Well, I didn’t do so well on Monday. Of the six games played I got only half the winners correct. I did get two of the scores spot on, but for the wrong teams. I said the Rose Bowl would be 45-38 and the Fiesta Bowl would be 41-38 and they were. Only problem was I thought the Badgers and Cardinal would win and it turned out to be the Ducks and the Cowboys.
Ticket City Bowl: Houston 30, Penn State 14
(I picked Houston)
The Houston Cougars rolled to a 30-14 victory over the Nittany Lions of Penn State in the Ticket City Bowl. The Cougars had 600 yards of net offense—most of it coming via the arm of Case Keenum who completed 45 of 69 passes for 532 yards and three TDs. Two of those TDs—-40 yards and 75 yards—-went to receiver Patrick Edwards who finished the day with 10 catches for 228 yards. Justin Johnson—-12 catches for 148 yards—-had the other TD.
Keenum had 227 first-quarter passing yards. That set the record for most passing yards in one quarter in any bowl game. The previous record was 223 yards by Louisville’s Browning Nagel vs Alabama in the first quarter of the 1991 Fiesta Bowl.
A touchdown by PSU’s Stephfon Green on a 6-yard run late in the first half, stiffened defense and 69-yard TD pass from Rob Bolden to Justin Brown in the second half kept this from being a blowout on the scoreboard as well as on the field.
Matt Hogan hit field goals of 35, 38 and 22 yards for Houston.
******
Gator Bowl: Florida 24, Ohio State 17
(I had Florida)
Last year, Urban Meyer coached the Florida Gators. Next year, Urban Meyer will coach the Ohio State Buckeyes. Yesterday, Meyer’s former team manhandled Meyer’s future team, 24-17. Don’t let the score fool you. It wasn’t that close.
Florida’s Andre Debose returned a kickoff 99 yards for a TD and Chris Rainey blocked a punt that Graham Stewart picked up and returned 14 yards for a TD.
Ohio State’s freshman Braxton Miller completed 18 of 23 passes for 162 yards and two TDs, but hat second one came with just 57 seconds left in the game. But then the Buckeyes failed to recover the onsides kick and that was all she wrote.
******
Capital One Bowl: South Carolina 30, Nebraska 13
(I had South Carolina)
Alshon Jeffery had four catches for 148 yards and a TD on a spectacular 51-yard Hail Mary as time ran out in the first half of the Capital One Bowl. That catch put South Carolina ahead of Nebraska 16-13 at the break.
But, in the third quarter Jeffery got himself ejected along with the Cornhuskers’ cornerback Alfonso Dennard when they traded punches after a play.
No matter. The second half saw Kenny Miles score on a 9-yard pass and a 3-yard run while the Gamecock defense shut out the Cornhuskers to cement a 30-13 victory.
******
Outback Bowl: Michigan State 33, Georgia 30 in 3OT
(I picked Georgia.)
Down 16-0 at halftime, Michigan State managed to tie the Georgia Bulldogs 27 all in regulation and win the Outback Bowl 33-30 in the third overtime period when they blocked a Blair Walsh field goal attempt that could have kept the game going…and going…and going…
Kirk Cousins, who engineered the MSU comeback, was 27 of 50 for 300 yards, one TD, and three INTS. Le'Veon Bell scored on short runs of 8 and 1 yard.
Aaron Murray was 20 of 32 for 288 yards, two TDs—including an 80-yarder to Tavarres King—and two INTs for the Bulldogs.
Brandon Boykin, one of the few players in the game to line up on both sides of the ball as well as special teams scored on a safety in the first quarter, returned a punt 92 yards for a TD and caught a 13-yard TD pass for Michigan State.
******
Rose Bowl: Oregon 45, Wisconsin 38
(right score-wrong team)
The Oregon Ducks’ Darron Thomas completed 17 of 23 passes for 268 yards and three TDs while De'Anthony Thomas scored on TD runs of 91 and 64 yards—his only two carries of the game and LaMichael James had 159 yards and a TD on 25 carries.
For the Wisconsin Badgers, Russell Wilson was 19 of 25 for 296 yards and a TD with another score on a 4 yard run and Montee Ball had 164 yards and a TD on 32 carries. Louis Nzegwu returned a fumble 33 yards for a TD.
It all added up to a 45-38 Rose Bowl win for Oregon. It was the first Rose Bowl win for Oregon in 95 years and the highest ever point total by both teams in this storied bowl.
******
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma State 41, Stanford 38 in OT
(another correct score but the wrong team)
After one bowl game (the Outback Bowl) went to triple overtime and another (the Rose Bowl) had the highest point total in its history, it was going to be tough for the Fiesta Bowl to prove more entertaining than any of the other games played on Monday…but it did.
Led by two stellar quarterbacks, the Stanford Cardinal and Oklahoma State Cowboys played one whale of a game Monday night. While Andrew Luck engineered a more balanced, methodical attack for most of the game, Brandon Weeden hit Justin Blackmon three times for long, quick strikes.
Luck finished the night 27 of 31 for 347 yards and two TDs while Weeden was 30 of 43 for 425 yards and three TDs (all three to Blackmon were 43, 67, and 17 yards) plus one TD on the ground.
Luck also had the help of Stepfan Taylor who carried the ball 35 times for 177 yards and two TDs.
Stanford ran 81 plays for 590 yards net offense compared to Oklahoma State’s 57 plays for 412 yards. Stanford had 27 first downs to Oklahoma State’s 15. The time of possession was equally lopsided: 41:47 for Stanford but just 18:13 for Oklahoma State. In baseball it would be like watching a team of singles hitters against a squad of homerun sluggers. Not that Luck can’t swing for the fences when he needs to. He hit Ty Montgomery for a 53-yard TD in the first quarter.
The Cardinal got off to a 14-0 start before Weeden unlimbered the big guns and brought the Cowboys back to a 21-21 tie at the half. The Cowboys fell behind again in the second half but tied the score at 38 all with 2:35 to go in the game. An eternity to these two teams.
Luck marched the Cardinal down the field to the OSU 18 yard line. With three seconds left it was up to redshirt freshman Jordan Williamson. Williamson had missed just three field goals all season but had already missed one in this game. He missed this 35-yard attempt, hooking it to the left and the game went into overtime.
Williamson missed another field goal, this one from 42 yards out. OSU’s Jordan Sharp made good on a 22-yard chip shot a few moments later and the Cowboys were Fiesta Bowl Champs.
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