Penn State: 2023 Rose Bowl Champions

PASADENA, Calif. – The No. 11/9/7 Penn State football team (11-2, 7-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 8/7/10 Utah (10-4, 7-2 PAC-12) 35-21 in the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 2, 2023. The Nittany Lions put up 448 yards of total offense and recorded two takeaways in the program's second Rose Bowl win.

 

Sean Clifford led the way for the Nittany Lion offense, going 16-for-22 with 279 yards and two touchdowns. Clifford became Penn State's program leader in total offense, eclipsing Trace McSorley's mark of 11,596 yards. Clifford's 88-yard touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the fourth quarter became the longest passing play in the history of the Rose Bowl.

 

Nicholas Singleton capped off his historic true freshman season with 120 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Rose Bowl. Singleton's 87-yard touchdown run in the third quarter is the third-longest run in Rose Bowl history and the second-longest in Penn State bowl history. With the run, the Nittany Lions now own two of the five longest rushes in the history of the Rose Bowl, including Ki-Jana Carter's 83-yard run in the 1995 Rose Bowl.

 

With the 88-yard pass and the 87-yard run, the Nittany Lions became the first team in Rose Bowl history with 80-plus yard receiving and rushing touchdowns in a game.

 

Kaytron Allen and Mitchell Tinsley recorded the additional Nittany Lion scores in the game, and Lambert-Smith finished with a career-high 124 receiving yards.

 

Two takeaways set the tone on defense for the Nittany Lions. Kalen King and Ji'Ayir Brown recorded interceptions as Penn State turned in a solid defensive outing. Curtis Jacobs picked up a career-high two sacks in the game while Brown and Chop Robinson collected 1.5 sacks each. Penn State totaled six sacks and nine tackles for loss in the contest.

 

The 2022 Penn State football season is presented by PSECU.

 

HOW IT HAPPENED

 

Penn State made the first splash play of the day. With the Utes inside Nittany Lion territory on their second drive of the game, Kalen King intercepted Cameron Rising at the 18-yard line to bring the Penn State offense back on the field.

 

The Nittany Lions found the end zone on the very next drive on a touchdown run by Nicholas Singleton. Penn State entered the red zone on a 28-yard strike by Sean Clifford to Theo Johnson at the 13-yard line. On a third-and-two play, Singleton took a handoff and exploded into the end zone for the five-yard score that resulted in the only points in the first quarter for either team.

 

Utah tied the game with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on its subsequent possession. The Utes took 7:12 off the clock as Rising found Thomas Yassmin for the score. The score put Utah on the board and tied the game 7-7 with 7:55 remaining in the second quarter.

 

A Mitchell Tinsley touchdown catch capped off Penn State's next drive, as the teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter. The Nittany Lions constructed a six-play 70-yard drive, including a 32-yard reception by KeAndre Lambert-Smith and a 20-yard grab by Harrison Wallace, that resulted in Clifford's 85th career touchdown pass.

 

The Utes answered right back, making it 14-14 with the game's fourth consecutive scoring drive. Utah used a six-play, 75-yard drive to tie the game with 2:09 left to play in the opening half.

 

As the Utes were driving with under a minute left in the half, Curtis Jacobs sacked Rising on third down, sending the game to halftime tied 14-14.

 

In the third quarter, Singleton scored his second touchdown of the game on an 87-yard scamper that broke the 14-14 deadlock with 10:17 remaining in the frame. The Nittany Lions began the drive at their own five-yard line and ran just two plays before Singleton found a hole and dashed downfield for the score.

 

The Nittany Lion defense showed out once again as it intercepted Utah for the second time. Ji'Ayir Brown picked off Bryson Barnes with 6:07 left in the third quarter to record his 16th career takeaway.

 

With the score sitting at 21-14 entering the fourth quarter, the Nittany Lions completed the longest passing play in Rose Bowl history to extend the lead to 28-14. In an almost identical beginning of the drive to the Singleton touchdown, Penn State ran just two plays before Clifford aired out a pass to Lambert-Smith for an 88-yard score.

 

Penn State tacked on another fourth-quarter touchdown to make it 35-14 at the 10:36 mark as Kaytron Allen scored on a one-yard run. The Nittany Lions took 2:44 to record a five-play 47-yard scoring drive.

 

The Utes scored the game's final touchdown with 0:25 remaining in regulation but the result was unchanged as the Nittany Lions won 35-21.

2023 Tournament of Roses Parade

2023 Tournament of Roses Parade

2 January 2023

Pasadena, California, United States of America

Tulane: 2023 Cotton Bowl Champions

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Tulane tight end Alex Bauman caught a 6-yard touchdown from Michael Pratt with 9 seconds left to cap a frantic finish by the 14th-ranked Green Wave in a 46-45 win over Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and No. 8 Southern California in the Cotton Bowl on Monday.

Bauman’s contested catch, with linebacker Eric Gentry draped over him, was initially ruled an incompletion, but a replay review showed the ball never touched the ground as the players rolled over in the end zone. The Green Wave scored 16 points in the final 4:07, the game-winning touchdown coming after they got the ball back following a safety.

“I might have had a heart attack,” Tulane coach Willie Fritz said moments after the game ended.

Williams was 37-for-52 passing for 462 yards and a Cotton Bowl-record five touchdowns, exactly one month after the quarterback suffered a hamstring injury in USC’s loss to Utah in the Pac-12 championship game that kept the Trojans from making the four-team College Football Playoff.

Tyjae Spears ran for 205 yards and his career-best fourth touchdown started the final scoring surge for the American Athletic Conference champion Green Wave (12-2), who completed an FBS-record 10-win turnaround around after going 2-10 last season. They were in the New Year’s Six game as the highest-ranked Group of Five team.

LSU: 2023 Citrus Bowl Champions

ORLANDO, Fla. – The LSU offense exploded for 594 yards of total offense to defeat Purdue, 63-7, and become Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Champions on Monday at Camping World Stadium.

LSU finishes the season with a 10-4 record.

KEY PERFORMANCES

Quarterback Jayden Daniels finished 12-of-17 for 139 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier went 10-of-14 for 98 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Sophomore receiver Malik Nabers led the receivers with nine catches for 163 yards and a touchdown. Freshman tight end Mason Taylor recorded five catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.

Senior safety Greg Brooks shined on defense with five tackles, one for loss, along with an interception.

KEY PLAYS

Purdue won the toss and deferred to the second half. 

On 1st-and-10 from the LSU 44, Daniels found Taylor for a 19-yard completion to the Purdue 44. On 4th-and-2 from the 36, the Tigers elected to go for it, and Daniels connected with Nabers for a 12-yard pickup to the Boilermaker 24. Daniels then found Nabers again for a 9-yard gain down to the Purdue 15. 

The drive culminated in a 1-yard scoring run from senior running back John Emery to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 7:01 remaining in the first quarter of action.

After forcing Purdue to punt, the Tigers were awarded an extra 15 yards after a kick-catch interference penalty was enforced. Gregory Clayton fair caught the football at the LSU 18 and the penalty moved the ball to the 33.

Nussmeier entered at quarterback on LSU’s third offensive possession of the game. On 3rd-and-4, Nussmeier found Taylor for an 17-yard completion and first down to the Purdue 14. Noah Cain rushed up the middle for a 9-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 14-0 with 1:06 to play in the first quarter. 

It was a strong start for the LSU defense, holding Purdue to just four pass yards and 17 rush yards in the first quarter of play.

Daniels returned at quarterback for the Tigers, finding Nabers for a 17-yard connection to the Purdue 46 and then finding Taylor for a 32-yard touchdown completion, creating some separation with an early 21-0 advantage with 13:03 to play in the second quarter. 

On their next offensive possession, Daniels went back to Taylor for a 15-yard completion over the middle of the field to the LSU 45. Taylor had five catches for 83 yards, averaging 20.8 yards per catch at that point in the game.

Daniels put the Tigers in prime scoring position after a 37-yard QB keep advanced the ball to the Purdue 9. The 37-yard run by Daniels marked a season-long. 

Cain recorded his second rushing touchdown of the game with a 9-yard score, extending LSU’s lead to 28-0 with 8:23 to play in the first half at Camping World Stadium.

With Purdue driving inside the LSU 30, Burton’s pass with interception by Jarrick Bernard-Converse.

On a trick play, Nabers found Kyren Lacy for a 45-yard completion to the Purdue 10. (The 45-yard completion from Nabers to Lacey was the longest by an LSU non-QB since WR Todd Kinchen threw a 51-yard TD pass to WR Tony Moss vs. Ohio on 9/30/1989.)

Nussmeier, who was back under center, then found Brian Thomas Jr. for a 10-yard touchdown to make it 35-0.

Taking a 35-0 lead into the break, LSU tied its school record for half-time margin in a bowl game (35). (LSU led Oklahoma in the CFP Semifinal (Peach Bowl), 49-14, on Dec. 28, 2019.)

The Tigers forced a turnover on downs to open the second half as senior linebacker Micah Baskerville nearly intercepted Burton on 4th-and-4 from the Purdue 45.

Nabers found Daniels for a 5-yard touchdown pass. That marked Nabers’ second completion of the game, giving him 50 yards passing and a touchdown, to extend the Tigers’ lead to 42-0.

Brooks picked off Alaimo at the Purdue 27 with 9:17 remaining in the third quarter.

Nabers added to an already impressive day by taking a jet sweep from Nussmeier 75 yards for a touchdown, extending the LSU lead to 49-0 with 3:15 left in the third quarter.

On the second play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter, the Boilermakers got on the board as Alaimo found Sheffield for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 49-7 Tigers.

True freshman Walker Howard entered at quarterback for LSU, leading the offense to a seven play scoring drive, culminating in a 12-yard touchdown rush up the middle by Derrick Davis Jr. to extend the lead to 56-7.

Quad Wilson picked off Jack Albers and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown, putting a bow on the 2022-23 season to secure the Citrus Bowl victory, 63-7.

Mississippi State: 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl Champions

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Massimo Biscardi made a 27-yard tiebreaking field goal with four seconds left, Marcus Banks returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown on the game's last play and No. 24 Mississippi State rallied to beat Illinois 19-10 in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday in the Bulldogs' first game since coach Mike Leach's death.

Banks' score came on Illinois' fifth lateral following a completed pass after the Fighting Ilini got the ball at their own 29. There was a scrum on the field as the game ended, but order was restored after a couple of minutes.

Will Rogers was 29 of 44 yards for 261 yards and one touchdown for Mississippi State (9-4, No. 22 CFP).

Tommy DeVito completed 23 of 34 passes for 253 yards for Illinois (8-5).

Reggie Love III rushed for 53 yards on 12 carries for Illinois. Fighting Illini running back Chase Brown, the nation’s second-leading rusher in the regular season with 1,643 yards, sat out to prepare for the NFL draft.

Mississippi State was held without a touchdown until the first play of the fourth quarter, when Rogers connected on an eight-yard throw to Justin Robinson that tied the game at 10.

The Bulldogs averaged 32.7 points during the regular season.

Illinois, which entered allowing 12.3 points and held six opponents to under 10 points, played without defensive backs Devon Witherspoon and Sydney Brown. Both opted out ahead of the NFL draft.

DeVito put Illinois up 7-0 on a two-yard run with 2:49 left in the second quarter.

Mississippi State responded with a 38-yard field goal by Biscardi with nine seconds to go in the first half.

IIlinois went up 10-3 on a 52-yard field goal by Caleb Griffin midway through the third.

Mississippi State was limited to 50 yards on its first three possessions, while the next two ended on interceptions by Matthew Bailey and Kendall Smith.

Illinois tops the nation with 24 interceptions.

HONORING MIKE

Among the tributes to Leach, who died on Dec. 12 due to complications from a heart condition, was “MIKE” with a pirate logo as part of the “I” painted between the 20 and 30 on one segment of the field.

The Mississippi State band spelled out “LEACH" before a moment of silence was held before the game.

The Bulldogs had a pirate flag instead of the school logo on their helmets. Illinois’ helmet had a logo similar to what was painted on the field.

Leach’s nickname was “The Pirate.”

UP NEXT

Mississippi State: Opens the 2023 regular-season on Sept. 2 against Southeastern Louisiana.

Illinois: Hosts Toledo on Sept. 2.