Bowl round-up: Broyles' 3 TD catches fuel Oklahoma
The combination of Landry Jones and Ryan Broyles was almost unstoppable for Oklahoma.
And while the Sooners' steely defense couldn't quite stop Toby Gerhart, yards were hard to come by for the Heisman Trophy runner-up.
Broyles set a Sun Bowl record with 3 touchdown receptions, Jones passed for 418 yards, and Oklahoma (8-5) slowed Gerhart just enough to beat No. 19 Stanford 31-27 on Thursday in El Paso, Texas.
"It was a total business trip," said Jones, who completed 30 of 51 with 1 interception. "We were coming down here to take care of business. The game plan, the way we prepared, it was really good this week."
Broyles finished with 156 yards receiving and set Oklahoma's single-game record with 13 receptions in front of a Sun Bowl record crowd of 53,713.
"The coaches put together a good plan," Broyles said. "Landry threw the ball on the spot. The line did a good job blocking."
Gerhart, who led the nation with 1,736 yards rushing, ran for 135 on 32 carries and scored 2 TDs in the first half in what is likely his final game for Stanford. The senior could petition the NCAA for another season of eligibility because of injuries early in his career, but he has said he'll enter the NFL draft if he is projected to be a first-round pick.
Stanford (8-5) was making its first bowl appearance since losing to Georgia Tech in the 2001 Seattle Bowl.
Armed Forces Bowl: Asher Clark and Jared Tew each ran for more than 100 yards with 2 touchdowns, and Air Force's top-ranked passing defense had 6 interceptions against Case Keenum in a 47-20 victory over Houston (10-4) in the Armed Forces Bowl at Fort Worth, Texas.
Air Force's plan to limit Keenum and the nation's most explosive offense worked almost flawlessly. The Falcons (8-5) ran for 402 yards to go with Tim Jefferson's effective passing (10 of 14 for 161 yards), holding the ball for 41 minutes and then coming up with the big defensive plays.
Texas Bowl: Ricky Dobbs ran for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Navy (10-4) manhandled Missouri (8-5) with its triple-option offense, winning 35-13 in the Texas Bowl at Houston. Dobbs, who set an NCAA record for touchdown runs by a quarterback this season, also threw a touchdown pass to Bobby Doyle and Marcus Curry ran for a score as the Midshipmen rushed for 385 yards against Missouri's 12th-ranked run defense. Navy won time of possession by nearly 22 minutes and ran 81 offensive plays to only 57 for the Tigers.
Insight Bowl: Alexander Robinson ran for 137 yards, and Austen Arnaud threw for 1 touchdown and ran for another as Iowa State defeated Minnesota 14-13 in the Insight Bowl at Tempe, Ariz., capping the Cyclones' first winning season since 2005. The Cyclones (7-6) overcame 4 turnovers by Arnaud, who threw 2 interceptions and lost 2 fumbles. Minnesota's Adam Weber threw for 261 yards and a score, and Kyle Theret picked off two passes for the Golden Gophers (6-7), who became the first three-time Insight Bowl loser.
Chick-fil-A Bowl: Ryan Williams powered Virginia Tech (10-3) to a 37-14 victory over Tennessee (7-6) in the Chick-fil-A Bowl at Atlanta. The Hokies took the lead with a field goal in the final seconds of the first half and outscored Tennessee 20-0 in the second half on their way to a sixth straight 10-win season. The only team with a longer active streak is Texas with nine. Williams, a redshirt freshman, had 117 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns to become Virginia Tech's single-season rushing leader with 1,655 yards.