’s better defenses. Credit the legwork by Stewart, as smooth a runner as you’ll find, and steady play by Roper, who had three weeks to prepare.
“I didn’t expect to have that many stats. I expected to do well, but not that well,” said Roper, who completed 17 of 30 attempts for 180 yards with no interceptions. His tied a Sun Bowl record with the four TD passes.
The Ducks also won for the first time since losing quarterback Dennis Dixon to a knee injury in November, snapping a three-game losing streak that killed their national title hopes.
“Losing a Heisman Trophy candidate — the leading Heisman Trophy candidate — was a big blow,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. “It took us a couple of games to recover.”
How easy was it this time for the Ducks? They won a matchup of teams that’d been ranked No. 2 in the nation earlier this season handily, despite setting a Sun Bowl record with 138 penalty yards.
But Oregon’s offensive and defensive lines set the tone after halftime, and the Ducks never looked back.
“It came down to two things: Jonathan Stewart running the way he’s capable of and Justin Roper directing the offense without mistakes and making some plays in the red zone,” Bellotti said.
Roper started the second-half 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.
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But these hard-hitting Quackers weren’t finished. 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, and fans of the Ducks began wondering if Stewart, a junior, will return next fall.
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“One more year!” the Oregon fans chanted as Stewart hoisted the Sun Bowl trophy.
“I haven’t made any decision,” Stewart said later.
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