Big East Sports Blog

No Dennis Dixon, no problem for Oregon.  Justin Roper filled in just fine under center and oh yeah, Oregon still had Jonathan Stewart in the backfield.  Just ask South Florida what he means the Ducks.

Oregon blitzed South Florida 56-21 in the Brut Sun Bowl on Monday afternoon.  It was a clash between two teams at different points of the 2007 college football season that were ranked No.2 in the country.  On this day, Oregon showed why at one stretch there were one of best teams in the country. 

Oregon proved that they weren’t just a flash-in-the-pan or a one-trick-pony.  Dennis Dixon already had a reputation as one of the most gifted players in the country.  Running back Jonathan Stewart made one in matter of quarters. 

Steward set a Brut Sun Bowl record with 251 rushing yards and one score on 23 carries and redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Roper threw for four touchdowns in Oregon’s romp. With Oregon scoring 28 straight points in the third quarter, the rout was in full effect and the Ducks never looked back.

Oregon won for the first time since losing starting quarterback Dennis Dixon to a knee injury in November and snapped a four-game bowl losing streak, winning for the first time since their 2001 Fiesta Bowl victory over Colorado 38-16.

Roper was the spark that started the barrage of scoring for the Ducks in the third quarter.  He tossed two scores for  Oregon, a 14-yard pass to Jaison Williams and a 15-yard pass to Ed Dickson.  Walter Thurmond intercepted Matt Grothe’s pass and took it to the house from 25 yards out and Roper tossed his third touchdown of the quarter, an eight-yard pass to Stewart.

Matt Grothe was 18-of-35 for 197 yards, one touchdown and two picks on the day for South Florida.  Defensively, the Bulls weren’t very good this afternoon.  It came down to predominantly two things for the South Florida defense: their inability to contain Jonathan Stewart on the ground and the freshman Roper played effective, mistake-free football.  The Bulls had zero answers for either player and their five turnovers provided extra ammunition for an already potent offense.

In all, Oregon set or tied four Sun Bowl records on the day: most points scored (56), 4 touchdown passes ( Roper tied with Matt Moore), 251 rushing yards (Jonathan Stewart) and 28 points scored in the third quarter.  A banner day for the Ducks and an awful day to close out 2007 for the Bulls.  Both teams finished 2007 with identical records at 9-4.

The duo of Kentrell Gransberry and Aaron Holmes for South Florida overwhelmed Winston-Salem, as the Bulls crushed the Rams 87-48 on Saturday night, improving to 9-4. 

Gransberry dropped a double-double on the Rams, scoring 21 points and pulling down 14 rebounds, and Holmes added 20 points, 17 coming in the second half.  The Bulls have rebounded very nicely, winning nine of their last 10 games after opening the season with three straight defeats.

South Florida was lights out in the second half.  They buried the Rams, shooting 60 percent from the field and outscoring Winston-Salem 55-27 in the second 20-minute frame. 

The remaining schedule for the Bulls consists of 18 straight games against Big East opponents.  They’ll jump start Big East play on Jan. 2nd when they host Rutgers at 7 p.m.

South Florida took a 20-point cushion into halftime and crushed St. Francis 86-66 on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore Chris Howard led South Florida with 17 points, and Dominique Jones added 14 points.  St. Francis were unable to keep Howard out of the lane, as he made 7-of-8 shots from the paint area.

The Bulls improved to 8-4 on the year, and have won eight of their last nine.  The Terriers, however, are headed in the opposite direction, falling to 3-9.  The loss marks the sixth straight St. Francis has been on the losing end.

South Florida stormed out of the gate and ended this one early, using a 12-4 run to start the game, and took a 20-point lead into the break, 48-28.

South Florida will be idle until Saturday, Dec. 29th when they’ll host Winston-Salem at 7 p.m.

The Demon Deacons were powered by five players in double figures, led by Jamie Skeen, as Wake Forest marched to a 74-61 win over South Florida. 

Skeen led the Demon Deacons, who improved to 7-3 on the year, with 17 points.  Harvey Hale added 14 points, Jeff Teague had 11 points, and L.D. Williams and James Johnson each added 10 points.

The Demon Deacons led by as much as 21 during the game, and went from opening tap to the final buzzer without trailing in the game.  With the victory, Wake Forest snapped the Bulls’ seven -game winning streak and notched their second in a row.

For the Bulls, Dominique Jones and Jesus Verdejo each had 14 points and Chris Howard and Kentrell Gransberry chipped in with 10 points apiece for South Florida.  The loss puts the Bulls at 7-4 on the year.

Early on in the second half, the Bulls got to as close as they would come all evening, trailing 40-35, but Wake Forest used a smothering 21-5 run, spear-headed by Hale, who had eight points during the spurt.  With just over eight minutes remaining, the Demon Deacons lead ballooned to 61-40.  The Bulls had little trouble putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the basketball, with a bevy of layups and short runners in the lane.  Their three-point shooting, however, was a different story, as South Florida shot a measly 3-for-19 from beyond the arc.

Wake Forest handed South Florida their first loss since Nov. 16th, a seven point defeat at the hands of Rhode Island.  This marks the first time since 1972 the Demon Deacons defeated the Bulls.

Wake Forest took a 37-27 lead into halftime.  The Demon Deacons opened the game on a 12-1 run.  Through the first nine and a half minutes of the first half, South Florida was only able to muster one field goal, as Wake Forest stretched their lead to 25-8 in the first half. 

South Florida will look to get back in the win column on Saturday, Dec. 22nd at 7 p.m. when they host the Terriers from St. Francis (NY).