EL PASO — 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 three touchdown receptions, Jones passed for 418 yards and Oklahoma slowed Gerhart just enough to beat No. 19 Stanford 31-27 on Thursday.
“It was a total business trip,” said Jones, who completed 30-of-51 passes with one interception. “We were coming down here to take care of business. The game plan, the way we prepared, it was really good this week.”
Jones took over as Oklahoma’s quarterback after 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford was injured in an opening loss to BYU.
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.”
Jones found Broyles on TD strikes of 30, 13 and 6 yards, and the Sooners led for good at 31-24 after DeMarco Murray flipped across the goal line late in the third quarter.
The victory capped an injury-plagued season that opened with national title hopes, but coach Bob Stoops said he was proud that the Sooners (8-5) never quit.
“They were ready to play to the end, no matter the situation,” Stoops said. “We did what we needed to do.”
Gerhart, who led the nation with 1,736 yards rushing, ran for 135 on 32 carries and scored two TDs in the first half in what is likely his final game for Stanford.
Iowa St. 14, Minnesota 13
TEMPE, Ariz. — Alexander Robinson ran for 137 yards, and Austen Arnaud threw for one touchdown and ran for another in the Insight Bowl, capping the Cyclones’ first winning season (7-6) since 2005.
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.
Navy 35, Missouri 13
HOUSTON — Ricky Dobbs ran for 166 yards and three touchdowns as the Midshipmen manhandled the Tigers with their triple-option offense.
Marcus Curry ran for a score as the Midshipmen (10-4) rushed for 385 yards and ran 81 offensive plays to only 57 for the Tigers (8-5).
No. 12 Virginia Tech 37, Tennessee 14
ATLANTA — Ryan Williams, a redshirt freshman, had 117 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Hokies (10-3) in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
The Associated Press
