Play.
Stoops gets doused in a drink.
Bob Stoops gets a bath after the Sooners win the Alamo Bowl. There is a time and a place.
2:50 AM
Bob Stoops and Oklahoma were winners again.
The 14th-ranked Sooners rode a dominant first half to a 47-32 win over the 15th-ranked Oregon in the Alamo Bowl.
The coach and the school he led to a national championship and 10 Big 12 titles had a brief reunion after the victory. After Lincoln Riley left for USC, Stoops was forced to abandon his golf course and come out of retirement to coach the bowl game.
Stoops came back after being out of it. It was enjoyable. The young people in the program embraced me and worked hard, and I appreciate that.
Stoops has a bowl record of 10-9. The easiest part of this was getting the latest victory.
After Riley's bolt west turned the program upside down, it was important to steady it. Stoops had to build a bridge to the new era under Venables, who was his former Oklahoma assistant.
"They're getting a guy with passion, a guy that loves the game," Stoops said. A winner.
The coach who once earned the nickname Big Game Bob turned into Big Hug Bob when he embraced his son after a touchdown catch. Drake walked on at Oklahoma after Bob retired.
Oklahoma raced out to a 30-3 lead as the Oregon defense struggled. In the first half, he ran for 127 yards on just 10 carries, scoring runs of 16 and 29 yards, and another 40-yard run that set up Williams' first touchdown pass to Drake Stoops.
Williams' pass was perfect in stride behind the two late Oregon defenders. The final score of the half was punched by Brooks.
The Sooners looked like some of Stoops' old teams of bulldozing running backs, defense and quarterbacks at that point.
Oregon made a game of it in the second half. In the third quarter, the Ducks scored three times, two of them coming on long throws by Anthony Brown, to get within 44-25 by the start of the fourth. Brown and Dye both scored a touchdown for Oregon.
After Mario Cristobal left for Miami, Bryan McClendon was elevated to interim head coach for the bowl game. Dan Lanning will be the new head football coach at Oregon after the College Football Playoff.
"It hurts," he said. It's not a consolation prize, as we played in the second half.
The program's fan base was in a bit of a panic after Riley's sudden departure and several players leaving early for the NFL. During bowl practices, Venables was around the team. He should know where the Sooners are headed.
Williams hasn't said whether he will stay with the Sooners next year, but Venables' biggest job is to build a future with him.
The issue was not settled by Williams after the game. He said he will be taking a vacation with his family.
Williams said that Venables was the right guy to come in.
The Associated Press contributed to the report.
