Completed Event: Football versus Illinois State on August 30, 2025 , Win , 35, to, 3
Final
Football
35
vs Illinois State
3
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Archived Blog: 2011 Insight Bowl
August 24, 2012 | Football
 |
That's a final from Tempe, Ariz. Oklahoma wins its third straight bowl game, its 27th overall in 45 bowl appearances, and wins 10 games for the 33rd time in program history, a total that ranks No. 1 in college football history. We'll have a complete recap, stats, notes, quotes and more shortly. Boomer Sooner! 12:36 a.m. | One More for the Defense The Sooner defense couldn't let the offense get away with all the headlines. Tom Wort makes one final statement with an interception on Iowa's first-down play. OU will take a knee and go back to Norman with a victory. 12:32 a.m. | Exclamation Point Blake Bell puts on the exclamation point for the Sooners, scoring from 21 yards out on fourth-and-one. With just 45 ticks remaining, and Boomer Sooner is ringing throughout Sun Devil Stadium! 12:27 a.m. | Deal Sealed OU stops Iowa on a fourth-down attempt near the 30-yard line with 1:48 remaining and that all but seals the deal. Oklahoma will win its third straight bowl game and claim its 33rd 10-win season, the most of any program in college football history. 12:24 a.m. | Short Delay It was a short delay and Iowa's offense goes to work with less than two minutes remaining and needing two scores. 12:22 a.m. | Bizaare Scene A bizaare scene here in Sun Devil Stadium as ESPN's sky cam literally fell out of the sky. We're laughing about it now but it's fortunate that nobody was injured. The camera and cable came down near the line of scrimmage and grazed a couple of Iowa's offensive players. Play is delayed until they can get the supporting cables secured for the safety of players and fans. We should be back underway shortly. 12:17 a.m. | Hunnicutt Connects Michael Hunnicutt connects on a 35-yard field goal to give the Sooners some much-needed insurance. OU now leads 24-14 and it's a two-possession game with 2:20 remaining. Hunnicutt has now connected on his last 10 field goals. 12:11 a.m. | Clutch While Iowa has had most of the momentum of late, OU once again turns to the Belldozer package on third-and-short. Bell finds a seam to pick up the first down and the Sooners are down to the Iowa 25-yard line and looking for insurance points with 4:00 remaining. 12:06 a.m. | One-Score Game We have some late drama in Tempe as Iowa scores again to cut the OU lead to 21-14 with 6:56 remaining. Jamell Fleming had three pass breakups on three straight plays inside the red zone, but the Hawkeyes converted on fourth down and then scored on third-and-goal from the nine. 11:56 p.m. | Hawkeyes Moving After a three-and-out by the OU offense, Iowa is putting together another solid drive as we near the midway point of the fourth quarter. The Sooner defense has been on the field a majority of the second half and some fatigue may be starting to set in. 11:49 p.m. | R.J.'s Big Game Junior defensive end R.J. Washington just collected his second sack of the night, beating Iowa tackle Riley Reiff, who is projected to go in the top 10 of the NFL Draft if he decides to come out after his junior year. We mentioned earlier that Frank Alexander moved to the opposite end position, and Washington has taken advantage of the opportunity to showcase his talents against one of the best in the game. 11:43 p.m. | Way Valuable Tress Way shows his value in multiple ways on his last punt. Way delived a 59-yard punt and then also made the tackle on the play to prevent a big return. With punts of 67 and 59 yards tonight, Way now has 58 punts over 50 yards during his career. 11:41 p.m. | New Faces We've seen a number of newer faces on both sides of the ball for the Sooners tonight. Kameel Jackson and Trey Franks have been featured in the receiving corps, while DE Chuka Ndulue and LB Kellen Jones have seen significant time on defense. Perhaps an early preview of some players who will be counted on more next season? 11:38 p.m. | Iowa on the Board OU surrenders its first points of the game as Iowa QB James Vandenberg scrambles to extend the play before finding C.J. Fiedorowicz (say that 10 times fast) in the end zone. The drive went 16 plays for 75 yards and took 7:50 off the clock. It's now Oklahoma 21, Iowa 7. 11:33 p.m. | Scoreless Quarters With Iowa's 0 on the scoreboard through three quarters, Oklahoma's defense has now held its opponents scoreless in 21 of 50 quarters (40%) on the season. While the Hawkeyes might score here, that's still a pretty impressive number. 11:31 p.m. | Power Running Iowa is putting together a time-consuming drive here late in the third quarter with a heavy dose of power running. The Hawkeyes converted a fourth-and-three at the 17-yard line and are knocking on the door as we head to the fourth. 11:22 p.m. | Frustrated Hawk ESPN just showed a montage of Iowa's Marvin McNutt repeatedly getting frustrated. The senior WR is used to finding the open field, but Jamell Fleming has been blanketing him all night and Joseph Ibiloye just took him down on a great open field tackle to prevent a big gain. 11:16 p.m. | Finding a Rhythm Oklahoma's offense is certainly finding its rhythm as the game wears on. The Sooners have put together three solid drives on its last four possessions since the middle of the second quarter. OU has scored twice and would have put more points on the board if not for an interception deep in Iowa territory. 11:13 p.m. | Senior Scores A nice reward for a senior playing in his final game in a Sooner uniform, as Landry Jones finds Trent Ratterree wide open in the back of the end zone to extend its lead to 21-0. It's the third TD of Ratterree's career and second this season (Kansas State). 11:04 p.m. | D on Its A-Game The Sooner defense steps up to the challenge once again, forcing Iowa into a three-and-out inside its own five-yard line. Coach Venables has frustrated and confused the Hawkeyes all night with a variety of pressure packages and coverage schemes. 10:59 p.m. | Big Play the Other Way Iowa's Broderick Binns intercepts a Landry Jones pass inside the five-yard line and the Hawkeyes get their first big play of the game to stall OU's momentum. 10:57 p.m. | Coming Out Swinging Trey Franks gives the Sooners great field position with a 52-yard kickoff return to open the second half. OU attempted a deep pass on the very next play that fell incomplete, but it's still apparent the Sooners want to extend their lead here early. 10:54 p.m. | Shifting the Balance After a serious discrepency in the stats department after the first quarter, OU shifted the balance a bit with a solid second quarter. The Sooners have taken advantage of timely big plays on defense and got their offense clicking late in the half. OU will look to carry that momentum into the second half as it starts with the ball. 10:42 p.m. | Effort & Focus It hasn't exactly been pretty, especially on the offensive side of the ball, but you have to be pleased with the effort and focus the Sooners have come out with tonight. OU's defense has been flying all over the field and made a number of big plays, while the offense has turned to the reliable Belldozer formation for its two scores. We certainly can't get comfortable, but good things happen when you play hard. 10:35 p.m. | At the Half Oklahoma takes a 14-0 lead into the locker room on the strength of its defense and two short rushing TDs by Blake Bell. A good omen for Sooner fans, Iowa is 14-50 under Kirk Ferentz when trailing at halftime. 10:33 p.m. | Big Frank Frank Alexander now has 19 tackles for loss on the season and 44 for his career. Both totals rank seventh all-time at Oklahoma. Alexander's two pass deflections also give him 14 for his career, tied for the most by an OU defensive end. His eight pass deflections in 2011 ranks second only to Jimmy Wilkerson (10 in 2001). 10:28 p.m. | Getting Pressure The big key for OU's defense so far tonight has been getting pressure on Iowa QB James Vandenberg. The Sooners have been bringing it from all directions with a variety of blitzes and by strategically rotating their defensive linemen. Frank Alexander was lined up across from Iowa's stud left Riley Reiff to begin the game but has since moved over to the right side. The shift has paid dividends as Alexander has two pass deflections and one tackle for loss. 10:23 p.m. | Big Break A big gain for the Hawkeyes is nullified by an illegal formation penalty. The Sooner defense has played outstanding overall tonight but was lucky to catch a break on that play. 10:15 p.m. | Automatic Blake Bell goes to work and punches it in once again to extend OU's lead to 14-0 with 6:56 remaining before half. The Sooners continue to break out the power formation in short-yardage situations, and nobody has proven they can stop it. 10:13 p.m. | Vicious Hit A scary moment for Sooner fans as Landry Jones took a vicious hit from an Iowa defender on a third-down scramble. Thankfully, Jones popped right up and appears to be fine, but the hit even had everyone in the press box gasping as it was replayed on the TVs. 10:11 p.m. | Little Guys OU has gone with a heavy dose of its little guys -- Roy Finch (5-7), Trey Franks (5-10) and Kameel Jackson (6-0) -- on its latest drive to move into scoring range. The trio has accounted for 42 of OU's 51 yards on the drive thus far as Oklahoma is knocking on the door in the red zone. 10:06 p.m. | First First Down The Sooners finally move the chains for the first time tonight near the 11:00 mark in the second quarter on a seven-yard completion from Landry Jones to Kameel Jackson. 10:03 p.m. | Stats Don't Match Oklahoma holds a 7-0 lead after the first quarter despite a serious discrepancy in the stats battle. Iowa has outgained the Sooners 95-10 and has eight first downs to OU's 0. While Oklahoma's defense has been stout, the offense has struggled to get going. We'll see if they can change their fortunes here in the second quarter. 9:58 p.m. | Defense Tuned In Oklahoma's defense makes another stop near midfield and is now three-for-three in denying the Hawkeyes on their drives so far. OU is taking the "bend, don't break" approach -- while the Sooners have allowed eight first downs, they have made the big plays when needed. 9:47 p.m. | Turning the Field Junior punter Tress Way demonstrates again why he is such a valuable weapon. Punting from the back of his own end zone, Way unleashed a 67-yarder to turn the field position battle back in OU's favor. The punt ties the longest in Insight Bowl history (Travis Brown, Kansas State, 1991). Oklahoma's offense went three-and-out to force the punt. 9:44 p.m. | Defensive Stand OU's defense makes its second big play of the game, stuffing the Hawkeyes on a fourth-down attempt inside their own 10-yard line. Iowa put together a nice drive and converted a third-and-long earlier, but credit the Sooner defense for stepping up and getting a big stop. 9:39 p.m. | Caught Up After our early connection issues, we're caught up with the early events in tonight's game and can now observe what's happening on the field. Iowa is putting together a nice drive and is now facing a third-and-12 at the OU 30-yard line. Hopefully we can be a little more insightful and our connection stays stable from here on out. 9:36 p.m. | Quarterback Notes Junior Landry Jones made his 37th career start at quarterback tonight, tying him with Cale Gundy (1990-93) for the most starts in program history at that position. It is also Jones' 34th consecutive start, tying him with Steve Davis (1973-1975) and Jack Mildren (1969-71) for the most consecutive starts for an OU quarterback. Freshman QB Blake Bell's 11 rushing touchdowns moves him into sole possession at OU for the most rushing touchdowns by a freshman QB, moving past Charles Thompson (1987). Bell has now scored in six straight games. 9:34 p.m. | Two Plays or Less OU's first scoring drive tonight was the 11th time this season that the Sooners have scored on offense in two plays or less. 9:33 p.m. | Live Photo Gallery We've uploaded a bunch more photos from pregame to our live photo gallery on Facebook, including the one below of Tony Jefferson wearing No. 12. View the complete gallery here.  9:29 p.m. | Belldozer Oklahoma breaks out the Belldozer to put the game's first points on the board. Blake Bell punches it in from four yards out and the Sooners take a 7-0 lead with 10:19 remaining. 9:27 p.m. | Sooners in Business The Sooners make the first big play of the game with a 21-yard interception return by Jamell Fleming deep in Iowa territory. OU has first-and-goal and is knocking on the door to score. 9:24 p.m. | Underway in Tempe We're underway in Tempe and scoreless as we near the 10-minute mark in the first quarter. Our internet connection in the press box is poor, but we'll do what we can to keep you updated. 8:59 p.m. | Stoops & Ferentz Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops and Iowa's Kirk Ferentz chat on the field at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe prior to the game pitting the Sooners against the Hawkeyes:  8:44 p.m. | Pride Takes Field The Pride of Oklahoma is taking the field now for its traditional pregame ceremony. The kickoff countdown clock reads 26:48. 8:24 p.m. | Kickoff at 9:11 ESPN notified us that kickoff for our game will be officially at 9:11 p.m. CT. We had a sliding kickoff time based on the network's broadcast of the Music City Bowl now in the fourth quarter in Nashville. Stay tuned to our live photo gallery to see what's happening here in Tempe before the TV broadcast begins:   Live Oklahoma vs. Iowa Gameday Photo Gallery7:04 p.m. | Sooners at Sun Devil The Sooners arrived at Sun Devil stadium approximately 15 minutes ago and we are now getting set up in the press box. It's a cool, calm, picture-perfect night in Tempe. Stay tuned as we continue to bring you live coverage, photos, notes and reaction as the game unfolds. Kickoff slated for shortly after 9 p.m. CT. 5:18 p.m. | Box's Locker Here's a shot of Austin Box's locker set up in OU's locker room at Sun Devil Stadium for tonight's game. Thanks to equipment manager Blake Kuenzi for sending us the photo. 4:41 p.m. | Young Stoops Sooner fans have become quite familiar with the following photo from OU's only previous meeting with Iowa, a 21-6 victory in 1979. Bob Stoops, then a redshirt freshman safety for the Hawkeyes, went airborne in an effort to bring down reigning Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims:  4:06 p.m. | Honoring Austin ESPN just re-aired Tom Rinaldi's emotional piece on Austin Box and his family, a reminder again of what the Sooners are playing for in their final game of the season. Tony Jefferson has the honor of wearing Box's No. 12 tonight against Iowa. 2:28 p.m. | Stadium Walk-Through The Sooners took in Sun Devil Stadium Friday afternoon in the team's final walk-through before tonight's game. Here's a shot of Trent Ratterree and James Hanna on the field in Tempe:  12:48 p.m. | OU's 45th Bowl Game The Oklahoma Sooners are playing in their 13th consecutive bowl game tonight under Coach Stoops (every season of his tenure). It's OU's 45th bowl game overall with the Sooners looking to capture their 27th bowl championship:  2011 Marks Oklahoma's 45th Bowl Game in History 12:29 p.m. | 10+ Win Seasons The Sooners will be playing for their 33rd season with 10+ wins. That's No. 1 in college football history. Oklahoma No. 1 in Nation in 10+ Win Seasons 10:09 a.m. | Gameday Headlines View Friday's headlines on the Sooners and the Iowa Hawkeyes as the teams collide tonight in the Insight Bowl at 9 p.m. Central: Breaking Down the OU-Iowa Bowl Game - Sports Illustrated Insight Bowl is Hindsight Bowl for Sooners - The Oklahoman Insight Bowl Caps Tumultuous Season - Tulsa World Oklahoma's Difficult Season Draws to a Close - Yahoo Sports Iowa Struggles to Simulate Belldozer - Norman Transcript Sooners Respond to Stoops Putting Foot Down - Tulsa World Stoops Gets Riled Up Discussing Attitudes - The Oklahoman Previewing the Oklahoma-Iowa Insight Bowl - ESPN Stoops Opens Up About Player Issues - Tulsa World Stoops' Friendship With Iowa Changes Tone - The Oklahoman Scouting Oklahoma, Iowa for Insight Bowl - Arizona Republic Oklahoma's Football Future Looks Bright - The Oklahoman No Need to Panic as Mystifying Season Ends - Tulsa WorldWho Will Lead the Sooners in Rushing? - The Oklahoman LB Corey Nelson: Defections Have Affected Us - ESPN Key Matchup: Iowa Receivers vs. OU DBs - Tulsa World Three Keys for Oklahoma vs. Iowa in Insight Bowl - ESPN Three Storylines: Playmakers, Landry, Coker - Tulsa World Hawkeyes, Sooners Tee It Up in Tempe - FOX Sports Stoops: Defections Magnified Due to Season - The Oklahoman Notes: Landry Jones Has Stoops' Blessing - Tulsa World Stoops Doesn't Forget Iowa Roots - Wall Street Journal Staff Picks the Oklahoma-Iowa Bowl Game - The Oklahoman Interview, Frank's Phone, Habern's Guitar - Tulsa WorldOU's Average Season Hard to Explain - Tulsa World IOWA FOOTBALL HEADLINES Are the Sooners Checked In or Out? - Des Moines Register Hawkeyes Ready to Face Sooners - Mason City Globe Gameday Factoids Before Kickoff - Quad City Times What's Supposed to Happen - Eastern Iowa Gazette Ferentz's Son James Anchors Offensive Line - The Oklahoman Big Analysis: When Sooner Have Ball - Eastern Iowa GazetteOffensive Tackle Recovering From Virus - Des Moines Register Iowa Coach Not Saying Who Will Run Ball - The Oklahoman Iowa Hawkeyes Insight Bowl Notebook - Quad City Times Hawkeyes Took a Lot of Steps in 2011 - Eastern Iowa Gazette Beating Sooners Another Matter for Iowa - Des Moines Register Hawkeyes Will Wear Pads Tomorrow - Eastern Iowa GazetteGame Preview: Hawkeyes vs. Sooners - Des Moines Register Families Huddle as Hawkeyes Prep for Bowl - Quad City Times Who Has the Edge, Hawkeyes or OU? - Des Moines Register Final Talking Points: Iowa vs. Oklahoma - Eastern Iowa Gazette8:01 a.m. | Oklahoma vs. Iowa The Oklahoma Sooners face the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2011 Insight Bowl on Friday, Dec. 30. The game will kick shortly after 9 p.m. CT and will be televised nationally by ESPN. Follow our live gameday blog for observations and notes from the field. |
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