2008 Holiday Bowl – Oregon Outlasts Oklahoma State, 42-31, in Exciting, No Defense Contest
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When two high-scoring offenses clash you are not looking for exceptional defensive play and there was little of it when Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli scored 4 touchdowns as the Ducks' upset the Oklahoma State Cowboys 42-31 in the 2008 Holiday Bowl Tuesday (12-30-08).
As the bowl season progresses there is more exciting football and less good football being played; the bowl sponsors, players, fans and television executives all love the excitement but football purists get a gag reflex.
Masoli was No. 3 on Oregon's depth chart when the season started but injuries pushed him into the spotlight. He made the most of it against Oklahoma State, rushing for 3 touchdowns on option keepers of 1, 17 and 41 yards, and passing for another 20-yard score.
Masoli literally ran over Oklahoma State's senior free safety Quinton Moore on the 41-yarder, proving, at least in this case, that Moore was less. Missed tackles, bad angles on pursuit and lack of effort all contributed to a defenseless spectacle of 10 touchdowns and a field goal. One rumor, probably untrue, was that there were no defensive statistics kept because the offensive play was so evident.
For openers, both teams featured a spread offense with running quarterbacks. The result was Oregon gained 565 yards and Oklahoma State 469, only 1,034 total yards.
Masoli rushed 16 times for 106 yards and completed 18-of-32 passes for another 258 yards.
The Ducks' Jeremiah Johnson picked up 119 yards on 12 carries. Teammate LeGarrette Blount gained 74 yards on 7 carries, giving him 1,002 yards for the season. Johnson gained 1,201 yards for the season, giving Oregon its second duo in school history to each have 1,000+ yard seasons.
Johnson's 76-yard scoring scamper broke Barry Sanders' Holiday Bowl record of 67 yards in 1988. Cowboy wide receiver Dez Bryant set a record with 13 catches (a career high for Bryant) for 167 yards, including a 33-yard TD. The old records were 11 catches and 163 yards.
Cowboy quarterback Zac Robinson got into the act by completing 27 of 50 passes for 329 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 16 times for 54 yards and a score.
As if Masoli's play was not enough to motivate the Ducks, Oregon players dedicated their win to Todd Doxey, a redshirt freshman from San Diego (site of the Holiday Bowl) who drowned last summer in Oregon's McKenzie River.
After the game, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said Masoli was "a tough son of a gun," adding that "He's faster than most people think and he's stronger and more difficult to take down. And he ran over and around and through people today." Masoli did exactly that.
What everyone really wants to know is: Where does Mike Bellotti continually find really good players (especially running backs and quarterbacks) that other programs miss? In Masoli's case, he is a junior college transfer.
"They were much more physical than us in the second half," said Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy. "We were not able to overcome that." No kidding, Mike. Oregon won the battle of the Mikes this time around. Gundy was the Oklahoma State quarterback when the Cowboys won the Holiday Bowl in 1988.
If Gundy wants to see even more physical players he should schedule a non-conference game with Oregon State. The Oregon State Beavers not only play really physical, they sometimes play mean, nasty and vicious at home. Did I mention dirty?
Oregon finished the season at 10-3, marking the 4th time that Bellotti has had double-digit wins in 14 seasons as head coach for the Ducks. Oklahoma State was 9-4.
Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley
Read my other detailed, knowledgeable, interesting articles on college football, including:
"2008 Independence Bowl - Louisiana Tech Tops Northern Illinois, Notches 7th Comeback Win of Season"
"2008 Champs Sports Bowl - Florida State Uses an MVP Punter & Heads Up Play to Rout Wisconsin, 42-13"
"2008 Meineke Bowl - Superstar Pat White Leads West Virginia Over North Carolina, 31-30"
"2008 Hawaii Bowl - Charlie Weis Era at Notre Dame Finally Arrives, Irish Speed Past Hawaii, 49-21"
"So Who Are the Current Worst Players in Division 1-A Football in the Nation?"
"Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi, Knute Rockne and Lou Holtz During Football's Annual Bowl Season"
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