Northwestern: 2023 Las Vegas Bowl Champions

 

LAS VEGAS — Ben Bryant passed for 222 yards and found Bryce Kirtz in the corner of the end zone midway through the fourth quarter, helping Northwestern beat Utah 14-7 Saturday night in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Bryant went 22 for 34 with two touchdowns as Northwestern (8-5) closed out its season with a fourth straight win. The Wildcats limited Utah (8-5) to 221 yards and had two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Bryson Barnes was 8 for 13 for 55 yards with two interceptions, and Ja'Quinden Jackson rushed for 55 yards on eight carries to lead Utah, which lost three of its last four games.

The Utes trailed 7-0 early in the fourth quarter and tied the game with 12:38 left when Micah Bernard scored on a 6-yard run. The touchdown capped an eight-play, 60-yard drive that took 3:59. Bernard was playing for the first time since injuring a knee in the season-opener against Florida.

Northwestern scored the first points of the game with 1:20 left in the first half when Bryant connected with Cam Johnson from 12 yards out for a score. The touchdown capped an eight-play drive that covered 75 yards, including a 25-yard completion to Marshall Lang to set up a first down at the 12 yard line.

The Wildcats had a chance at a field goal on the last play of the half, but Jack Olson missed a 40-yard attempt. It was his second miss of the half after failing to convert from 51 yards in the first quarter.

Northwestern threatened earlier in the second quarter after Jaheem Joseph intercepted Barnes and returned it 45 yards to the Utah 7. But Northwestern was stopped on a third-and-goal play from the 1, and Barnes then threw incomplete on fourth down, turning the ball over.

Joseph also intercepted a pass in the end zone to thwart a Utah drive in the first quarter.

THE TAKEAWAY

Utah: The Utes will hope to rebound from a disappointing season with quarterback Cam Rising, who missed the whole season with a knee injury, returning for 2024. It will be his seventh season of college football.

Northwestern: Coach David Braun inherited a team that went 1-11 in 2022 and improved to 8-5 with a bowl victory in his second year as Wildcats’ coach.

UP NEXT

Utah: The Utes, who will move from the Pac 12 to the Big 12 next season, will open the season at home against Southern Utah on Aug. 29.

Northwestern: The Wildcats open the 2024 season at home against Miami of Ohio.

South Alabama: 2023 68 Ventures Bowl Champions

 

History in the making was the story tonight in Mobile, Alabama, as both teams were looking to etch another accomplishment into the record books. Still, South Alabama would be the ones to do so as they knocked off Eastern Michigan University, 59-10, to acquire the program's first-ever bowl game win. 

It was the third consecutive bowl game appearance for the first time in program history for the Eagles as they were searching for back-to-back bowl game wins for the first time but will have to wait to do so. 

After an early 3-0 start the Jaguars would add to their total after quarterback Desmond Trotter would find wide receiver Jeremiah Webb for a 49-yard reception to EMU’s three-yard line. 

On the next play, a shuffle pass from Trotter would end up in the hands of wide receiver DJ Thomas-Jones to extend South Alabama’s lead, to 10-0. 

On the Jaguars’ ensuing offensive possession, quarterback Gio Lopez connected with wide receiver Jamaal Pritchett for a South Alabama touchdown to go up, 17-0, with 3:30 left in the first quarter. 

EMU linebacker Joe Sparacio would intercept Trotter to give the Eagles some momentum heading into the second quarter, but that was quickly dwindled after South Alabama running back Kentrel Bullock rushed for a 17-yard Jaguars touchdown to extend their lead, 24-3. 

The Jaguars would continue to roll as Marquise Robinson intercepted EMU’s Cam’Ron McCoy, which led to another South Alabama touchdown to extend the lead, 31-3, with 8:07 left in the second quarter. 

It wouldn’t stop there as Lopez would connect with Pritchett for another first-half touchdown for South Alabama to put the Jaguars up, 38-3, heading into halftime. 

It was pure dominance in the first half by South Alabama as they totaled 417 yards of offense while EMU only compiled 27. The Jaguars also converted 19 first downs to the Eagles’ one. 

The 38 points scored by South Alabama tied the 68 Ventures Bowl record for most points scored in the first half.

The second half wasn't much different than the first, as South Alabama outscored the Eagles 21-7 to win the 68 Ventures Bowl, 59-3.

The Jaguars would also set another record by scoring the most points since joining the FBS with 59 points.

Lopez would finish the game by completing 14 of his 19 passes for 192 yards and three passing touchdowns while adding 88 rushing yards and one touchdown. Pritchett would haul in eight catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns. 

Georgia State: 2023 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Champions

 

NEW ORLEANS — Georgia State scored 31-consecutive points and held Utah State scoreless for nearly three quarters in a 45-22 rout in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. 

 

The Panthers, who were one of an FBS-leading 12 Sun Belt football programs to compete in Bowl Season, improved to 4-2 in six all-time bowl appearances—including three-straight bowl wins. 

 

Redshirt senior quarterback Darren Grainger accounted for five touchdowns on the day, tying his own career high and program record. Grainger rushed for the first two Georgia State touchdowns—then added three through the air as part of the 31-point outburst that turned a 14-14 game at the 3:41 mark of the first quarter into a 45-14 rout at the 9:18 mark of the fourth quarter. 

 

The Aggies halted the Panthers streak with a final touchdown strike at the 4:48 mark of the fourth quarter, ending nearly three quarters of dominance by Georgia State. 

 

Senior running back Freddie Brock rushed for a Georgia State single-game program record 276 yards and the lone touchdown not accounted for by Grainger. Brock had rushed for just 31 yards in three appearances on the season for the Panthers prior to the record-setting bowl performance.   

 

Redshirt senior wide receiver Cadarrius Thompson caught five passes for a game-high 117 yards and two scores, while redshirt junior wide receiver Tailique Williams had the other touchdown reception for the Panthers. 

 

Four different Georgia State defenders accumulated five-or-more tackles. 

 

With the win, Georgia State improves to 7-6 on the season. 

Air Force: 2023 Armed Forces Bowl Champions

 

James Madison's magical season came to an end in a not so magical way on Saturday.

The Dukes faced a 31-21 loss to Air Force in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl under interim head coach Damian Wroblewski, who took over after Curt Cignetti went to Indiana following the conclusion of the regular season.

Following the loss, college football fans called JMU fraud for going 11-1 in the regular season just to get blown out in its bowl game.

The lack of a run defense was ultimately what hurt the Dukes. James Madison gave up a whopping 340 yards on the ground, and it was more than enough for Air Force to control the game.

Now James Madison is gearing up for its third year in FBS with a new coach, Bob Chesney, at the helm. The Dukes had a positive season, but faced the reality of the challenges of FBS in their bowl game.

Duke: 2023 Birmingham Bowl Champions

 

Todd Pelino kicked three field goals and Duke relied mostly on defense to defeat Troy 17-10 in the Birmingham Bowl on Saturday in Birmingham, Ala., where interim coaches guided both teams.

Troy didn’t score until the second half but made a game of it until a late interception doomed the Trojans’ final chance.

Pelino had second-quarter field goals from 34 and 37 yards, including the latter on the last play of the first half. Combined with Jaylen Coleman’s 1-yard run late in the first quarter and Nicky Dalmolin’s two-point conversion run, the Blue Devils carried a 14-0 lead to halftime.

Quarterback Grayson Loftis finished the game 19-for-29 for 183 yards with an interception for the Blue Devils.

Duke (8-5) received 73 rushing yards from running back Jaquez Moore and 66 yards from running back Jordan Waters.

Troy quarterback Gunnar Watson completed 21 of 36 passes for 230 yards, and running back Kimani Vidal gained 79 yards on 17 carries. The Trojans (11-3), the Sun Belt Conference champions, had a 10-game winning streak end.

Both teams saw their previous coaches depart for other jobs after the regular season. Mike Elko left Duke to go to Texas A&M, while Jon Sumrall departed Troy for the Tulane position.

Trooper Taylor, the running backs coach, was in charge for Duke. Defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato oversaw Troy.

Troy finally got on the board on Scott Taylor Renfroe’s 44-yard field goal with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter. That capped a 10-play, 53-yard drive.

After Pelino’s 45-yarder with 13:29 remaining, the Blue Devils made a fourth-down stop that seemed critical at the time.

But Damaje Yancey’s interception gave the Trojans the ball back. They got going and moved 87 yards in 10 plays to score on Derrick Graham’s 2-yard run with 5:54 left.

Troy forced a Duke punt and started their last possession at its own 11-yard line with 1:40 left. Two plays later, Jeremiah Lewis intercepted Watson as Duke sealed the outcome to push its bowl winning streak to five games.

–Field Level Media

Northern Illinois: 2023 Camellia Bowl Champions

In a game that was contentious from warmups on, the Northern Illinois Huskies defeated the Arkansas State Red Wolves 21-19 in the 2023 Camellia Bowl. Both teams were 6-6 entering the day.

Huskies' head coach Thomas Hammock secures Northern Illinois' second winning season in his tenure and their first bowl win in eight appearances. Quarterback Rocky Lombardi completed 18 passes on 29 attempts for 200 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Here's what else stood out from the MAC's second win of this bowl season.

Kicker Kanon Woodill's Play of the Day

Northern Illinois' third touchdown of the day came from an unlikely source. Place kicker Kanon Woodill took a short toss from holder Tom Foley 32 yards for a touchdown. It's his first career touchdown. Woodill didn't make a field goal in the win, but this arguably made up for that.

Husky Ball Control

Despite being shutout in the second half, Northern Illnois managed to win the game through expert ball control. The Huskies had the ball for forty minutes and 21 seconds - over 75% of the game. Running back Antario Brown had 25 carries for 132 yards, his fifth 100-yard performance of the season. All together, the Huskies rushed for 189 yards in the win.

A Comeback Attempt That Fell Just Short

In the final minutes, Jalen Raynor led a touchdown drive for the Red Wolves that made the score 21-19 in favor of NIU. The two-point conversion that would have tied the game was unsuccessful. Arkansas State then attempted an onside kick and appeared to recover it, but the officials called the Red Wolves for offsides on the kick, much to Butch Jones' chagrin. NIU were able to run out the last minute on the clock to secure the win.  

Arkansas State are still searching for their first winning season under Jones. 

Genshin Impact: Genshin Misadventures - Roses and Muskets, Day 3

#GenshinImpact #Fontaine