Oregon routs Texas, 30-7, in Mack Brown’s final game as Longhorns coach
Quarterback Marcus Mariota had 386 total yards and No. 10 Oregon returned two interceptions for touchdowns, spoiling Texas Coach Mack Brown’s farewell with a runaway 30-7 victory in the Alamo Bowl on Monday night in San Antonio.
The BCS-snubbed Ducks (11-2) dominated throughout even though their famously high-powered offense scored just one touchdown, when Josh Huff turned a short pass from Mariota into a spectacular 16-yard sprint to the end zone.
Brown received warm goodbyes from a sellout crowd in what was practically a home game for Texas (8-5). Even the school marching band spelled his name at halftime.
But the blowout was a final reminder of why Brown is resigning after 16 seasons at Texas, which he led to a national championship in 2005 but whose sharp decline in recent years he couldn’t reverse.
Leaving the field for the last time with Texas, Brown flashed the “Hook ‘em Horns†hand signal to the scattered remaining Longhorns fans who stuck around to the end of another humbling loss this season. His players didn’t say a word while surrounding Brown and his wife, who walked side by side into the tunnel and toward the locker room.
Brown said he had no regrets about making this his exit.
“I think it’s best for Texas. It’s best for me, it’s best for the players,†he said. “We need to win more than eight games. Last year was nine. I really thought we had a chance to win all the games this year. It didn’t work. It’s my job to make that work. I told them tonight, the only regret I had is we didn’t win enough games this year.â€
Mariota led all rushers with 133 yards in 15 carries, making sure Oregon eased the sting of not playing in a BCS bowl for the first time in five years. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 253 yards in his Heisman Trophy campaign tuneup for 2014, having announced this month that he was coming back for his junior season.
Texas Tech defeats Arizona State
Davis Webb threw for 403 yards and tied the Holiday Bowl record with four touchdown passes, and Texas Tech raced to a 37-23 victory over No. 16 Arizona State, snapping a five-game losing streak.
Webb tied the record set by BYU’s Jim McMahon in 1980 and matched by Kansas State’s Brian Kavanagh in 1995 and Texas’ Major Applewhite in 2001.
The Red Raiders (8-5) won for the first time since beating West Virginia on Oct. 19. Arizona State (10-4) lost its second straight.
Webb threw passes of 18 and 21 yards to Jakeem Grant, 1 yard to Rodney Hall and 23 yards to Bradley Marquez, all in the first half.
The Red Raiders scored on four of their first five drives to take a 27-6 lead five minutes into the second quarter.
Mississippi wins
Bo Wallace ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score and Mississippi beat Georgia Tech, 25-17, in the Music City Bowl in Nashville for the Rebels’ second straight bowl victory under Coach Hugh Freeze.
Wallace, a junior and Tennessee native, threw for 256 yards and ran for 86 more, giving him the school record for total yards in a season and most completions in a season, topping Eli Manning in both categories.
Ole Miss (8-5) has won six straight bowls and 10 of the last 11. Georgia Tech (7-6) has lost eight of nine bowls. The Yellow Jackets scored 10 points in the fourth quarter as they tried to rally before a safety with 4:22 left ended their last chance.
Yellow Jackets lineman Adam Gotsis blocked a 32-yard field-goal attempt by Andrew Ritter, giving Georgia Tech the ball at its 20 with 4:36 left trailing 23-17.
But Georgia Tech lost five yards on the first play, then Vad Lee flipped the ball to Corey Dennis on a reverse with the receiver apparently looking to throw when he fumbled under pressure. Right tackle Ray Beno covered up the ball in the end zone for the safety.
Navy wins Armed Forces Bowl
Keenan Reynolds ran for 86 yards with two touchdowns and Navy won for only the second time its last seven bowl games, beating Middle Tennessee State, 24-6, in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth.
Reynolds had a three-yard score to cap the opening drive for Navy (9-4) and added a one-yard run in the fourth quarter. Already with the NCAA record for touchdowns rushing by a quarterback, Reynolds upped his total to 31 to match Colorado State running back Kapri Bibbs, also a sophomore, for the national lead this season.
Middle Tennessee (8-5) was held to a season low in points. The Blue Raiders finished the regular season with a five-game winning streak, averaging nearly 43 points a game in that stretch.
The Midshipmen overcame two fumbles by Reynolds, their first turnovers in six games. Both came after Navy got inside the 20-yard line and were recovered by T.T. Barber, though the Blue Raiders failed to convert either into points.
Going pro
Washington running back Bishop Sankey will skip his senior season and make himself available for the NFL draft after the best rushing season in school history.
Sankey’s father, Chris, confirmed his son’s decision in a text message to the Associated Press. ESPN first reported Sankey’s decision. Sankey has not yet decided on an agent.
Sankey rushed for 1,870 yards and 20 touchdowns in 13 games. He broke Corey Dillon’s school record for yards rushing in a season. Sankey had 95 yards in Washington’s 31-16 win over Brigham Young in the Fight Hunger Bowl on Friday.
North Carolina junior offensive lineman Russell Bodine, a two-year starter, also said he was entering the draft.
an Russell Bodine, a two-year starter, also said he was entering the draft.
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