MIAMI (Ticker) -- Oklahoma completed its stunning revival as a college
football power by shutting down another.
The top-ranked Sooners bottled up Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke
and Quentin Griffin scored on a 10-yard run in a 13-2 victory over
third-ranked Florida State in the Orange Bowl on Wednesday.
Oklahoma (13-0) claimed its first national title since 1985 and seventh since
1950, a figure unmatched by any school. The only undefeated team in the
country, the Sooners finished atop both polls, released early Thursday
morning.
The architect of the resurgence was Bob Stoops, the second-year coach
who restored the pride that had been missing since Barry Switzer won three
titles before departing under pressure after the 1988 season.
"I think we can say it now -- Oklahoma is back," Stoops said. "We weren't
just happy to be here. We fully expected to win."
Switzer was among those in attendance but the team that dethroned the
Seminoles did not need his wishbone offense. Instead, it relied on a stifling,
attacking defense that would have handed the Seminoles their first shutout
since 1988 if not for a safety with 55 seconds left.
Florida State (11-2) failed in its quest to win back-to-back national titles
and its third crown since 1993. It also eliminated any chances of Miami,
which defeated Florida in the Sugar Bowl on Tuesday, earning a share of
the national title.
"No split title. We're No. 1," Sooners linebacker Rocky Calmus said.
Tim Duncan kicked a pair of field goals to give the Sooners a tenuous 6-0
lead after three quarters, and it was a key play by the defense that
increased the lead.
A scrambling Weinke had the ball swatted away by linebacker Rocky
Calmus and safety Roy Williams recovered at the Seminoles 15-yard line.
Two plays later, Griffin raced in for a 13-point lead with 7:46 left. Griffin
carried 11 times for 40 yards.
The defense iced the victory with two other big plays later in the quarter.
Derrick Strait batted away a fourth-down pass that could have gone for a
touchdown and fellow cornerback Ontei Jones completed the domination
with an interception in the final seconds.
Linebacker Torrance Marshall, a Miami native who had a first-half
interception and six tackles, was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
"We came in prepared to win. That's you guys that think we couldn't win,"
said Marshall. "We went out there and took it."
Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel finished second to the 28-year-old
Weinke in the Heisman Trophy voting but it was the southpaw who ended
up with the last laugh.
Heupel completed the unusual journey to a national title that began in his
hometown of Aberdeen, South Dakota and included stops at Weber State
and Snow Junior College in Utah. He completed 25-of-39 passes for 214
yards.
"We wanted to be part of the comeback at Oklahoma," Heupel said. "It's
not a Cinderella season. It's a drema come true. We're going to be on top
for a long, long time."
Once again, it was South Florida that served as the stage for a great
Oklahoma moment. The previous national title for the Sooners was
completed with a win over Penn State in the 1986 Orange Bowl. While
Wednesday night's game took place at Pro Player Stadium, Stoops staged
his final practice on Tuesday at the aging Orange Bowl stadium, perhaps as
a reminder of past glory.
Weinke clearly missed his favorite receiver, Marvin Minnis, who was
suspended for academic reasons. There were numerous drops by Weinke's
targets, including a pivotal miss in the third quarter that could have given the
Seminoles a first down.
"This would have been icing on the cake, but we couldn't put it together,"
said Weinke, who was 25-of-51 for 274 yards and was intercepted twice.
The Seminoles were a dismal 1-for-15 on third-down conversions.
"You needed a catch here, you didn't get it," Seminoles coach Bobby
Bowden said. "You need a little block here, you didn't get it. That is what it
would have taken to win this ballgame."
Atrews Bell had a big game for the Seminoles, catching seven passes for
137 yards, including a 35-yarder on the first play of the game.
"There were some key plays that could have turned the game around," Bell
said. "Big plays got us to the dance and we couldn't finish the drill."
The opening quarter had as many turnovers as points, with the only score
being a 27-yard field goal by Duncan.
Two of the turnovers were forced by Seminoles cornerback Tay Cody,
who first stripped Andre Woolfolk following a 22-yard reception.
Marshall answered with an interception of Weinke on the next play. All
three of his interceptions this season came in the last five games.
A 36-yard pass from Heupel to Josh Norman set up the field goal by
Duncan.
Heupel moved Oklahoma down the field on the next possession but tried to
force one pass too many and Cody ended up with it at Florida State's 8.
Cody left the game later in the first quarter with an abdominal injury and
was taken to a hospital for tests.
Florida State's kicking woes also resurfaced. Brett Cimorelli missed badly
on a 30-yard field goal attempt with 7:30 left in the second quarter.
The Seminoles failed to score in the first half for only the second time this
year. The other was in a loss to Miami at the Orange Bowl on October 7.
The Sooners doubled their lead on a 42-yard field goal by Duncan with
4:24 left in the third period. Heupel scrambled and threw a 39-yard pass to
Curtis Fagan but Oklahoma settled for three points after he overthrew a
wide-open Antwone Savage in the end zone.
Duncan had a controversial miss on a 37-yard attempt earlier in the third
quarter. The kick went over the top of the upright and was ruled just wide,
ending a drive in which the Sooners chewed up the first seven minutes of
the period.
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作者: Theodor (消失的神話) 看板: NCAA
標題: Re: Oklahoma 13:2 Florida St.
時間: Fri Jan 5 01:08:01 2001
這場比賽賽前大家比較看好眾星雲集的 Florida St.
他們有Marvin Minnis、Chris Weinke等
攻擊與防守隊中說不完的一堆大將
不過Oklahoma這場比賽在防守上沒有給Florida St.太多機會
首先，Oklahoma成功鎖死跑鋒Travis Minor，讓他13次進攻只推進20碼
使得Florida St.的陸面攻勢施展不開
而主力外接員Marvin Minnis的無法出賽（成績問題）
對於Florida St.的空中攻勢也蠻傷的
雖然Atrews Bell這場比賽表現相當稱職
但是雙箭頭缺了一角畢竟有差
Florida St.本季每場平均可以傳出384碼，為全國排名第一
不過這場比賽他們只傳了276碼
而Oklahoma在攻擊上雖然同樣施展不開
但也沒有犯下什麼重大的錯誤
（punt失誤玩掉兩分不算的話）
首先，攻擊的liners應該記上一功
Florida St.著名的DE全場比賽只sack到Oklahoma的四分衛一次
而且只倒退兩碼而已
此外Oklahoma的fumbles也不多，只有兩次
進攻受阻時只要把球punt掉交給Oklahoma的防守隊來料理就可以了
說到punt，Oklahoma的特別隊也應該記上一小功
接球回攻49碼雖然不驚人，不過在這場寸土必爭的比賽中也出了一些力
兩隊失誤都很少，其實這是一場水準相當高的比賽
Florida St.話說是攻擊不順，不過也只有一次fumble，兩次被sack
兩隊打了一場punt大戰
Oklahoma能勝出，除了要感謝Griffin一次十碼達陣以外
Tim Duncan一次42碼長射也該記上一筆
當然，在這場戰況緊繃的比賽中，
攻擊隊能有三次得分機會，Oklahoma每個球員都功不可沒
這場比賽的勝利最後要獻給Bob Stoops，這位執教Oklahoma第二年的教練
他是中興Oklahoma的重要功臣。
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