The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
16th-ranked Iowa rallies past Nebraska
Spencer Petras’ 2-yard touchdown run with 2:58 left gave 16th-ranked Iowa its first lead, and the Hawkeyes came back from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter to beat Nebraska 28-21 on Friday.
Iowa won the border battle for the seventh straight year, but not before Jermari Harris intercepted Logan Smothers’ pass at the Iowa 2 with 43 seconds to play.
The Hawkeyes (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) stayed alive in the Big Ten West race and now need Minnesota to beat Wisconsin today to go to the conference championship game next week in Indianapolis.
The loss was another gut punch to Nebraska (3-9, 1-8) in its worst season since 1957. The Cornhuskers, who won’t go to a bowl for a fifth straight year, finished with losses in six straight games and eight of nine. Their nine losses were by a total of 56 points.
Tyler Goodson ran for 156 yards on 23 carries to become Iowa’s first 1,000yard rusher since Akrum Wadley in 2017.
Smothers, making his first start in place of the injured Adrian Martinez, threw for 199 yards and ran 24 times for 64 yards and two touchdowns.
Iowa used a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, two field goals and a safety to wipe out a 21-6 deficit and tie it at 21 with 7:21 left.
Nebraska had looked ready to get its breakthrough win when Goodson fumbled at the Huskers’ 6 and Smothers led them 94 yards in six plays for a double-digit lead.
But Iowa, with the Big Ten’s least-productive offense, was able to turn to its defense and special teams to pull this one out.
Iowa pulled to 21-16 early in the fourth when Joe Evans blocked William Przystup’s punt and Kyler Fisher grabbed it and ran it 14 yards for a touchdown.
On Nebraska’s next series, Smothers fumbled and Iowa’s Logan Lee recovered at the Hawkeyes’ 46. The Huskers forced a three-and-out, but Tory Taylor’s punt pinned them at their 7. Smothers, under pressure, made a desperation throw from his end zone and was called for intentional grounding, resulting in a safety.
(At) No. 21 San Diego State 27, Boise State 16: Jordon Brookshire led No. 21 San Diego State to 24 unanswered points after replacing Lucas Johnson late in the first half, and the Aztecs claimed the Mountain West’s West Division title with a victory over Boise State.
Brookshire passed for 192 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 46 yards and another score for the Aztecs (11-1, 7-1), who celebrated at their temporary home in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson after completing their first 11-win regular season in 99 years of football.
The Aztecs, who have never had a 12-win season, will host the Mountain West title game Dec. 4 against Utah State, which rolled to a 35-10 win at New Mexico to earn their berth.
San Diego State erased an early 13-point deficit with a bounce-back effort from its vaunted defense, which shut out the Broncos (7-5, 5-3) over the final 38 minutes.
Boise State has its first fiveloss season since 2013 under first-year head coach Andy Avalos.
(At) No. 25 Arkansas 34, Missouri 17:
KJ Jefferson threw for 262 yards and a touchdown and ran for another 58 yards to help No. 25 Arkansas beat Missouri.
Jefferson led Arkansas (8-4, 4-4 SEC) to scores on four straight drives in the third and fourth quarters to turn a four-point halftime lead to 18 with less than 12 minutes left. Treylon Burks was his biggest help, catching seven passes for 129 yards and a touchdown.
Arkansas hadn’t beaten Missouri since 2015, which was the last time the Razorbacks were eligible for a bowl. The eight wins are Arkansas’ most in the regular-season since 2011.
Missouri (6-6, 3-5), which finished the regular season at .500 for the third straight year, managed just 316 yards of total offense, 219 of which came from running back Tyler Badie on the ground. Badie scored Missouri’s only touchdown with 1:25 left.