Bowl season takeaways: Air Force grounds Baylor in Army
Bowl season is finally upon us! Our reporters are breaking down the best of the games from significant efficiencies, breakout players and so much more.Full schedule|Results
Thursday, Dec. 22
Lockheed Martin Army Bowl: Air Force 30, Baylor 15 The Falcons controlled the Bears, rushing for 276 yards to finish 10-3 with their fifth straight victory, polishing off back-to-back 10-win seasons for the very first time since 1997-98. Brad Roberts was the workhorse as typical, rushing 37 times for 116 lawns and 2 TDs for his 11th 100-yard game of the season. Baylor, the preseason pick to win the Huge 12 for the very first time in school history, completed 6-7, suffering the indignity of a blowout loss in competing TCU’s stadium in the bitter cold with wind chill in the unfavorable digits. The Baylor offense struggled strongly, finishing 0-for-11 on third downs, with Blake Shapen finishing just 11 of 23 passes for 188 lawns and 2 scores. Freshman running back Richard Reese entered into the game needing 38 backyards for a 1,000-yard season but was held to 10 lawns on 8 carries.– Dave Wilson
Wednesday, Dec. 21
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Western Kentucky 44, South Alabama 23 Senior quarterback Austin Reed made things look easy in the Big Easy as Western Kentucky blitzed South Alabama for 677 overall lawns. Reed, second in the FBS in passing yards to Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. entering into the contest, completed 36 of 55 passes for a career-high 497 lawns and four touchdowns in what was his ninth 300-yard passing game of the year. 7 various receivers caught passes from Reed, with Dalvin Smith (145 backyards, one TD), Jaylen Hall (138 lawns, one TD) and Malachi Corley (114 lawns, two TDs) integrating for 26 receptions and Smith including a 25-yard scoring pass. The Hilltoppers, who acquired 434 overall lawns in the first half, tallied the game’s first 24 points and led by 28 points at halftime after Reed threw for 329 yards and three ratings.– Blake Baumgartner
Tuesday, Dec. 20
Boca Raton Bowl: Toledo Rockets 21, Liberty Flames 19 Liberty’s protective front dominated in Tuesday night’s Boca Bowl. Whatever else, not a lot. The Flames acquired 12 tackles for loss and four sacks, but they gained just 253 overall backyards and fell 21-19. Toledo scored on three straight second-half drives to take control, and the Rockets, fresh off of their very first MAC title in 5 years, won all three of the game’s essential two-point conversions– they transformed one and stopped two. After going simply 24-20 from 2018 to ’21, Toledo’s Jason Candle engineered a 9-5 campaign this fall, their best since going 11-3 in 2017.– Bill Connelly
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Eastern Michigan 41, San Jose State 27 It took 35 years, however Eastern Michigan did it again. The Eagles’ 41-27 win Tuesday versus San Jose State was the program’s 2nd bowl win– ever– and its first given that 1987 versus … San Jose State. After starting the season 2-2, the Eagles earned their first nine-win season considering that ending up 10-2 in 1987. San Jose State had actually lost the ball just six times all season, tied with USC for the least turnovers among all FBS teams, but finished with 3 Tuesday. Two turnovers in the first half led to a 30-13 deficit the Spartans couldn’t overcome, and quarterback Chevan Cordeiro’s interception with less than two minutes staying sealed the win for Eastern Michigan. Eastern Michigan’s 41 points set a school record single-game point total in an FBS bowl.– Heather Dinich
Monday, Dec. 19
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Marshall Thundering Herd 28, UConn Huskies 14 Rasheen Ali and Khalan Laborn combined to rush for 182 lawns and a goal and the Marshall defense required 4 takeaways to lead the Roaring Herd to their very first bowl win considering that 2018. Still, it was a worthy efficiency for a UConn team that was a significant surprise to even make a bowl. The Huskies still have not won a bowl because 2009, however they outgained Marshall and staged a second-half return that failed mainly on the back of a number of unsuccessful fourth down tries.– David Hale
Saturday, Dec. 17
Frisco Bowl: Boise State Broncos 35, North Texas Mean Green 32 In his first season at Boise State, freshman running back Ashton Jeanty had only crossed the 100-yard limit in a game one time. On Saturday versus North Texas, Jeanty exploded through that mark for 178 yards on the ground, 6.4 backyards per carry and one goal. Jeanty’s performance, as well as two interceptions required by the defense, keyed Boise State’s win over North Texas, after the Broncos were down 10-3 early. The victory offers the Broncos a 10-win campaign as well as a glimpse of what their offense might look like next season with Jeanty in the backfield as the group’s main ball carrier.– Paolo Uggetti
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https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2567.png&h=60&w=60″width=”30 “/ > New Mexico Bowl: BYU Cougars 24, SMU Mustangs 23 Cornerback Jakob Robinson conserved the night for BYU by denying SMU quarterback Tanner Mordecai’s prospective game-winning 2-point conversion with 8 seconds left in regulation, maintaining a 1-point success. The Cougars constructed a 14-point lead in the 3rd quarter on a 76-yard pick-six from linebacker Ben Bywater and running back Christopher Brooks’ 22-yard scoring run, just to see the Mustangs return with 13 fourth-quarter points. The Cougars, buoyed by the efforts from Robinson and Bywater, won despite the Mustangs holding a 389-256 edge in total lawns. Quarterback Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters and Brooks combined to run for 184 yards and 2 scores as BYU ran for a minimum of 200 yards for the fourth time in its previous 5 games (209) while ending the season with a 4th straight triumph.– Baumgartner
Lending Tree
Bowl: Southern Miss Golden Eagles 38, Rice Owls 24
play 2:16 Southern Miss takes home a LendingTree bowl victory thanks to Frank Gore Jr.’s 329 hurrying yards and 3 overall touchdowns.Frank Gore Jr. not just reworded Southern Miss’bowl and school record books, he broke the NCAA championship game record with 329 hurrying yards in a 14-point triumph. Gore ended his sophomore season with a bang by running for 2 goals and throwing for another as he likewise broke Camerun Peoples’ bowl rushing record. Stimulated on by Gore, Southern Miss produced a season-high 361 rushing backyards and won its very first bowl game because 2016. Senior linebacker Daylen Gill recorded three of Southern Miss’ 5 sacks. Rice freshman quarterback AJ Padgett (295 passing lawns) tossed 3 goal passes– 2 to senior pass receiver Isaiah Esdale– in the 3rd quarter as the Owls removed a 14-point halftime deficit, taking a brief 7-point lead.– Baumgartner
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Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel: Fresno State Bulldogs 29, Washington State Cougars 6 A 1-4 start to the season now seems like a lifetime earlier. Fresno State hasn’t lost ever since, beating Washington State to finish the year with a 10-4 record. Quarterback Jake Haener was sharp, completing 24 of 36 passes for 283 lawns and two goals without any interceptions. And Jordan Mims went off for the Bulldogs, rushing for a career-high 210 yards and 2 goals on only 18 carries. But don’t forget the Fresno State defense, which restricted quarterback Cameron Ward and Washington State to the Cougars’ least expensive overall of the season. Fresno State chose off Ward– a 3,000-yard passer on the season– and held him to just 137 backyards handing down 32 efforts.– Alex Scarborough
SRS Circulation Las Vegas Bowl: No. 14 OregonState Beavers 30,
Florida Gators 3
play 0:28 Silas Bolden puts on his cape and dives to make an extraordinary snag for a Beavers very first down.A week after signing a six-year deal worth $ 30.6 million, Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith led his team to a dominating accomplishment over Florida, protecting the Beavers’ first 10-win season in 16 years and their first-ever success against an SEC challenger. It was a well balanced, overall effort for Oregon State, which threw for 189 yards and hurried for 164 yards– 107 of which came from junior running back Deshaun Fenwick. The defense permitted only 1.2 backyards per rush. A 40-yard basket by Adam Mihalek with less than a minute staying avoided the nothing and extended the Gators’ streak of scoring in games to 436.– Scarborough
Cricket Event Bowl: NC Central Eagles 41,
Jackson State Tigers 34 OT In his last game as coach at Jackson State, Deion Sanders stopped working to finish an undefeated season as NC Central distressed the Tigers 41-34 in a wild overtime finish. Shedeur Sanders tossed a 19-yard goal pass to Travis Hunter with no time left to send out the game to overtime. However it was NC Central’s Davius Richard who did the scoring in the additional duration. NC Central reached 10 wins, the 3rd group in program history to reach double-digit wins in a season. NC Central had 276 lawns rushing. Richard had 177 passing yards, 97 hurrying lawns and 3 total touchdowns. However all eyes were on Jackson State and what would happen as Deion Sanders exits for Colorado. It was a back-and-forth game throughout. Shedeur Sanders completes the season with 46 overall touchdowns. With one opportunity left to send the game into a 2nd overtime, he threw an incompletion to end the game. Jackson State ends up 12-1, the most wins in a season in program history.– Andrea Adelson
Wasabi Fenway Bowl: Louisville Cardinals 24, Cincinnati Bearcats 7 Louisville declared the Keg of Nails trophy in the renewal of its competition with the Bearcats, utilizing a dominant defense and run game to win 24-7– its first bowl success considering that 2019. The game featured two interim coaches– Kerry Coombs at Cincinnati for Luke Fickell (who left for Wisconsin) and Deion Branch for Louisville, after Scott Satterfield left to replace Fickell. Satterfield was not at the game, rather hosting employees in Cincinnati. However his former group played hard without him, and its aggressive defense– No. 2 in the country in sacks– made play after play, making it a long day for Cincinnati quarterback Evan Prater. Louisville, playing without quarterback Malik Cunningham (opt out) was far from ideal on offense but had a season-high 287 lawns on the ground– getting 100-yard hurrying performances each from reserve running backs Maurice Turner and Jawhar Jordan.– Adelson