Claremore Daily Progress

Sports

December 3, 2012

OSU, Purdue clash in Heart of Dallas Bowl

ASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press

DALLAS — Oklahoma State and Purdue will finally play again - 15 years later in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

The Cowboys, one of five Big 12 teams who finished with a 7-5 record in the regular season, and Purdue (6-6) from the Big Ten were chosen Sunday as the participants for the New Year's Day game played at the historic Cotton Bowl stadium.

It is a rematch of the 1997 Alamo Bowl won 33-20 by the Boilermakers, then in their first bowl in 15 years and then-coach Joe Tiller's first season.

The teams had a home-and-home series scheduled after their bowl meeting, but those games were never played.

Purdue is searching for a new coach after Tiller's hand-picked successor, Danny Hope, was fired after compiling a 22-27 record over four seasons.

That decision came last weekend, a day after the Boilermakers ended the regular season with a 56-35 win over archrival Indiana, their third consecutive win after a five-game losing streak that included an overtime loss at undefeated Ohio State.

The Boilermakers are in consecutive bowls for the first time since 2006-07.

"I am happy for and proud of the 20 seniors on our team,'' Purdue athletics director Morgan Burke said. "When we were sitting 3-6, having lost five straight games, many people gave up on this group. But those seniors, and other leaders in the locker room, didn't quit and didn't let their teammates quit.''

Oklahoma State is in a bowl game for the seventh consecutive season, a school record, and is 4-2 in postseason games under coach Mike Gundy. The Cowboys were part of the BCS last season, beating Stanford in overtime in the Fiesta Bowl.

"Wherever the conference sends us is where we go,'' Gundy said. "I can only say I'm surprised we're in this game.''

When asked about his potential interest in other coaching jobs, including his name being rumored for the Tennessee vacancy, Gundy said he had spent his Sunday "around the house'' and wasn't interested in such talk.

"I'd just prefer to not talk about anything other than Oklahoma State and the bowl game,'' he said.

The Cowboys ended their regular season with a 41-34 loss at Baylor on Saturday, a week after their overtime loss at Oklahoma. Their 5-4 Big 12 record tied for third in the conference with Texas (8-4), which won the head-to-head matchup in Stillwater in the regular season and will play in the Alamo Bowl.

Gundy does like playing on Jan. 1, which provides more opportunities for practice before a Christmas break, and said playing in Dallas "is easy for our people to get there.''

The Heart of Dallas Bowl, known by another name the last two years since its inception, is played at the Cotton Bowl. That stadium, which has been updated and renovated, was built in 1921 and was the host of the Cotton Bowl until 2009.

Oklahoma State played a Cotton Bowl in that stadium 10 years ago, losing to a Mississippi team led by Eli Manning.



 

Text Only
Sports
  • DSC_9471web.jpg Howe, Whatley shine at OU Showcase

    Claremore High School seniors Bryce Howe and Matt Whatley caught the eyes of several NCAA Division I and JUCO scouts Friday in Norman.
    Howe and Whatley, as well as Claremore’s Cole Weiesnbach and Cameron Smith, competed with the Bearcats — a competitive baseball team coached by Jenks’ Jeff Owens — at the University of Oklahoma Showcase.

    June 15, 2013 2 Photos

  • DSC_0119web.jpg ‘Staying close to home’

    Home is where the heart is.
    Claremore graduate Isaac Hollihan loves playing baseball and takes his academics pretty serious.
    For the next four years, Hollihan will continue his baseball career a short distance from his Claremore residence at Rogers State University.

    June 13, 2013 2 Photos

  • TRACK: Tyson Gay healthy heading into nationals

    For a little bit, Tyson Gay's first step tearing down the track made him wince and his next made him wonder: Would he ever be the same sprinter again?
    The runner who captured three gold medals at the 2007 world championships. The runner who broke the American 100-meter record in 2009.

    June 18, 2013

  • Texas Longhorns men's track coach retires

    Texas men's track coach Bubba Thornton is retiring after 18 years and 12 conference championships.
    According to a statement from the school on Monday, Thornton and athletic director DeLoss Dodds mutually agreed to terminate the coach's contract effective Aug. 31. The Longhorns won this year's Big 12 indoor and outdoor championships and finished sixth at the NCAA outdoor championships.

    June 18, 2013

  • Daytona frontstretch getting $400M facelift

    Daytona International Speedway is getting another facelift, this one considerably bigger than the last.
    Three years after a complete repaving project, the famed track is overhauling the frontstretch to enhance the "fan experience.''

    June 18, 2013

  • STANLEY CUP NOTEBOOK: Rough ice affects play in Game 3

    Teams try to avoid risky plays in the postseason that they might try in the regular season. And when the ice surface isn't smooth, even greater care is necessary.
    Boston took that approach with less-than-ideal ice conditions during its 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks that gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup finals on Monday night.

    June 18, 2013

  • STANLEY CUP: Rask shuts down Blackhawks, Bruins take 2-1 lead

    The puck bounced off the post and rolled across the crease, away from the goal line. The red light flashed briefly, but replays would confirm that Tuukka Rask's shutout streak was intact.
    For the last 122 minutes, 26 seconds of the Stanley Cup finals, the Bruins goalie has prevented Chicago from scoring.

    June 18, 2013

  • New $15M scoreboards planned for Jazz arena

    Owners of EnergySolutions Arena are upgrading the home turf of the Utah Jazz with a new $15 million scoreboard system.

    June 18, 2013

  • NBA FINALS: Heat have no room for error versus Spurs in Game 6

    They lost three times in three months in one of the most overpowering stretches the NBA has ever seen.
    Now the Miami Heat have lost three times in five games.
    So superb during the regular season, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Heat have to be something even more for the rest of the NBA Finals.

    June 18, 2013

  • NBA FINALS: Spurs' coach puts 'Pop' into news conferences

    During his team's Game 3 rout of the Heat, Gregg Popovich was shown on TV talking to his players while they were in the process of burying Miami with a stirring offensive display.

    June 18, 2013