No Slovis, no hope for USC vs. Iowa
Ihmir SmithMarsette scored on a 6yard run, a 98yard kickoff return and a 12yard reception — all in the second quarter — to lead No. 19 Iowa to a 4924 victory over No. 22 USC in the Holiday Bowl on Friday night in San Diego.
Senior Nate Stanley threw two touchdown passes and the Hawkeyes (103) won their fourth straight game for their sixth 10win season in head coach Kirk Ferentz’s 21 years.
USC freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis, who threw two touchdown passes, was knocked out of the game with an apparent arm injury early in the third quarter. The Trojans (85) had won their previous three games. They fell apart after Slovis left.
SmithMarsette helped the Hawkeyes to a 2817 halftime lead.
SmithMarsette scored on a 6yard sweep for a 147 lead. After USC tied it on Slovis’ 16yard pass to Vavae Malepeai, SmithMarsette returned the kickoff 98 yards to give the Hawkeyes the lead for good.
SmithMarsette, a junior wide receiver, also had a 95yard kickoff return for a score in the regularseason finale against Nebraska.
Stanley found SmithMarsette on a 12yard scoring pass on Iowa’s next possession for a 2814 lead.
Chase McGrath kicked a 32yard field goal as the clock expired to cut USC’s deficit to 2817 at halftime.
The Trojans pulled to 2824 on Stephen Carr’s 2yard run to cap the opening drive of the second half. It followed a 55yard pass from Slovis to AmonRa St. Brown to the Iowa 5. Jack Koerner was called for roughing the passer when he slammed down Slovis, whose head hit the turf.
Kicker Michael Brown then recovered his own onside kick. Slovis was hurt two plays later when he was sacked and fumbled, which was recovered by USC. Slovis departed and was replaced by Matt Fink.
Slovis completed 22 of 30 passes for 260 yards. CheezIt Bowl: Kadin Remsberg ran for 178 yards and stretched to the pylon for a 3yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter, lifting No. 24 Air Force to a 3121 victory over Washington State (67) in the CheezIt Bowl in Phoenix.
The Falcons (112) had their triple option working to near perfection, grinding out 371 yards rushing while owning the ball for 43:24.
Donald Hammond III scored two touchdowns and Remsberg had his fourthdown TD confirmed by review to help the Falcons close the season on an eightgame winning streak.
Texas Bowl: Kellen Mond ran for a careerhigh 117 yards and threw a touchdown pass as Texas A&M scored 24 straight points to overcome an early deficit and beat Oklahoma State 2421 in Houston.
Mond ran 67 yards to give the Aggies (85) a 2114 lead early in the fourth quarter. Mond cut to the right to avoid a couple of defenders and outran everyone else.
The Cowboys (85) went for it on 4thand1 from the Texas A&M 34 on their next possession, but Spencer Sanders was stopped for no gain.
Oklahoma State cut the lead to three on a touchdown reception by Braydon Johnson with about a minute left. The Cowboys attempted an onside kick, but A&M recovered it to secure the victory. Pinstripe Bowl: Brian Lewerke threw for 320 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score in Michigan State’s 2721 victory over Wake Forest at Yankee Stadium.
Lewerke threw a 10yard pass to wide receiver Cody White in the third quarter to put the Spartans (76) ahead 2721 and they held off the Demon Deacons to give head coach Mark Dantonio his sixth bowl victory.
Michigan State tried to give away the game twice in the fourth, the first time on Lewerke’s shovel pass to tight end Trenton Gillison inside the 10 that was stripped and recovered by linebacker Ja’Cquez Williams at the 6.
The Demon Deacons (85) failed to score on the possession, and handed Michigan State another chance to seal the victory. Again, the Spartans couldn’t put it away when Matt Coghlin was wide left on a 28yard fieldgoal attempt with 3:03 left. Wake Forest’s last chance ended on an incomplete pass on its 16. Military Bowl: Freshman Sam Howell threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns and caught a scoring pass in North Carolina’s 5513 romp over Temple in Annapolis, Md. Howell completed 25 of 34 passes and ran for 53 yards on three carries to help the Tar Heels (76) to their first bowl victory since 2013. Temple (85) has gone to a bowl five years in a row — and lost four of them.
Howell threw two firsthalf touchdown passes to stake the Tar Heels to a 206 lead. They took control in the third quarter, scoring two touchdowns in a 12second span, the second on Storm Duck’s 20yard interception return.