Sanders exits JSU with an OT defeat
Deion Sanders was sentimental before his final game at Jackson State, and those emotions grew after coming up short in the Celebration Bowl for the second straight year.
Quarterback Davius Richard ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns, including a 1-yard scoring plunge in overtime, and North Carolina Central beat Jackson State 41-34 on Saturday in the Celebration Bowl to spoil Sanders’ bid for an undefeated season in his farewell.
It was the second consecutive season that Sanders’ Tigers were favored before losing in the game regarded as the championship of teams from historically Black colleges and universities.
“I feel like we’ve won, but we didn’t win that game,” said Sanders, who now will devote his full attention to his new job as Colorado’s coach. He was tearful in a pregame speech to his players.
“I miss these guys already. I love them,” Sanders said after the game.
The Eagles’ defense made a goal-line stand on Jackson State’s first possession in overtime to preserve the win. Tight end Hayden Hagler’s drop on third down from the 1 set up an incompletion by Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders to end the game.
Sanders’ 19-yard touchdown pass to Travis Hunter as time expired in regulation set up Alejandro Mata’s tying extra point to send the game to OT. It was the fourth scoring pass of the game for Sanders, who also ran for a score.
Jackson State (12-1) was denied its bid for the first undefeated season in school history. Deion Sanders wanted to finish the season with his Tigers first before taking over at Colorado. Shedeur Sanders will accompany his father to Boulder.
The win by N.C. Central (10-2) gave the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference a 6-1 edge over teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference in the Celebration Bowl.
Eagles coach Trei Oliver said he hopes the victory gives more respect to the MEAC and North Carolina Central after all the pregame attention was on “Coach Prime” and Jackson State.
“They had a chip on their shoulder,” Oliver said of his players. “The disrespect was real since we’ve been down here.”
Louisville beats Cincy for Keg of Nails and Fenway Bowl: Running back Jawhar Jordan earned a silver baseball bat as the offensive player of the game. Interim coach Deion Branch lifted the Fenway Bowl trophy. Defensive back Jarvis Browlee danced around the baseball field with the Keg of Nails.
The Cardinals are heading back to Louisville with all the prizes. Except their coach.
Jordan ran for 115 yards, breaking free for two long touchdowns, and Scott Satterfield’s former team beat his new one 24-7 on Saturday in the twice-delayed inaugural edition of the first bowl game at Fenway Park.
“It was all about closing the chapter. Closing the coach Satterfield chapter,” said Branch, the Patriots Super Bowl MVP who temporarily took over the Cardinals (8-5) when Satterfield left Louisville for Cincinnati (9-4).
“I’m enjoying it. I’m relishing it,” said Branch, who will return to his job as director of player development and hand the team over to Jeff Brohm. “As of now, I’m retiring.”
Oregon State dominates Florida to win Las Vegas Bowl:
Deshaun Fenwick came off the bench to rush for 107 yards, and No. 17 Oregon State nearly dealt Florida a rare shutout, winning the Las Vegas Bowl 30-3 on Saturday.
The Beavers (10-3) reached 10 victories for the third time program history and the first time in 16 years. They first accomplished the feat in 2000, when coach Jonathan Smith was the team’s quarterback.
Oregon State won seven of its final eight games. After the Beavers took control early in the third quarter by going up 17-0, the only real question was whether Florida would keep its NCAA-record scoring streak intact. The Gators last were shut out in 1988, a span of 436 games and 57 games longer than any other team.
The streak remained alive when Adam Mihalek made a 40-yard field goal with 37 seconds left.
Mims, Haener lead Fresno St. past Washington St. in LA Bowl: Jordan Mims rushed for a career-high 205 yards and two scores, Jake Haener threw two TD passes and Fresno State completed the biggest in-season turnaround in Football Bowl Subdivision history with a 29-6 victory over Washington State in the LA Bowl on Saturday.
Fresno State — which won the Mountain West Conference title — is the first team to get to 10 wins after dropping four of the first five.
The Bulldogs (10-4) were 1-4 in early October before winning their final nine games.
Mims accounted for 232 all-purpose yards and outgained Washington State, which had 182 offensive yards. Both of Mims’ touchdowns were on direct snaps out of the Wildcat formation.
Early in the second quarter, the senior went 4 yards around left end to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 advantage. In the fourth quarter, he carried it 2 yards up the middle to make it 29-6.
Haener completed 24 of 36 passes for 284 yards in his final game for Fresno State.