N. Carolina routs Temple in Military Bowl
North Carolina 55, Temple 13: Freshman Sam Howell threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns in addition to catching a TD pass, and North Carolina blew out Temple in the Military Bowl at Annapolis, Maryland, on Friday to cap a satisfying return season for coach Mack Brown.
Howell completed 25 of 34 passes and ran for 53 yards on three carries to help the Tar Heels (7-6) secure their first bowl victory since 2013. North Carolina was 4-6 before winning its last two regular-season games to qualify for a bowl bid.
Temple (8-5) has gone to a bowl game five years in a row – and lost four of them. This was the Owls’ first trip under coach Rod Carey, who came to Temple after a run of six-plus seasons at Northern Illinois in which he was 0-6 in the postseason.
North Carolina went 3-9 in 2017 and 2-9 last year before hiring Brown, who coached the Tar Heels from 1988-97 prior to heading to Texas for a 16-year stay. Coming off a five-year absence from coaching, the 68-year-old Brown can attribute a portion of his success to securing Howell, a high school star in North Carolina who initially committed to Florida State.
Closing out a sensational debut season at the college level, Howell threw a pair of touchdown passes before halftime to stake the Tar Heels to a 20-6 lead. UNC pulled away early in the third quarter by scoring two touchdowns in a 12-second span, the last on a 20-yard interception return by Storm Duck.
Howell completed the third-quarter blitz by catching a 2-yard TD pass from wide receiver Rontavius Groves at the end of a razzle-dazzle reverse to make it 41-6.
Howell threw 38 touchdown passes this season, most by a true freshman in FBS history. His 3,641 yards passing are an Atlantic Coast Conference record for a freshman who has not redshirted.
North Carolina missed a 50-yard field goal on its first possession, then covered 63 yards on two plays. Howell ran for 24 yards before connecting with Dyami Brown in the left corner for a 39-yard score.
It was 10-0 before the Owls used a 60yard pass from Anthony Russo to Jadan Blue to set up a short touchdown run. The conversion was blocked.
The Tar Heels then moved 75 yards on eight plays, going up 17-6 when Dazz Newsome got behind safety Amir Tyler on a 16-yard touchdown catch. Officials initially ruled Newsome made the catch out of bounds, but a replay determined he had his right foot in the end zone while gaining possession of the ball.
Newsome made an even better catch early in the fourth quarter, snaring the ball in the left back corner of the end zone behind two defenders and getting one foot in before tumbling backward at the end of a 29-yard score.
The Tar Heels could not have asked for a better way to build enthusiasm for the 2020 season. Things appear to be looking up for UNC, especially because
Brown recently recruiting class.
Michigan State 17, Wake Forest 21: Brian Lewerke threw for 320 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score in Michigan State’s victory over Wake Forest in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
Lewerke threw a 10-yard pass to wide receiver Cody White in the third quarter to put the Spartans (7-6) ahead 27-21 and they survived down the stretch to give embattled coach Mark Dantonio his sixth bowl victory.
Wake Forest (8-5) missed a chance to win nine games for just the third time in program history.
Michigan State tried to give away the game twice in the fourth, the first time on Lewerke’s shovel pass to tight end Trenton Gillison inside the 10 that was stripped and recovered by linebacker Ja’Cquez Williams at the 6.
The Deamon Deacons failed to score on the drive, and handed Michigan State another chance to seal the victory. Again, the Spartans couldn’t put it away when Matt Coghlin was wide left on a 28-yard field goal attempt with 3:03 left Wake Forest’s last chance ended on an incomplete pass on its own 16.
White finished with 97 yards receiving and Elijah Collins had 96 yards rushing.
Dantonio had said he would play mutliple QBs to give the program a better feel for what it had on the depth chart to work with next season. But Michigan State stuck with Lewerke, in his fifth-year and making his 38th career start, and he responded in the welcomed
aclutch when he connected with White. Lewerke passed Connor Cook (9,403) to become Michigan State’s career leader in total offense and was the bowl MVP.
Jamie Newman did all his damage for the Demon Deacons in the first half, throwing three touchdown passes for a 21-20 halftime lead. Newman, the MVP of last season’s Birmingham Bowl, hit Kendall Hinton with a 29-yard scoring strike on Wake Forest’s opening drive and wide receiver Donavon Greene made a sensational one-handed scoring catch early in the second quarter for a 14-10 lead.
Texas A&M 23, Oklahoma St. 21: Kellen Mond ran for a career-high 117 yards and threw a touchdown pass as Texas A&M scored 24 straight points to overcome an early deficit and beat Oklahoma State 24-21 in the Texas Bowl on Friday night.
Mond ran 67 yards to give the Aggies (8-5) a 21-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. Mond cut to the right to avoid a couple of defenders and outran everyone else. Tre Sterling had a shot to tackle him around the 25, but Mond ran away from his diving attempt.
The Cowboys (8-5) went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Texas A&M 34 on their next possession, but Spencer Sanders was stopped for no gain.
The Aggies added a 24-yard field goal to make it 24-14 with about three minutes to go.
Oklahoma State cut the lead to three on a touchdown reception by Braydon Johnson with about a minute left. The Cowboys attempted an onside kick, but
A&M recovered it to secure the victory.
Chuba Hubbard, who finished the regular season as the nation’s leading rusher, ran for 158 yards, and Johnson had 124 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the Cowboys.
Hubbard finished the season with 2,094 yards rushing to become the second player in school history to reach 2,000, joining Barry Sanders, who did it in 1988 when he won the Heisman.
Iowa 49, USC 24: Ihmir Smith-Marsette scored on a 6-yard run, a 98-yard kickoff return and a 12-yard reception – all in the second quarter – to lead Iowa to a victory over Southern California in the Holiday Bowl.
Senior Nate Stanley threw two touchdown passes and the Hawkeyes (10-3) won their fourth straight game for their sixth 10-win season in coach Kirk Ferentz’s 21 years.
USC freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis, who threw two touchdown passes, was knocked out of the game with an apparent arm injury early in the third quarter. The Trojans (8-5) had their three-game winning streak snapped. They fell apart after Slovis left.
Smith-Marsette helped the Hawkeyes to a 28-17 halftime lead.
Smith-Marsette scored on a 6-yard sweep for a 14-7 lead. After USC tied it on Slovis’ 16-yard pass to Vavae Malepeai, Smith-Marsette returned the kickoff 98 yards to give the Hawkeyes the lead for good.
Slovis completed 22 of 30 passes for 260 yards.