Northwestern hangs on to beat Kentucky

Justin Jackson ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and Northwestern held off Kentucky, 24-23, Friday in a Music City Bowl that might be remembered more for injuries, ejections and a wild finish in Nashville, Tenn.

Both starting quarterbacks left in the first half with injuries, although Kentucky’s Stephen Johnson returned early in the third quarter. Kentucky lost running back Benny Snell Jr. to an ejection for contact with an official early in the second quarter, and Northwestern lost leading tackler and linebacker Paddy Fisher before halftime when he was ejected for targeting.

Kentucky had a chance to win after Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald tried to convert his fifth fourth down of the game only to turn it over for the fourth time on downs — this time at his own 39 with 2:31 left. Johnson ran for his second touchdown of the second half with 37 seconds left. Kentucky coach Mark Stoops went for the twopoint conversion rather than play for overtime, but Johnson couldn’t connect with Tavin Richardson on the pass.

Wake Forest 55, Texas A&M 52: John Wolford threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns, and Matt Colburn ran for 150 yards and the go-ahead score and the Demon Deacons outlasted the Aggies in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C.

The teams combined for 1,260 yards in one of the highest-scoring games in bowl history.

Wolford, the game’s Most Valuable Player, threw all four TD passes in the first half for Wake Forest. Colburn had a 1-yard touchdown with 2:18 left in the game to give the Demon Deacons the lead for good.

Wake Forest stopped the Aggies on downs on their final drive to seal the win.

Nick Starkel threw for a Belk Bowlrecord 499 yards and also had four touchdown passes for Texas A&M.

North Carolina State 52, Arizona State 31: Nyheim Hines had three 5yard touchdown runs to help the Wolfpack beat the Sun Devils in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.