ALAMO BOWL

Picking Ash doesn’t burn Longhorns

— David Ash wasn’t sure he would start the Alamo Bowl. No one will remember after the way he finished Texas’ rocky season with a validating victory.

The sophomore threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Goodwin with 2:24 left for the last of two fourth quarter touchdown passes, stunning No. 13 Oregon State and lifting the Longhorns to a 31-27 comeback victory Saturday night.

The Longhorns (9-4) never led before Goodwin scored his second touchdown on a deep post pattern, just a down after Texas converted a fourth-and-1 play to keep its chances alive.

“I guess in every situation you have to be thankful,” said Ash, who was pulled in a loss to TCU a month ago and wasn’t immediately selected the starter for the Alamo Bowl. “I learned a lot at TCU. It was a tough situation I was in. I was just really thankful I got another opportunity to play a game I love.”

With Texas down 20-10 at halftime, Longhorns Coach Mack Brown said he told his players they would win.

“I told them it wasn’t going to be easy, but I told them this game was ours and we would win it,” Brown said. “This one is really special.”

Storm Woods ran for 118 yards and scored two touchdowns for the Beavers (9-4), who left stunned after looking as though they would wrap up their first 10-victory season since 2006.

Oregon State quarterback Cody Vaz was 15 of 28 for 194 yards and 2 interceptions. The Beavers had minus-4 yards in the fourth quarter as they were stuffed by the Longhorns defense that was led by Alex Okafor, who finished with 4 1/2 sacks.

PINSTRIPE BOWL

SYRACUSE 38, WEST VIRGINIA 14

NEW YORK - Prince-Tyson Gulley ran for 217 yards and had three touchdowns, Syracuse scored twice on safeties and the Orange bid a snow-covered farewell to the Big East with a victory over West Virginia.

The Orange (8-5) leaned on their running game to plow through former Big East rival West Virginia (7-6) and the snow. Jerome Smith added 158 yards rushing.

Geno Smith, who was an early Heisman Trophy front-runner as the Mountaineers got off to a 5-0 start this season, was 18 for 26 for 197 yards in the final game of his career.

Syracuse senior quarterback Ryan Nassib threw two touchdown passes and an interception. He also bounced back from being driven into the frozen turf by Terence Garvin on a sack in the first half. Nassib missed only one play.

Sports, Pages 31 on 12/30/2012

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