Oregon back on track

EL PASO, Texas -- If anyone forgot how good Oregon looked earlier this season, Jonathan Stewart and Justin Roper offered a reminder.

Stewart set a Sun Bowl record with a career-high 253 yards rushing, while Roper, a redshirt freshman, threw 4 touchdown passes in his first start to help Oregon beat South Florida 56-21 on Monday.

"I knew I was ready to play," Stewart said. "I knew I was ready to run today. I think I played well, but I'll give all the credit to the offensive line for opening up the truck lanes."

The Ducks (9-4) scored 28 straight points in the third quarter to snap a four-game postseason losing streak, their first bowl win since beating Colorado 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl after the 2001 season.

Oregon made it look easy against the Bulls (9-4), who boasted one of the nation's better defenses. Credit the legwork by Stewart, as smooth a runner as you'll find, and steady play by Roper, who had three weeks to prepare.

"I didn't expect to have that many stats. I expected to do well, but not that well," said Roper, who completed 17 of 30 attempts for 180 yards with no interceptions. His tied a Sun Bowl record with the 4 TD passes.

The Ducks also won for the first time since losing quarterback Dennis Dixon to a knee injury in November, snapping a three-game losing streak that killed their national title hopes.

"Losing a Heisman Trophy candidate -- the leading Heisman Trophy candidate -- was a big blow," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. "It took us a couple of games to recover."

How easy was it this time for the Ducks? They won a matchup of teams that'd been ranked No. 2 in the nation earlier this season handily, despite setting a Sun Bowl record with 138 penalty yards.

But Oregon's offensive and defensive lines set the tone after halftime, and the Ducks never looked back.

"It came down to two things: Jonathan Stewart running the way he's capable of and Justin Roper directing the offense without mistakes and making some plays in the red zone," Bellotti said.

Roper started the second-half scoring avalanche with a 14-yard TD strike to Jaison Williams and added a 15-yard scoring pass to Ed Dickson.