Frosh QB drives Auburn to OT victory
ATLANTA — Auburn showed off more than a new offense Monday night.
Auburn also found a new quarterback.
Freshman quarterback Kodi Burns threw for a touchdown and scored on a 7-yard run in overtime to lead Auburn to a 23-20 victory over Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
After Mark Buchholz kicked a 25-yard field goal on Clemson's opening possession of overtime, Burns scored on a spinning run on a third-and-3 play.
Auburn's starting quarterback, Brandon Cox, ran for a first down on a fourth-and-1 play from the 16 to keep Auburn's overtime possession alive.
Cullen Harper was only 12-for-29 passing for 91 yards as Clemson was held to 11 first downs and 276 yards in regulation.
Burns played behind Cox as Auburn played its first game in the spread offense installed by new offensive coordinator Tony Franklin, hired after the regular season.
Burns threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Mario Fannin for his only completion of the game and had 13 carries for 69 yards, including the winning run.
<B>Oregon 56, South Florida 21</B>In El Paso, Texas, Jonathan Stewart set a Sun Bowl record with a career-high 253 yards rushing and Justin Roper threw four touchdown passes in his first start for Oregon.The Ducks (9-4) scored 28 straight points in the third quarter to snap a four-game postseason losing streak. Oregon made it look easy against the Bulls (9-4) in a matchup of teams that were ranked No. 2 during the season.The Ducks won for the first time since losing quarterback Dennis Dixon to a knee injury in November, snapping a three-game losing streak even though they set a Sun Bowl record with 138 penalty yards.South Florida, which reached No. 2 in the country in just its 11th season playing football, missed a chance to win 10 games for the first time.
<B>Kentucky 35, Florida State 28</B>In Nashville, Tenn., Andre Woodson threw four TD passes against a depleted Seminoles defense, and the Wildcats handed Bobby Bowden his first bowl loss in December.Kentucky hadn't ended back-to-back seasons with bowl wins since 1951-52, but the Wildcats pulled off the feat in Nashville one year after surprising Clemson.Florida State was playing three dozen players short due to injuries and suspensions stemming from an academic cheating scandal.Woodson capitalized on the missing depth and finished the season with 40 touchdown passes, breaking Tim Couch's school-record of 37 set in 1998. It was Woodson's 19th consecutive game with at least 200 passing yards and a scoring pass.
<B>Fresno State 40, Georgia Tech 28</B>In Boise, Idaho, Clifton Smith rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns, Tom Brandstater threw for a score and ran for another and the Bulldogs beat another BCS conference team in a bowl game.Fresno State's offense was surprisingly unstoppable against a Yellow Jackets (7-6) defense that was among the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference. After punting on its opening possession, the Bulldogs (9-4) scored 27 straight points, taking a 34-14 lead midway through the third quarter.It's Fresno State's second bowl win over Georgia Tech, beating the Yellow Jackets 30-21 in the 2002 Silicon Valley Football Classic, and it made the Bulldogs 3-0 against the ACC in bowls. Fresno State has won four of its last five bowl appearances, all four wins coming against teams from the six conferences with automatic bids to the Bowl Championship Series.
<B>California 42, Air Force 36</B>In Fort Worth, Texas, DeSean Jackson and Robert Jordan returned from their first-quarter benchings and caught touchdown passes to help California rally from a three-TD deficit.California (7-6), ranked No. 2 in the nation in October before losing six of seven games, managed to finish with its sixth straight winning season.Jackson, Jordan and leading tackler Thomas DeCoud were held out of the starting lineup and didn't play the first quarter because of unspecified violations of team rules that occurred before the team got to Fort Worth for the bowl.Helped by a botched kickoff, Air Force (9-4) led 21-0 after scoring twice in a 2-minute span early in the second quarter — before Jackson and Jordan even got on the field.Jordan finished with six catches for 148 yards, and Jackson caught five passes for 81 yards. Justin Forsett ran for 140 yards and two TDs on 23 carries for Cal.
<B>Oklahoma State 49, Indiana 33</B>In Tempe, Ariz., Zac Robinson threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores, leading Oklahoma State past Indiana.A sophomore making his 11th college start, Robinson completed 24 of 34 passes for 302 yards. He also threw an interception.Dantrell Savage ran for 100 yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys (7-6, 4-4 Big 12), who matched their season-high point total.The loss capped an emotional year for the Hoosiers (7-6, 3-5 Big Ten), whose coach, Terry Hoeppner, died of complications a brain tumor in June. Kellen Lewis passed for 204 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 83 yards and another touchdown for the Hoosiers in their first postseason appearance since 1993.
