The 2009 Brut Sun Bowl game was the 76th edition of the annual
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
known as the
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...
. The
Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...
defeated the
Stanford Cardinal
The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...
31–27 on December 31, 2009. It was the two teams' fifth meeting.
The game featured two conference tie-ins: the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
represented 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
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
represented the
Pacific-10 Conference
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...
. The game was played at the
Sun Bowl Stadium
The Sun Bowl is an outdoor football stadium in the southwestern United States, on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. It is home to the UTEP Miners of Conference USA, and the late December college football bowl game, the Sun Bowl. Th ...
on the
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...
campus in
El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
.
The game featured Stanford's 13th-ranked offense including
Toby Gerhart
Tobin Bo Gunnar Gerhart (born March 28, 1987) is a former American football running back. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football for Stanford University, and was a unanimous ...
, a
Heisman
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
finalist
who led the
NCAA Division I FBS subdivision with 1,736 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns, against the seventh-ranked Oklahoma defense. The Stanford offense averaged over 440 yards per game while the Oklahoma defense had held its opponents to an average of 273 yards per game.
This was the first time the two teams played each other in a bowl game. They had faced each other 4 previous times in the regular season with Oklahoma holding a 3–1 advantage. The last contest played by the schools was a 19–7 victory in
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...
by the Sooners in 1984.
Team selection
![UTEP Sun Bowl Stadium Aerial View Sept 6 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/UTEP_Sun_Bowl_Stadium_Aerial_View_Sept_6_2009.jpg)
By contract, the Sun Bowl Association—which produced the game—possessed the third pick from the Pacific-10 Conference.
With that pick, the Sun Bowl selected Stanford over
Oregon State
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
, as both teams had been in a three-way tie for second place in the conference with
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
(whom the
Holiday Bowl
The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played in San Diego since 1978. San Diego County Credit Union has been the game's title sponsor since 2017, and the bowl has b ...
selected with the second pick from the Pac-10).
In 2005, The Sun Bowl and the
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...
agreed to a four-year contract to alternate bids starting with the
2007 game which would prevent repetitive matchups. The Gator Bowl would be allowed to take the
Big East
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
's number two team or the Big 12 number three team; however, each conference would have two bids each to the Gator and Sun Bowls over the four years.
Since the Gator Bowl had taken a Big 12 team the previous two years, the Sun Bowl was obligated to take a Big 12 team this year.
In the Big 12, the Sun Bowl had the fifth pick, following the
Alamo Bowl
The Alamo Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and ...
.
When the Alamo Bowl chose
Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
, the Sun Bowl then selected Oklahoma.
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Sooners football team began the 2009 college football season as the reigning Big 12 Conference champions. The Sooners also played in the
2009 BCS National Championship Game
The 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game was an American football game played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on January 8, 2009. It was the national championship game for the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and fea ...
against the top-ranked
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...
, losing 24–14.
Expectations were high for the Sooners as they were returning their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback
Sam Bradford
Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was also a member of the P ...
as well as their
All-American tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
Jermaine Gresham
Jermaine Gresham (born June 16, 1988) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he received All-American honors.
Hi ...
.
However, before the season began, Gresham suffered a season-ending injury. During the season opener against
BYU
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...
, Bradford suffered an injury to his shoulder that forced him to sit out the next several games.
The Sooners would go on to lose that game and their fourth game against
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. Bradford returned for game number five against
Baylor, but reinjured his shoulder the next week against
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, ending his season and giving the Sooners their third loss of the season. The Sooners would continue to suffer many injuries throughout the remainder of the season including losing offensive linemen Jarvis Jones and Brody Eldridge, and defensive players Tom Wort,
DeMarcus Granger and Auston English for the season. With freshman
Landry Jones
Matthew Landry Jones (born April 4, 1989) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Oklahoma, and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round (115th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. He also played for ...
now leading the offense, the Sooners would go on win every home game from that point forward, including a season-ending win over in-state rival
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 M ...
, extending their NCAA-leading home winning streak to 30 games.
However, the Sooners would also lose all but one of their away games. Oklahoma ended the regular season with seven wins and five losses (5–3 in the Big 12). The game marked Oklahoma's third appearance in the Sun Bowl. They were a perfect 2-0 in their previous games. In
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
, they defeated
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
40–14, and in
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, they defeated
Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
41–10.
Stanford
![StanfordCardinal-CalBears-2008-Gerhart-Run](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/StanfordCardinal-CalBears-2008-Gerhart-Run.jpg)
Following a 5–7 season in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, the expectations for Stanford were considerably lower than that of Oklahoma.
In a poll of media members covering the Pac-10 prior to the 2009 season, Stanford was predicted to finish in sixth place.
Stanford's season began as expected with a loss to
Wake Forest in the second game of the season. However, the Cardinal's fourth game was against a then-ranked
Washington team, in which Stanford won 34–14.
A two-game skid to
Oregon State
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
and
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
was a setback for the Cardinal.
However, after a bye week in early November, Stanford knocked off top-10 ranked (and eventual Pac-10 champions)
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
51–42 thanks to a school-record 223 yards rushing by
Toby Gerhart
Tobin Bo Gunnar Gerhart (born March 28, 1987) is a former American football running back. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football for Stanford University, and was a unanimous ...
.
The next week, after earning their first ranking of the season, the 25th-ranked Cardinal defeated the defending Pac-10 champions and 14th-ranked
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
55–21, the most points ever given up by USC in its history.
A subsequent loss to
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
knocked them out of the rankings but a season-closing victory over
Notre Dame brought them back into the ratings at number 19.
Stanford ended the regular season 8–4 (6–3 in the Pac-10, for a three-way tie for second place). This was Stanford's third appearance in the Sun Bowl. Just like their opponent, they were 2–0 in Sun Bowl games prior to the 2009 game, with a 24–14 victory over
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
in the
1977 game and a 38–0
shutout
In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball.
Shutouts are usuall ...
over
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
in the
1996 contest.
Game summary
Sooners
wide receiver Ryan Broyles set a Sun Bowl record with three touchdown receptions,
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
Landry Jones passed for 418 yards and Oklahoma slowed Toby Gerhart just enough to beat Stanford. Jones took over as Oklahoma's quarterback after 2008
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
winner
Sam Bradford
Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was also a member of the P ...
was injured in an opening loss to BYU. Broyles finished with 156 yards receiving and set Oklahoma's single-game record with 13 receptions in front of a Sun Bowl record crowd of 53,713.
Gerhart, who led the nation with 1,736 yards rushing, ran for 135 on 32 carries and scored two TDs in the first half. Tavita Pritchard went 8 for 19 for 118 yards and two interceptions filling in for Stanford starting QB,
Andrew Luck
Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. One of the most highly touted amateur prospects during his c ...
. Stanford was making its first bowl appearance since losing to
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
in the 2001
Seattle Bowl
The Seattle Bowl was a college football bowl game played in 2001 and 2002 between teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Pacific-10 Conference in Seattle. This bowl game was a continuation of the Oahu Bowl which had moved to Seattle. Th ...
.
Scoring summary
References
{{Stanford Cardinal bowl game navbox
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...
Sun Bowl
Oklahoma Sooners football bowl games
Stanford Cardinal football bowl games
December 2009 sports events in the United States
2009 in sports in Texas