Bedlam on Baltic Avenue: Dec 29, 2021

ISML 2021: The Diamond Period Wages On

ISML 2021: The Diamond Period Wages On

By Jo-Ryan Salazar

The Bedlam on Baltic Avenue

December 29, 2021

In less than 72 hours, Yukino Yukinoshita will cease to become Saimoe Prime Minister and Miyuki Shirogane will cease to become Deputy Saimoe Prime Minister, with Mikoto Misaka and Sakuta Azusagawa taking over in the interim for at least the month of January. However, the 2021 International Saimoe League is not complete, as the Diamond Period is still going on, and Match Day 2 has concluded.

In the Female Division, Mai Sakurajima took down Shiro 1374-1080, Mashiro Shiina smashed Megumin 1417-981, Emilia flew past Utaha Kasumigaoka 1373-1069, Index Prohibitorum scored the Upset of the Round, a 1347-1324 scalp of Asuna Yuuki, Nao Tomori defeated Shouki Nishimiya 1249-1155, Kanade Tachibana slayed Misaki Shokuhou 1366-1171, Elaina routed Mio Akiyama 1589-967 and Kei Shirogane eased past Kurisu Makise 1206-1120.

Wrapping up Female Division actiom, Kaguya Shinomiya thumped Iroha Isshiki 1495-955, Kurumi Tokisaki shot down Ruiko Saten 1562-1001, Rikka Takanashi rocked Tooru 1584-847, Chika Fujiwara defeated Ai Hayasaka 1157-1065, Yui Yuigahama hammered Kamui Kanna 1256-1165, Tsukasa Yuzaki rolled past Kuroko Shirai 1319-1190, Mikoto Misaka drilled Rin Tohsaka 1677-918 and Schwi Dola roared past Taiga Aisaka 1125-1069.

In the Male Division, Yuu Ishigami crushed Ryuunosuke Akasaka 1267-797, Taki Tachibana trounced Kyoujurou Rengoku 1267-797, Riku Dola rocked Archer 1335-856, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji prevailed over Nasa Yuzaki 1065-1012, Kazuma Satou roared past Ryuuji Takasu 1228-828, Sorata Kanda won a 1017-996 thriller over Yuu Otosaka, Yuuta Togashi pounded Joutarou Kuujou 1104-879 and Kazuto Kirigaya slashed past Rintarou Okabe 1201-1072.

Wrapping up Female Division action, Touma Kamijou broke Tomoya Okazaki 1300-953, Subaru Natsuki drove past Shouya Ishiga 1242-825, Shidou Itsuka leveled Levi 1080-1022, Yuzuru Otonashi punched Saitama 1043-1016, Shirou Emiya prevailed over Saika Totsuka 1068-1021, Sakuta Azusagawa stormed past Nagisa Shiota 1387-776 and Satoshi Fukube won a 969-956 snoozer over Edward Elric.

In Winter Seasonal action, Ran Mouri mowed down Jolyne Kuujou 1366-812, Miko Yotsuya thumped Fubuki Shirakami 1187-794, Dia Viekone routed Ruti 1186-683, Shouko Komi crushed Sonoko Suzuki 1368-772, Eris Boreas Greyrat flexed past Kukuru Misakino 1263-741, Futaba Igarashi defeated Doki-chan 1054-804, Tomoyo Sakagami defeated Touko Sakurai 1062-955, Unmei eased past Tarte 1149-856 anf Yuuna Yuuki whipped past Chisato Arashi 955-868. On the Male Side, Hitohito Tadano cruised past Bojji 1046-803, Lugh Tuatha De pummeled Kogorou Mori 1197-953 and Takt Asahina outmaneuvered Red 946-774.

Finally, in Couples Tournament action, Touma Kamijou and Mikoto Misaka destroyed Emilia and Subaru Natsuki 1497-999, Gilbert Bougainvillea and Violet Evergarden dominated Kazuto Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki 1268-1195, Eru Chitanda and Houtarou Oreki eased past Yuu Otosaka and Nao Tomori 1425-951 and Elaina and Saya bodied Mikoto Misaka and Kuruko Shirai in a 1290-1285 classic, the closest race of the round.

Match Day 3 of the 2021 International Saimoe League Diamond Period is scheduled for New Year's Eve, December 31, 2021. Vote for your favorite characters at InternationalSaimoe.com and join the ongoing debate.

Oklahoma: 2021 Alamo Bowl Champions

SAN ANTONIO — About an hour before the Alamo Bowl kicked off, Bob Stoops came strolling out of the tunnel and the ovation rose.

The cheers quickly evolved into a long, drawn-out “Stoooooooops” chant, and OU’s legendary coach acknowledged the ovation with a wave to all sides of the stadium.

The cheering from the Sooners’ side kept right on going through much of the first half before things tightened up after the break, as OU beat a depleted Ducks squad 47-32 in the Alamodome on Wednesday night.

Here are five takeaways from the Sooners’ win.

Father-son moment

The “Stoooooooops” chant returned in the second quarter, but this time it was for Bob’s son, redshirt junior receiver Drake Stoops.

On third-and-goal from the 6, Caleb Williams found Drake Stoops on a fade route, and he went up and hauled in the touchdown pass over Oregon cornerback Trikweze Bridges.

As Drake came off the field, he was met by his father, who gave him a bear hug and several pats on the helmet.

The touchdown, the first of three by the Sooners in the second quarter, put OU ahead 16-3.

It was Stoops’ second touchdown catch of the season. He also had one against Texas Tech on Oct. 30.

Defense: The good and the bad

The Sooners struggled to contain Oregon’s 5-foot-10 running back Travis Dye much in the first quarter.

Dye’s speed helped him gain 66 yards in the first quarter alone.

In the second quarter, though, OU’s defense bowed up. In the second quarter. Oregon had 102 yards — just one fewer than it had in the first quarter — but only 17 of those came on the ground. The Ducks didn’t have a drive longer than 39 yards in the second.

But Oregon opened things up, especially through the air, in the second half, scoring touchdowns on each of its first four second-half drives.

Those included touchdown passes of 66, 34 and 30 yards.

Oregon finished with 497 yards, 306 through the air.

Dye finished with 153 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Brooks and done

It’s no surprise the Sooners leaned heavily on running back Kennedy Brooks in the Alamo Bowl.

Brooks has been the Sooners’ offensive workhorse and was again Wednesday, with 14 carries for 142 yards and three touchdowns.

At one point early in the game, Brooks touched the ball on six consecutive plays.

During that stretch, he picked up seven yards on a third-and-6 after Caleb Williams checked down to find his running back open. Then he had a 10-yard run on the next play, followed by a 16-yard touchdown run.

In the second quarter, Brooks had a 40-yard carry to set up Drake Stoops’ touchdown catch three plays later.

Brooks rushed for 127 yards in the first half, setting a first-half bowl record for the Sooners, breaking Rodney Anderson’s 125 yards in the first half against Georgia in the 2017 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl.

Brooks moved into ninth place on OU’s career rushing list, passing Stanley Wilson.

Williams’ TD wiped out

Mario Williams broke free and the crowd roared.

Just moments after Jeremiah Hall converted a third-and-1 on a direct snap on the first play of the second quarter, Caleb Williams hit Williams for an apparent 51-yard touchdown.

But Ducks’ cornerback Avante Dickerson, trying to bring Williams down, instead ripped Williams’ helmet off his head with a facemask, immediately drawing a flag.

But it also drew a whistle.

The rules call for a stoppage of play once the ball carrier’s helmet comes off, regardless of the other circumstances of the play.

Williams wound up with an 18-yard gain and the Sooners ultimately settled for a 40-yard field goal by Gabe Brkic.

Turk comes up just short

Michael Turk had the record sealed up, it appeared.

But when OU’s fourth-quarter drive stalled, Turk was forced into action once again and his record chances came up just short.

Before the fourth-quarter punt, Turk’s season average was 51.29 yards, which would’ve broken an NCAA record set just recently when San Diego State’s Matt Araiza finished his season with a 51.19-yard average.

Turk needed a 48-yard punt to stay ahead of Araiza for the record, but his final punt went 47, pinning the Ducks at their own 7 but coming up just one yard short — not just on that punt but any this season — of breaking the mark.

Clemson: 2021 Cheez-It Bowl Champions

D.J. Uiagalelei threw for 187 yards, Mario Goodrich scored on an 18-yard interception return and No. 19 Clemson beat Iowa State 20-13 on Wednesday night in Orlando, Florida, in the Cheez-It Bowl for coach Dabo Swinney’s 150th victory.

Will Shipley had a 12-yard touchdown run and finished with 61 yards rushing and 53 yards receiving for Clemson (10-3). Dacari Collins caught six passes for 53 yards, and B.T. Potter made two field goals.

Clemson won its sixth straight game to reach 10 victories for an 11th consecutive season. Florida State (14 from 1987-00) and Alabama (14 from 2008-21) are the only programs with longer streaks.

The Tigers, who came in with the nation's second-ranked scoring defense, held the Cyclones (7-6) to three field goals over the first three quarters. Iowa State finished with 270 yards and 14 first downs.

Goodrich sealed Clemson’s victory with 33 seconds to play when he stripped the ball away from Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy on fourth-and-2.

Iowa State dropped four of its final six games of the season and lost in a bowl game for a fourth consecutive year.

Maryland 54, Virginia Tech 10: Tarheeb Still returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown, Taulia Tagovailoa threw touchdown passes of 70 and 32 yards to Darryl Jones and Maryland routed Virginia Tech at Yankee Stadium in New York in the Pinstripe Bowl.

The game belonged to Tagovailoa, an Alabama transfer and younger brother of Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa. He threw for 265 yards and the two TD passes brought his season total to 26, which tied Maryland’s single-season record.

Coach Mike Locksley led the Terrapins (7-6) to his first bowl victory and winning record in three seasons at Maryland.

Jones, a senior wide receiver, had never caught a touchdown pass over his first 40 games. He had two and finished with 111 yards receiving against the Hokies (6-7).

Antwain Littleton II added a 4-yard rushing TD for Maryland and Joseph Petrino answered the Hokies’ lone touchdown with a 44-yard field goal with 59 seconds left in the first half for a 24-10 lead. Roman Hemby scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter.

Maryland: 2021 Pinstripe Bowl Champions

NEW YORK — Maryland head football coach Mike Locksley did not mince words when asked what redshirt sophomore quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa's MVP performance in Wednesday's New Era Pinstripe Bowl means entering 2022. Before 29,653 people at Yankee Stadium, Tagovailoa completed 20 of 24 passes (83.3%) for 265 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 42 yards on four rushes (10.5 average), as the Terrapins (7-6, 3-6 Big Ten) throttled Virginia Tech (6-7, 4-4 ACC) to put an exclamation point on 2021.

"I hope it quiets some of the critics and maybe he gets a little bit of the respect that I think he deserves as a quarterback," Locksley — who capped Year 3 in College Park, Maryland, by engineering UMD's first winning season since 2014 — said. "I feel like we've got one of the best quarterbacks in the league, if not the country. As I've said before, we wouldn't be in this situation that we're in with the winning season if it wasn't for Taulia.

"Obviously, he's not the finished product and I think you'll continue to see him get better as with all aspects of our program. But really proud of him and the way he's responded, the way he has a positive impact on others, his teammates. Very unselfish. ... Hopefully, this is the start of the '22 season and maybe we can get him a little bit of respect in terms of being one of the top quarterbacks in the country — which I really feel and believe he is."

Senior wide receiver Darryl Jones echoed his coach's sentiments. After he caught four passes for 111 yards (27.8 average) and two touchdowns — including a pivotal 70-yard score at the second quarter's 9:13 mark to put Maryland up 14-3 — Jones shared a strong perspective.

"I would definitely agree," said Jones, who later added a 32-yard touchdown that widened the Terps' advantage to 34-10 with 6:48 left in the third quarter. "You could see, from the start of the season till now, how 'Lia has progressed. People sometimes forget, with his name, that he's still a young kid learning and you can see that he can learn and he has progressed. And I think 'Lia's done a fantastic job from coming in, taking over, being a leader and showing people how he works and how to work. And he's just pushing and pulling guys along every day. So I definitely do think 'Lia's proved some critics wrong."

As Jones alluded to, Taulia Tagovailoa — Alabama legend and second-year Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's brother — brings the aura of being a former college football star's younger sibling. Still, following a second-year campaign as Maryland's starter in which he tied the program's single-season record for passing touchdowns at 26, Taulia Tagovailoa is making a name for himself with the Terps.

"I think, obviously, it gives us a lot of confidence going into the offseason and going into next season," said Tagovailoa — a four-star recruit in 2019 out of Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson and one-year Crimson Tide quarterback before transferring to UMD — who closes the season after going 328 for 474 (69.2%) with 3,860 yards and 26 touchdowns against 11 interceptions through all 13 games. "And for me, myself, I think it was good playing against an ACC team. And I don't know — I think I'm just ready, going into spring ball and offseason training with confidence. And I think it's more so just our team kind of building off of this going into our next season."

Minnesota: 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl Champions

PHOENIX -- — While watching "Breaking Bad" for the first time last year, a particular scene caught P.J. Fleck's attention.

The Minnesota coach had used television shows and movies — "Elf," "Full House" and "Family Matters" among them — as motivation in the past and this one seemed a perfect fit for his defense.

In it, Walter White rises in anger during a discussion with his wife, Skyler, explaining no one was going to come knocking on their door and shoot them.

"I'm the one who knocks!" he shouts.

So does Minnesota's defense.

Ky Thomas ran for 144 yards and a touchdown, Mar'Kiese Irving added 129 yards rushing and Minnesota shut down West Virginia to win the Guaranteed Rate Bowl 18-6 on Tuesday night.

"We wanted to be the defense that knocks and I thought we did that," Fleck said. "It was just kind of a theme our guys rallied around."

Thomas and Irving became the Gophers' 1-2 punch after Mohamed Ibrahim and Trey Potts sustained season-ending injuries. The two running backs carried most of the load offensively against West Virginia (6-7), accounting for 273 of Minnesota's 358 total yards.

They were good, but Minnesota's defense was flat-out dominating.

Controlling the line of scrimmage, the Gophers (9-4) overwhelmed the Mountaineers, holding them to 206 total yards to win their fifth straight bowl game, third under Fleck.

"They kind of grinded out a win and a credit to them — that's how they did it all year," West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. "We just weren't good enough today."

It wasn't much of a surprise. Minnesota finished fourth nationally in total defense, allowing 284.8 yards per game, and was ninth against the pass and run.

West Virginia played without leading rusher Leddie Brown, who opted to skip the bowl game to prepare for the NFL, and struggled to find much of an offensive rhythm early against the swarming Gophers.

The Mountaineers finally clicked a little in the second quarter, moving 75 yards in 12 plays. Jarret Doege capped the drive by diving for the pylon on 4th-and-goal from the 1. They were moving the ball again later in the second quarter before Doege threw an interception at Minnesota's 14-yard line.

West Virginia couldn't get anything going against Minnesota's defense in the second half, crossing midfield only once while being held to 79 yards.

"Everything that we've been doing all year, we wanted to up the emphasis," Gophers defensive back Tyler Nubin said. "We've been playing great defense and we wanted to do that one more time."

Minnesota's offense did a little pounding of its own.

The Gophers got in their own way after getting good field position on their first two drives, missing a 33-yard field goal and losing a fumble by Thomas at West Virginia's 6-yard line.

Then they turned to someone who could move everyone out of his way: Daniel Faalele.

The 6-foot-9, 380-pound offensive lineman lined up at fullback, took the handoff and bulled his way into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown. Minnesota threw in a fake extra point for good measure, going up 8-0 after converting the 2-point conversion.

"He's 400 pounds," Fleck said. "Once that thing gets moving forward, it's hard to stop that thing."

Thomas put the Gophers up 15-6 at halftime, scoring on a 5-yard run two plays after bursting up the middle for a 50-yard gain.

Minnesota reached West Virginia's 3-yard line in the final minutes, but opted to kneel out the clock instead of trying to score.

"Their offense is mainly run," said West Virginia's Charles Woods, who had an interception in the third quarter. "They depend on the run."

And their defense.

NO SCREENS HERE

West Virginia had a successful screen game most of the season. Minnesota took that away, particularly early, changing the way the Mountaineers ran their offense the rest of the night.

"They played a lot of cover 2 and really took away your easy-access throws," Brown said. "They mixed it up well, kept us off balance."

THE TAKEAWAY

West Virginia could have used Brown to perhaps spark its offense. Then again, the way Minnesota swarmed to the ball, it may not have mattered.

Minnesota's defense dominated most of the year and capped it with a smothering performance to finally win the Guaranteed Rate — previously Insight — Bowl for the first time in four tries.

UP NEXT

West Virginia will get Doege back and its two-deep offense is filled with underclassmen, though Brown will not be back. The defense also has plenty of players coming back, but will lose LB Josh Chandler-Semedo, S Sean Mahones and DT Dante Stills.

Minnesota has several key players returning for a sixth season, including Morgan, Ibrahim, WR Chris Autman-Bell and C John Michael Schmitz.

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Texas Tech: 2021 Liberty Bowl Champions

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- — Donovan Smith threw for 252 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score, and Texas Tech beat Mississippi State 34-7 in the Liberty Bowl on Tuesday night.

Tahj Brooks rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown and SaRodorick Thompson ran for 80 yards and a score for the Red Raiders (7-6), who finished with a winning record for the first time since 2015. They were appearing in their first bowl game since 2017.

Mississippi State (7-6) fell short in coach Mike Leach's first game against a former program of his. Leach, who went 84-43 at Texas Tech from 2000-09, failed to become the first Bulldogs coach to end each of his first two seasons with a bowl victory. Mississippi State was playing in its 12th straight bowl game.

Red Raiders interim coach Sonny Cumbie, a former player at Texas Tech under Leach, ended his five-game run with a 2/3 record. Cumbie, who is departing to become Louisiana Tech's coach, took over for Matt Wells in October.

"It's a sense of relief and accomplishment," Cumbie said. "In these bowl games, the most excited team that shows up is the one that comes out on top. That's what this team did."

Texas Tech rushed for 260 yards against a Bulldogs defense that came in allowing 101 yards per game on the ground.

"Their defensive front is very good," Cumbie said. "We felt with some of our run schemes and some of our motions, we would be able to hit some creases. And our running backs broke some tackles. They were a good opponent, but I did feel we'd have the ability to run the football."

Leach's prolific offense never could get rolling against the Red Raiders and the resulting lopsided loss dropped the Southeastern Conference to 0-4 in the postseason. The Bulldogs were held scoreless in the second half and finished with 344 yards, 105 below their average. Mississippi State was without three offensive linemen, including All-SEC left tackle Charles Cross, a projected top 10 pick in the NFL draft.

"I didn't think we were consistent," Leach said. "We didn't out of the blocks or get into any kind of rhythm. They deserve credit for preparing the way they did and playing the way they did."

Texas Tech put the game out of reach with two third-quarter touchdowns. Smith scored on a 1-yard run to cap a 95-yard drive, the Red Raiders' second-longest of the season. Smith, who was named the game's MVP, completed passes of 39 and 52 yards during the drive. He added a 14-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Sparkman with 2 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Thompson scored his touchdown on a 1-yard run midway through the final quarter for a 34-7 lead.

Texas Tech established the run at the outset, gaining 145 yards in the first quarter and using its physical play to take a 10-0 lead. The Red Raiders moved 75 yards — all on the ground — on the game's opening possession, scoring on a 19-yard run by Brooks.

"I felt that ignited us," Smith said. "We knew we had to come out and score."

Texas Tech added a 31-yard field goal by Jonathan Garibay later in the quarter.

Mississippi State answered on its next series with Will Rogers converting on third-and-11 on the Red Raiders 38 to extend the drive. Rogers evaded a strong rush before finding Jo'quavious Marks for 18 yards to the 20. Two plays later, Rogers fired a 17-yard scoring pass to Rara Thomas.

The Red Raiders took advantage of a Bulldogs miscue in the closing seconds of the half to go up 13-7. Mississippi State punt returner Austin Williams muffed a Texas Tech punt inside the Bulldogs 20-yard line and Jake Bishop recovered at the 14 with 31 seconds remaining. Garibay added a 26-yard field goal with 13 seconds left.

Mississippi State was held to 126 yards in the first half. Rogers, averaging 372 yards passing per game, managed 103 yards on 10-of-17 passing in the half and finished with 290.

DOWN BUT NOT (OPTING) OUT

Leach said his team was struck with COVID-19 issues shortly after arriving in Memphis last weekend, but he never considered pulling the Bulldogs out of the game. After his postgame news conference, Leach estimated as many as 10 or 11 players were affected. He said once the team got to Memphis, he committed to playing the game as long as there were enough players available.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Texas Tech defensive lineman Tyree Wilson earned the game's most outstanding defensive player award on the strength of back-to-back tackles for loss. With the Red Raiders leading 20-7 midway through the third quarter, Wilson sacked Rogers on successive plays — an 11-yard loss on third down from the Tech 20 and a 9-yard loss on fourth down from the 31. Tech took over on downs and scored to go ahead 27-7.

UP NEXT

Mississippi State will enter 2022 with significant contributors returning. The Bulldogs had freshmen and sophomores score 35 of their 47 regular-season touchdowns. Rogers, a sophomore this year, will be back after setting the school's single-season passing record.

Texas Tech starts 2022 under new management. Former Baylor associate head coach Joey McGuire takes over after five seasons with the Bears and 14 as a high school coach at Cedar Hill in Texas, where he won three state titles.

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Air Force: 2021 First Responder Bowl Champions

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- — Clayton Tune and the Houston Cougars punctuated an impressive season with a win in Southeastern Conference country.

Jake Herslow caught a 26-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass from Tune with 3:27 left to help lift No. 21 Houston to a 17-13 victory over Auburn on Tuesday in the Birmingham Bowl in front of a mostly orange-and-blue crowd at Protective Stadium.

The Cougars (12-2) marched 80 yards in eight plays to cap the third season in program history with at least 12 wins. They snapped a four-game bowl losing streak and won 12 of their final 13 games, the only loss after the opener coming to No. 4 Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference championship game.

Houston coach Dana Holgorsen said this win was similar to "some other ones that we've had this year."

"Just a bunch of guys that fight hard and win," Holgorsen said. "Basically, winning this game solidified this 2021 football team at the University of Houston as a great football team."

The Tigers (6-7) went in the opposite direction at the end of coach Bryan Harsin's first season. They ended with five straight losses for the first time in 71 years and dropped their third bowl game in a row.

Harsin was already looking ahead to, he hopes, better things.

"Nobody's going to go in there and just hang their head and say, ‘Well, this is just how it is,' " Harsin said. "We're going to change it. We're going to fix it, and we're going to get better.

"I mean, there is no Plan B. There's Plan A, and we're here to make this work."

Game MVP Tune completed 26 of 40 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns with an interception while also rushing for 43 yards. Nathaniel Dell caught 10 passes for 150 yards, while Alton McCaskill ran for 66 yards and caught a touchdown pass.

"That's kind of been our offense this whole season, is when we've needed to make plays we do," Tune said. "There was no panic."

And Herslow, who walked on after playing for Old Dominion from 2017-19, delivered the biggest catch. He's a player Horgorsen called "one of the best stories in college football."

Auburn, which fired offensive coordinator Mike Bobo after the regular season, had one more chance but couldn't get a first down. Tank Bigsby ran for 8 yards on first down and then T.J. Finley threw three straight incompletions on short passes.

Houston ran out the clock.

Finley completed 19 of 34 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown in his third start since replacing injured Bo Nix. Bigsby had 88 rushing yards and 68 receiving yards.

The Cougars had moved across midfield for the go-ahead score after Auburn's second targeting ejection, this time against Jaylin Simpson.

Tune set it up with a 20-yard pass to tight end Christian Trahan.

The Tigers rallied from a 10-0 deficit to take the lead late in the third quarter on Kobe Hudson's 12-yard touchdown catch from Finley on third and goal.

Auburn had several promising drives stall.

"It was pretty frustrating," tight end John Samuel Shenker said. "We moved the ball pretty well, then we'd get down there and we'd have little mental errors. That's just little things that you can't afford to happen this late in the season."

THE TAKEAWAY

Houston lost its opener to Texas Tech but was awfully hard to beat after that. The Cougars got their first bowl since since beating then-No. 9 Florida State in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 31, 2015

Auburn had another game that slipped away late, including a quadruple-overtime loss to No. 1 Alabama. The Tigers were without some key players who were hurt, transferred or opted out.

TARGETED

Auburn safety Smoke Monday was the first player ejected for targeting after an earlier flag against him was overturned. This call came during Nehemiah Pritchett's interception return. The penalty knocked the Tigers back 47 yards and cost them one of their top defenders.

NEXT?

Holgorsen noted that Cincinnati has been on a roll since a win in Birmingham. Now, the Bearcats are set to play No. 1 Alabama Friday in the College Football Playoff semifinals in Arlington, Texas.

"Maybe they can beat the SEC, too," the Cougars coach said.

DALLAS -- — Air Force changed its strategy Tuesday for the First Responder Bowl, taking inspiration from its name and trying out its passing game. It worked.

Haaziq Daniels threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more to give Air Force a 31-28 win over Louisville.

Daniels completed 9 of 10 passes for a season-high 252 yards, leading a triple-option offense that came into the game averaging an FBS-best 340.8 rushing yards and the second-fewest passing yards at 82.5 per game.

The Falcons (10-3) didn't throw a pass in their final game of the regular season, a 48-14 win over UNLV, and took a streak of 94 straight rushes from scrimmage into their second possession Tuesday.

"I figured we'd (pass) more then we did in the last game," Air Force coach Troy Calhoun joked. "I just think sometimes you get in games, you make adjustments."

Louisville coach Scott Satterfield lamented his shorthanded secondary getting beat on man-to-man coverage. The Cardinals (6-7) were missing defensive back Kenderick Duncan (injured) and Greedy Vance, who is transferring to Florida State.

"Anytime you play a team like this, they're going to take a shot," Satterfield said. "They connect — they're going to come back to it again."

Senior Brandon Lewis had touchdown catches of 64 and 61 yards for the Falcons, finishing with five receptions for a career-high 172 yards. That's the most receiving yardage for an Air Force player this season and the most ever in the Falcons' 28 bowl games.

"I feel like I could have been doing this all season," Lewis said. "I'm just happy that I did do it in my final game."

Matthew Dapore kicked a 26-yard field goal with 5:28 left to give the Falcons a two-score lead.

Louisville's Malik Cunningham threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Harrell and ran for a 22-yard touchdown with 2:57 to play. Jawhar Jordan returned a kickoff 100 yards and Trevion Cooley had a 1-yard run for the Cardinals' other touchdowns.

Cooley, a freshman, had 92 yards rushing for Louisville. Redshirt freshman Jalen Mitchell, who led the Cardinals during the season with 722 rushing yards, was out with an illness.

Louisville's James Turner had a 44-yard field-goal attempt sail left in the first quarter, and the Cardinals were stopped on fourth-and-goal at the Falcons' 2-yard line early in the third quarter when Cooley was tackled by Camby Goff and Trey Taylor.

"We ran the play probably three of four times, which, it worked every single time up until that point," Cooley said. "It was my job to really punch it in."

Daniels ran for a 5-yard touchdown in the first quarter to give Air Force a 7-0 lead and a 1-yard score in the final minute of the second quarter to put the Falcons ahead 28-14.

THE TAKEAWAY

Air Force: The No. 6 overtime loss to Army prevented the Falcons from winning the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy for the first time since 2016 instead of settling for a three-way tie. They recorded double-digit wins for the fourth time in Calhoun's 15 seasons.

Louisville: The Cardinals had their second straight losing record. Tuesday's loss was the fourth by one score. "If that one play is made (in those games), it's a totally different season," senior linebacker C.J. Avery said.

POWER SHORTAGE

With Air Force beating Louisville and Houston defeating Auburn earlier Tuesday in the Birmingham Bowl, Power Five programs are 0-5 in bowls against teams from the Group of Five or independents.

MILESTONES

Cunningham (13 of 21 passing for 207 yards, 12 carries for 63 yards) became the second Louisville quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season (1,031), and the 100 touchdowns he's responsible for are second to Lamar Jackson's 119. Cunningham will return for his fifth season in 2022. … Air Force senior fullback Brad Roberts had 20 carries, giving him a school-record 314 career rushes.

UP NEXT

Air Force: The Falcons will begin the 2022 season on Sept. 3 against Northern Iowa at home and then host Colorado to Colorado Springs the following week.

Louisville: The Cardinals will open at UCF on Sept. 10 and face South Florida before jumping into ACC play.

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UP NEXT

Houston will try to close the gap on Cincinnati with an offense that is expected to return Tune and tailback Alton McCaskill. The Cougars open against UTSA.

Auburn has an important offseason that includes replacing Nix, who was injured and subsequently transferred to Oregon. The Tigers open against Mercer.

Houston: 2021 Birmingham Bowl Champions