SAN DIEGO — Jeremiah Masoli and Oregon were a perfect fit for the high-scoring Holiday Bowl.
Masoli ran through and over Oklahoma State’s defense for three touchdowns and threw for another to lead the No. 15 Ducks to a 42-31 win over the No. 13 Cowboys in a wild, record-setting Holiday Bowl on Tuesday night.
Masoli, a junior college transfer, quickly moved up from No. 3 on the depth chart this season due to injuries. He was recruited because coach Mike Bellotti thought he’d be a great passer, then proved to be quite the runner.
“He’s a tough son of a gun,” Bellotti said. “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 scored on option keepers of 1, 41 and 17 yards in the third quarter, then threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Jaison Williams in the fourth quarter. Masoli ran over OSU free safety Quinton Moore on his 41-yard jaunt.
There were big runs, big passes and big hits in a game showcasing two of the nation’s most prolific offenses, both of which feature the spread option led by running QBs. Oregon gained 565 yards and OSU had 469.
Oregon finished 10-3, the fourth time it’s had double-digit wins in Bellotti’s 14 seasons as coach. Oklahoma State finished 9-4 under Mike Gundy, the winning quarterback for Oklahoma State in the 1988 Holiday Bowl.
The Holiday Bowl has a history of wild finishes, and this one had five lead changes in the second half.
Oregon’s LeGarrette Blount put an exclamation point on the victory with a 29-yard touchdown run during which he hurdled Moore and stiff-armed cornerback Perrish Cox with 3 minutes to play.
Humanitarian Bowl
BOISE, Idaho — Da’Rel Scott got out of the doghouse in time to run over Nevada.
Benched for 2½ quarters for breaking curfew, Scott ran for 174 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns in 14 carries and Maryland held off the Wolf Pack 42-35 in the Humanitarian Bowl.
Scott’s 49-yard touchdown sprint early in the fourth quarter broke a 28-all tie and his 2-yard TD gallop put the Terps up 14 points.
Colin Kaepernick kept Nevada (7-6) close, finishing 24-for-47 for a bowl-record 370 yards and three touchdowns
Scott was one of seven Terrapins benched by coach Ralph Friedgen for curfew violations. He didn’t get to play on the famous blue turf here until early in the third quarter and didn’t touch the ball until the 5:55 mark of the third.
Texas Bowl
HOUSTON — Rice took out more than 50 years of postseason frustration on Western Michigan in the Texas Bowl.
Chase Clement threw three touchdown passes, ran for a score and caught a TD pass from Jarett Dillard to lead the Owls to a 38-14 win over the Broncos at Reliant Stadium on Tuesday night.
Dillard also caught his nation-leading 20th touchdown pass of the season as the Owls (10-3) won a bowl game for the first time since the 1954 Cotton Bowl and reached 10 victories for the first time since 1949.
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