South Florida tight end Quincy Okolie maneuvers past Oregon defensive lineman Kwame Agyeman after a short pass reception. Photo by Dustin Perry.
Nearly 50,000 turn out for 74th annual Brut Sun Bowl
Dustin Perry, Editor
The 74th annual Brut Sun Bowl, held Dec. 31 at the University of Texas at El Paso, drew a crowd of almost 50,000 who got to see Oregon Ducks smash the South Florida Bulls 56-21 and set a few bowl records at the same time.
South Florida wide receiver Dontavia Bogan unsuccessfully reaches for the ball after fumbling a pass from quarterback Matt Grothe. Photo by Dustin Perry.
Fort Bliss was well represented at the game, with about 5,000 tickets being donated to the post, the color guard presenting the flag during the national anthem, and Col. Stephen Twitty, commander of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, tossing the coin at the beginning of the game.
Oregon rover Patrick Chung runs for yardage shortly after catching a kickoff return from South Florida during the 74th annual Brut Sun Bowl Dec. 31. Photo by Dustin Perry.
Oregon started the scoring off with a seven-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Justin Roper to wide receiver Garren Strong; meanwhile, South Florida went scoreless in the first quarter. The Bulls finally got on the board with a field goal late in the second quarter. The Ducks earned 10 that same quarter with a 39-yard field goal from kicker Matt Evensen and an impressive touchdown from Jonathan Stewart, who ran 71 yards on a kickoff return. Bulls wide receiver Taurus Johnson caught a 21-yard scoring pass from quarterback Matt Grothe to whittle the Ducks’ lead to four at the end of the half.
The third quarter was where Oregon truly shined, scoring 28 straight points from three of Roper’s passes and a 25-yard interception return from cornerback Walter Thurmond III. South Florida went scoreless once again.
The Bulls managed one more touchdown in the final six minutes of the last quarter, but were still outscored by the dominating Ducks, who tacked on another field goal from Evensen and a 17-yard scoring interception run from Michael DiVincenzo for good measure.
Stewart set a record with 253 yards rushing, and Roper, a freshman, threw four touchdown passes in his first start.