Bowl roundup: Oregon takes down Texas
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 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 couldn’t reverse a sharp decline in recent years.
Music City — Georgia Tech started this game just as it wanted, running on 11 of its 14 plays as it finished the drive with a touchdown.
Then Mississippi essentially shut down the Yellow Jackets’ triple-option offense from there and handed Georgia Tech yet another bowl loss, 25-17, in Nashville.
‘‘We never got in sync on offense at all,’’ Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. ‘‘Never really got into any kind of rhythm. It was just kind of haphazard. We hit some plays here and there, but nothing to gain any consistency.’’
Robert Godhigh ran for an 8-yard touchdown, and Vad Lee connected with Darren Waller on a 72-yard TD pass as the Yellow Jackets (7-6) tried to rally late. But the nation’s fourth-best rushing offense that came in averaging 311.7 yards a game managed just 151 yards and was outgained, 477-298, in total offense.
Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace outrushed Lee, 86-24, by himself.
‘‘They played about every kind of defense known to man,’’ Johnson said of how the Rebels stopped Lee. ‘‘They were just popping gaps and lining up, and we were really just tossing the ball.’’
Georgia Tech (7-6) now has lost eight of its last nine bowls.
Ole Miss (8-5) has won six straight bowls and 10 of the last 11 in making up for the lone loss in that stretch in the 2000 Music City Bowl. The Rebels came in tied with Auburn and Florida State, who play Jan. 6 for the BCS national championship, for the nation’s longest bowl winning streak.
‘‘I didn’t want to screw that up today,’’ Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. ‘‘So I'm glad to win two bowl games in our first two years. With what we inherited, I think says we’re heading in the right direction for sure. It is a very positive step.’’
Armed Forces — Keenan Reynolds ran for 86 yards with two more touchdowns and Navy won for only the second time its last seven bowl games, beating Middle Tennessee State, 24-6, in Fort Worth.
Reynolds had a 3-yard score to cap the opening drive for Navy (9-4) and added a 1-yarder in the fourth quarter. Already with the NCAA record for touchdowns rushing by a quarterback, Reynolds increased 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 — since a 34-7 loss on Oct. 12 at North Texas, about 40 miles from the TCU campus where the bowl was played.
The Midshipmen overcame two fumbles by Reynolds, their first turnovers in six games.
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