College Football Capsules: Freshman Sanu leads Rutgers in St. Petersburg Bowl

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Mohamed Sanu was Mr. Everything for Rutgers, and the Scarlet Knights’ string of postseason success continues.

The multi-threat receiver ran for two touchdowns out of the wildcat formation and also scored on an 11-yard reception from Tom Savage, another true freshman who threw for a career-best 294 yards in Saturday night’s 45-24 victory over Central Florida in the St. Petersburg Bowl.

Rutgers (9-4) claimed a school-record fourth consecutive bowl win to finish with at least nine victories for just the sixth time in 140 years. UCF (8-5) fell to 0-3 in bowl games under coach George O’Leary.

"That’s four straight bowl wins, five straight bowls," said coach Greg Schiano, who has rebuilt Rutgers from the ground up over the past nine seasons. "You need to be consistent before you can be great. We’re going to be great someday — someday soon."

Billy Anderson scored on a 19-yard interception return for Rutgers, which shut down 1,000-yard rusher Brynn Harvey, limiting the running back to 32 yards on 13 carries to end his streak of three consecutive games with at least 129.

"It was real frustrating. We wanted to open the running game up and things just didn’t go our way. Just couldn’t get it done," Harvey said.

"They close to the ball very fast. We just couldn’t sustain blocks and we couldn’t protect our quarterback. It was just hard for us."

The first Rutgers player since 1993 to run for a TD, throw for a TD and catch a pass for a TD in the same season, Sanu rushed for 41 yards on 13 carries and had four receptions for 97 yards.

He also set up UCF’s first touchdown, fumbling a punt that was recovered inside the Rutgers 10. Three plays later, Brett Hodges threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Kamar Aiken for a brief 7-7 tie.

"As the season progressed, we did more and more with the wildcat because we felt like he earned the touches," Schiano said of Sanu, the Scarlet Knights’ second-leading receiver and rusher.

"We needed to get the ball in his hands, and that’s one way we could guarantee doing that. I think he did a great job."

Tim Brown, whose status had been uncertain because of an ankle injury, put the Scarlet Knights ahead for good when he caught a pass over the middle and turned it into a 65-yard TD play.

"We stepped it up. We just kept pounding the ball and just kept making plays — the plays we needed to make," Sanu said. "We did our assignment, did our job and got the job done."

UCF won five of six after a 3-3 start to earn its third bowl bid in six years under O’Leary — a 106-mile ride from Orlando that’s the shortest trip any Football Bowl Subdivision team will make for a postseason game this year.

Rutgers beat South Florida in mid-November to climb into the Top 25 for the first time this season, but the Scarlet Knights wound up in St. Petersburg for a pre-Christmas matchup after losing two of three down the stretch to Syracuse and West Virginia.

Sanu scored on runs of 5 and 1 yards in the first half. His first reception, a 61-yard gain to the UCF 12 on a pass that was slightly underthrown, set up his 11-yard TD catch that made it 35-17 early in the third quarter.

Savage completed 14 of 27 passes and was intercepted once. Hodges was 13 of 28 for 175 yards and two interceptions for UCF before being hurting his shoulder and being replaced by Rob Calabrese late in the fourth quarter.

Central Florida had 5 yards net rushing before Calabrese scrambled for 30 for the big gainer in a 10-play, 75-yard march that Jonathan Davis finished with a 2-yard TD run.

Hoping for a chance to pull closer than 38-24, UCF tried an onside kick that Rutgers’ Damaso Munoz returned 35 yards for the Scarlet Knights’ final touchdown with 2:18 remaining.

The linebacker did a somersault into the end zone, drawing a penalty but also putting an exclamation point on the victory and setting off a celebration among Rutgers fans in the announced crowd of 29,673.

With the game being played so close to Orlando, more than half the tickets were sold by UCF.

"As I told the players, I was embarrased for the team that we didn’t go out and do a better job as far as for the fan base," O’Leary said.

"Our offense never really got on track the whole day. ... Rutgers defense was much better than our offense. I thought that was the difference, really, in the game."

Wyoming beats Fresno St in 2OT in New Mexico Bowl

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Wyoming trailed by 11 points in the fourth quarter. Its offense was led by a freshman quarterback, its defense was facing the nation's leading rusher.

NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Bowl is like a postseason homecoming for Southern Mississippi.

The Golden Eagles will make their second straight appearance in the bowl on Sunday night and their fourth in the last six years.

Middle Tennessee is making its debut in the New Orleans Bowl, and is playing in just its second bowl in school history.

Coach Rick Stockstill says his Blue Raiders have worked hard for the opportunity, and he has a couple of goals for the trip.

"One, I want to win the game and two; I want to have a good time," Stockstill said. "There will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy the bowl experience of New Orleans, but when it is time to practice and study film you have to take care of your business."

Middle Tennessee is the host team for the Sun Belt Conference thanks to a deal that allowed Sun Belt champion Troy, which lost to the Golden Eagles in overtime in last year’s game, play closer to home in the GMAC Bowl.

The only other bowl trip the Blue Raiders made was in 2006, when they played in the Motor City Bowl. Only 12 members of the present team were on that trip, and only five of them played in the game.

That does not mean postseason play has been far from their minds, however.

"We want to do this every year" Stockstill said. "From the very first day I got here, I said we would act, practice, dress, go to class and do everything like a winner. We were able to win the conference that first year and go to a bowl. We are doing it again this year and have won more games than any other year in the history of the school."

Middle Tennessee goes into Sunday’s game on a roll, winning the last six games of the season. Its only conference loss was to Troy.

Southern Miss has a wealth of bowl experience. This is the eighth straight bowl game for the Golden Eagles, the 12th in the last 13 seasons.

Southern Miss won its previous three New Orleans Bowls, defeating North Texas, Arkansas State and Troy. Their 7-5 season includes a 37-34 victory over Virginia and losing at Kansas 35-28 and at Louisville 25-23.

"For the players it’s a reward at the end of the season," USM coach Larry Fedora said. "To come to New Orleans, where you’re an hour and a half away is exciting because all of parents, all of our fans can get down here and have a great weekend."

Fedora also believes bowl experience, learning about the schedule and distractions, can help his team.

"We have guys who understand what is expected and what it takes to win a bowl game," Fedora said. "There are guys out here who are preparing for their fifth consecutive bowl."

-- Mary Foster

No. 16 Beavers, No. 15 Cougars are unfamiliar foes

Oregon State coach Mike Riley’s message to his players has been straight forward: The Beavers can’t let the disappointment of the recent past creep into Las Vegas Bowl.

Oregon State was one win away from playing in the Rose Bowl, but lost to rival Oregon in a Civil War game that decided the Pac-10 title. Now the Ducks are headed to Pasadena on New Year’s Day.

"You can be defeated by your last loss. The same team can beat you twice based on your attitude. It almost becomes like a built-in excuse," Riley said. "Like I told the team: We do not make excuses at Oregon State. So if we don’t win this game it won’t be about that, it will be about that game, that day.

"Basically, there’s no room for babies here. This is a men’s game and you’ve got to step up and do what you have done, every game, all year."

The No. 16 Beavers (8-4) will play No. 15 BYU (10-2) at Sam Boyd Stadium on Dec. 22. It is the Oregon State’s fourth consecutive bowl appearance, a school record.

The Cougars are playing in the Las Vegas Bowl for the fifth straight year. Last year BYU lost 31-21 to Arizona.

It will be the first time that two ranked teams have played in the bowl game, which is sponsored by Maaco.

It also will be the first postseason meeting between the Cougars and Beavers, who have played eight times in the regular season. The Beavers lead the series 5-3 lead.

Oregon State beat BYU 10-7 the last time the two teams met in 1986, when current coach Bronco Mendenhall was a starting safety and made four tackles against the Cougars.

Mendenhall was a graduate assistant at Oregon State in 1989, then returned as defensive line coach in 1995 and defensive coordinator in 1996. Riley joked that he should have grabbed Mendenhall for his own staff.

"I actually had a mini interview with him and obviously made a big mistake in not hiring him," Riley said. "He is at, what I look at now, the perfect place; a great fit, and has a program and has basically established the values in his program that he wants and then you see the results of that success."

Besides Mendenhall, the Cougars were sort of a mystery to the Beavers earlier this week before they started game-planning.

"I haven’t looked at their roster, but I know that the team is one of the oldest teams in the nation," running back Jacquizz Rodgers said. "As a team I know that they play physical and put forth a good effort. I know they’re going to come out and play their hardest."

Max Hall has 31 career victories, the most ever for a BYU quarterback in school history. Tight end Dennis Pitta, Hall’s brother-in-law, has 57 receptions for 784 yards and seven touchdowns.

Harvey Unga, BYU’s best career rusher with 3,384 yards, ran for 1,031 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.

The Cougars finished second in the Mountain West Conference to unbeaten TCU. The team’s only losses were to TCU and Florida State.

The Beavers, who finished in a three-way tie with Arizona and Stanford behind Oregon in the Pac-10, are led by the Rodgers brothers, sophomore Jacquizz and his older brother James.

Jacquizz, or Quizz, as he is known, ran for 1,377 yards and a school-record 20 TDs. He was ninth in the nation with 119.36 rushing yards a game. Quizz also caught a touchdown pass and threw another.

James Rodgers led Oregon State with 87 receptions, 1,007 yards and nine TDs this season.

Quarterback Sean Canfield led the conference with 3,103 passing yards, throwing for 21 touchdowns with just six interceptions.

Just as the Cougars were somewhat unfamiliar to the Beavers, the opposite was also true.

"I think it makes it more fun. There is certainly a level of uncertainty in what their personnel is like, how it will match up against our personnel. We know their coaches and we know how well they have done and how well their team will be prepared," Mendenhall said. "Any time you play a team with no history in recent years, there is a little bit more of an edge that comes to the game, and a little bit more uncertainty."

The Cougars haven’t defeated the Beavers since 1978, when they won 10-6 in Corvallis.

Oregon State is on a five-game postseason win streak that started with a victory over New Mexico in the 2003 Las Vegas Bowl.

-- Anne M. Peterson

News & Notes

Texas speedster Monroe could return for title game

AUSTIN — The No. 2 Texas Longhorns could have speedy kick returner D.J. Monroe back for the national championship game against No. 1 Alabama.

Monroe has been suspended indefinitely since being arrested on a charge of drunken driving in November. On Friday, the DWI charge was dropped as part of a plea agreement in which he pleaded guilty to obstruction of a passageway. He received deferred adjudication.

The story was first reported by the Austin American-Statesman.

The final hurdle in clearing his status was a meeting with coach Mack Brown, which was expected over the weekend or early in the week.

Monroe set a school record by returning two kickoffs for touchdowns this season. He also had 110 yards rushing on 20 carries. He’s missed the last three games.

Miami loses tackle Jason Fox for bowl

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — After playing in pain most of the season, Miami left tackle Jason Fox finally succumbed to the inevitable.

The 14th-ranked Hurricanes’ MVP for 2009 will miss the Champs Sports Bowl against No. 24 Wisconsin on Dec. 29 after having surgery on his left knee.

Projected as a second- or third-round pick on many draft boards, Fox is planning to resume workouts in a few weeks and does not believe the operation will affect his NFL status.

"He’s done a nice job here at the University of Miami, been working well and helped us get where we’re at right now," Miami coach Randy Shannon said. "He worked hard all season long and was playing with some pain all season, so this was best for him. One thing I’ve always said, we’re not going to use a kid just for a win. We’ve got to look at his benefit."

Miami (9-3) started bowl practices Saturday, one day behind schedule because torrential rain washed out Friday’s session.

Fox was at practice in a T-shirt and shorts, with a large brace on his left leg. He was not available for comment, but Shannon said he will accompany the Hurricanes to Orlando for the game.

"Jason has a bright future ahead in football and he needs to be 100 percent going forward," Shannon said.

Fox started 47 games in his Miami career. Only William Joseph (50) and Ed Reed (48) had more in their tenure with the Hurricanes, who will shift Orlando Franklin to left tackle in Fox’s place. Franklin played left tackle in the regular-season finale against South Florida, a game Fox missed because of illness.

Franklin said Fox’s decision to play through pain all season was a lesson he won’t soon forget.

"It says he’s got a lot of heart and he’ll do anything for his teammates," Franklin said. "It’s hard to find a guy like that."

Fox graduated from Miami on Thursday, and was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference player this season.

-- Tim Reynolds

Kelly tells fans he’s at ND to win championships

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — New Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly told Fighting Irish fans attending the basketball game against UCLA that he arrives on campus with the goals of developing players and winning championships.

Kelly drew big applause during the three-minute speech on Saturday, telling the fans he was counting on their support next season.

He asked Notre Dame students if it’s true they do push-ups after every touchdown. After the student section let out a big cheer, Kelly told them they had better use the Christmas break to get in shape because they are going to be doing a lot of push-ups next fall.

He also told the fans they will love the effort the Irish will play with.

Kelly was hired on Dec. 11 to replace fired coach Charlie Weis.

-- Tom Coyne

Fisher ready to live up to FSU deal

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Incoming Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher is ready to focus on playing West Virginia in the Gator Bowl.

Fisher said on Saturday that he is pleased his five-year, $9 million contract to coach Florida State is done and that it solidifies the future of the program he’ll inherit from Hall of Fame coach Bobby Bowden on Jan. 5.

"Everybody knows what’s going on with the future," said Fisher, who is the Seminoles offensive coordinator. "The more clarity you give the players of the future, the better it is."

Bowden will coach his final game Jan. 1 in the Gator Bowl against the Mountaineers.

Fisher’s contract includes incentives that could increase his total yearly compensation almost to the $2.5 million Bowden earned in 2009.

He’ll get $50,000 for winning an Atlantic Coast Conference division title, $50,000 for the ACC championship, $125,000 for appearing in the national championship game and another $125,000 for winning it.

"You tell our players we’re incentive-laden, play well and you get more reps and more balls your way," Fisher said. "I think it’s very fair."

Five Alabama players headed to Senior Bowl

MOBILE, Ala. — Top-ranked Alabama will have four All-Americans playing in the Senior Bowl.

Cornerback Javier Arenas, offensive guard Mike Johnson, nose guard Terrence Cody and placekicker Leigh Tiffin have accepted invitations to play in the NFL audition for top senior prospects, Senior Bowl officials announced Saturday.

All four were first-team AP All-Americans. Crimson Tide tight end Colin Peek is also set to play in the game on Jan. 30.

This is the first time four All-Americans from the same team have played in the game.

The group led the Tide into the BCS national title game on Jan. 7 against No. 2 Texas in Pasadena, Calif.

Heisman winner Owens to receive achievement award

OKLAHOMA CITY — Heisman Trophy winner Steve Owens will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Jim Thorpe Association’s annual awards banquet in February.

Owens, a College Football Hall of Fame member who won the Heisman while playing for Oklahoma in 1969, will become the eighth person to earn the Thorpe Association’s highest honor.

Other recipients include Oklahoma City University basketball coach Abe Lemons, former New York Yankees pitcher Allie Reynolds, former Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer and former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne.

The Jim Thorpe Association announced its plans Saturday.

The awards banquet, which also features the presentation of the Thorpe Award to college football’s top defensive back, is scheduled for Feb. 8.

Tennessee’s Eric Berry is this year’s winner of the Thorpe Award.

Former Notre Dame player Zilly dies at 88

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — John "Jack" Zilly, who played on two national championship football teams for Notre Dame in the 1940s, has died. He was 88.

The school said Saturday that Zilly died Friday in Narragansett, R.I.

Zilly was a right end on Notre Dame’s 1943 championship team. He then joined the Navy and served two years in the Pacific during World War II. He returned to school and celebrated another national title in 1946.

Zilly was a sixth-round draft pick by San Francisco of the All-American Football Conference. He wound up playing for the Los Angeles Rams from 1947-51 and the Philadelphia Eagles in 1952.

Zilly joined the Montana State coaching staff in 1955 and spent three years coaching ends at Notre Dame from 1956-58.

Lower Divisions

Wisconsin-Whitewater tops Mount Union for title

SALEM, Va. — Levell Coppage had 111 yards rushing and three touchdowns and Wisconsin-Whitewater scored 10 points in the final 1 minute, 17 seconds to beat defending champion Mount Union 38-28 in the NCAA Division III championship game on Saturday.

The Purple Raiders (14-1) had their winning streak snapped at 29 games.

Jeff Donovan was 26 of 40 for 323 yards and two touchdown passes for the Warhawks (15-0), who won their second national championship in the past three years. This is the fifth straight year that the two teams have met in the national championship game.

Mount Union had won three of those four previous matchups, including last year’s game, which was played under sunny skies and with temperatures in the 60s.

Saturday’s game had its starting time moved back five hours due to a winter storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on Salem in less than 24 hours.

With the game tied 28-28, Wisconsin-Whitewater took over on its own 42-yard line with 3:15 to play.

Coppage got the Warhawks into Mount Union territory with an 11-yard run, then four plays later put Whitewater up for good with a 31-yard run down the left sideline that ended with a dive into the end zone. Whitewater added a 44-yard field goal by Jeff Schebler with 26 seconds to play.

Mount Union had tied the game at 28-28 on a 5-yard run by quarterback Kurt Rocco. Rocco was 23 of 39 for 383 yards and three touchdowns. Mount Union All-American wide receiver Cecil Shorts III had 10 catches for 185 yards and two touchdowns. He injured his leg late in the game and arrived at the postgame news conference on crutches.

Sioux Falls wins another NAIA title

ROME, Ga. — Sioux Falls won the NAIA championship for the second straight year thanks to a player who hasn’t even been playing football that long.

Braden Wieking kicked three field goals, including a go-ahead 42-yarder in the fourth quarter to give Sioux Falls its second straight NAIA championship with a 25-22 win over Lindenwood.

"This is my first year of playing football," Wieking said. "I played 14 years of soccer. So this is all new to me. But I got my chance and I’m trying to make the most of it."

Ryan Lomiller ran for 115 yards and a tying touchdown that put Sioux Falls in position to win its 29th game in a row.

Adam Lopez returned the second-half kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown and his 61-yard return set up Lomiller’s 1-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 22.

The Cougars (15-0) won their 29th straight game, finishing the decade with a record of 120-12 and three NAIA titles. The South Dakota school also won last season and in 2006, and was runner-up in 2001 and 2007.

The Cougars, who are planning to move to Division II in 2011, are 67-3 in Kalen DeBoer’s five seasons as coach.

"Winning a championship never gets old," DeBoer said.

After Sioux Falls went up 8-0, Lindenwood (13-1) came back on two TD passes from Philip Staback to Matt Bramow. He set a school record with 12 touchdown catches.

The Missouri school was making its first appearance in the title game.

It was the first time in the NAIA championship game for Lindenwood.

"They did what championship teams do," Lions coach Patrick Ross said. "We fell just short. I’m proud of my players."

Wieking also made kicks from 41 and 37 yards in the first half.

"He did a great job under pressure," Lomiller said.