Darn it! Sam looks awful as USC is routed by Buckeyes

If Friday was Sam Darnold’s last audition before he potentially enters the NFL Draft, it couldn’t have gone much worse.

Darnold and USC failed to get anything going on offense in an embarrassing 24-7 blowout loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

Despite playing without top cornerback Denzel Ward — who sat out the contest in order to avoid injury prior to the draft — No. 5 Ohio State was able to easily stifle Darnold and the Trojans’ offense.

The redshirt sophomore completed just 58% of his passes for 356 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He was also sacked eight times and lost two fumbles — including one at Ohio State’s 12-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, killing any remaining hope of a potential USC quarterback.

With Ohio State jumping out to a 24-7 halftime lead, the vast majority of Darnold’s passing yards came as a result of the Trojans playing from behind and abandoning the run.

Despite Darnold’s poor Cotton Bowl performance, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound quarterback will likely still be a top-5 pick if he declares for the draft.

At 2-13, the Giants will either have the second or third pick in this year’s draft, depending on how Week 17 plays out. —Ari Gilberg

l John Wolford threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns, and Matt Colburn ran for 150 yards and the go-ahead score in Wake Forest’s 55-52 victory over Texas A&M in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte.

l Nyheim Hines had three 5-yard touchdown runs to help North Carolina State beat Arizona State 52-31 in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. Hines, who was named the game’s MVP, finished with 72 yards on 16 carries for North Carolina State (9-4).

l Justin Jackson ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 20 Northwestern held off Kentucky 24-23 in the Music City Bowl.

l Larry Rose III scored on a 21-yard run in overtime and New Mexico State won in its first bowl game in 57 years, beating Utah State in the Arizona Bowl.

ISLES LOSE TO JETS

Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor each had a goal and an assist on host Winnipeg’s patchwork top line as the Jets beat the Islanders 4-2.

Connor Hellebuyck made 42 saves to help Winnipeg improve to 14-3-1 at home.

Anders Lee scored twice for the Islanders, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 33 shots.

l Rasmus Ristolainen scored 2:37 into overtime to give the visiting Buffalo Sabres a 4-3 victory over the Devils, snapping New Jersey’s winning streak at five games.

Miles Wood, Marcus Johansson and John Moore scored for New Jersey, and Cory Schneider made 25 saves.