Badgers cap off best season
Penn State fends off Huskies; Cyclones win
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Alex Hornibrook threw four touchdown passes, three of them to Danny Davis, as No. 6 Wisconsin finished with the winningest season in school history by topping No. 10 Miami 34-24 in the Orange Bowl on Saturday night.
Jonathan Taylor capped his record-setting freshman season with 130 rushing yards on 26 carries for the Badgers (13-1), who rallied from an early 14-3 deficit. Taylor finished the year with an FBS-freshman-record 1,977 yards.
A.J. Taylor also had a scoring catch for Wisconsin — one where he mimicked ripping Miami’s “Turnover Chain” off the neck of teammate Kendric Pryor.
The Badgers dominated time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes. Hornibrook completed 23 of 34 passes for 258 yards.
Travis Homer and Deejay Dallas had rushing scores for Miami (10-3).
The Big Ten is 7-0 in bowls this season.
FIESTA BOWL: In Glendale, Ariz., Trace McSorley threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns, and Saquon Barkley ran for two more scores as ninth-ranked Penn State outlasted No. 11 Washington 35-28.
“Our coaches did a fantastic job and the O line protected and the receivers made plays,” Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin said. “We were very efficient.”
Penn State (11-2) 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 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 PSU’s 203 yards rushing.
LIBERTY BOWL: In Memphis, Tenn., Allen Lazard tied a Liberty Bowl record with 10 catches and put Iowa State ahead with a remarkable 5-yard TD catch in the third quarter as the Cyclones beat No. 19 Memphis 21-20 on the Tigers’ home field.
The victory gave Iowa State (8-5) its first bowl victory since a 2009 Insight Bowl triumph and marked the Cyclones’ third win over a Top 25 team this season. That’s the step forward Iowa State had in mind when it made “Raise The Standard” its team motto.
TAXSLAYER BOWL: In Jacksonville, Fla., freshman Keytaon Thompson, making his first start in place of injured QB Nick Fitzgerald, ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns to help Mississippi State beat Louisville and 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson 31-27.
Thompson scored twice in the fourth quarter, including a 1-yard plunge with 3:39 remaining that put the Bulldogs (9-4) ahead for good.
Jackson had the Cardinals (8-5) on the move late, but safety Mark McLaurin intercepted his third pass of the game. After a failed fourth-down conversation, Jackson got a final chance in the waning seconds, but his final desperation pass was batted away in the end zone.