The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
College football roundup
Independence Bowl
Daniel Jones threw for 423 yards and five touchdowns, T.J. Rahming caught 12 passes for 240 yards and two scores, and Duke recovered from a slow start to blow past Temple, 56-27, in the Independence Bowl on Thursday. Duke coach David Cutcliffe is now 4-0 in the Independence Bowl dating to 1998. Duke (8-5) snapped a twogame losing streak by putting on an offensive show. The Blue Devils scored touchdowns on seven straight drives, flipping a 27-14 deficit in the second quarter to a 56-27 lead by midway through the fourth. “We kind of hit a lull for a second, but I don’t think we ever lost confidence,” Jones said. “We knew we had some good stuff and if we caught a few breaks we could catch momentum and keep it rolling.” Jones’ five touchdown passes and 423yards passing both set Independence Bowl records. So did Duke’s 56points. Cutcliffe wasn’t surprised by the offensive success because he felt the team’s preparation was excellent. This was Cutcliffe’s first Independence Bowl win at Duke. He led Ole Miss to victories in Shreveport in 1998, 1999 and 2002 and is already enshrined in the bowl’s Hall of Honor. Temple (8-5) lost for just the second time in its past eight games. The Owls took a 13-7 lead in the first half after Delvon Randall’s 52-yard interception return for a touchdown. It was the 10th game this season in which they scored a non-offensive touchdown. Temple pushed ahead 27-14 late in the second quarter, but Duke responded with 22-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Rahming to pull within 27-21 by halftime. “When we came in at halftime our offense was hot. It was a just a matter of time,” Cutcliffe said. Temple’s Anthony Russo completed 25 of 46 passes for 228 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Owls didn’t score in the second half and gave up 42 unanswered points. “They brought a little more pressure, but that’s on me and the offensive line to get that picked up,” Russo said. “I just don’t think we found our groove in the second half.”
Pinstripe Bowl
Jonathan Taylor ran for 205 yards and a touchdown and topped the 2,000-yard season mark to help Wisconsin rout Miami, 35-3, in a chilly Pinstripe Bowl on Thursday night. Taylor, just a sophomore, ripped off runs of 39 and 41 yards and was sensational at Yankee Stadium and combined with a defense that forced five turnovers to help a Wisconsin (8-5) team ranked fourth in the first AP Top 25 poll salvage its fifth straight bowl victory. “We’ve got the best back in the country,” Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said after he accepted the trophy from Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner. Both teams were ranked inside the top 15last December. A year later, Wisconsin and Miami (7-6) both showed at times why two teams that opened the season inside the top 10 were stuck playing in a ho-hum bowl game with temperatures in the 30s and a sparse crowd in the Bronx. Miami’s Malik Rosier threw three interceptions before he was replaced late in the third quarter; Wisconsin’s Rafael Gaglianone whiffed on two field goals. The Badgers, certainly used to the cold, came out swinging for the fences they scored two touchdowns just 3 1⁄2 minutes into the game and seemingly knocked the will out of Miami. Jack Coan made the most of his start for injured Alex Hornibrook (concussion) and hit Kendric Taylor for a 35-yard TD on the first drive. Rosier’s first pass of the game was intercepted and Taylor capitalized with a 7-yard score to make it 14-0 before some fans even hit their seats with a hot drink.