Kennedy Brooks ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns, leading No. 16 Oklahoma to a 47-32 win over No. 14 Oregon in the Alamo Bowl on Wednesday at San Antonio.
It was a fitting sendoff for Sooners interim coach Bob Stoops, who returned to coach Oklahoma for the game after Lincoln Riley departed for the University of Southern California.
Stoops was greeted by a drawn-out chant of his last name by Sooners fans when he came out onto the field before the game. The chant occurred again in the second quarter when his son, Drake Stoops, hauled in a 6-yard touchdown pass to put Oklahoma up 16-3.
While the Sooners (11-2) looked headed toward a blowout win when they were up 30-3 at halftime, Oregon didn’t go away.
The Ducks, decimated by opt-outs, injuries, transfers and players missing for academic reasons, especially defensively, closed the gap somewhat with 22 third-quarter points.
Oregon (10-4) couldn’t keep the Sooners out of the end zone in the second half, though, until holding them to a field goal on a seven-minute drive that ended with less than nine minutes to go in the contest.
The Ducks finally forced an Oklahoma punt late in the fourth quarter, getting the ball back with 3:46 to play, down by 15. However, the Sooners’ defense came up with a stop, and Oklahoma ran out the clock to put the game away.
The Sooners struck first, on Brooks’ 16-yard touchdown run in the first quarter after Justin Broiles intercepted Oregon’s Anthony Brown.
Oklahoma put up 24 second-quarter points thanks to Stoops’ touchdown, a 55-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to Marvin Mims and a 29-yard TD run by Brooks.
The Sooners outgained the Ducks 233-102 in the second quarter, holding Oregon to just 17 yards on the ground.
Brown threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns for the Ducks. He was intercepted once. Oregon’s Travis Dye added 153 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
Williams, Oklahoma’s freshman quarterback, completed 21 of 27 passes for 242 yards and three scores. Brooks averaged 10.1 yards on his 14 carries.
The Sooners outgained Oregon 560 yards to 497, including 318-191 on the ground.
–Field Level Media
