Northwestern rallies to beat Utah
Northwestern converted three Utah turnovers into 21 points in a dizzying nineminute stretch in the pouring rain Monday night in the third quarter of a 31-20 Holiday Bowl victory over the No. 20 Utes at San Diego.
The Wildcats (9-5) scored 28 points in the third quarter, including Jared McGee’s 82-yard fumble return for a touchdown, in their third consecutive bowl victory under coach Pat Fitzgerald. The Green Bay Packers reportedly want to interview Fitzpatrick for their head coaching job.
Northwestern senior Clayton Thorson completed 21 of 30 passes for 241 yards to run his career total to 10,731 yards, breaking Brett Basanez’s previous school record of 10,580. Thorson passed for two touchdowns and had one pass intercepted in his 53rd consecutive start for the Wildcats, the most by a quarterback in Big Ten history. Thorson, who was replaced after taking a hard shot midway through the fourth quarter, is the program’s all-time winningest quarterback at 36-17.
Utah (9-5) cruised to a 20-3 halftime lead behind redshirt freshman quarterback Jason Shelley before falling apart in the third quarter. Shelley had two passes intercepted and lost a fumble.
Shelley was making his fourth start in place of Tyler Huntley, who suffered a broken collarbone against Arizona State on Nov. 3. He resumed practicing before the bowl but coach Kyle Whittingham said it would have taken a miracle for him to have played. Also sidelined were leading rusher Zack Moss, leading receiver Britain Covey and leading tackler Chase Hansen, a senior.
Utah lost for only the second time in its last 16 bowl games dating to 1999.
Liberty
Taylor Cornelius matched a Liberty Bowl record with four touchdown passes and Kolby Peel made a critical fourth-down stop with 1:01 left as Oklahoma State edged No. 24 Missouri 38-33 at Memphis, Tenn.
Missouri (8-5) faced fourth and one when quarterback Drew Lock attempted a keeper around the right end. Peel made an ankle tackle that stopped Lock short of the first-down marker.
That allowed Oklahoma State (7-6) to hang on to win an end Missouri’s four-game winning streak after leading 35-19 heading into the fourth quarter.
Cornelius, a fifth-year senior and former walk-on, completed 26 of 44 passes, including two interceptions by Cam Hilton that sparked Missouri’s comeback. Both interceptions led to Missouri touchdowns.
Missouri’s Larry Rountree III ran for 204 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown.
Gator
Trayveon Williams ran for 236 yards and three touchdowns, smashing a 30year-old school record and carrying No. 21 Texas A&M to a 52-13 victory over North Carolina State at Jacksonville, Fla.
The Aggies (9-4) ended the season with a four-game winning streak and broke a three-game bowl game skid.
It capped an impressive inaugural season for coach Jimbo Fisher.
Williams ran for 61 yards in the first half and then got rolling in the third quarter. He carried five times for 82 yards on one drive, including a 17-yard touchdown run. He topped that with a 93yard scoring run on Texas A&M’s ensuing drive.
Kellen Mond completed 14 of 26 passes for 140 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Mond also ran five times for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Sun
Cameron Scarlett scored on a one-yard run and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a second score to help Stanford to a 14-13 victory over Pittsburgh at El Paso, Texas.
The Cardinal (9-4) finished on a four-game winning streak, much the same way they did two years ago when Stanford won the Sun Bowl to cap a season-ending six-game streak.
The Panthers (7-7) have lost their last four bowl games and six of seven. They lost to College Football Playoff finalist Clemson in the ACC title game.
Pitt, which had a 10-7 halftime lead and was up 13-7 early in the fourth quarter, was led by tailback Darrin Hall, who ran for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Scarlett ran for 91 yards in 21 carries in place of tailback Bryce Love, who decided to skip the bowl game to rehab an ankle injury ahead of the NFL draft.
Love was the second Stanford back to do that in the last three Sun Bowls.
Redbox
Justin Herbert shook off a sluggish game, passing to Dillon Mitchell for a fourthquarter touchdown, and Oregon held on for a 7-6 victory at Santa Clara after Michigan State botched a fieldgoal attempt.
Herbert passed for 166 yards and extended his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 28 on a day when the Ducks offense mostly sputtered.
Oregon (9-4) crossed midfield only three times and couldn’t get into the end zone until Herbert found Mitchell in the right front of the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown.
The Ducks defense held up from there but got some help from Michigan State’s special teams.
Spartans quarterback Brian Lewerke completed 22 of 40 passes for 172 yards with one interception.
It was the third time in four games that Michigan State (7-6) failed to score a touchdown.
Military
Michael Warren ran for a career-high 166 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:29 left in soggy Annapolis, Md., as Cincinnati rallied for a 35-31 win that ended Virginia Tech’s run of 25 consecutive winning seasons.
A tight game that featured more than 900 yards in offense and seven lead changes wasn’t decided until Warren busted up the middle for his second touchdown to cap a 64-yard drive directed by backup quarterback Hayden Moore.
Virginia Tech (6-7) was unable to avoid its first losing season since 1992.