[size=+2]Brut Sun Bowl[/size]
[size=+1]Connecticut (8-4) vs #16 Oregon State (10-2)[/size]
El Paso, TX - Oregon State finds itself back in the Sun Bowl for the second year in a row. It was the Beavers that were underdogs last year against a one loss West Virginia squad but OSU upset the Mountaineers in convincing fashion. Now Oregon State finds itself a huge favorite over the Connecticut Huskies. Mother Nature was not too kind to the Sun Bowl as it was cold, rainy day at El Paso. It would be intersting to see how Oregon State responds after losing to rival Oregon in the Civil War and not making a more prestigious bowl with a 10-2 record.
If anybody thought that UConn was just going to come in here and roll over they were sadly mistaken as the Huskies marched right down the field on the opening drive. UConn made it into the red zone but their drive was brought to an end by the Lombardi award winning DE Kevin Frahm, who made his 18th sack of the season and forcing a fumble but UConn recovered it. The sack forced UConn to kick a 42-yard field goal, giving the Huskies a
3-0 lead.
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OSU DE Kevin Frahm ends UConn's drive with a sack and forced fumble.[/size]
It would not take long for Oregon State to respond though as QB Bryan Rossner connected with WR Marcus Sullivan, who took it for a 42-yard gain to set up OSU at the 11-yard line.
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OSU QB Bryan Rossner connects with WR Marcus Sullivan for a 42-yard gain.[/size]
On third down, Rossner threw to TE Pete Rich who was crossing into the end zone but the ball was thrown too far in front. Therefore, OSU was forced to kick a 27-yard field goal to tie the game
3-3.
However, Connecticut was not phased in the least as they again marched right back down the field. This time the Huskies finished it off when UConn HB Kelmetrus Wylie powered though the OSU defensive front for a 1-yard touchdown to give UConn a
10-3 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.
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UConn HB Kelmetrus Wylie powers across the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown run.[/size]
It was clear that the Huskies had come to play and Oregon State better do something soon on offense. That is exactly what they did when Rossner threw to WR#80 playing the TE position in the flat who took it for a 34-yard gain to get Oregon State to the UConn 21-yard line. It would set up an eventual 5-yard touchdown scamper by HB Marvin Quinn who was able to get to the outside and into the end zone to tie the game
10-10.
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OSU HB Marvin Quinn gets to the outside and in for a 5-yard touchdown scamper.[/size]
After a few scoring drives by both teams, the defenses for both teams woke up and started making stops. UConn would be forced to punt. Then OSU was forced to punt after a three and out. Next, UConn would have a three and out. Finally, Oregon State would get something going. It was apparent that OSU WR Brian Herring was not going to be much of a factor as Rossner and Herring were unable to connect on a deep connection. It was WR Marcus Sullivan that was becoming the go-to guy in this game. The Beavers would get into the red zone where HB Marvin Quinn would fight his way in from one yard out for a goal line touchdown to put OSU on top
17-10.
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OSU HB Marvin Quinn about to run into a wall where he will fight his way into the end zone.[/size]
With only a bit of time on the clock, UConn was able to march quickly down the field and attempt a 34-yard field goal at the end of the half that was kicked through the uprights to make it
17-13 OSU at halftime.
After the impressive last minute scoring drive for Connecticut at the end of the half, the Huskies had momentum on their side. Oregon State needed to do something as UConn was starting to feel that they might pull off a huge upset. That was when OSU HB Marvin Quinn took a handoff that was suppose to go the right, but he cut left and found a huge opening. Quinn sped through the hole, then made a move to cut to the outside and was gone for a 45-yard touchdown run to give the Beavers their biggest lead of the game. Quinn's third touchdown put OSU up
24-13.
The huge run by Quinn was play of the game thus far and brought the Sun Bowl crowd to a frenzy, especially the fans clad in orange. UConn seemed to be affected by the change in momentum and was forced to punt after a three and out. However, OSU was unable to make the knockout blow as they also punted after a three and out. UConn found itself with what looked like success as they were able to get to a 3rd and 1 but OSU DE Brian Dailey got a fantastic jump and brought the drive to an end with a sack to force another three and out.
This time the Beavers got back in sync and found themselves back in the red zone where Rossner playactioned to Quinn and rolled out, did not find anybody open and took it in himself as he snuck across the goal line for a 5-yard touchdown scramble to put OSU up
31-13.
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OSU QB Bryan Rossner gets across the end zone himself on a 5-yard touchdown scramble.[/size]
It appeared that the Rossner touchdown scramble was the straw that broke the camel's back as UConn could not get anything going as they were forced to punt after another three and out as the 3rd quarter came to an end.
OSU HB Marvin Quinn broke an 11-yard run to put himself over the 100-yard mark for the game but on the next play he would leave for the remainder of the game with a bruised elbow. It would not seem to matter though as Oregon State was just trying to milk the clock. The Beavers would attempt a 49-yard field goal that was just out of range for kicker Kevin Smith as it hit the crossbar. Later, the kicker would convert on a 48-yard field goal as the Beavers faced some adversity early but took care of business to get their second Sun Bowl trophy in back-to-back years with a
34-13 victory.
Oregon State 34
QB Rossner: 15-29, 225 yds, rush td
HB Quinn: 18 car, 106 yds, 3 td
WR Sullivan: 6 rec, 117 yds
DE Frahm: 5 tkl, 3 tfl, 2 sk, ff
Connecticut 13
QB McNeil: 24-40, 250 yds
HB Wylie: 13 car, 40 yds, td
WR Palmer: 6 rec, 81 yds
MLB Marck: 10 tkl, 4 tfl, defl