No. 3 Georgia eager to make better Sugar Bowl memories; No. 6 Ole Miss eyes payback
NEW ORLEANS — For the Georgia Bulldogs and coach Kirby Smart, last year’s Sugar Bowl brought a heavy dose of sadness that had more to do with life — and the loss of it — than football. As fate would have it, the third-ranked Bulldogs (12-1, No. 3 seed CFP)...
Role reversals: Alabama returns to the Rose Bowl as a CFP underdog to face powerhouse Indiana
LOS ANGELES — Nick Saban coached his final game for Alabama just two years ago in the Rose Bowl. Although the sport didn’t know it at the time, an era ended for the 21st century’s most dominant program to date when Jalen Milroe got stopped on fourth down in overtime...
Louisiana Tech rallies to beat Coastal Carolina 23-14 in Independence Bowl
SHREVEPORT, La. — Trey Kukuk followed his fourth-quarter touchdown pass with a big run to set up Andrew Burnette’s go-ahead plunge in a 17-point fourth quarter, and Louisiana Tech rallied to beat Coastal Carolina, 23-14, on Tuesday to win the Independence Bowl. Louisiana Tech (8-5) trailed 14-6 heading to the...
Mirror images Texas Tech, Oregon set to face off in Orange Bowl in CFP quarterfinals
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The formula for getting to this season’s Orange Bowl apparently went like this: Score a ton of points, allow very few points, have a big play on basically every possession, excel on third downs offensively, be stingy on third downs defensively. That was Texas Tech’s path....
Rested or rusty? Top 4 playoff seeds eager to show they are ready as CFP quarterfinals arrive
No. 1 Indiana spent several December weeks reveling in the luster of the best season in school history. They sung the school’s fight song in the confetti celebration following their first Big Ten championship since 1967 and first outright title since 1945. They were featured on “60 Minutes.” They signed...
Marcus Freeman will return to Notre Dame after having his contract restructured, school confirms
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame has restructured coach Marcus Freeman’s contract, and he will coach the Fighting Irish next season, the school confirmed Monday. SI.com first reported Freeman’s new contract and that he notified two NFL teams that had contacted him about jobs that he would stay at Notre...
Defending national champ Ohio State will try to fend off CFP 1st-timer Miami in Cotton BowlVideo
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Cotton Bowl has certainly gotten much more significant for Ohio State during three trips in a row to the game. This time, the second-seeded Buckeyes (12-1) are defending national champions as they get ready to play College Football Playoff first-timer Miami (11-2, CFP No. 10 seed)...
Georgia Southern beats Appalachian State 29-10, wins Birmingham Bowl
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — OJ Arnold had 152 yards rushing on 11 carries, Terrance Gibbs and Weston Bryant each had a rushing touchdown and Georgia Southern beat Appalachian State, 29-10, on Monday in the Birmingham Bowl. Georgia Southern (7-6) has made a bowl appearance in four consecutive seasons — all under...
Ole Miss defense looks to redeem humiliating showing against Georgia in Sugar Bowl
Redemption will be on the minds of Mississippi Rebels defensive players when they meet third-ranked Georgia at Thursday’s Sugar Bowl in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. “We all wanted to play them again,” said Ole Miss defensive back Wydett Williams Jr., whose unit labored through a season-worst performance...
Lone loss sparked Dante Moore, Oregon toward College Football Playoff run
A loss changed Dante Moore’s mindset and fueled Oregon’s run to the College Football Playoff. Frustrated by an uneven performance against top-ranked Indiana in October, Moore vowed not to put enormous pressure on himself again and he’s been stellar ever since. “I made that game bigger than what it was,...
Kyle Whittingham confident his style will be a familiar fit as Michigan’s next football coach
ORLANDO, Fla. — Kyle Whittingham brought plenty of energy on four hours’ sleep Sunday when he was introduced as Michigan’s football coach, saying it was one of five jobs that could bring him out of a short retirement and offering no hesitation about joining a program in the midst of...
Houston passing game too much for LSU in Texas Bowl
HOUSTON — Conner Weigman threw for 236 yards and four touchdowns as Houston rallied from an early deficit for a 38-35 victory over LSU in the Texas Bowl on Saturday night. It was the final game for LSU before new coach Lane Kiffin takes over on the sideline next year....
No. 20 Virginia notches 1st 11-win season by beating No. 25 Missouri in Gator Bowl
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Harrison Waylee ran for a touchdown, Chandler Morris threw for 198 yards and No. 20 Virginia edged 25th-ranked Missouri, 13-7, in the Gator Bowl on Saturday night. The Cavaliers bounced back from a crushing loss to Duke in the ACC title game — an overtime stunner that...
No. 23 North Texas beats San Diego State 49-47 in high-scoring New Mexico Bowl
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Caleb Hawkins ran for two touchdowns and caught a scoring pass, Ashton Gray added a pair of rushing touchdowns and Cameron Dormer had two scoring catches as No. 23 North Texas beat San Diego State, 49-47, in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday night. Hawkins carried 30...
Warner passes for game’s only TD, Lynch kicks 4 field goals and Fresno State wins Arizona Bowl
TUCSON, Ariz. — E.J. Warner threw for 214 yards and a touchdown, Dylan Lynch kicked four field goals and Fresno State defeated Miami of Ohio, 18-3, in the Arizona Bowl on Saturday night. On defense, Fresno State kept Miami out of the red zone except for the RedHawks’ opening possession...
No. 12 BYU rallies to beat No. 24 Georgia Tech 25-21 to win Pop-Tarts Bowl
ORLANDO — Jovesa Damuni scored on a 4-yard run with two minutes remaining, and No. 12 BYU rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half for a 25-21 win over No. 24 Georgia Tech on Saturday in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Damuni’s scoring run capped a nine-play, 70-yard drive by...
Hellums accounts for 3 TDs, Nwawuihe rushes for 2 as Army beats UConn 41-16 in Wasabi Fenway Bowl
BOSTON — Cade Hellums accounted for three touchdowns, and Godspower Nwawuihe rushed for two in Army’s 41-16 win over UConn in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl on Saturday. Hellums tied the score 7-7 after an opening UConn score by finding Noah Short for a 40-yard strike. Short was the only Army...
UTSA races past Florida International in First Responder Bowl
DALLAS — Owen McCown threw three touchdown passes, Will Henderson III scored three times, and UTSA defeated Florida International, 57-20, on Friday night at the First Responder Bowl. UTSA (7-6) was making its seventh consecutive bowl appearance — eighth overall — and has won three in a row. FIU (7-6)...
Smith’s diving TD catch in overtime sends Minnesota to 20-17 win over New Mexico in Rate Bowl
PHOENIX — Jalen Smith scored his second touchdown on a diving 12-yard catch in the first overtime, and Minnesota extended its postseason winning streak to nine games with a 20-17 win over New Mexico in the Rate Bowl on Friday. A year after Kansas State beat Rutgers, 44-41, in the...
Michigan agrees to 5-year contract with ex-Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan has agreed to a five-year contract with Kyle Whittingham to replace fired and disgraced football coach Sherrone Moore, according to multiple reports. Whittingham announced two weeks ago that he would step down after 21 seasons as Utah’s coach. Morgan Scalley was promoted from defensive coordinator...
Preston Stone throws 3 TDs, Northwestern has 4 takeaways in 34-7 victory over Central Michigan
DETROIT — Preston Stone threw three touchdown passes, and Northwestern turned four turnovers into touchdowns and beat Central Michigan, 34-7, in the GameAbove Sports Bowl on Friday at Ford Field. The Wildcats (7-6) extended their bowl game winning streak to six. They haven’t lost in the postseason since a 45-6...
Minnesota looks to stretch bowl winning streak to 9 when it faces New Mexico in Rate Bowl
PHOENIX — Opting out has become the in thing to do. Every year, players regularly choose not to play in bowl games, some wary of injuries affecting their pro prospects, others leaving for another school, or sitting out after a coaching change. Entire teams even opt out. Minnesota still finds...
College Football Playoff ratings drop 7% as NFL competition impacts viewership
Last weekend’s first round of the College Football Playoff averaged 9.9 million viewers on ABC, ESPN, TNT, TBS and truTV, according to ESPN and Nielson. That is a 7% drop from last year. A big reason for the drop was that the final game, James Madison versus Oregon, was on...
Hawaii stuns Cal in Hawaii Bowl on backup QB’s last-minute TD pass
HONOLULU — Backup quarterback Luke Weaver threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, and Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over California in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl on Wednesday night. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous...
Ohio beats UNLV in Frisco Bowl to run bowl winning streak to 7
FRISCO, Texas — Sieh Bangura rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown and Ohio beat UNLV, 17-10, on Tuesday night to win the Frisco Bowl. The Bobcats (9-4) have won their last seven bowl games — dating to 2017 — after losing eight of their first 10. Defensive coordinator and...
