Utah lifts Las Vegas Bowl
Arizona claims New Mexico Bowl
LASVEGAS,Dec20,(AP):Aboutthe only question left after five first quarter touchdowns by the Utes was how big their Las Vegas Bowl rout would be. Until BYU regained its composure, that is, and made it a game for both teams to remember.
Utah took advantage of a disastrous start by BYU, scoring five first-quarter touchdowns on turnovers including two interceptions by Tevin Carter before holding on Saturday to beat the Cougars 35-28.
Utah used its string of first quarter turnovers to build a 35-0 lead, then managed to hold on as BYU mounted a comeback that brought the Cougars to within one score with 3:23 left in the game. BYU couldn’t get the ball back, though, losing in Bronco Mendenhall’s last game after 11 years as head coach.
After the game, BYU said it hired former Cougars running back Kalani Sitake as head coach. Sitake was Oregon State’s assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.
Carter returned one of his picks for a touchdown and another to the 1 as No. 20 Utah romped to a 35-0 first- quarter lead in the first meeting of the two heated rivals outside of the state of Utah. BYU turned the ball over the first five times it had the ball, with freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum throwing three interceptions and fumbling once.
That was all the scoring Utah did, and it nearly cost the Utes the game. Mangum Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham holds the championship trophy after his team defeated BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl NCAA college football game on Dec 19, in Las Vegas. (AP)
Arkansas State defensive back Blaise Taylor (1), breaks up a pass intended for Louisiana Tech wide receiver Marcus Gaines (16), during the second half of the New Orleans Bowl NCAA college football game on Dec
19, New Orleans. (AP)
Mexico (7-6) in a game that saw New Mexico surge late after being down as many of 18 points. Wright had two sacks and 11 solo tackles.
After the game, Wright announced he would enter the NFL draft.
Arizona’s high-temp offense needed only 19:08 minutes of possession time to overwhelm New Mexico in the Lobos’ first bowl appearance since 2007.
Jared Baker ran for 107 yards and three touchdowns, and Cayleb Jones had 182 yards receiving and a touchdown.
For Arizona, the New Mexico Bowl win comes just a year after Arizona eyed a playoff spot. Rodriguez said a bowl appearance and a victory was just fine for the team.
“We had a lot of adversity this year and to finish it off with a win on the road, a bowl win, a road win, and for our seniors to finish with a winning record is pretty neat for them,” said Rodriguez, marking his fourth consecutive bowl appearance with the Wildcats.
Meanwhile, New Mexico quarterback Lamar Jordan rushed for three touchdowns and threw a 92-yard touchdown pass to Delane Hart-Johnson before leaving in the third quarter with a knee injury. However, Jordan tossed two key interceptions one in Arizona’s end zone and another deep in New Mexico territory.
LA Tech 47, ASU 28, Kenneth Dixon capped an extraordinary career at Louisiana Tech by setting NCAA touchdown and scoring records, all while leading the Bulldogs to a bowl victory.
Dixon had 215 yards from scrimmage and scored four times to become the NCAA’s career leader with 87 touchdowns and 522 points, and Louisiana Tech snapped Arkansas State’s eight-game winning streak with a 47-28 triumph in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday night.
Dixon’s records could fall in a few days; Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds takes his 85 career TDs and 512 points into the Military Bowl against Pittsburgh on Monday. If that happens, Dixon said he’d be happy for Reynolds.
Louisiana Tech quarterback Jeff Driskel then interjected light-heartedly that Reynolds “seems like a great guy, but I’m rooting against him.”
Driskel, a transfer from Florida, closed out his college career by passing for 458 yards and three touchdowns for Louisiana Tech (9-4), which had 687 total yards in finishing a second straight season with a bowl victory.
The performance gave Driskel 4,023 yards and 27 touchdown passes for the season. Receiver Trent Taylor said the Bulldogs could not have been more pleased to see their QB close out his career with such a flourish after bouts with injuries and inconsistency at Florida. and play on Sunday.
Jets kicker Randy Bullock atoned for a missed extra point and field goal by nailing a 40-yarder with 36 seconds remaining for the win.
“He came back and made the gamewinner and that says a lot about the guy,” Bowles said. The Cowboys had tied the game at 16-16 on Dan Bailey’s 50-yard field goal with 1:55 left.
New York quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick moved the offense 58 yards, most of it coming on a 43-yard strike to little-used receiver Kenbrell Thompkins down the sideline. A series of runs set up Bullock’s game-deciding kick.
“When we had to have it at the end there, I thought our guys stepped up and made some great plays,” Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick completed 26 of 39 passes for 299 yards, with one touchdown and an interception.
Jets receiver Brandon Marshall had 74 yards on four catches. Fellow receiver Eric Decker had 55 yards on six receptions, including a three-yard score that put New York up 16-13 earlier in the fourth quarter.
The Jets have AFC East rival and defending Super Bowl champions New England next week at home.
“We have to clean up a lot of things before we get to them,” Bowles said.
The Cowboys fell to 4-10 and were officially eliminated from playoff contention. Dallas’ only postseason hope was winning the NFC East. That is impossible now, despite the other three teams in the NFC East sporting losing records (6-7) going into Sunday.
The Cowboys began the season with Super Bowl aspirations.
“For us, this year that’s not going to happen,” coach Jason Garrett said. “That doesn’t diminish the work we put in, the competitive nature of our football team and the fight that everyone demonstrated.”