No. 18 Iowa State rallies past No. 15 Miami 42-41 for best season in school history

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Rocco Becht scored from a yard out on fourth-and-goal with 56 seconds remaining and No. 18 Iowa State capped the best season in school history by rallying past No. 15 Miami 42-41 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Saturday.

Becht finished with 270 passing yards and three touchdowns for Iowa State (11-2), a program that entered this season — the 133rd year of Cyclone football — never having won more than nine games in a year.

The Cyclones didn’t stop at 10 wins, either. They rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half — with Miami quarterback Cam Ward watching after a record-setting first half — to get win No. 11. Carson Hansen rushed for a pair of touchdowns.

Ward passed for three touchdowns in his final college game, while Damien Martinez rushed for a career-high 179 yards for Miami (10-3), which dropped its sixth straight bowl game and lost three of four games to end the season.

Martinez and Mark Fletcher Jr. rushed for scores for Miami, which was seeking its first 11-win season since 2003. Elijah Arroyo, Jojo Trader and Jacolby George had TD catches for the Hurricanes.

A 15-play, 84-yard drive by Iowa State was what delivered the winning score.

ALAMO BOWL

NO. 17 BYU 36, NO. 20 COLORADO 14

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — L.J. Martin rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns, Jake Retzlaff passed for 151 yards, and No. 17 BYU beat No. 20 Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.

BYU (11-2, No. 17 CFP) scored in every quarter in rolling to its second straight bowl victory and third in its past four appearances after failing to advance last season.

Colorado (9-4, No. 23 CFP) was held to 210 total yards with only two net yards rushing. The Buffaloes had 90 yards in the fourth quarter with the Cougars leading by 29 points.

Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders was sacked three times and threw two interceptions before a sellout crowd of 64,261. Sanders passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns while completing 16 of 23 passes.

Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter had four receptions for 106 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown from Sanders with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter.

FENWAY BOWL

UCONN 27, NORTH CAROLINA 14

BOSTON (AP) — Joe Fagnano threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns to help UConn beat North Carolina in the Fenway Bowl, embarrassing Bill Belichick’s new team in his old backyard.

Belichick was not spotted in the home of the Boston Red Sox, about an hour north of the stadium where he and Tom Brady hung six Super Bowl championship banners. Interim coach Freddie Kitchens, who like Belichick is a former Cleveland Browns coach, took over when Mack Brown was fired and handled the bowl preparations.

On a day that was definitely not baseball weather, UConn fans took over the home of the Red Sox, and their team was just as dominant on the field. Mel Brown rushed for 96 yards for the Huskies.

The Tar Heels (6-7) scored on Chris Culliver’s 95-yard kickoff return but had no real offense until running back Caleb Hood, who is not listed as a quarterback on the depth chart, took over in the fourth quarter. He ran five times for 64 yards before throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to John Copenhaver that made it 27-14.

Skyler Bell caught three passes for 77 yards for UConn (9-4), including a 38-yard touchdown that gave the Huskies a 10-0 first-quarter lead. Culliver took the ensuing kickoff back for the score, but that would be Carolina’s only production in the first half.

PINSTRIPE BOWL

NEBRASKA 20, BOSTON COLLEGE 15

NEW YORK (AP) — Dylan Raiola passed for 228 yards and a touchdown as Nebraska built an 18-point lead through three quarters and hung on to beat Boston College for its first bowl victory since 2015.

After Nebraska built a 13-2 lead in the first half on scoring runs by Rahmir Johnson and Kwinten Ives, Raiola hit Emmett Johnson with a 13-yard TD pass on fourth down with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter for a 20-2 edge and the Cornhuskers (7-6) held on for the win.

Raiola completed 23 of 31 passes in front of a sizable Nebraska crowd that celebrated the team’s first bowl win since topping UCLA in the 2015 Foster Farms Bowl and first winning season since 2016.

Raiola completed passes to 10 receivers, including Jahmal Banks, who finished with four receptions for 79 yards.

Rahmir Johnson and Ives scored on short TD runs in the second period, and Nebraska’s defense set up the critical score in the third.

Emmett Johnson scored on fourth-and-3 play for a 20-2 lead. That score came after John Bullock sacked Boston College quarterback Grayson James, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Elijah Jeudy at midfield.

James finished 25 of 40 for 296 yards as Boston College (7-6) fell to 0-3 in Pinstripe Bowl games.

NEW MEXICO BOWL

TCU 34, LOUISIANA 3

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Josh Hoover passed for four touchdowns to help TCU beat Louisiana-Lafayette in the New Mexico Bowl.

Hoover was 20 for 32 for 252 yards with an interception. Eric McAlister had eight catches for 87 yards and a TD for the Horned Frogs (9-4).

TCU’s defense also had a solid day, holding Louisiana-Lafayette (10-4) to 209 yards, including 61 on the game’s final possession.

Ben Wooldridge was 7-for-20 passing for 61 yards for the Ragin’ Cajuns. He also threw an interception.

The Horned Frogs put together a fast start. Hoover found DJ Rogers for a 3-yard TD pass, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive on the game’s opening possession.

After Lou Groza Award winner Kenneth Almendares missed a 54-yard field goal for Louisiana-Lafayette, TCU went right back to work.

McAlister’s 1-yard touchdown reception finished a 10-play, 63-yard drive and gave the Horned Frogs a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Kyle Lemmermann kicked two field goals and JP Richardson added a 20-yard touchdown reception as TCU opened a 27-0 halftime lead.

ARIZONA BOWL

MIAMI (Ohio) 43, COLORADO STATE 17

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Kevin Davis had a career-high 148 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just nine carries and Jordan Brunson also ran for two TDs to help Miami (Ohio) beat Colorado State at the Arizona Bowl.

Davis scored on a 4-yard run with 12:35 left in the third quarter, Matt Salopek forced a fumble that was recovered by Silas Walters and quarterback Brett Gabbert’s first rushing touchdown of the season — a 10-yard scramble that capped a 47-yard drive — made it 22-3 about 2 minutes later.

After the Rams failed to convert a fourth-and-4 from the 5, Davis took a hand off up the middle and raced untouched for a 97-yard touchdown to give the RedHawks a 26-point lead with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter. George Swarn’s 98-yard TD against Western Michigan in 1984 is the longest run in RedHawks history.

Miami (9-5) is 9-7 all-time in bowl games.

Colorado State (8-5) committed four turnovers which the RedHawks converted into 19 points.

MILITARY BOWL

ECU 26, NC STATE 21

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Rahjai Harris broke free for an 86-yard touchdown run with 1:33 remaining, giving East Carolina a pulsating victory over NC State in the Military Bowl in a game that descended into a wild brawl in the final minute.

Harris had 220 of ECU’s 326 yards rushing, and his sensational sprint near the end of the game gave the Pirates (8-5) the lead back after they’d blown a 13-point advantage in the fourth. But after an interception by Dontavius Nash ended NC State’s final drive, East Carolina’s attempt to run out the clock was interrupted by large-scale fight between the two in-state rivals — who play each other again to start next season.

Three players for ECU and five for NC State were ejected.

ECU (8-5) trailed 21-20 and took over the ball at its own 14, and after two incompletions, the Pirates decided to run the ball with Harris. He had a good hole to the left for a big gain, then cut back past the final defender on his way to the end zone.

INDEPENDENCE BOWL

NO. 19 ARMY 27 LOUISIANA TECH 6

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — Bryson Daily broke the FBS record for touchdowns by a quarterback in a season with 32, running for three scores in No. 19 Army’s victory over Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl on Saturday night.

Daily ran for 127 yards on 27 carries and was 2-of-9 passing for 65 yards to help Army set a program victory record at 12-2. Hayden Reed added 114 yards rushing and a TD on 20 carries.

Army entered the game with a nation-best 298.9 yards rushing per game and punished the Bulldogs (5-8), a late replacement for Sun Belt champion Marshall.

The Associated Press