The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Florida State beats Southern Miss; Iowa wins in N.Y.
James Blackman threw three of his Independence Bowl-record four touchdown passes to Auden Tate and Florida State beat Southern Mississippi, 42-13, on Wednesday in Shreveport, La.
Florida State (7-6) avoided its first losing season since 1976.
Southern Miss took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter after a 63-yard touchdown drive that was aided by two 15-yard Florida State penalties, one for unsportsmanlike conduct and the other for roughing the kicker.
Blackman matched an Independence Bowl record with three touchdown passes in the first half to help Florida State take a 23-6 lead.
The Seminoles pushed the advantage to 33-6 late in the third quarter. Cam Akers led Florida State with 94 yards rushing, and Jacques Patrick added 61 yards. Blackman completed 18 of 26 passes for 233 yards.
Southern Miss (8-5) was led by Ito Smith, who ran for 92 yards. Kwadra Griggs completed 13 of 25 passes for just 86 yards and a touchdown.
The Seminoles earned a good ending to an otherwise dreary season. Florida State was simply more talented than Southern Miss at just about every position and it showed.
Florida State gets a fresh start next season with new coach Willie Taggart. Florida State still has a talented roster and there’s ample reason to believe it could be a quick turnaround for the storied program.
Pinstripe Bowl
Drake Kulick fought for a 1-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter on his only carry of the game and Iowa beat Boston College, 27-20, in the frigid Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium to snap a five-game bowl losing streak.
The Hawkeyes (8-5) had been the only team in the nation to lose a bowl game in each of the last four seasons. Iowa had last won a bowl game in 2010 and started the losing streak the next season. It ended in New York. The Hawkeyes used their first sack of the game late in the fourth to spark the winning drive. Iowa defensive end Anthony Nelson hit Darius Wade, and Parker Hesse recovered a fumble at the BC 45.
Nate Stanley’s pass to Nate Wieting on a rollout was ruled a touchdown until a review showed the tight end was down at the 1. No worries. Kulick got the call over 1,000-yard rusher Akrum Wadley and barged through for the go-ahead score. The smattering of Iowa fans went wild and Josh Jackson gave them reason to stay on their feet when he sealed the win with an interception.
Boston College (7-6) had nothing on its final drive and that ended an otherwise miserable day at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees’ postseason games in October seemed downright balmy compared to the kickoff temperature of 23 degrees and a wind chill that made it feel like 12 degrees. The frozen stadium turf forced players to change from cleats to sneakers to get some grip and the most common huddle was the one around the sideline heaters.
Boston College’s AJ Dillon found the field just to his liking, and ripped off a 66-yard run in the second quarter and had 126 yards rushing overall in the first half. He had a 4-yard TD run in the first quarter. His monster half helped the Eagles hold a 281-56 edge in total yards, a staggering discrepancy that made little impact on the scoreboard.