When two high-scoring offenses collide, you’re not looking for exceptional defensive play and there was little when Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli scored 4 touchdowns as the Ducks defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys 42-31 in the 2008 Holiday Bowl on Tuesday (12-30-08).
As bowl season progresses, more exciting and less good football is played; Bowl sponsors, players, fans and TV executives love the excitement, but football purists have a gag reflex.
Masoli was No. 3 on Oregon’s depth chart when the season began, but an injury thrust him into the spotlight. He made the most of it against Oklahoma State, rushing for 3 touchdowns on goalie options of 1, 17 and 41 yards, and passing for another 20-yard touchdown.
Masoli literally ran over Oklahoma State senior free safety Quinton Moore at the 41-yard line, proving, at least in this case, that Moore was less. Missed tackles, bad angles on the chase and lack of effort all contributed to a helpless 10-touchdown, one-field-goal show. One rumor, probably untrue, was that they didn’t keep defensive stats because the offensive game was so obvious.
For the first few games, both teams featured a spread offense with active quarterbacks. The result was that Oregon gained 565 yards and Oklahoma State 469, just 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 had 119 yards on 12 carries. His 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-plus-yard seasons.
Johnson’s 76-yard touchdown run broke Barry Sanders’ Holiday Bowl record of 67 yards in 1988. Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant set a record with 13 receptions (a career high for Bryant) for 167 yards, including a 33-yard TD. The old records were 11 catches and 163 yards.
Cowboys quarterback Zac Robinson sprang into action by completing 27 of 50 passes for 329 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 16 times for 54 yards and a touchdown.
As if Masoli’s play wasn’t enough to motivate the Ducks, the Oregon players dedicated their win to Todd Doxey, a redshirt freshman from San Diego (home of the Holiday Bowl) who drowned last summer in the McKenzie River in Oregon.
After the game, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti called Masoli “a tough son of a bitch”, adding that “he’s faster than most people think and he’s stronger and harder to take down. And it ran around and through people today.” Masoli did exactly that.
What everyone really wants to know is: Where does Mike Bellotti continually find good players (especially running backs and quarterbacks) that other programs don’t see? In Masoli’s case, it’s a junior college transfer.
“They were a lot more physical than us in the second half,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “We couldn’t get over that.” It’s not kidding, Mike. Oregon won the Battle of the Mikes this time. Gundy was the quarterback for Oklahoma State 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 very physically, they sometimes play mean, nasty and vicious at home. Did I mention dirty?
Oregon finished the season 10-3, marking Bellotti’s fourth time posting double-digit wins in 14 seasons as Ducks head coach. Oklahoma State went 9-4.
Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley