Oklahoma Sooners

Leading up to the Under Armour All-America game on Jan. 5, Tom Luginbill, ESPN's National Recruiting Director, takes a look at which players have the most to gain with a strong performance.

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Despite getting in for only a dozen plays, backup quarterback Blake Bell was named the Insight Bowl offensive MVP by ESPN. While meeting with a small pool of reporters Saturday morning, Bob Stoops admitted he was stunned after first hearing that. And implied that Landry Jones warranted that honor.

“How many times has he really been hit hard? He didn't even take a shower after the game,” Stoops said. “Landry's in there getting showered up... after the press conference. He’s getting on to Blake because he isn't taking a shower. (Bell) says, 'What? I only played nine or 10 plays.' And he gets the MVP. Can you believe they gave it to him? Geez, oh man.”

Jones completed 16 of 25 passes for only 161 yards. Bell, meanwhile, rushed for 51 yards on 10 carries and three touchdowns. But Stoops said it was Jones who got Bell in position to make some of those plays.

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Steven Pledger sparked a second half run that boosted Oklahoma to a 83-63 win over Northwestern State (La.) on Saturday afternoon at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla. The Sooners guard had seven points and one assist during a 19-3 run in the middle of the second half as OU pulled away to finish its non-conference slate at 10-2.

Two days after a disappointing road loss to Cincinnati, the Sooners struggled with NSU until their second half run. OU lead 48-46 with 12:30 left in the game when Pledger upped his intensity and took over the game. He attacked the basket for a tough baseline jumper then buried a three-pointer two possessions later to give OU an 57-46 lead with 10:40 remaining.

OU cruised from there, finishing the game 31 of 55 from the field (56.4 percent) and 18 of 22 from the free throw line (81.8 percent).

Player of the Game: Pledger. After walking into the locker room with six points at halftime, he scored 12 in the second half and sparked the game-deciding 19-3 run. He finished with 18 points, five assists, two rebounds and one block. Pledger was 6 of 11 from the field including 3 of 5 from the 3-point line.

Unsung Hero: C.J. Washington. The senior forward was extremely active in his 14 minutes of action. He finished with eight points, five rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

Key Stat: 44. OU attacked the paint on offense, finishing with 44 of its 83 points in the paint. Pledger was the only Sooner who took a three-point shot in the game as OU shot 50 field goals inside the three-point arc.

Quotable: “I thought individually, that was Sam Grooms' best stretch of play all year. He has been doing a lot of good things. We are excited about that.” - OU coach Lon Kruger on the play of Sam Grooms, who finished with 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the field along with four assists and three turnovers.

“We just came together. And I told them, we're not going to have another letdown. That's something we're not going to do." - Pledger on the second half run.

“Coach always talks about initiating some enthusiasm and some aggressiveness. Sometimes, even in practice, he just lets us figure it out; he doesn't want to have to say it all the time.” - Forward Romero Osby on Kruger not calling timeout when NSU cut the lead to two points.

Up Next: The Sooners will travel to Missouri on Tuesday to open Big 12 Conference play at 7 p.m.

Jake Trotter grades Oklahoma's performance against Iowa after a 31-14 win in the Insight Bowl:

Quarterbacks: A-
What a sensational finish for freshman Blake Bell. OU’s reserve quarterback scored three touchdowns out of the Belldozer package, including a 21-yard scamper with 45 seconds left to stamp an exclamation point. Bell also converted a critical third-and-2 late in the game, which set up a field goal that put OU up by two scores. Landry Jones, meanwhile, didn’t finish the season with a memorable performance. Jones completed 16 of 25 passes for only 161 yards, though ended his touchdown pass drought with a three-yard scoring lob to tight end Trent Ratterree. Jones played tough, though, taking a shot to head from Jordan Bernstine, who actually chipped one of Jones’ teeth.

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TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Sooners took a three-touchdown lead into the fourth quarter, then held on to secure their third consecutive bowl victory.

Turning point: After two fourth-quarter-touchdowns, the Hawkeyes owned the momentum with just over 5 minutes to play. But with the ball at the Iowa 43-yard line, Oklahoma turned to the Belldozer package to convert a crucial third-and-2. Quarterback Blake Bell faked the jet sweep to Kameel Jackson to the right, then rumbled left off tackle for 7 yards and a first down. Michael Hunnicutt capped the drive with a 35-yard field goal to put the game away.

Player of the game: OU cornerback Jamell Fleming made himself some money, blanketing All-Big Ten wideout Marvin McNutt all night. McNutt was limited to just four catches for 46 yards despite numerous passes thrown his direction. Fleming also picked off a James Vandenberg pass in the first quarter and returned it to the Iowa 5 to set up OU’s first score. Fleming finished with seven tackles and three pass breakups.

Unsung hero of the game: OU punter Tress Way kept the field position in the Sooners’ favor all night. He tied an Insight Bowl record with a 67-yard punt from inside the OU 5-yard line. Way finished the night with a 50.3 average on six punts.

Stat of the game: With a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Trent Ratterree in the third quarter, Landry Jones snapped a streak of 15 consecutive quarters without a touchdown pass. Jones had been stuck on 28 touchdown passes since the Texas A&M game on Nov. 5, when leading receiver Ryan Broyles suffered a season-ending knee injury.

What it means: It wasn’t pretty, especially on offense, but the Sooners prevailed to take a little momentum into the offseason after a disappointing end to the regular season. OU should be a, if not the, favorite to win the Big 12 next season.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Oklahoma hasn’t gotten much going on offense, but still leads 14-0, thanks largely to a Jamell Fleming interception early in the game that set up the Sooners' first touchdown.

Stat of the half: The Sooners have now gone 15 straight quarters without a touchdown pass. Landry Jones has completed 7 of 11 passes for 70 yards. But he has been stuck on 28 touchdown passes since the Texas A&M game on Nov. 5, when favorite target Ryan Broyles suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Best player in the half: How about Belldozer package fullbacks Jaydan Bird and Trey Millard? Bird, a linebacker filling in for the injured Aaron Ripkowski, plowed a hole behind the left guard for Blake Bell’s first touchdown. Millard cleared out Iowa cornerback Shaun Prater on a sweep for Bell’s second. The Sooners continue to struggle offensively, but have made the most of their red-zone opportunities thanks to the Belldozer.

What Oklahoma needs to do: Keep everything in front of them on defense. The Hawkeyes have had some success offensively with 11 first downs (compared to OU’s six). But as long as the Sooners keep Iowa from connecting on the big pass play, they should be able to put this one away. On the other hand, one big play could get the Hawkeyes right back in it.

Jake Trotter answers readers' questions about Oklahoma football in his mailbag every Friday. Got a question for Jake? Submit it here.

Chris Wilkerson in Tahlequah, Okla., writes: Is Oklahoma changing their scheme any, offense wise? I heard maybe more option.

Jake Trotter: As long as Landry Jones is quarterback, OU will not be running the option. Even if/when Blake Bell takes over, it’s unlikely the Sooners run any option then either. Bell is a power-running quarterback like Kansas State’s Collin Klein or Tim Tebow. Not an option quarterback like Jamelle Holieway or Charles Thompson.

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The first time Oklahoma offensive linemen verbal commits Ty Darlington (Apopka, Fla./Apopka) and John Michael McGee (Texarkana, Texas/Texas) met each other was on their official visits to OU two weeks ago.

They won’t have to wait nearly as long for their second meeting as both will be in San Antonio this upcoming week for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

“I’m real excited about this opportunity and to get a chance to spend more time with some of the commits,” Darlington said. “The level of competition is going to be incredible.”

OU has five commits in the U.S. Army game and three in the Under Armour All-America Game next week.

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Oklahoma and Iowa will play the other game in the desert -- the Insight Bowl -- Friday night at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Should be a good one, with Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops taking on his alma mater for the first time, and the two teams meeting for the first time since 1979. Here's a look at what to expect.

WHO TO WATCH: Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma. It's not going to be easy for him. He'll be playing without two of his top three targets, Ryan Broyles (torn ACL) and Jaz Reynolds (kidney). The Sooners running backs are banged up and transferring, too, reduced to just Roy Finch and Brennan Clay. Jones hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in three games, either. He wasn't great against Oklahoma State, and he'll have to be better in this one, even as a heavy favorite.

WHAT TO WATCH: Iowa's running game vs. Oklahoma's front seven. This sounds familiar, no? Iowa dealt with running back transfers and suspensions in last year's Insight Bowl, but Marcus Coker rushed for 219 yards in a win over favored Mizzou. He's suspended now, and Iowa will turn to De'Andre Johnson, Jordan Canzeri, Damon Bullock and Jason White to run the ball. None of them have more than 18 carries. Oklahoma's best shot to lose this game -- it's been pretty lackluster late in the season -- is letting Iowa figure out a way to run against it. The defensive line and one of the Big 12's best group of linebackers have to slow down an Iowa running game that seems likely to struggle to produce.

WHY TO WATCH: This one has serious upset potential. Iowa has excelled in bowl games, winning three straight, including an Orange Bowl victory. Oklahoma has struggled mightily without Broyles, dropping games to Baylor and Oklahoma State late in the season. Iowa is a two-touchdown underdog, but this has a big chance to be the biggest bowl upset of the season.

PREDICTION: No. 14 Oklahoma 23, Iowa 21: On the flip side of the "Bet who wants to be here more" coin is Oklahoma, whose trip to the Insight Bowl is far from what it had hoped for in a season that began with national title hopes. The Sooners are banged up and dealing with player exits, but they're still significantly better than Iowa. We see a pretty lackluster performance from the Sooners, but they survive. Iowa is, after all, a team that lost to Iowa State, Minnesota and Penn State, and is playing without its top two running backs.