of the Big East. They faced the MAC champion Toledo Rockets, which were playing little more than an hour's drive from their campus. Rockets quarterback Bruce Gradowski, affected by a broken hand suffered in the MAC championship game, was ineffective before being benched at halftime. However, the Huskies were effective enough that a healthy Gradowski may not have made a difference; UConn quarterback Dan Orlovsky threw for two TDs with no interceptions, and return specialist Larry Taylor had 157 return yards, including a punt return for a TD. UConn won 39–10, giving BCS AQ conferences their first win in three tries against BCS non-AQ conference teams this season. Independence Bowl Iowa State (8–4) 17, Miami (Ohio) (8–4) 13 On December 28 in Shreveport, Louisiana, another BCS AQ/non-AQ matchup took place in the Independence Bowl between the Iowa State Cyclones (Big 12) and the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks (MAC). Iowa State went out to a 10–0 lead in the second quarter, but Miami scored a touchdown late in that quarter to reduce the Cyclones' halftime lead to 10–7. The RedHawks scored a TD to take a 13–10 lead in the third quarter, but missed the extra point. The Cyclones' Ryan Kock scored the winning TD early in the fourth quarter, and the Cyclones defense held on for the 17–13 win. Two Cyclones, quarterback Bret Meyer and running back Stevie Hicks, rushed for over 100 yards each. RedHawks receiver Michael Larkin extended his NCAA record of consecutive games with a reception to 50. This was the last game for RedHawks head coach Terry Hoeppner, who took the head job at Indiana. Insight Bowl Oregon State (6–5) 38, Notre Dame (6–5) 21 The second bowl on December 28, the Insight Bowl held at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, was the second of the 2004–05 bowl season to pit two BCS AQ member teams. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the only independent with BCS automatic qualifying privileges, took on the Oregon State Beavers from the Pac-10. The Beavers never trailed in the game, and easily defeated the Irish 38–21. Beavers quarterback Derek Anderson threw for 359 yards and four touchdown passes, with no interceptions. The game was a rematch of the 2001 Fiesta Bowl, played at the nearby Sun Devil Stadium, with a similar result (Oregon State blowout victory). Houston Bowl Colorado (7–5) 33, UTEP (8–3) 28 On