Sun Bowl
2003
Minnesota 31
Oregon 30
EL PASO, Texas -- With the Sun Bowl on the line, Minnesota needed
someone who was cool under pressure. Who better than Winston Churchill?
Englishman Rhys Lloyd kicked a 42-yard field goal with 23 seconds left
to give a 31-30 win over Oregon in the Sun Bowl on Wednesday (video).
Oregon took a 30-28 lead on a 47-yard field goal by Jared Siegel with
4:16 left (video) before the Golden Gophers (10-3) drove 55 yards on their
ensuing possession to set up the winner by Lloyd, nicknamed "Winston
Churchill."
"I didn't know if it was going to go through. We all just stood there
and went crazy when the ref signaled it was good," said Minnesota
receiver Aaron Hosack, who caught six passes for 107 yards. "Oregon's
defense is one of the toughest we faced all year." The Ducks (8-5) had
one last chance to score but Kellen Clemens, who finished with 363 yards
passing, was intercepted by Minnesota's Justin Isom with 10 seconds
left.
Lloyd, who is from Dover, England, knew he might be called on for a
pressure kick in the final minutes. "I think it got tipped, but it still
went through and that's all that counts," Lloyd said. "I never get
nervous for some reason. I'm kind of a laid-back person. I just clear my
mind and kick the ball." The Oregon player who tipped the ball was
defensive tackle Junior Siavaii.
"I tipped that field goal with my forearm," Siavaii said. "I almost
blocked it. I feel like I let my team down."
Laurence Maroney carried 15 times for 135 yards and a touchdown for
Minnesota, which was beaten 24-20 by Oregon in the 1999 Sun Bowl. Thomas
Tapeh added three touchdowns rushing for the Golden Gophers.
Minnesota entered with the nation's third-best running offense,
averaging 293.2 yards a game. The Gophers outrushed the Ducks 241-77.
Gophers quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq was 12-for-21 passing for 172
yards. Clemens completed 32 of 43 passes for three touchdowns and one
interception.
Samie Parker, selected the game's MVP, led the Oregon receivers with 16
catches for 200 yards, both Sun Bowl records, and two touchdowns.
The game was scoreless after the first quarter, but the teams combined
for 31 points in the second. It was the most points scored in a quarter
in Sun Bowl history. Clemens opened the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown
pass to Dante Rosario less than a minute in. Clemens also connected with
Parker on an 18-yard touchdown pass. Tapeh had two touchdown runs of 1
yard for Minnesota in the second and a 6-yard run in third quarter. The
third-quarter score gave Minnesota its first lead of the game at 21-17
with 8:28 left in the quarter.
Siegel hit field goals from 30 and 32 yards for Oregon.
Attendance-
49,894
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
ORE- Rosario 9 yd pass from Clemens (Siegel kick)
MINN- Tapeh 1 yd run (R Lloyd kick) 5:10 2nd Qtr
ORE- Parker 18 yd pass from Clemens (Siegel kick)
MINN- Tapeh 1 yd run (Lloyd kick) 13:49
ORE- FG Siegel 30
Third Quarter
MINN- Tapeh 6 yd run (Lloyd kick)
ORE- Parker 40 yd pass from Clemens (Siegel kick)
MINN- Maroney 22 yd run (Lloyd kick)
Fourth Quarter
ORE- FG Siegel 32
ORE- FG Siegel 47
MINN- FG Lloyd 42
Individual Statistics
Rushing
ORE- Whitehead 6-35, Washington 6-28
MINN- Maroney 15-131, Tapeh 13-40
Passing
ORE- Clemens 32-42-363
MINN- Abdul-Khaliq 12-21-172
Receiving
ORE- Parker 16-200, Williams 4-49
MINN- Hosack 6-107, Patterson 3-33
