Oklahoma rode three rushing touchdowns from freshman quarterback Blake Bell to a 31-14 victory over Iowa in the 23rd Insight Bowl. The Sooners' defense held the Hawkeyes scoreless for three quarters while methodically building a 21-0 lead on Bell's first two scores - both four-yard runs - and a three-yard pass from quarterback Landry Jones, Oklahoma's all-time passing leader, to tight end Trent Ratterree.
OU defensive back Jamell Fleming set the table for the Sooners' first touchdown with a pass interception and 21-yard return that placed the ball at Iowa's five-yard line following a personal foul penalty against Iowa. Two plays later, Oklahoma seized the game's momentum when Bell rumbled into the end zone for the first time.
Iowa rallied on two short fourth-quarter touchdown passes from quarterback James Vandenberg to tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz (five yards) and RB Jordan Canzeri (nine yards) to cut OU's lead to 21-14 with 6:56 remaining to play.
But the Sooners answered with 10 points on their next two possessions on freshman all-American kicker Mike Hunnicutt's 35-yard field goal and Bell's third scoring run, a 21-yard jaunt - to secure the victory.
Oklahoma's normally prolific offense gained only 275 total yards while Iowa's short-handed running game managed just 76 rushing yards.
OU won its 27th bowl game to tie Penn State for third in the nation and earned its 33rd 10-win season, tops in the nation. The loss snapped Iowa's school-record three-game bowl winning streak.
Sooner punter Tress Way equaled the Insight Bowl record with a 67-yard boomer in the first quarter. Bell finished the season with 13 team-leading touchdowns as he carved a niche as the "Bell-dozer"Â in short-yardage situations near the opponent goal line.
Both teams departed Arizona with 1-1 Insight Bowl records.
Oklahoma's Insight Bowl appearance was its fourth trip to Arizona in a six-year span after earning berths in the 2007-08 and '11 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl games.
The crowd of 54,247 eclipsed the Insight Bowl attendance record of 53,453 set one year earlier when Iowa defeated 12th-ranked Missouri 27-24.
