Hartman’s big day leads Wake Forest

Sam Hartman’s big day capped Wake Forest’s best season in 15 years.

Hartman tossed three touchdown passes, two of them to tight end Brandon Chapman, and the 17th-ranked Demon Deacons beat Rutgers 38-10 in the Gator Bowl on Friday to reach 11 wins for the second time in program history.

Hartman completed 23 of 39 passes for 304 yards. He added 21 more yards rushing and pushed his touchdown total to 50 this season — 39 passing and 11 rushing. He was named the winning team’s most valuable player.

“It’s everything,” he said. “I’m just enjoying the moment.”

The Demon Deacons (11-3) controlled the game from the start, scoring on their first three drives and opening a double-digit lead just before halftime. It played out about as expected given Rutgers (5-8) was a late replacement for 23rd-ranked Texas A&M.

The Aggies pulled out because of a lack of available players due to injuries, opt-outs, transfers and COVID-19 issues. The NCAA gave Rutgers the first shot at filling the void because it had the highest Academic Progress Rate score of all the eligible 5-7 teams.

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano gathered his players from Christmas break and held two practices in a heated bubble before heading south. They got in two more in nearby Ponte Vedra Beach this week before taking the field.

They were ready, willing and probably overmatched against the one of the nation’s best offenses. When it was over, Schiano raised his fist and saluted the Rutgers faithful who made the long trip to much warmer weather.

“What we did has never been done before,” Schiano said. “This is the hardest week of work that I’ve ever done as a coach, and I’ve done it for 34 years. I’ll remember everything it took and all the people who made it possible . ... But that was a little bit unhealthy.”

Central Michigan grabs first bowl win since 2012: Lew Nichols III ran for 130 yards and a touchdown, leading late replacement Central Michigan to a 24-21 victory over Washington State in the Sun Bowl on Friday.

The Chippewas (9-4) ended a five-game bowl losing streak with their fifth consecutive victory this season. When Boise State opted out of the Arizona Bowl because of COVID-19 issues, Central Michigan switched about 300 miles west from Tucson, Arizona, to the Texas border city of El Paso.

Miami skipped the Sun Bowl for COVID-19 reasons as well. Central Michigan stayed in Arizona before bussing to El Paso the day before the game.

It was the first bowl victory for the Chippewas since beating Western Kentucky in the 2012 Little Caesars Bowl.

Washington State (7-6) never could get its offense going in the first half, finishing with just 53 yards and trailing 21-0 at the break. The Cougars dropped to 8-9 all-time in bowls.

The Cougars rallied in the second half behind backup quarterback Victor Gabalis, scoring three times to make it close. Gabalis was 12 of 23 passing for 180 yards and two TDs. After a 13-yard scoring toss to Lincoln Victor pulled the Cougars within three points with 3:13 remaining, they had another chance starting at their 14-yard line with 2:41 remaining. Central Michigan stopped Joey Hobert a yard short on a catch on fourth-and-5.

Allen, Wisconsin hold off Arizona State: Braelon Allen thought his week in Las Vegas was rather uneventful. After all, it’s hard to really soak in Sin City when you’re only 17 years old. He’ll have to settle for his MVP award.

Allen ran for 159 yards and Wisconsin drained the final 9:57 off the clock with an 18-play drive that sealed a 20-13 victory over Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Thursday night. Allen, a true freshman from Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, had 101 yards by halftime for his eighth 100-yard game of the season. He averaged 6.8 yards per carry this year, falling just short of joining NFL stars Melvin Gordon and Jonathan Taylor as the only Wisconsin backs to average 7 yards per attempt over a full season.

“Being able to have the season that I ended up having, I can’t thank the guys enough for the support,” said Allen, selected the game’s MVP.

Thorne in Pitt’s side: Michigan State capped its turnaround from from a two-win season with a fourth-quarter comeback in the Peach Bowl.

Payton Thorne’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed gave No. 10 Michigan State the lead with less than three minutes remaining and the Spartans overcame an 11-point deficit to beat No. 12 Pittsburgh 31-21 on Thursday night in the Peach Bowl. Led by Thorne, the Spartans outscored the Panthers 21-0 in the final quarter.

“The whole game, my teammates just kept telling me to stay up and keep chopping like we talk about,” Thorne said.

Linebacker Cal Haladay’s 78-yard interception return for a touchdown with 22 seconds remaining ended Pitt fill-in quarterback Davis Beville’s bid for a last-minute comeback in the game the Panthers played without star QB Kenny Pickett.

Thorne threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes as Michigan State (11-2) rallied after trailing 21-10.

“We got stronger and stronger as the game went,” second-year coach Mel Tucker said. “We ... were able to find a way to get it done.”