Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Late uprising powers Texas A&M
Freshman’s TD runs lift No. 5 Aggies past No. 14 North Carolina
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Freshman Devon Achane had two late touchdown runs, including a 76-yarder with 3:44 left that put Texas A&M ahead to stay, and the fifth-ranked Aggies beat No. 14 North Carolina 41-27 in the Orange Bowl on Saturday to cap a winless bowl season for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Kellen Mond passed for 232 yards and ran for a score for the Aggies (9-1), who were in the Orange Bowl for the first time since 1944. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher improved to 3-0 in Orange Bowls, winning two previous ones at Florida State.
Achane’s go-ahead score came on a play in which he darted left, nearly tripped over one of his blockers, broke a tackle and got loose down the sideline. The Aggies got a fourth-down stop on the ensuing possession, and Achane sealed the win on a 1-yard run with 1:34 left.
Sam Howell passed for 234 yards and three TDs, two of them to Josh Downs, for the Tar Heels (8-4). North Carolina was without top rushers Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, top receiver Dyami Brown and top tackler Chazz Surratt — all of whom opted out of the game.
It was a tough end to the season for the ACC, which sent two teams to the four-team College Football Playoff yet still had a winless postseason by a combined 223-152 score.
None of the other current Power Five conferences ever has come close to going 0-6 in a bowl season.
Howell tied North Carolina’s career TD passing record of 68 with his three scoring throws, all of which gave the Tar Heels leads.
The first saw Dazz Newsome make a diving 28-yard grab with 4:56 left in the half to put the Tar Heels ahead 13-10. The next was a 10-yarder to Downs with 8:01 left in the third for a 20-17 lead, a drive extended when Texas A&M had an interception in the end zone waved off by penalty.
And the third was a 75-yarder to Downs early in the fourth, when Howell saw him break free, point to him and let the ball fly.
Every time, though, Texas A&M answered.
Fiesta Bowl
■ No. 12 Iowa State 34, No.
25 Oregon 17: At Glendale, Ariz., Breece Hall ran for 136 yards and two TDs on 34 carries for the Cyclones (9-3), who had an edge in time of possession of more than 25 minutes.
The Ducks (4-3) lost two fumbles, threw an interception, had a punt hit a blocker’s helmet and had a TD wiped out by penalty. Oregon, which alternated quarterbacks Tyler Shough and Anthony Brown, managed 88 yards of offense in the second half.
Outback Bowl
■ Mississippi 26, No. 7 Indiana 20: At Tampa, Fla., Matt Corral threw for 342 yards and two TDs for the Rebels (5-5), who led 20-6 in the fourth quarter. Stevie Scott III ran for 99 yards and two fourth-quarter TDs for the Hoosiers (6-2). Donario Drummond had six catches for 110 yards, including a 3-yard score with 4:12 left that put Ole Miss ahead to stay. Jack Tuttle threw for 201 yards for Indiana in his second start in place of injured Michael Penix Jr.
Gator Bowl
■ Kentucky 23, No. 24 North
Carolina State 21: At Jacksonville, Fla., A.J. Rose had 148 of the 281 yards rushing by the Wildcats (5-6), who notched their third straight bowl win. Bailey Hockman threw three interceptions, and Christopher Dunn missed two field goals for the Wolfpack (8-4), who were without four defensive starters. Chris Rodriguez ran for 84 yards and two TDs for Kentucky in a game that featured 11 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.