Connecticut’s Brown dazzles and then bolts

Connecticut’s Donald Brown showed he has nothing left to prove at the college level.

Brown ran for a career-best 261 yards, helping the fumble-prone Huskies overcome a mistake-filled first half and defeat Buffalo, 38-20, in the International Bowl at Toronto on Saturday.

After becoming the 14th player in major-college history to run for 2,000 yards in a season, the junior running back broke the news to Connecticut fans.

“OK, tell them, bud,” Coach Randy Edsall said, slapping Brown on the back at the postgame interview table.

“I’m not coming back,” Brown said. “I’m going to pursue the NFL.”

He then apologized for saying three weeks ago that he planned to return to Connecticut for his senior season.

The nation’s leading rusher said he made the commitment to return to stop speculation and negate a potential distraction for his team heading into the game.

He had 208 yards rushing in the first half -- six short of matching a career best -- and kept the Huskies in the game. Connecticut turned the ball over five times in the first 30 minutes.

Brown scored on a 45-yard run and then had a career-best 75-yarder to set up quarterback Tyler Lorenzen’s touchdown run.

Lorenzen then put the Huskies ahead for good 10 minutes into the third quarter by completing his first pass, a four-yarder to tight end Steve Brouse for a 24-20 lead.

Stoops in denial

Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops denied that he’s a candidate for the coaching vacancy with the NFL’s Denver Broncos.

Stoops, whose team will play Florida for the national championship Thursday, said after practice Saturday that this was the first he had heard of the rumor.

“That’s a rumor that I have not heard and no one has contacted me about that, so I don’t know anything about it,” Stoops said. “We’re preparing for a national championship, that’s all my focus, all my concentration is on that, so obviously I’m not a candidate. I’m sure someone might have told me . . . if I was.”

The Broncos fired Mike Shanahan after 14 seasons on Tuesday.

Etc.

Rutgers wide receiver Kenny Britt is taking his considerable talents to the NFL. The junior announced his intention to forgo his senior season and make himself available for the draft. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Britt had 87 receptions for 1,371 yards and seven touchdowns in 2008, including what proved to be the winner for the Scarlet Knights in a 29-23 victory over North Carolina State in the PapaJohns.com Bowl on Monday. . . . New Iowa State Coach Paul Rhoads hired Rice assistant Tom Herman as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.