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with Rod Gilmore
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You certainly can't fault Texas QB Chris Simms for his play down the stretch. He put the ball where he needed to put it. The freshman receivers were laboring under some difficulties, though. Roy Williams was hurt, that had to affect his concentration, and B.J. Johnson had to be the guy. That's a tough position to be in for the first time in front of a national audience.
Oregon turned it up in the second half. Losing Rashan Bauman hurt them because they had to play more zone coverage. But before that they were getting more defensive pressure than usual. That really helped them in the third quarter when they were able to hang in there.
Offensively, they were able to use the entire field. In the first half you saw almost every play go from one hash mark to the other. They used the field this way to set up good matchups. They spread the ball around well. Their tight end got the ball and they used RB Maurice Morris effectively out of the backfield. It was the kind of game Ducks coach Mike Bellotti wanted. He wanted to get matchups, he wanted a lot of scoring and he wanted a chance to win in the fourth quarter. He got all of that.
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| IT WAS OVER WHEN |
| Texas QB Chris Simms last-gasp pass landed incomplete as time expired and not a second before. Simms gave the Longhorns chance after chance to win, but his receivers dropped three passes that could have won, or put the Horns in position to win.
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| GAME BALL GOES TO |
| Oregon QB Joey Harrington, who threw for a pair of TDs and ran for another. Harrington outplayed the wonder-boy Simms and led the Ducks to their first 10-win season.
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Harrington steals the show
Ducks RB Maurice Morris breaks away from the Horns.
While all eyes were focused on Texas QB Chris Simms, it was Oregon's Joey Harrington who was the best quarterback in the Holiday Bowl. Harrington threw for a pair of TDs, ran for a score and caught a halfback pass for yet another Ducks touchdown, leading Oregon to a thrilling 35-30 victory over Texas.
• Listen: Holiday Bowl | Inside the playbook
| INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS |
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OREGON |
YARDS |
TEXAS |
YARDS |
| Passing |
Joey Harrington |
274 |
Major Applewhite |
245 |
| Rushing |
Maurice Morris |
82 |
Hodges Mitchell |
41 |
| Receiving |
Maurice Morris |
104 |
Brandon Healy |
98 |
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 Oregon vs. Texas
 Oregon's wide receiver Keenan Howry hits the QB Joey Harrington with the touchdown pass.
avi: 1435 k
Real: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Oregon vs. Texas
Oregon's Rashad Baum intercepts the Chris Simms pass to stop Texas' late scoring drive.
avi: 1421 k
Real: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Oregon vs. Texas
Texas' Victor Ike returns the kickoff 93 yards to tie the score at 28 in the fourth quarter.
avi: 701 k
Real: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Oregon vs. Texas
Texas' Greg Brown picks off the Joey Harrington pass and brings it 22 yards for the TD.
avi: 877 k
Real: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
More Audio/Video
| TEAM STATISTICAL COMPARISON |
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| Total Offense |
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408.9 |  | 
438.6 |
Passing Yards |
| | 257.7 | | |
293.2 |
Passing completion percentage |
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51.5 | | |
55.4 |
Completions |
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202 | | |
220 |
Attempts |
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392 | | |
397 |
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| Scoring Offense |
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28.7 | | |
38.6 |
Scoring Defense |
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19.9 | | |
17.9 |
Rushing Yards |
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151.2 | | |
145.5 |
Rushing attempts |
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436 | | |
406 |
Key: |
| Oregon | | Texas |
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 "Most definitely the best game so far! All you Texas fans spouting about Oregon not blowing teams out - that was Oregon being clutch and handling pressure to win the close games - something Texas OBVIOUSLY needs to learn. Go Ducks! "
-- b m hart
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