Sanders loses finale at Jackson State
ATLANTA — 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 in Saturday's Celebration Bowl to spoil coach
Deion Sanders' bid for an undefeated season in his final game with the Tigers.
The Eagles' defense made a goal-line stand on Jackson State's first overtime possession 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 regarded as the championship of teams from historically Black college and universities.
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 overtime.
Jackson State (12-1) was denied its bid for the first undefeated season in school history. Coach Deion Sanders is taking over the football program at Colorado, but wanted to finish the season with his Tigers first. Shedeur Sanders will accompany his father to Boulder.
The win by N.C. Central (10-2) gave the MidEastern Athletic Conference a 6-1 edge over teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference in the Celebration Bowl.
NO. 17 OREGON STATE 30 FLORIDA 3
Deshaun Fenwick came off the bench to rush for 107 yards, and the Beavers almost dealt the Gators a rare shutout, winning the Las Vegas Bowl.
The Beavers (10-3) reached 10 victories for the third time program history and the first time in 16 years.
The Gators haven't been shut out since 1988, a span of 436 games.
BYU 24, SMU 23
Cornerback Jakon Robinson stopped quarterback Tanner Mordecai on a 2-point conversion try with eight seconds left in the game, and the Cougars beat the Mustangs in the New Mexico Bowl.
Mordecai, who finished with 218 passing yards and two touchdowns, tried to cut up the middle on a designed run and was dropped by Robinson, shutting down SMU's comeback attempt from a 24-10 third-quarter deficit.
The 2-point try came after Jordan Kerley caught a 12-yard TD pass from Mordecai.
BOISE STATE 35 NORTH TEXAS 32
At the Frisco Bowl, Broncos quarterback Taylen Green accounted for 256 yards and three touchdowns in a backand-forth affair.
Green, who is from nearby Lewisville, ran for two touchdowns during Boise State's bowl-program-record 22-point third quarter that saw five lead changes. He added 137 passing yards and one touchdown in Boise State's first bowl victory since 2017.
FRESNO STATE 29 WASHINGTON STATE 6
Jordan Mims rushed for a career-high 205 yards and two scores, Jake Haener threw two TD passes, and the Bulldogs beat the Cougars in the LA Bowl in Inglewood, Calif., to complete the biggest in-season turnaround in Football Bowl Subdivision history.
Fresno State (10-4) is the first team to get to 10 wins after dropping four of the first five.
LOUISVILLE 24 CINCINNATI 7
Jawhar Jordan ran for 115 yards, breaking free for two long touchdowns, and the Cardinals (8-5) beat their erstwhile Bearcats (9-4) in the Fenway Bowl at the chilly home of the Boston Red Sox. Both teams were led by temporary coaches — Deion Branch led Louisville, which welcomes Jeff Brohm next season, and Kerry Coombs led Cincinnati, which will be led by former Louisville coach Scott Satterfield.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 39 MONTANA STATE 18
Mark Gronowski threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third and the top-seeded Jackrabbits dominated the fourth-seeded Bobcats in the FCS semifinals in Brookings, S.D.
The Jackrabbits (13-1), who have won 13 straight, head to Frisco next month for a Missouri Valley Football Conference showdown with third-seeded North Dakota State (12-2). SDSU beat the defending national champion Bison 23-21 on Oct. 15.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE 35 INCARNATE WORD 32
Friday in Fargo, N.D., Kobe Johnson broke free for a 31-yard touchdown run midway through the final quarter, Dawson Weber came up with a clutch interception with just over a minute left and the Bison rallied twice to beat the Cardinals. UIW, based in San Antonio, finished the season 12-2.
FERRIS STATE 41 COLORADO MINES 14
The Bulldogs (13-1) took a 27-0 halftime lead at McKinney ISD Stadium to win their second straight Division II title and end their season on an eight-game win streak.
NORTH CENTRAL 28 MOUNT UNION 21
Friday, the Cardinals (15-0) completed a perfect season for first-year coach Brad Spencer to win the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl and claim the Division III championship in Annapolis, Md.