The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1. Offense soars at Belk Bowl
Wolford, Deacons come back to beat Texas A&M 55-52.
Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns as the Demon Deacons beat Texas A&M 55-52 in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C. The teams combined for 1,260 yards in one of the highestscoring games in bowl history.
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, N.C.
The teams combined for 1,260 yards in one of the highest-scoring games in bowl history.
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 with 2:18 left in the game to give the Demon Deacons the lead for good.
Scotty Washington had nine catches for 138 yards and a touchdown for the Demon Deacons, and tight end Cam Serigne had nine catches for 112 yards and a score.
Wake Forest stopped the Aggies on downs on their final drive to seal the win.
Nick Starkel threw for a Belk Bowl-record 499 yards and also had four touchdown passes for Texas A&M (7-6). Christian Kirk caught 13 passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns.
Jimbo Fisher now takes over as Texas A&M’s coach in place of the fired Kevin Sumlin. Interim coach Jeff Banks coached the Aggies on Friday. Music City Bowl
No. 20 Northwestern
24, Kentucky 23: Justin Jackson ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and Northwestern held off Kentucky in a game that might be remembered more for injuries, ejections and a wild finish in Nashville, Tenn.
Both starting quarterbacks left in the first half with injuries, though Kentucky’s Stephen Johnson returned early in the third quarter. Kentucky lost running back Benny Snell Jr. to an ejection for contact with an official early in the second quarter, and Northwestern lost leading tackler and linebacker Paddy Fisher before halftime when he was ejected for targeting.
Northwestern (10-4) still finished off back-to-back bowl wins in consecutive years for the first time in program history, and the Wildcats notched their second 10-win season in three years under coach Pat Fitzgerald. The senior class also won its 27th game for the best stretch in more than a decade.
Kentucky (7-6) had a chance to win after Fitzgerald tried to convert his fifth fourth down of the game only to turn it over for the fourth time on downs — this time at his own 39 with 2:31 left. Johnson ran for his second touchdown of the second half with 37 seconds left. Kentucky coach Mark Stoops went for the 2-point conversion rather than play for overtime, but Johnson couldn’t connect with Tavin Richardson on the pass.
With quarterback Clayton Thorson knocked out early in the second with a right knee injury, Northwestern outran Kentucky 33365. Safety Kyle Quiero provided the winning margin taking Northwestern’s second interception 26 yards for a TD with 7:49 left. Sun Bowl
N.C. State 52, Arizona
State 31: Nyheim Hines had three 5-yard touchdown runs, finishing with 72 yards on 16 carries to lift the Wolfpack (9-4) in El Paso, Texas. The Wolfpack played in their fourth consecutive bowl game and sixth in seven years under 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.
Arizona State (7-6) played its final game under fired coach Todd Graham, with former NFL coach Herm Edwards taking over the program.
Manny Wilkins was 25-of40 passing for 352 yards and three touchdowns for the Sun Devils. He also threw three interceptions. Arizona State won its previous three Sun Bowl appearances — in 1997, 2004 and 2014.
North Carolina State played without standout defensive end Bradley Chubb, a projected top-10 pick in the NFL draft. The school announced a few hours before the game that he wouldn’t play. Alamo Bowl
No. 13 TCU 39, No. 15 Stanford 37 (Late Thursday): Kenny Hill passed for two touchdowns, ran for another and caught one as the Horned Frogs rallied to beat the Cardinal in San Antonio.
Cole Bunce’s 33-yard field goal with just over 3 minutes to play won it for the Horned Frogs (11-3), who trailed 21-3 before storming back behind big plays from Hill and a 76-yard punt return from Desmon White. TCU rallied from 31 down in to beat Oregon in the 2015 Alamo Bowl.
Stanford (9-5) running back Bryce Love, a Heisman Trophy finalist, rushed for 145 yards and had a 69-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. K.J. Costello had three touchdown passes to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, the last one giving Stanford a 37-36 lead.
Hill then drove TCU to Bunce’s game winner. The Horned Frogs defense sealed it with an interception by Innis Gaines with 2:01 left.
Hill finished with 314 yards passing, a team-high 60 yards rushing and caught a 27-yard TD pass from White in his final game.
Love finished with the season with 2,118 yards rushing, the school’s single-season record. Holiday Bowl
No. 18 Michigan State 42, No. 21 Washington State
17 (Late Thursday): Mark Dantonio and the Spartans clearly have their swagger back.
Long before the 18th-ranked Spartans routed 21st-ranked Washington State in the Holiday Bowl Thurs- day night in San Diego, they had already proven their dismal 2016 was an aberration. That 3-9 season was a blemish, no doubt, but Michigan State rebounded in a big way in 2017, going 10-3 with a young team that now seems poised to make a run at a Big Ten title next year.
The win was Dantonio’s 100th at Michigan State.
Brian Lewerke threw for 213 yards and three touchdowns, and LJ Scott ran for 110 yards and two scores for Michigan State, which took advantage of the absence of star quarterback Luke Falk of Washington State (9-4).
Lewerke also rushed for 73 yards for Michigan State (10-3), which reached double digits in wins for the eighth time in program history.
Falk, who was photographed earlier in the week with a cast on his left wrist, went through warmups but came out in street clothes at game time. He was replaced by redshirt sophomore Tyler Hilinksi, who made his first start and eighth appearance of the season. It’s unclear precisely when Falk injured the wrist on his non-throwing hand, but he had issues with it throughout the season. Coach Mike Leach refused to give specifics during the week.