San diego chargers: iowa wins big
Ihmir Smith-Marsette scored on a six-yard run, a 98-yard kickoff return and a 12-yard reception — all in the second quarter — in No. 19 Iowa’s 49-24 victory against No. 22 USC in the Holiday Bowl on Friday night in San Diego.
Senior Nate Stanley threw two touchdown passes, and the Hawkeyes (10-3) won their fourth straight game for their sixth 10-win season in coach Kirk Ferentz’s 21 years.
USC freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis, who threw two touchdown passes, was knocked out of the game with an apparent arm injury early in the third quarter. The Trojans (8-5) had their three-game winning streak snapped. They fell apart after Slovis left.
Smith-Marsette helped the Hawkeyes to a 28-17 halftime lead.
Smith-Marsette scored on a sixyard sweep for a 14-7 lead. After USC tied it on Slovis’ 16-yard pass to Vavae Malepeai, Smith-Marsette returned the kickoff 98 yards to give the Hawkeyes the lead for good.
Smith-Marsette, a junior wide receiver, also had a 95-yard kickoff return for a score in the regular-season finale, a 27-24 victory against Nebraska.
Stanley found Smith-Marsette on a 12-yard scoring pass on Iowa’s next possession for a 28-14 lead.
michigan state 27, wake forest 21
Brian Lewerke threw for 320 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score to lead the Spartans (7-6) in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York.
Lewerke threw a 10-yard pass to wide receiver Cody White in the third quarter to put the Spartans ahead 27-21, and they survived down the stretch to give coach Mark Dantonio his sixth bowl victory.
The Spartans tried to give away the game twice in the fourth, the first time on Lewerke’s shovel pass to tight end Trenton Gillison inside the Wake Forest 10 that was stripped and recovered by linebacker Ja’Cquez Williams at the 6.
The Demon Deacons failed to score on the drive and handed
Michigan State another chance to seal the victory. Again, the Spartans couldn’t put it away when Matt Coghlin was wide left on a 28-yard field-goal attempt with 3:03 left. Wake Forest’s last chance ended on an incomplete pass on its own 16.
Lewerke passed Connor Cook (9,403) to become Michigan State’s career leader in total offense and was the bowl MVP. White finished with 97 yards receiving, and Elijah Collins had 96 yards rushing.
Jamie Newman did all his damage for the Demon Deacons (8-5) in the first half, throwing three touchdown passes for a 21-20 halftime lead.
texas A&M 24, oklahoma state 21
Kellen Mond ran for a careerhigh 117 yards and threw a touchdown pass as the Aggies (8-5) scored 24 consecutive points to overcome an early deficit in the Texas Bowl in Houston.
Chuba Hubbard, who finished the season as the nation’s leading rusher, ran for 158 yards, and Braydon Johnson had 124 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the Cowboys (8-5). Hubbard finished the season with 2,094 yards rushing to become the second player in school history to reach 2,000, joining Barry Sanders (1988).
north carolina 55, TEMPLE 13
Freshman Sam Howell threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns and caught a scoring pass to lead the Tar Heels in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland.
Howell completed 25 of 34 passes and ran for 53 yards on three carries to help the Tar Heels (7-6) to their first bowl victory since 2013. Temple (8-5) has gone to a bowl five years in a row — and lost four of them.
Howell threw 38 touchdown passes this season, the most by a true freshman in FBS history. ✶