The 2006 PetroSun

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl ...

, part of the 2006–07 NCAA football bowl season, took place on December 28, 2006 at

Independence Stadium Independence Stadium may also refer to: * Independence Stadium (Bakau) in Gambia * Independence Stadium (Namibia) in Windhoek * Independence Stadium (South Africa) in Mthatha, a football stadium in South Africa * Independence Stadium (Tanzania) ...

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. The competing teams were the

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University–Stillwater, Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stillwater. ...

, from the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

, and the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

, representing the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

. Oklahoma State won the game, 34–31. This was the only 2006–07 bowl game in which both teams finished 6–6 in the regular season, and the first meeting between the programs on the gridiron. With the dismissal of Alabama head coach

Mike Shula Mike Shula (born June 3, 1965) is an American football coach who is the senior offensive assistant coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). A graduate of the University of Alabama, he was the school's head football coa ...

occurring in November, Joe Kines served as the Tide's head coach for this contest, with

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

being hired as coach the following January.

Game summary

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

played

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

in the

on December 28, 2006. The Cowboys scored first on a Dantrell Savage 1-yard touchdown run to lead, 7–0. Alabama responded later in the first quarter on a Matt Caddell 18-yard touchdown reception from John Parker Wilson to tie the game at 7–7. Oklahoma State responded with 10 consecutive points on a Keith Toston 4-yard touchdown run and later on a 28-yard field goal by Jason Ricks to take a 17-7 lead. Alabama responded with

Tim Castille Timothy Nehemiah Castille (born May 29, 1984) is an American football coach and former fullback. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Alabama. Professional career Arizona Ca ...

1-yard touchdown run, only to have the Cowboys get a Keith Toston 7-yard touchdown run to take a 24-14 lead at the half. After bringing the score to 24-17 in the third on a 24-yard field goal by Jamie Christensen, Oklahoma State responded with an

Adarius Bowman Adarius Bowman (born July 10, 1985) is a former American professional gridiron football wide receiver in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders as an undrafted free agent in 2008. Bowman has also been ...

10-yard touchdown reception from Bobby Reid early in the fourth to extend their lead to 31–17. The Tide responded with 14 straight points on an 86-yard punt return by Javier Arenas and a throwback to offensive tackle Andre Smith at the 2-yard line to even the score at 31–31. The Cowboys would seal the victory with only 00:08 remaining in the game on a 27-yard, game-winning field goal by Jason Ricks. For the game, the Cowboys' 34 points and 419 yards were the most allowed by the Alabama defense for the 2006 season.

Statistics

Oklahoma State

* QB Bobby Reid: 15/29, 212 yds, TD, Int * RB Dantrell Savage: 19 rush, 112 yds, TD * WR Brandon Pettigrew: 4 rec, 65 yds

Alabama

* QB John Parker Wilson: 18/33, 168 yds, TD, Int * RB Jimmy Johns: 7 rush, 39 yds * WR D.J. Hall: 5 rec, 32 yds

Notes

References

{{Alabama Crimson Tide bowl game navbox

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...