SAN ANTONIO — Kennedy Brooks ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns as No. 14 Oklahoma rode a dominant first half to a 47-32 victory over No. 15 Oregon in the Alamo Bowl on Wednesday night.
Caleb Williams threw three touchdown passes for the Sooners, who gave interim coach Bob Stoops career win No. 191 and a special family moment when he could hug son Drake, an Oklahoma wide receiver, after a first-half touchdown.
Oklahoma (11-2) bolted to a 30-3 lead as Brooks and Williams sliced up the Oregon defense. Brooks had 127 yards on just 10 carries in the first half with scoring runs of 16 and 29 yards, and another 40-yard run that set up Williams’ first touchdown pass to Drake Stoops.
Williams’ 55-yard TD pass to Marvin Mims Jr. hit the receiver perfectly in stride behind two Ducks defenders that were two steps late. Brooks then punched in the final score of the half.
At that point, the Sooners were so dominant they were looking like some of Stoops’ old teams when he won a national championship and 10 Big 12 titles as Oklahoma’s coach from 1999-2016.
Travis Dye rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown for Oregon (10-4). The Ducks scored three touchdowns in the third quarter, two coming on long throws by quarterback Anthony Brown, to get within 44-25 by the start of the fourth, but couldn’t get the stops on defense needed to close the gap.
Brown finished with 306 yards passing for the Ducks.
Stoops came out of retirement for the game after coach Lincoln Riley’s sudden departure for Southern California at the end of the season. He was able to hug his son on the sideline after the second-quarter touchdown catch. Stoops’ former assistant, Brent Venables, who has spent nine seasons as a Clemson assistant, will take over the Oklahoma program in 2022.
Oregon was led by assistant coach Bryan McClendon, who was elevated to interim head coach for the bowl game after Mario Cristobal left the Ducks for Miami. Oregon has hired Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning, who will take over at Oregon after the College Football Playoff.
BIG PICTURE
Oklahoma: Riley’s departure and several players bolting early for the NFL or transferring had the program’s fan base in a bit of a panic. Venables was at the game and was around the team during bowl practices. He should have a keen handle on where the Sooners are headed next season. His biggest job is building a potential future with Williams, who hadn’t said definitively before the game whether he planned to stay with the Sooners next season.
Oregon: The Ducks put up a fight in the second half but it was too late. Lanning, who will be a first-time head coach when he takes over after the CFP, will at least know he inherits a team that won’t quit. Lanning is leaving a national-title contender and has said Oregon should be one as well. The Ducks have played in the Pac-12 title game the last three seasons.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma opens the 2022 season under Venables against Texas-El Paso on Sept. 3.
Oregon plays its first game with Lanning as head coach on Sept. 3 against Georgia.
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