After playoff snub, Buckeyes thump Trojans
Playoff-snubbed Ohio State got a bit defensive even without one of its best defenders in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.
Damon Webb returned an interception for a touchdown after recovering a fumble to set up an early score and the fifthranked Buckeyes beat No. 8 USC 24-7 in Arlington, Texas.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 champions usually would play New Year’s Day in Pasadena, but the Rose Bowl is a College Football Playoff semifinal game this season.
Ohio State (12-2) instead quickly settled in at the NFL stadium where three years ago it won the first national championship in the four-team CFP format. The Buckeyes — with that bad loss at Iowa after an early setback to Oklahoma — were the last team left out this season.
“The mind-set was obvious. We wanted to go down as one of the great teams at Ohio State, Big Ten champions, obviously a top-five finish,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said. “This will go down as one of the best teams I’ve ever coached and one of the best groups of young people I’ve ever been around.”
USC (11-3), the Rose Bowl champion last season, lost for only the third time in its past 23 games. The Trojans had four turnovers that led to 21 Ohio State points in what could have been third-year sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold’s final game.
Ohio State All-America junior cornerback Denzel Ward has decided to go into the NFL draft and didn’t play after practicing with the team this week.
With Ward on the sideline in his No. 12 jersey over street clothes, Webb — another defensive back — had a fumble recovery on the third play of the game. That led to J.T. Barrett’s 1-yard keeper for a score that put the Buckeyes ahead to stay.
“We kind of shot ourselves in the football in this game,” USC head coach Clay Helton said. “You’re putting a hurt on your defense, and it led to points early in the game, and separation early in the game.”
Webb’s 23-yard interception return for a TD put Ohio State up 17-0 less than a minute into the second quarter. It was the first pick-six this season for the Buckeyes, and the team-leading fifth interception for Webb.
Ohio State was up 24-0 after Barrett ran 28 yards for another touchdown after the first of Darnold’s two fumbles when stripped while being sacked. Darnold was sacked eight times.
“That defensive line took a quarterback that we have a tremendous amount of respect for and he didn’t set his feet all night,” Meyer said. “That’s the way we won that game.”
Sun 5-yard Bowl: touchdown Nyheim runs Hines to had help three North Carolina State beat Arizona State 52-31 in El Paso, Texas. Hines finished with 72 yards on 16 carries for North Carolina State (9-4), which played in a bowl game for the fourth year in a row and for the sixth time in seven years under head coach David Doeren. Reggie Gallaspy added 79 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries for the Wolfpack, Ryan Finley completed 24 of 29 passes for 318 yards and a score, and Stephen Louis had three catches for 115 yards. San Marin-Novato alum Manny Wilkins completed 25 of 40 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns for the Sun Devils (7-6). He also threw three interceptions.
Belk Bowl: 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 Charlotte, N.C. Wolford, a four-year starter and the game’s Most Valuable Player, threw all four TD passes in the first half for Wake Forest (8-5). Colburn had a 1-yard touchdown run with 2:18 left to give the Demon Deacons the lead for good. For Texas A&M (7-6), Nick Starkel threw for a Belk Bowl-record 499 yards and four touchdowns — three of those to wide receiver Christian Kirk, who caught 13 passes for 189 yards.
Music City Bowl: Justin Jackson ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 20 Northwestern held off Kentucky 24-23 in Nashville. Northwestern in and consecutive recorded (10-4) its years finished second for the off 10-win bowl first season time wins in three years under head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Kentucky (7-6) had a chance to win after Fitzgerald tried to convert his fifth fourth down of the game only to lose possession for the fourth time on downs — this time at his 39 with 2:31 left. Stephen Johnson ran for his second touchdown of the second half with 37 seconds left, but Kentucky’s two-point-conversion pass attempt failed.
Arizona Bowl: Larry Rose III scored on a 21-yard run in overtime and New Mexico State won its first bowl game in 57 years, beating Utah State 26-20 in Tucson. Utah State (6-7) had the ball first in overtime and Dominik Eberle hit the right upright on a 29yard field-goal try, his fourth missed field-goal try of the day. Rose finished with 142 yards on 16 carries and added six catches for another 48 yards for New Mexico State (7-6). The last time the Aggies went to a bowl game (1960), they beat Utah State.
Briefly: Kelly will Tennessee forgo his senior running season back and John enter the NFL draft. The 5-foot-9, 205-pound junior led the Volunteers in rushing (778 yards) and tied for the team lead with 37 catches . ... Bret Bielema, fired as Arkansas’ head coach with three years left on his contract, will receive a $15.4 million buyout, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Bielema was 29-34 in five years, including 4-8 this year.