Crescent-News.com - Sooners snatch opportunity away from OSU

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- No. 11 Oklahoma State had everything to play for: the money and exposure of the Bowl Championship Series, another step toward making school history and bragging rights in a rare chance to outshine its traditional in-state rival.

Then Oklahoma snatched all that away in making OSU look anything but BCS-worthy.

DeMarco Murray ran for two touchdowns, Ryan Broyles returned a punt 88 yards for a score and Oklahoma knocked No. 11 Oklahoma State out of contention for its first BCS appearance with a 27-0 win Saturday.

"The only good thing about this is it counts as one loss, and I told the team that," Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said. "To move forward, you have to let go. This team has accomplished a lot. We have an opportunity to go play in a very good bowl game. Where that'll be, I'm not sure."

With representatives of the Fiesta and Orange bowls watching, the Cowboys (9-3, 6-2 Big 12) fell completely flat with their worst offensive performance of the decade. Oklahoma State was shut out for the first time since 2005 by an Oklahoma defense coming off its worst outing of the year in a 41-13 loss at Texas Tech last week.

"That's the way you finish a season," defensive captain Gerald McCoy said. "We've still got a bowl game to play, but that's the way you come back and finish out."

Zac Robinson threw for only 44 yards on 9-for-21 passing after missing last week's game with injuries to his head and shoulder. He was pulled in the fourth quarter with his lowest passing total since taking over as the starting quarterback early in the 2007 season.

"Zac wasn't 100 percent, but that's certainly not an excuse for what happened," Gundy said.

Brandon Weeden, who led a second-half comeback in last week's win against Colorado, finally replaced Robinson after Broyles' punt return put Oklahoma up 27-0 midway through the fourth quarter. The crowd started chanting "Overrated!" after he let Quinn Sharp's punt sail over his head, then fielded the bouncing ball, turned around and raced for the score.

Oklahoma State didn't have a single first down in the second half and finished with only 109 yards of total offense.

"I guess I'd have to say that most of the game is the physical aspect, and they were the most dominating force on the field," Cowboys left tackle Russell Okung said. "And you see the results of that right now."

Broyles, who originally committed to Oklahoma State but instead chose to play for the Sooners, had 103 yards receiving to go with his 209 yards on punt returns. Patrick O'Hara, the walk-on who had never played football before taking over as Oklahoma's kicker two weeks ago, hit field goals from 24 and 19 yards.

The Sooners (7-5, 5-3) have won seven in a row in the Bedlam rivalry and 30 straight home games, the longest streak in the Bowl Subdivision.

"It was a definite way to come out on a high note in this Bedlam game. Everyone was talking about how we were breaking their season or whatnot, but really we were making our season more than anything," Broyles said.

Broyles' 47-yard reception set up Murray's first scoring run, a 13-yarder that he punctuated by leaping from the 4-yard line out of bounds past where the goal line would have extended. He also had a 12-yard TD run following Robinson's interception, which safety Jonathan Nelson returned 37 yards.

The shutout was preserved when tight end Trent Ratterree tracked down Justin Gent from behind on a fumble return in the final minute, stripped the ball and recovered it. That allowed Oklahoma to run out the clock on its first shutout against a ranked team since a 12-0 win against Texas in 2004.

The Sooners have three shutouts in a season for the first time since 1986, when they had five.

"When he did that, I was like, 'Yes! Thank you, man.' We worked so hard to keep them with that goose egg, and he made a big play for us," McCoy said.

Oklahoma's Landry Jones finished 20 for 37 for 224 yards. He lost a fumble in the first quarter after a 59-yard punt return by Broyles set up first-and-goal at the 7-yard line.

A season riddled with injuries continued for the Sooners, who played without left tackle Trent Williams. The NFL prospect was the only player on Oklahoma's offense who had started the first 11 games, and his absence left the team with only one of its starters on the line. Tight end Eric Mensik made his first career start on the offensive line to replace Williams.

Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford, also out for the season following shoulder surgery, appeared in a videotaped message before the game to thank fans and encourage them to support the Sooners. And receiver Corey Wilson, who injured his back in an offseason car accident, climbed out of his wheelchair and took a few steps with the aid of a walker at the end of Oklahoma's senior day ceremony.

Neither team -- or the referees, for that matter -- gave the fans much to cheer for early on as the game was marred by fumbles and constant replay reviews, including one that required a second look for officials to get the down and distance correct. But while the Sooners made up for their early mistakes, OSU never got anything going.

"We certainly would have liked to have had the opportunity to be in that BCS picture, but we can't do anything about that now," Gundy said. "As I said earlier, at the end of the year, the bowl representatives in this league are going to pick teams that have competed for 12 games. You've got to play 12 games."

No. 1 Florida 37, Florida State 10

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Tim Tebow's final home game went about like everyone expected.

There were tears, touchdowns and another thumping.

Tebow threw for three TDs, ran for two scores and top-ranked Florida beat rival Florida State 37-10 Saturday for its sixth consecutive victory in the heated rivalry.

The Gators stayed unbeaten heading into next week's Southeastern Conference showdown against No. 2 Alabama, extended the nation's longest winning streak to 22 games and improved to 12-0 for just the second time in school.

No. 4 TCU 51, New Mexico 10

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Andy Dalton matched a career high with four touchdown passes, two to Antoine Hicks in a 12-second span, as fourth-ranked TCU wrapped up its first undefeated regular season in 71 years with a 51-10 victory over New Mexico on Saturday.

That should finally make the Horned Frogs (12-0, 8-0 Mountain West) a BCS buster, though they will have to wait another week to find out for sure whether they will go to one of the big-money games. Representatives from the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls were in attendance.

Dalton threw three of his TDs over 2 1/2 minutes early in the second quarter. He also ran for a score.

TCU went up 30-0 after Hicks made a 20-yard TD catch, which came immediately after New Mexico (1-11, 1-7) fumbled the kickoff following his 62-yard score when Dalton hit him in stride near the 30.

After some near-misses in the past, including a 10-0 start in 2003 and a one-loss season two years after that, TCU is higher in the Bowl Championship Series standings than any team from a conference without an automatic bid has ever been this late in the season. The Frogs are fourth behind Florida, Alabama and Texas.

No. 14 Virginia Tech 42, Virginia 13

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Ryan Williams ran for 182 yards and four touchdowns and No. 14 Virginia Tech beat Virginia 42-13 Saturday in what was likely Al Groh's last game as Virginia's coach.

The Hokies (9-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their sixth straight in the series and for the 10th time 11 meetings with the Cavaliers (3-9, 2-6). It was their eighth victory in nine games against Groh, and ended Virginia's worst season since it finished 2-9 in 1982.

Groh, who has a contract clause requiring that the school inform him by Nov. 30 if it plans to add a year, is expected to instead be fired.

S.Carolina 34, No. 15 Clemson 17

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier still has a few of those Heisman Trophy moves.

Gamecocks captain Moe Brown and fellow senior Garrett Anderson chased an elusive Spurrier, the 1966 Heisman winner at Florida, with a water bucket and eventually doused their coach after beating rival No. 15 Clemson 34-17 Saturday.

Spurrier's rule is save such showers for championships. Even the head ball coach had to smile when Brown pointed out the Gamecocks won the Palmetto State title.

"I figured I only got one game left, he can't be too mad at me," Brown said. "We said we won the state championship and he gave me a hug."

"That was a big win," Brown said. "We needed it."

Besides short-circuiting another late-season swoon, the Gamecocks (7-5) most likely earned a bid to one of the Southeastern Conference's mid-tier bowls like the Music City or Chick-fil-A.

"It was a wonderful win," Spurrier said.

No. 18 BYU 26, No. 22 Utah 23, OT

PROVO, Utah -- Max Hall threw a 25-yard touchdown pass in overtime to Andrew George to give No. 18 BYU a 26-23 win over 22nd-ranked Utah for the Cougars' third victory in four years in the in-state rivalry.

Hall found George open for a quick dump-off over the middle and George had nobody between him and the goal line, hugging the ball with both hands as he went for the winning score for the Cougars (10-2, 7-1 Mountain West).

George was mobbed first by his teammates, then by fans who ran down from the stands. A few minutes later the field was covered with blue-clad fans, who were still celebrating a win in another thriller against the Utes (9-3, 6-2).

No. 19 Miami 31, South Florida 10.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Javarris James rushed for two touchdowns, Jacory Harris threw for two more, and No. 19 Miami took a big early lead on the way to beating South Florida 31-10 on Saturday.

Dedrick Epps and Leonard Hankerson caught touchdown passes for Miami (9-3), which ran out to a 21-3 halftime lead and capped its first nine-win regular season since 2005. A bowl victory -- destination undetermined, but undoubtedly boosted by Saturday's performance -- would give Miami its first 10-win season since 2003.

Damien Berry rushed for 114 yards and Graig Cooper added 83 more for Miami, which played without ill left tackle Jason Fox and still rolled.

A.J. Love caught a 12-yard touchdown pass for South Florida (7-4), which closes its regular season at Connecticut next Saturday. The Bulls fell to 7-28 all-time when allowing at least 31 points and 10-2 against teams from the state of Florida, with both those losses against Miami.

Miss.St.41, No. 20 Mississippi 27

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Coaches always say they take one game at a time, but the clock in Mississippi State's locker room tells a different story.

That timepiece had been counting down to the Egg Bowl matchup against No. 20 Mississippi since first-year coach Dan Mullen took over last winter, and when it hit zero the Bulldogs put on quite the show.

Anthony Dixon rushed for 133 yards and set the school single-season rushing mark, Chris Relf rushed for 131 yards and accounted for three touchdowns and the Bulldogs manhandled the Rebels 41-27 on Saturday.

"This program is on the rise," Mullen said, "maybe to the contrary of what some others are saying around the state."

It was the most points scored by the Bulldogs (5-7, 3-5 SEC) in the 106-year-old series since a 41-14 victory in 1917, and the most Ole Miss (8-4, 4-4) has given up this season.

N.C. State 28, No. 23 N.Carolina 27

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Even in a season gone awry, Russell Wilson and North Carolina State still know how to beat North Carolina.

Wilson threw four touchdown passes and Alan-Michael Cash blocked a field goal attempt with about 5 minutes left to help the Wolfpack rally past the 23rd-ranked Tar Heels 28-27 on Saturday, ending a bowl-less season in the jubilant style that only a win against a nationally ranked rival can bring.

Wilson connected twice with Owen Spencer for scores, including the go-ahead 38-yard touchdown two plays into the fourth quarter that gave the Wolfpack (5-7, 2-6 ACC) a third straight win against their next-door neighbors and fiercest football rivals. All three have come since Tom O'Brien took over shortly after the Tar Heels (8-4, 4-4) made their big splash by luring former Miami and NFL coach Butch Davis to Chapel Hill in late 2006.

Friday's Games

No. 2 Alabama 26, Auburn 21

AUBURN, Ala. -- Greg McElroy was poised and precise when No. 2 Alabama needed him.

The oft-criticized quarterback likely won over even his most ardent doubters in leading the Crimson Tide to the decisive touchdown in a 26-21 win over Auburn on Friday, overcoming a sub-par performance from Heisman Trophy contender Mark Ingram.

McElroy completed his final seven passes, including a 4-yard touchdown to Roy Upchurch with 1:24 left to give Alabama (12-0, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) its first lead and a second straight undefeated regular season with the Iron Bowl win.

"That was a great drive," Tide coach Nick Saban said. "He made all the right decisions at the right time in the game."

No. 5 Cincinnati 49, Illinois 36.

CINCINNATI -- Remember Tony Pike?

For six weeks, Cincinnati's senior quarterback recovered from surgery on his non-throwing arm while sophomore backup Zach Collaros kept the fifth-ranked Bearcats unbeaten. There were suggestions that Collaros was doing so well that he should keep the job when Pike was able to play.

Really.

"I can't believe you guys forgot about how good he is," coach Brian Kelly said.

How good? Record good.

Pike returned to the starting job and threw a school-record six touchdown passes Friday in a 49-36 victory over Illinois that kept the Bearcats unbeaten and left them back at full strength.

"Words can't describe how amazing this feels," Pike said.

Cincinnati (11-0) finishes its regular season next weekend in Pittsburgh, playing for their second straight outright Big East championship. Pitt lost to West Virginia 19-16 later Friday, dropping the Panthers to 9-2 and 5-1 in the Big East.

No. 6 Boise St. 44, Nevada 33.

BOISE, Idaho -- For a team that has been burned by the BCS, Boise State is optimistic about a fair outcome this year.

"We have confidence in the system and faith in the system that it should take care of the teams that should be in there," coach Chris Petersen said Friday night, after his No. 6 Broncos remained perfect for the last two regular seasons with a 44-33 victory over Nevada.

That's too many "shoulds" for Boise's liking.

Kellen Moore tied his career high with five touchdown passes, three on what he called "back-pocket stuff" to fill-in fullback and converted linebacker Dan Paul, and the No. 6 Broncos overcame injuries and mid-game lapses to clinch at least a tie for another WAC championship.

With executives from the Sugar, Fiesta and Orange bowls watching -- and hearing fans' chants of "BCS! BCS!" through the rain and cold -- the Broncos (12-0, 7-0 WAC) withstood the Wolf Pack's rally from 24 points down in the first half.

W.Virginia 19, No. 8 Pittsburgh 16.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt is confident his players will have a short memory when preparing for next week's showdown with No. 5 Cincinnati.

The eighth-ranked Panthers were held to their lowest scoring output of the season in a 19-16 loss at West Virginia on Friday night and now turn their attention to the Bearcats at Heinz Field on Dec. 5 to determine the conference's automatic representative to the Bowl Championship Series.

"I thought that our guys were not ready to play," Wannstedt said. "Offensively, we did not execute like we had, for the most part, all year long. Trust me, we'll turn the page on this one in a hurry and get ready for Cincinnati."

First, Pittsburgh (9-2, 5-1 Big East) will have to find a way to get its passing game back on track after quarterback Bill Stull had perhaps his worst game of the season. Stull, one of the nation's most improved passers this season, finished 16 of 30 for 179 yards with two interceptions.

MAC

Bowling Green 38, Toledo 24

BOWLING GREEN -- Willie Geter scored three touchdowns, Freddie Barnes caught two scoring passes and Bowling Green blocked two first-quarter punts while holding off Toledo 38-24 on Friday.

The Falcons (7-5, 6-2 Mid-American Conference) took a 24-0 lead and set up their first two scores -- a 1-yard run by Geter and a 4-yard catch by Barnes -- after blocking punts on the Rockets' first two possessions. With 6:19 left in the first quarter, Toledo (5-7, 3-5) fumbled the punt return. Geter scored a play later on another 1-yard burst.

After the Rockets tied the game with 13:08 remaining, Barnes caught a 17-yard touchdown from Tyler Sheehan and Geter scored on a 61-yard run with 1:27 left.

Buffalo 9, Kent State 6.

KENT -- A.J. Principe made a 22-yard field goal with 5 seconds left that sealed Buffalo's 9-6 win over Kent State in the season finale for both teams on Friday.

Principe's game-winning kick made him Buffalo's all-time leading scorer with 224 points.

After Principe's second 24-yard field goal put Buffalo up 6-3 in the fourth quarter, Kent State's Dri Archer returned a kickoff 77 yards to the Buffalo 13-yard line. But the Buffalo (5-7, 3-5 Mid-American Conference) defense held the Golden Flashes (5-7, 4-4) to a game-tying, Freddy Cortez 26-yard field goal with 5:25 to play.

Akron 28, Eastern Michigan 21

AKRON -- Alex Allen rushed for two touchdowns and Miguel Graham scored off an interception to lead Akron to a 28-21 win over Eastern Michigan on Friday.

Graham intercepted Eastern Michigan quarterback Alex Gillet's pass, returning it 62 yards for a touchdown to give the Zips (3-9, 2-6 Mid-American Conference) a 21-14 lead in the second quarter.

After the game, the University of Akron announced it has fired football coach J.D. Brookhart.

Athletic director Tom Wistrcill announced the move Saturday, one day after the Zips defeated Eastern Michigan 28-21 to finish the season at 3-9.

Wistrcill said in a statement that four-straight seasons with the team finishing below .500 in the Mid-American Conference played into his decision. He said the search for a new coach would begin immediately.

Division III Playoffs

Mount Union 62, Montclair St. 14

ALLIANCE -- Mount Union forced eight turnovers and quarterback Kurt Rocco kept turning them into scores.

Rocco passed for 277 yards and three touchdowns as the Purple Raiders defeated Montclair State 62-14 in the second round of the Division III playoffs on Saturday.

Terrance Morring rushed for a career-high 146 yards and two TDs as the Purple Raiders (12-0) extended the nation's longest winning streak to 27 games. Wide receiver Cecil Shorts also scored on runs of 7, 3 and 3 yards from the wildcat formation.

"It was a good, balanced win," said coach Larry Kehres, who has guided Mount Union to 10 national championships since 1993.

Mount Union will host Albright (Pa.) College (11-1) in the quarterfinals next Saturday. The Lions eliminated Delaware Valley, 27-3.

Rocco guided the Purple Raiders to touchdowns on its first five possessions and Drew McClain began the turnover parade by returning an interception 16 yards to set up the second score.

"Our goal every week is to get three or four turnovers," McClain said. "Anytime you win the turnover battle, it's huge. We knew their offense could exploit some things on us, but our coaching staff made some great adjustments."

Tom Fischer passed for 163 yards including touchdowns of 57 and 4 yards to Dan Keegan for Montclair State (10-2). Fischer also threw three interceptions before leaving with a bruised knee.

Backup Ryan Boysen was picked off four more times and also lost a fumble. The Red Hawks also managed only 15 yards rushing on 22 carries.

"The turnovers destroyed us," Red Hawks coach Rick Giancola said. "The defense just about caught its breath and had to go back out there against a strong offense.

"But the real key was their line on both sides of the ball. It's tough to make a play when you've already been knocked back six yards."

Rocco completed 10 of 11 passes for 113 yards into a brisk wind in the first quarter as Mount Union took a 21-0 lead. He had scoring passes of 18 yards to Judd Harrold and 11 yards to Vince Petruziello around Shorts' first TD.

Rocco went 22 for 31 overall, leaving after a 30-yard scoring pass to Petruziello early in the fourth quarter.

Brett Baker finished the scoring with a 23-yard interception return.

The Purple Raiders have scored 55 points or more in each of their last six games, outscoring opponents 343-28.

Fischer hit Keegan in stride over the middle late in the first quarter and the slender receiver ran the final 30 yards for a 57-yard TD -- the longest pass play allowed by Mount Union all season. After a 2-yard TD run by Morring, the Red Hawks got within 28-14 on a 4-yard TD catch by Keegan.

Montclair State returned only nine starters from an 8-3 team, but after a season-opening loss to Wilkes, won 10 straight including a 38-22 win over Maine Maritime in the Red Hawks' first playoff game since 2003.