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South Florida, Oregon settle for Sun Bowl

Dec 31, 2007 - 12:11 PM No. 23 South Florida (9-3) vs. Oregon (8-4) 2:00 pm EST Sun Bowl December 31

EL PASO, Texas (Ticker) -- At one point this season, No. 23 South Florida and Oregon had thoughts about playing in the Bowl Championship Series title game.

However, late-season slumps by both teams have led to a meeting in the Sun Bowl on New Year's Eve.

In what turned into a wild football season, South Florida and Oregon each reached as high as second in the rankings at one point before collapsing.

South Florida's stay at No. 2 was a short one. After reaching the highest ranking in school history, the Bulls promptly lost three straight games starting with a 30-27 setback at unranked Rutgers on October 18.

The Bulls followed the Rutgers game with losses to Connecticut and Cincinnati before closing the regular season on a three-game winning streak.

In the competitive Pac-10 Conference which has six teams heading to bowls, Oregon reached the No. 2 ranking in early November.

But things came crashing down for the Ducks, who watched quarterback Dennis Dixon, a Heisman Trophy candidate at the time, suffer a torn left ACL early in a 34-24 loss at unranked Arizona on November 15.

Dixon's injury started a three-game losing streak to end the regular season for the Ducks, who also have lost backup Brady Leaf to an ankle injury.

With championship aspirations long gone for both teams, the 74th Sun Bowl will mark the first time in the history of the event that a Big East team will face a Pac-10 school.

For the Bulls, it marks another first to what had been a memorable season in which they reached the national rankings for the initial time in school history.

While the Bulls feature a diversified offense led by quarterback Matt Grothe, who has thrown for 13 touchdowns and run for another 12, defense would seem to be their strong point.

Defensive End George Selvie registered 31 1/2 tackles for loss and 14 1/2 sacks. The sophomore needs only one tackle for a loss to break the NCAA season record of 32 set by Western Michigan's Jason Babin in 2003

Selvie's big season led to him being named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

Selvie and the rest of the Bulls should have their hands full with Jonathan Stewart, who rushed for 1,469 yards and 10 TDs this season.

Oregon also boasts a strong defensive end in Nick Reed, who collected 21 1/2 tackles for loss and 11 sacks this season.

Justin Roper, who started the regular-season finale against Oregon State, is expected to see the majority of playing time at quarterback for the Ducks. The freshman completed 13-of-25 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns with an interception against Oregon State.

This marks the third straight season in which the Bulls have reached a bowl. They have split their other appearances, posting a 24-7 win over East Carolina in the Papajohns.com Bowl last December.

Oregon enters this game trying to snap a four-game bowl losing streak. The Ducks last won in the postseason with a 38-16 triumph over Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl on January 1, 2002.