NCAA FOOTBALL / BOWL GAMES ROUNDUP
Fiesta Bowl No. 9 Penn St. 35, No. 12 Washington 28
Trace McSorley threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns, Saquon Barkley ran for two more scores and Penn State outlasted Washington in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday at Glendale, Ariz. Penn State (11-2), No. 9 in the final College Football Rankings, had its way with Washington's vaunted defense early, building a 28-7 lead by the second quarter. Washington (10-3) woke up from an offensive slumber with two touchdowns and pulled to 35-28 on Myles Gaskins' 69-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The Huskies, No. 11 CFP, allowed Penn State to work the clock to under a minute on the next drive and gave up a season-high 545 total yards. Washington had a shot with a desperation play of multiple laterals and passes, but Dante Pettis passed up a chance to step out of bounds to set up a another play, and threw a final lateral that was intercepted. Washington had the nation's top run defense during the regular season, allowing 92 yards per game, but Barkley matched that on one run in the second quarter. Barkley had 137 of the Nittany Lions' 203 yards rushing. Penn State also was 13 for 17 on third downs, including touchdown passes by McSorley and three conversions on its final clock-draining drive. The Nittany Lions lost a chance at the CFP with consecutive losses to Ohio State and No. 24 Michigan State, but ended up in a familiar place: The Fiesta Bowl, where they had not lost in six previous trips. Penn State raced toward No. 7 by going to the air early against the run-stingy Huskies. McSorley picked Washington's secondary apart, hitting nine receivers for 219 yards in the first half. He connected with DaeSean Hamilton on a 48-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive, and set up scoring runs of 2 yards by Barkley and 1 yard by Miles Sanders. Barkley then did it all himself, bursting through the left side for a 92-yard touchdown run to put Penn State up 28-7. The Nittany Lions had 367 yards by halftime against a defense that allowed 277.4 yards per game during the regular season. Washington was in the Fiesta Bowl for the first time, but it was not the first go-round for Huskies coach Chris Petersen; he made a name for himself by trick-playing Boise State to a pair of Fiesta victories
Liberty Bowl Iowa State 21, No. 19 Memphis 20
Allen Lazard tied a Liberty Bowl record with 10 catches and put Iowa State ahead with a remarkable 5-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter, and the Cyclones beat Memphis on the Tigers' home field. Iowa State (8-5) held on to win after losing its first fumble this season just as it appeared on the verge of scoring an insurance touchdown late in the fourth quarter. The Cyclones led 21-20 and had third-and-goal from the 1 when David Montgomery fumbled as he was crossing the goal line. Jonathan Cook recovered in the end zone for a touchback with 4:06 left. The call stood after replays were inconclusive as to whether Montgomery had reached the end zone before Memphis' O'Bryan Goodson knocked the ball loose. Iowa State was attempting to become the first Football Bowl Subdivision team in recorded history to play an entire season without losing a fumble. Memphis (10-3) drove to the Iowa State 40 on its next possession but lost the ball on downs when Riley Ferguson overthrew Phil Mayhue on fourthand-10 with 1:52 remaining. Iowa State ran out the clock from there.
Iowa State pulled ahead for good on a bizarre play with 4:28 left in the third quarter. On secondand-goal from the 5, Iowa State quarterback Kyle Kempt's pass appeared to elude Memphis safety Josh Perry's outstretched arms and get tipped by Iowa State's Marchie Murdock before Lazard caught it in the back of the end zone.
TaxSlayer Bowl No. 24 Mississippi St. 31, Louisville 27
Freshman Keytaon Thompson, making his first start in place of injured quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns to help Playoff-snubbed Ohio State got a bit defensive even without one of its best defenders in the Cotton Bowl. Damon Webb returned an interception for a touchdown after recovering a fumble to set up an early score and the Buckeyes beat Southern California in a matchup that traditionally has been in the Rose Bowl instead of deep in the heart of Texas at Arlington. The Big Ten and Pac-12 champions would usually 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 playoff team Oklahoma — were the first team left out this season. USC (11-3), the Rose Bowl champion last season, lost for only the third time in its last 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. Buckeyes All-America junior cornerback Denzel Ward has already decided to go into the NFL draft and didn't play after practicing with the team this week.