Ground game lifts Gophers to victory
Ky Thomas ran for 144 yards and a touchdown, Mar’Kiese Irving added 129 yards rushing and Minnesota shut down West Virginia on defense to win the Guaranteed Rate Bowl 18-6 on Tuesday night in Phoenix.
Thomas and Irving became the Gophers’ 1-2 punch after Mohamed Ibrahim and Trey Potts sustained season-ending injuries earlier this season. The two running backs carried most of the load offensively against West Virginia (6-7), accounting for 273 of Minnesota’s 358 total yards.
The Gophers (9-4) overwhelmed the Mountaineers defensively, holding them to 206 total yards to win their fifth straight bowl game, third under coach P.J. Fleck.
West Virginia was without leading rusher Leddie Brown, who opted to skip the game to prepare for the NFL. Terps dominate Pinstripe Bowl: Tarheeb Still returned a punt 92 yards for a score, Taulia Tagovailoa threw TD passes of 70 and 32 yards to Darryl Jones, and the sudden scores sparked Maryland (7-6) to a 54-10 rout of Virginia Tech in the Pinstripe Bowl on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium in New York.
The game belonged to Tagovailoa, an Alabama transfer and younger brother of former Crimson Tide and current Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa. He threw for 265 yards and the two TD passes brought his season total to 26, which tied single-season record for the Terrapins (7-6).
The Hokies finished the season 6-7.
Bennett to start for Georgia: If there was any doubt left about who will be starting at quarterback for No. 3 Georgia against No. 2 Michigan in the College Football Playoff, Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart put an end to it Wednesday. “Stetson (Bennett) is our starting QB,” Smart said. Smart added that whether backup JT Daniels plays Friday in the Orange Bowl will be determined by the game situation and Daniels’ health.
Daniels began the season as the starter but an injury opened the door for Bennett.
As for his current health, Daniels didn’t travel with the team to Miami and arrived a day later.
Smart said the Bulldogs dealt with some COVID-19 issues, but gave no specifics.