The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mississippi State runs by Louisville
Freshman Keytaon Thompson, making his first start in place of injured quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries to help No. 23 Mississippi State beat Louisville and 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson 31-27 in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla.
Thompson scored twice in the fourth quarter, including a 1-yard plunge with 3:39 remaining that put the Bulldogs (9-4) ahead for good.
Jackson had the Cardinals (8-5) on the move late, but safety Mark McLaurin intercepted his third pass of the game.
Jackson completed 13 of 31 passes for 171 yards, with two touchdowns and four interceptions. He threw just six picks in the regular season.
He also ran 24 times for 158 yards and a touchdown.
Jackson was sacked six times but became the third player in Football Bowl Subdivision history with at least 50 TD passes and 50 TD runs, joining Florida’s Tim Tebow and Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick.
Thompson completed 11 of 20 passes for 127 yards.
Fiesta Bowl
Penn State 35, Washington 28: Trace McSorley (32 for 41) threw for 342 yards and two TDs, Saquon Barkley ran for 137 yards and two scores on 18 carries, including a 92-yard TD, and the No. 9 Nittany Lions (112) outlasted the No. 11 Huskies (10-3) in Glendale, Ariz.
Penn State had its way with Washington’s vaunted defense early, building a 28-7 lead by the second quarter. But the Huskies woke up from an offensive slumber with two touchdowns and pulled to 35-28 on Myles Gaskins’ 69-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Washington had a shot with a desperation play of multiple laterals and passes, but Dante Pettis passed up a chance to step out of bounds to set up a another play, and threw a final lateral that was intercepted.
Liberty Bowl
Iowa State 21, Memphis 20: Allen Lazard tied a Liberty Bowl record with 10 catches, finishing with 142 yards receiving, and put the Cyclones (8-5) ahead with a remarkable 5-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter of a win over the Tigers (10-3) on the Tigers’ home field.
Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson was 21 of 33 for 286 yards with two touchdown passes but was sacked six times.
Cotton Bowl
Ohio State 24, USC 7 (Late Friday): Damon Webb returned an interception for a touchdown after recovering a fumble to set up an early score, and the No. 5 Buckeyes (12-2) beat the No. 8 Trojans (11-3) in Arlington, Texas.
In what could have been his final game at USC, thirdyear sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold completed 26 of 45 passes for 356 yards but was intercepted once, fumbled twice and was sacked eight times.
Rose Sugar Championship
Arizona Bowl
New Mexico State 26, Utah State 20 (OT) (Late Friday): Larry Rose III scored on a 21-yard run in overtime, and the Aggies (7-6) won their first bowl game in 57 years, beating Utah State (6-7) in Tucson, Ariz.