Texas Tech rolls in Independence Bowl
Behren Morton completed 27 of 43 passes for 256 yards and three first-half touchdowns Saturday, leading Texas Tech to a 34-14 victory over California at the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Tahj Brooks ran for 98 yards and a score as the Red Raiders (7-6) shook off a terrible start. They shut out the Golden Bears (6-7) for the final three quarters to win the 47th edition of college football’s 11th-oldest bowl game.
Texas Tech led 24-14 at halftime and Brooks, the nation’s fourth-leading rusher, scored the only touchdown of the second half on a 7-yard run in the third quarter. It was the third straight bowl win for the Red Raiders, who fumbled the opening kickoff. Fernando Mendoza then rifled a 25-yard touchdown pass to Monroe Young to give Cal a quick lead.
UCLA 35, Boise State 22: Ethan Garbers threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns after replacing the injured Collin Schlee early in the second half, TJ Harden rushed for two touchdowns, and UCLA won the LA Bowl in Inglewood, California.
Playing at SoFi Stadium — 12 miles from the UCLA campus — the Bruins trailed 16-7 at halftime but scored on their first three drives in the second half to take control.
J. Michael Sturdivant had four receptions for 142 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter that put UCLA (8-5) up by three scores.
George Holani had both of Boise State’s touchdowns and finished with 138 yards rushing on 17 carries for the Mountain West champion Broncos (8-5).
Fresno State 37, New Mexico State 10: Mikey Keene threw for a career-high 380 yards with three touchdown passes and a rushing TD, and Fresno State won the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque.
Malik Sherrod rushed for 90 yards on 20 carries and had eight receptions for 81 yards for Fresno State (9-4), which had closed the regular season on a three-game skid. The Bulldogs won their fifth straight bowl game.
Keene, a transfer from UCF, completed his first 15 passes, finishing 31 of 39 with an interception.
Fresno State finished with 491 yards of offense and held New Mexico State to 200. Diego Pavia threw for just 58 yards while rushing for 72 yards and a touchdown for the Conference USA runner-up Aggies (10-5), but he was sacked four times and intercepted once.
FCS semifinal
Montana 31, North Dakota Junior Bergen State 29 (2 OTs): returned a fourth-quarter punt for a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass in the first overtime and threw for a 2-point conversion on a trick play in the second overtime to put Montana into the FCS championship game with a wild semifinal win at home in Missoula.
Bergen’s toss to Keelan White on an end-around for two points was duplicated by the Bison after their touchdown in the second OT, but Corbin Walker intercepted RaJa Nelson, sending the Grizzlies to the final game for the first time since 2009.
Montana (13-1), the second seed, will face top-seeded and defending champion South Dakota State (14-0), owner of a 28-game winning streak, in Frisco, Texas, on Jan. 7.