Tag: Bowl Games

No, the Cotton Bowl doesn’t say anything more about Ryan Day

Day still has a big-game issue but losing to a top-10 team with inexperienced quarterbacks and no Marvin Harrison Jr. isn’t make or break.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day might be under the microscope more than any coach with a 56-7 record in history.

That’s partially because there haven’t been that many coaches with a 56-7 record, but the scrutiny is earned. He’s won double-digit games in each of his four full seasons with the Buckeyes and made the College Football Playoff three times, but he has a 1-3 record in his playoff appearances and an 8-7 record against top-10 teams. He seemed conservative in big moments against Michigan, a bitter rival he now has one win against in four tries.

With all of that context, it’s safe to understand why people were so quick to jump on Ohio State’s Friday loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. After all, it’s Ryan Day’s talented Buckeyes coming up short again on a big stage, right? Especially with superstar wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. opting out for the game, it felt easy to chalk the whole thing up to him carrying the Buckeyes offense all season.

That’s not quite fair, though. Yes, Ohio State didn’t have Marvin Harrison Jr., and it’s fair to question what the offense would have looked like without him all season. However, the Buckeyes’ two quarterbacks who played on Friday night had thrown 27 combined collegiate passes before Friday’s game. In fact, sophomore Devin Brown and freshman Lincoln Kienholz had only appeared in eight combined games across the last two seasons.

The Missouri defense is no slouch, either. They finished the season within the top 25 in the country in points allowed per game, partially due to their Cotton Bowl performance, but the team also only allowed 30 points in three of their 12 regular-season games. South Carolina only managed 12 points against the Tigers, and Tennessee only managed a touchdown.

The recipe is not exactly an ideal proving ground for a young quarterback without his blue-chip receiver, and it’s not an indictment of an offensive staff to average less than five yards per attempt in that situation. If the Buckeyes enter 2024 with Kienholz or Brown expected to take a lion’s share of the quarterback work, there can be fair questions until Week 1, but with big quarterback names still in the transfer portal and esteemed recruit Air Noland on the way, the Buckeyes will probably have a great passing offense sooner rather than later.

This is not a manifesto attempting to defend Ryan Day’s overall record or pretend the questions about his big-game performance aren’t warranted. However, given the circumstances of Friday’s game, it is not one of the larger blemishes on his track record. If you were still sold on Day before the Cotton Bowl, you still should be. If you were out on him, he probably didn’t change your mind. The truth is, nothing will probably change until he beats Michigan or wins a national championship. But the Cotton Bowl wasn’t the kind of loss that changed a program or coach’s trajectory.

Missouri defeats Ohio State in low-scoring Cotton Bowl

The Tigers managed back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the game’s only trips to the end zone, holding on for a 14-3 win.

The crowd may not have been treated to any offensive masterpiece, but Missouri came away with a victory nonetheless in a 14-3 triumph over Ohio State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Friday night.

After a first half that consisted of one Buckeyes field goal and 12 punts, fans and analysts were cracking jokes on social media about how Missouri’s color scheme resembled Iowa.

However, the Missouri offense came alive (by comparison) in the final fifteen minutes. Running back Cody Schrader, who finished the regular season as a Doak Walker Award finalist with more than 1,400 yards, punched into the end zone from nine yards out to give the Tigers the lead.

In a complete reversal from the rest of the game, Missouri scored on back-to-back possessions. The Tigers marched 91 yards down the field on 13 plays the following drive, culminating in a seven-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brady Cook to standout sophomore wide receiver Luther Burden III to expand the lead to 14-3.

Ohio State’s backs pressed against the wall with five minutes to play and two scores needed, but quarterback freshman Lincoln Kienholz started to churn. The young quarterback, who had thrown five collegiate passes before the game, led the Buckeyes into Missouri territory quickly with hopes of a miracle comeback. He lost the ball on a sack around the 40-yard line with three minutes to play, however, and the Tigers pounced on the ball and ran the clock out from there.

Kienholz finished the game with six completions on 17 attempts, throwing for 86 yards. Both teams combined for 534 yards, with 203 of those coming on the ground for Missouri. Schrader ended the game with 128 yards on 29 attempts.

The win gave the Tigers a final record of 11-2, their first 11-win season since 2014 and just their fourth in school history.

Here are the best photos from the Tigers’ big win.

USC quarterbacks in bowl games in recent years

Miller Moss tied Caleb Williams’ program record for touchdown passes in a game on Wednesday night. Who else has lit up the field in a bowl game for the Trojans?

Few schools in the country can match USC‘s reputation for producing quarterbacks. Three Trojans quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy since the turn of the century, including Caleb Williams just last season. There isn’t a bigger stage for these quarterbacks than the collegiate postseason, with a trophy on the line and the entire nation watching during the holidays.

The Trojans dominated college football at the start of the 2000s with Pete Carroll in charge and Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart under center. The team won at least 11 games in seven consecutive seasons from 2002-2008, winning a pair of national championships and reaching the top of the college football rankings in five different seasons.

Since Carroll’s departure in 2009, USC has still put together five 10-win seasons, still impressive for the average program. However, the time between Carroll and Lincoln Riley tends to be brushed aside for the All-Americans who came before and after, especially at the quarterback position. In the spirit of Miller Moss’s six-touchdown performance in the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday, here’s a trip down memory lane for USC’s bowl quarterbacks since 2010.

Sons of NFL veterans Josh McCown and Chad Pennington faced off in Frisco Bowl

Want to feel old? Sons of NFL veterans Josh McCown and Chad Pennington faced off in Frisco Bowl

In news that will likely make older fans suddenly feel ancient, two sons of notable NFL quarterbacks faced off last week during the Frisco Bowl between UTSA and Marshall. Owen McCown and Cole Pennington represented their fathers’ position at quarterback for their respective teams.

Ultimately the McCown family saw their son guide UTSA to take home the victory 35-17 over Pennington and Marshall. Both quarterbacks had shaky stat lines with McCown looking slightly better both on the tape and in the box score with 251 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Pennington did not turn the ball over in the game but also failed to find the end zone himself.

It’s far too early to tell if either quarterback will follow their fathers’ footsteps onto the next level given they are both just freshman signal callers, but if bloodlines tell us anything these two could be slinging it on Sunday just as well as any other Freshman in the country.

Kansas outlasts UNLV in Guaranteed Rate Bowl behind Jason Bean’s dominant day

The Jayhawks quarterback finished with a career-high 449 yards and six touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter, on 28 attempts.

Kansas outdueled UNLV in an offensive showdown on Tuesday, coming away with a 49-36 victory in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl after senior quarterback Jason Bean tossed six touchdowns in a career day.

Bean, who threw for 1,681 yards this season, passed for a career-high 449 yards on just 28 attempts for the night. He finished the game averaging 16.0 yards per attempt, and four of his touchdown passes came on completions longer than 40 yards.

The Jayhawks’ scoring game in waves. After not putting any points on the board until the final two minutes of the first quarter, Kansas scored three touchdowns in the next nine minutes to fly out to a 21-7 lead.

The Rebels tried hard to pull back into the game, holding Kansas scoreless in the third quarter and scoring two touchdowns to make the deficit just four points, but Kansas ripped off another heater on offense. Bean threw three touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, with all three touchdowns longer than 40 yards.

Jayhawks receivers Luke Grimm and Lawrence Arnold shouldn’t go unmentioned, either. The two combined for 292 yards on just 10 receptions, and they split Bean’s passing touchdowns with three apiece.

Here are the best photos from the crazy Kansas victory.

Texas State demolishes Rice in second half for First Responder Bowl win

The Bobcats forced four interceptions and only allowed 32 yards on Rice’s seven second-half possessions for a 24-point win.

Texas State and Rice were locked in a tight game at halftime in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl on Tuesday, but the Bobcats pulled away for a 45-21 victory after holding the Owls scoreless in the second half.

The Texas State running back duo of Ismail Mahdi and Jahmyl Jeter won the day. Mahdi has 122 yards on 24 carries, leading both teams in rushing yards and yards per carry. Jeter only had 36 yards on eight carries, but he punched his way into the end zone three different times, including a 29-yard rumble in the game’s opening minutes.

Rice kept pace with the Bobcats early. Running back Dean Connors found the end zone twice in a three-minute span midway through the second quarter, the second touchdown tying the game at 21 points apiece. It was the last time Rice added to its point total.

Texas State kicked a field goal to retake the lead on the final play of the first half before completely suffocating the Rice offense for the final two quarters. The Bobcats took five minutes to drive down the field for a touchdown in the third quarter’s first possession, and Rice threw a pick-six to make the lead 17 just three plays later. The Owls’ final seven possessions included four interceptions and three punts, and they only gained 32 yards.

Here are the best photos from Texas State’s dominant victory.

Darius Taylor runs Minnesota to victory in Quick Lane Bowl

The Golden Gophers exchanged touchdowns with the Falcons for most of the game but held on for a 30-24 victory to close the season.

Minnesota defeated Bowling Green 30-24 in the Quick Lane Bowl on Tuesday behind a dominant day from running back Darius Taylor.

The freshman put on a show against the Falcons, amassing 208 yards on 35 carries including a 14-yard run on the team’s first play from scrimmage.

In fact, the freshman was so good that the Golden Gophers only threw 16 passes for the whole game. The team’s leading receiver? Taylor, who had 11 yards. He accounted for 77.9% of his team’s total yards of offense.

Bowling Green’s offense was productive, with Connor Bazelak throwing for 221 yards and a touchdown on 36 attempts. But a pair of Minnesota touchdowns in the third quarter stretched the lead farther than the Falcons could reach.

Taylor was only a three-star prospect in the Class of 2023, but this was the third time he’d rushed for 190 yards in a single game this season and the fourth time he cleared 130 yards. He only received multiple carries in five games.

Here are the best photos from Minnesota’s victory.

The partially edible Pop-Tarts Bowl trophy deliciously captures the essence of college football

The partially edible Pop-Tarts Bowl trophy is what all other prizes should aspire to.

Move over, bowl game trophies. The Pop-Tarts Bowl trophy is here, and we can’t contain ourselves.

College football is extremely chaotic, and that’s what makes it one of the best sports to watch. Bowl games add fuel to the chaos, and we love every second of the totally off-the-track moments.

There are postgame cold brew baths, dropping of potato mascots and kicker trick plays that turn into touchdowns. There are even Pop-Tart-wrapped trophies. Yes, POP-TART WRAPPED TROPHIES.

The Pop-Tarts Bowl between Kansas State and NC State kicks off Thursday, December 28, in Orlando, Florida. Ahead of the matchup, the bowl game staff unveiled the trophy that one VERY lucky team will get to take home.

In a totally genius and on-brand move, the trophy comes with REAL Pop-Tarts. KNEE-SLAPPER. We love to see it!

A running list of college football players skipping 2023-24 bowl games

Tracking which players are skipping their bowl games and declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published Dec. 4 and has been updated.

Happy college football bowl season! With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the college football world is now looking ahead to bowl games and the College Football Playoff matchups.

But as usual, not every player plans on participating in bowl season.

As we’ve seen in recent seasons, many top players elect to sit out of their respective bowl games, often looking ahead to the upcoming NFL Draft. And that trend is continuing through the 2023-24 bowl season.

From the players’ perspective, this makes total sense. Many of them are choosing to protect themselves rather than risk injury (and possibly millions of dollars) playing in a matchup that is largely meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Plus, getting a jump on preparing for the draft can’t hurt.

So we’re keeping track of the players skipping their bowl games with this running list, which will be updated as more players announce their plans for the future and the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Air Force ends losing streak with Armed Forces Bowl victory over James Madison

The Falcons rushed for 351 yards as a team and held the ball for more than 37 minutes, never letting James Madison get enough momentum.

Air Force ended its 2023 regular season on a four-game losing streak, but the Falcons managed to find a silver lining with a 31-21 victory over James Madison in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday.

The Dukes won 11 of their 12 regular-season games, but James Madison had no answers for Air Force fullback Emmanuel Michel.

The senior had the best game of his collegiate career against James Madison, with 203 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries. He broke off a 54-yard dash on the Falcon’s first play from scrimmage, pushing his way into the end zone a few plays later for the game’s first score.

Michel forced his way into the end zone from one yard out for a second time in the middle of the second quarter, extending Air Force’s lead to 14-7.

The Falcons’ running game in general dominated the game, as Air Force ran for 351 yards as a team and averaged 5.6 yards per carry. James Madison’s inability to slow down the ground game also led to a severe imbalance in time of possession, with Air Force holding the ball for more than 37 minutes.

The slow burn was on full display in the second half with both teams combining for seven possessions. Air Force scored 10 points, and James Madison never had enough chances with the ball to come back despite only punting once after halftime.

Here are the best photos from Air Force’s win.