Badgers form chain gang
In total control vs. Miami
Alex Hornibrook threw four touchdown passes, three of them to Danny Davis, and sixth-ranked Wisconsin capped off the winningest season in school history by topping No. 11 Miami, 34-24, last night in the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Jonathan Taylor capped his record-setting freshman season with 130 rushing yards on 26 carries for the Badgers (13-1), who rallied from an early 14-3 deficit. Taylor finished the year with an FBS-freshman-record 1,977 yards.
A.J. Taylor also had a scoring catch for Wisconsin — one where he mimicked ripping Miami’s “Turnover Chain” off the neck of teammate Kendric Pryor.
Hornibrook completed 23-of34 passes for 258 yards.
Travis Homer and Deejay Dallas had rushing scores for Miami (10-3), which was in the Orange Bowl for the 10th time and lost on its home field for the first time in 2017. Lawrence Cager had a touchdown catch for the Hurricanes, while quarterback Malik Rosier was 11-for-26 passing for 203 yards — with three interceptions.
Fiesta Bowl
Penn State 35, Washington 28 — Trace McSorley threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns, Saquon Barkley ran for two more scores and the No.9 Nittany Lions (11-2) outlasted the No. 12 Huskies (10-3) in Glendale, Ariz.
Penn State, No. 9 in the final College Football Rankings, had its way with Washington’s vaunted defense early, building a 28-7 lead by the second quarter.
Washington woke up from an offensive slumber with two TDs and pulled to 35-28 on Myles Gaskins’ 69-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The Huskies, No. 11 CFP, allowed Penn State to work the clock to under a minute on the next drive and gave up a season-high 545 total yards.
Washington had the nation’s top run defense, allowing 92 yards per game, but Barkley matched that on one run in the second quarter. Barkley had 137 of the Nittany Lions’ 203 yards rushing.
Liberty Bowl
Iowa State 21, Memphis 20 — Allen Lazard tied a Liberty Bowl record with 10 catches and put Iowa State ahead with a remarkable 5-yard touchdown reception and the Cyclones (8-5) prevailed on the home field for the No.19 Tigers (10-3) in Memphis, Tenn.
Iowa State held after losing its first fumble this season just as it appeared on the verge of scoring a late TD. The Cyclones led 21-20 and had third-and-goal from the 1 when David Montgomery fumbled as he was crossing the goal line. Jonathan Cook recovered in the end zone for a touchback with 4:06 left.
Taxslayer Bowl
Mississippi State 31, Louisville 27 — Freshman Keytaon Thompson, making his first start in place of injured quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns to help the No. 24 Bulldogs (9-4) beat the Cardinals (8-5) and 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson in Jacksonville, Fla.
Thompson and Jackson provided many of the highlights — and some lowlights.
Thompson scored twice in the fourth quarter, including a 1-yard plunge with 3:39 remaining that put the Bulldogs ahead for good.
Jackson completed 13-of-31 passes for 171 yards, with two touchdowns but was intercepted four times. He threw just six picks in the regular season. He ran 24 times for 158 yards and a touchdown.