Oregon State’s toughness showed in Sun Bowl

By Bob Wilson  |   Tuesday, January 02, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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The 2006 Brut Sun Bowl El Paso was a classic shootout. Missouri seemed to be in control after going up by 14 early in the final quarter, but Oregon State came roaring back.

After quarterback Matt Moore's fourth touchdown pass drew the Beavers within an extra point of tying the game with 22 seconds left, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel called a timeout to have the call reviewed. The touchdown stood and Oregon State coach Mike Riley decided to go for the win rather than play for overtime. He kept the offense on the field and Yvenson Bernard bulled the ball into the end zone after initially being stopped at the goal line.

Riley could have played it safe, but felt that his team had the momentum and had the Tigers on the ropes. Bernard's second effort capped the comeback and gave his team a 39-38 win. The Beavers were looking good after two straight scores gave them a 14-7 lead in the first quarter, but Missouri showed a lot of fight.

The Tigers were led by Tony Temple's 194 yards rushing. The talented back just eclipsing surpassing the Sun Bowl record of 197 yards set in 1977. Actually, Temple held the record for one play before losing four yards on his last carry. Tiger quarterback Chase Daniel also played well with 330 yards through the air and two touchdown passes. In all, Missouri ran up 561 yards of total offense to go along with its 38 points.

Moore capped his up-and-down career on a high. The former UCLA transfer hit on 31 of 54 passes for 356 yards and totaled five scores (four passing, one rushing) in his final game. His maturation into a senior leader was evident in the manner he calmly led his team down the field on three crucial scoring drives in the fourth quarter. Once thought of as a weak link, the senior blossomed into a prime-time playmaker. Bernard played well and led the team with 97 yards on the ground, but it was the quarterback who made the plays down the stretch.

Missouri fought valiantly and appeared poised to win, but its defense couldn't come up with a key stop when it needed one in the end. The game came down to the men in the trenches on the two-point conversion. The Beavers lined up in a power formation and ran right at the Tigers. There was no effort to trick the defense - it would come down to which was the tougher team for one play. In the end, Oregon State was just a little bit tougher.
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