More than 20 years after it was on the other end of one of the biggest upsets in BCS history, Miami pulled off the biggest upset of the College Football Playoff era on New Year’s Eve.
Showing posts with label cotton bowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cotton bowl. Show all posts
Ohio State: 2025 Cotton Bowl Champions
ARLINGTON, Texas -- — Jack Sawyer had the kind of moment that will live on long past his playing days with Ohio State. Of course, one more victory would make it that much sweeter.
Sawyer stripped Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers — his former roommate — and returned the fumble 83 yards for the clinching touchdown in a 28-14 victory over the Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night, giving the Buckeyes a shot at their sixth AP national title.
“We talked before the game about how do you leave a legacy is to become your old legend. And there’s some guys on this team today that I believe will become legends in Ohio State history,” coach Ryan Day said. “Now they get 10 more days together, and an opportunity to tell their story if they go win one more.”
Led by Ohio native Sawyer and Quinshon Judkins, who rushed for two touchdowns, the Buckeyes (13-2) posted the semifinal victory in the same stadium where 10 years ago they were champions when the College Football Playoff debuted with a four-team format. Now they have the opportunity to be the winner again in the first season with an expanded 12-team field.
Ohio State plays Orange Bowl champion Notre Dame in Atlanta on Jan. 20. It could be quite a finish for the Big Ten Buckeyes after they lost to rival Michigan on Nov. 30.
Sawyer got to Ewers on a fourth-and-goal from the 8, knocking the ball loose before scooping it up and lumbering all the way to the other end zone with 2:13 left. It was the longest fumble return in CFP history.
“I saw the ball pop out right to me after I tackled him, I was just thinking, I’ve got to stay on my feet, because I almost blacked out when I scooped it and saw a bunch of green grass ahead of me,” Sawyer said.
Ewers and Sawyer were roommates in Columbus for one semester before the quarterback transferred home to Texas. Ewers helped lead the Longhorns (13-3) to consecutive CFP semifinals, but next season will be their 20th since winning their last national title with Vince Young in 2005.
“I felt him. I started drifting away, thought I was going to be able to get the ball off before he got there,” Ewers said. “I saw Jack running with the ball down the sideline. ... Jack’s a good player made a great play.”
Texas had moved to the 1, helped by two pass-interference penalties in the end zone, before Quintrevion Wisner was stopped for a 7-yard loss. Ewers then threw a third-down incompletion while being pressured by Sawyer on the play before the defensive touchdown.
“He’s everything that we possibly ask for in a captain,” Day said. “To make a play like that in that moment ... He just became a legend at Ohio State.”
Judkins, a transfer from Mississippi, had a 1-yard touchdown for a 21-14 lead with 7:02 left, capping an 88-yard, 13-play drive over 7:45. That score came four plays after quarterback Will Howard converted a fourth-and-2 from the Texas 34 with a stumbling 18-yard run that probably should have been a score.
“That fourth down was huge. ... I fell on purpose. I'm joking,” Howard said. “A statement drive. We needed that.”
Howard was 24-of-33 passing for 289 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He played his first game at AT&T Stadium since leading Kansas State to a win over undefeated TCU in the Big 12 championship two years ago. He was 0-3 as a starter against the Longhorns while at K-State, including an overtime thriller in Austin last season.
Ewers finished 23 of 39 for 283 yards with two TD passes to Jaydon Blue and an interception after getting the ball back one final time. It might have been his last play for the Longhorns since he could go into the NFL draft.
Texas won the Big 12 title last season before moving to the SEC.
Not so fast
The Buckeyes went ahead on their opening drive of the game when Judkins scored on a 9-yard run. It looked as if they could get off to another fast start, after jumping ahead 21-0 and 34-0 in their first two playoff games.
But Ohio State then punted on four consecutive possessions before Texas tied it at 7 on Ewers' 18-yard touchdown pass to Blue with 29 seconds left in the first half. Arch Manning, the backup and future starting quarterback, kept that drive alive when he converted fourth-and-1 from midfield with an 8-yard keeper — his only play in the game.
Right after Texas' first TD, Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson turned a screen pass into a 75-yard touchdown, following a wall of blockers before shooting through an open gap and sprinting to the end zone.
A great escape
Blue had a tying 26-yard TD catch with 3:12 left in the third quarter. The drive featured a terrific play by Ewers, who was being dragged down by Sawyer on third-and-10 when he managed to scoop the ball underhanded to Wisner for a 13-yard gain.
Up next
While Ohio State prepares for the CFP title game, Texas waits for a rematch with the Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in the previously scheduled 2025 season opener Aug. 30.
Missouri: 2023 Cotton Bowl Champions
There was plenty to say after the 88th Cotton Bowl Classic.
Missouri football just staged a fourth quarter for the ages. The Tigers, down 3-0, put up 14 of the biggest points in MU history to down Ohio State 14-3.
It was exactly what Missouri set out to do when it started this historic season about one year ago after the Gasparilla Bowl.
"We talk about developing an elite edge, and the G and EDGE stands for grit, a stubborn refusal to quit, and that's what our team displayed tonight to score 14 in the fourth quarter when you're down 3-0," Drinkwitz said. "Just really, really proud of those guys.
Here's what Drinkwitz said after winning the 2023 Cotton Bowl.
What Mizzou was about this year
Going up against Ohio State didn't mean going up against the No. 7 team in the nation. It also meant going up against established history of college football excellence.
Eight national championships, five College Football Playoff appearances since 2014 and 964 total wins.
Missouri doesn't have that kind of resume. It did not care.
"Last night, our chaplain, gave a message about the difference between a blue blood Brotherhood and a wilderness brotherhood," Drinkwitz said. "A wilderness brotherhood forged through adversity and fight and scratching and clawing for everything you get, and it just totally encompassed everything that we're about."
Drinkwitz, with his back against the wall this season, put forth one of the best seasons in Missouri football history.
Just don't think he'll take much of the credit, though.
"I'll be honest, it really doesn't have much to do with me," Drinkwitz said. "It's really about our players and our team and the legacy of the 2023 brotherhood."
'It's really not ever going to be about me'
Drinkwitz's face is now the face of Missouri athletics.
He is the coach who won Missouri a Cotton Bowl. He is the coach who has Missouri in the conversation to be a playoff team next year when the CFP expands to 12 teams.
But, he is also the man who wants fans to know the players are the ones who deserve the most credit after Friday's win.
"We have a sign in our locker room that goes around that says, 'when the weakest choose to run, we stand shoulder to shoulder and move forward together,'" Drinkwitz said. "That's what our brotherhood did."
Drinkwitz made all the right decisions this season. It led to 11 wins and a win in the Cotton Bowl.
He's willing to pass off all that credit in a heartbeat.
"It's really not ever going to be about me," Drinkwitz said. "It's going to be about our team and our coaching staff and our university."
On the game-winning fourth quarter
Missouri had some fourth-quarter inspiration from the NFL level.
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, after a last-minute win over the Philadelphia Eagles led by Missouri alum Drew Lock, mentioned that games are won in that final frame. Drinkwitz took that to heart.
"We saw Coach Carroll say the other day, and actually talked to the team about it, you can't win it the first, you can't win it in the second, you can't win in the third, but you can sure win it in the fourth quarter," Drinkwitz said. "This team, they did that. They displayed that."
MU scored 14 points and forced a game-sealing turnover in the fourth quarter. It played the best quarter of the season when it mattered most.
"Appreciative to Coach Carroll for demonstrating that, and then Drew Lock giving us the inspiration to go out there," Drinkwitz said. "We didn't have to quite do it on the last drive of the game, but it was sure a lot of fun."
On Mizzou's mentality going forward
Missouri went into the 2023 season with one single mantra.
It was plastered everywhere, repeated plenty of times and sounded like a broken record to some. To some, maybe, but not to Missouri. Now, the team gets to change that mantra.
"It's why stop now," Drinkwitz said. "That's the mentality is."
Missouri climbed its way from the depths. This team was mired in hell as a squad picked to finish sixth in the SEC behind Vanderbilt. The Tigers had everything to prove.
Eleven wins and a Cotton Bowl title later, they proved it all and more.
"We've worked really hard to get this opportunity and we're not gonna sit here and change," Drinkwitz said. "So, why stop now?"
Tulane: 2023 Cotton Bowl Champions
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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.
Alabama: 2021 Cotton Bowl Champions
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Have no pity for Cincinnati. The Bearcats wanted to be in the big room with the big boys of college football, and on a big afternoon in Big D they were there, in a College Football Playoff semifinal matchup with the biggest program of them all.
And what happened to the fourth-ranked Bearcats, the first non-Power 5 participant in the eight-year CFP era, was the same fate that has befallen nearly all those who came before them, a roster of brokenhearted teams not from the upstart AAC but hailing from the biggest brand-name, high-dollar conferences.
Yeah, UC, don't feel too bad. Alabama drubbed all of them too.
There will be those who will try to use Cincy's 27-6 loss in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic as a platform for their "No one but Power 5 teams from here on out!" arguments. But anyone who watched Friday's game without that preset attitude saw that Cincinnati, which will be a Big 12 member in the near future, laid enough hard licks and came within a few inches on enough close plays (that near recovery of a muffed Bama punt return late in the second quarter of an 11-point game, argh!) to show that the Bearcats deserved to be in Dallas this New Year's Eve.
"So many of those plays were just inches away," Cincinnati linebacker Joel Dublanko bemoaned after the game. "A couple of missed tackles here and there that really cost us. I think we absolutely belong in this game."
If the current and future members of the CFP selection committee were really watching, then they certainly saw cause to be more open-minded about other outlier teams in the future ... well, at least until the playoff finally expands to include them anyway. Then again, who knows? Before including the Bearcats this year, they seemed to work pretty hard to keep the outsiders, well, outside.
"We weren't carrying the flag for anyone but ourselves," Cincy quarterback Desmond Ridder said after being held to 144 yards passing and minus-6 yards rushing. "We wanted it to end differently, wish it could've ended differently. So I'm hoping there are other so-called Group of 5 teams or teams from any conference that can make it in the playoff and show they can compete with the best of the best."
To be clear, the best of the best is still Alabama, aka the defending national champion. Cincinnati competed with the Tide as well as anyone has, which is to say not so much at all.
This was the sixth time that Bama had opened the CFP as the No. 1 team and faced the No. 4 squad. The Tide are now 5-1 in those games, with the only loss coming to eventual national champ Ohio State in the inaugural 2014 CFP. The next four wins came by double digits, over Michigan State (38-0), Washington (24-7), Oklahoma (45-34) and Notre Dame (31-14). On Friday, Cincinnati became the fifth member of that college football blue-blooded but red-faced club.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban came to the 2021 Cotton Bowl with a 5-0 record at AT&T Stadium at the helm of the Tide, with an 8-3 overall CFP mark, a 64-7 record against non-SEC opponents and a 74-8 tally in nonconference plus postseason games. On Friday, Cincinnati added one more Bama win to each of those records.
So, no, Cincinnati, there is nothing fun about one's bandwagon blowing out all four tires and lurching into a ditch. But perhaps it won't sting so badly when you look around that ditch and realize that your fellow residents of the wreckage also include the likes of Ohio State, Georgia and Clemson.
What might hurt is when the Bearcats go back and look at the film of the biggest bowl appearance in the program's nearly 140-year history. They will see in high definition that Alabama's playbook for Cincy was right out of the Tide's typical nonconference playbook: pounding and punching early and often to wear down the legs and psyches of their opponent's thinner roster by the second half.
The Tide opened the game with 10 consecutive run plays. They ran it 47 times in all, nearly twice the number of pass attempts, and monster trucked their way to an Alabama bowl-record 301 yards rushing. By the second half, some wondered why Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young wasn't a larger part of the Bama game plan. His 17 completions, 28 attempts and 181 yards were his lowest outputs of the season. He also threw only his second interception of the year. But he also threw a trio of touchdown passes, the only three times Alabama reached the end zone all night.
Bama implemented its sleeper-hold offense, slowly choking out Cincinnati by methodically and physically moving the ball and letting Will Anderson Jr. take a highlighter pen to his "Why wasn't I on y'all's Heisman ballots?!" essay. The Tide's defense allowed only six points and 218 yards, only 74 of which came on the ground.
Those who will try to argue that Cincinnati didn't belong in the four-team CFP field will point to Bama's approach as the same one the Tide use to routinely drag down the likes of Southern Miss and Mercer. But it's also how they routinely wear down a lot of big-box SEC opponents, as well as every single one of those previous CFP semifinal foes.
An embarrassing night for Cincinnati? Not a chance. That 2015 Michigan State team would take the Bearcats' loss over its own anytime. For that matter, Georgia might even take it over its collapse against Bama in the SEC championship game one month ago.
The Dawgs will have plenty more chances for revenge against the Tide. So might the Spartans. Let's hope that Cincinnati's Cotton Bowl showing earns the Bearcats another shot somewhere down the road, and if not for them, for the next would-be CFP party-crasher.
"I told them I do not want to see them hang their heads," Cincy coach Luke Fickell said. "Because when you get beat like that, there's times you start to wonder why. We never pointed a finger and won't start to point a finger. Those guys deserve the very best."
On Friday they got it. The best team playing in the middle of the best era ever in the 152-year annals of the sport. No one worth their gridiron salt believes in moral victories. But they damn sure believe in losses that can be used to build toward more actual wins on the scoreboard.
"The only thing we can do is learn," preached Ridder, who in all likelihood has played his last game with the Bearcats. "These guys are going to take it in, watch the film and continue to get better and continue and grow and continue to be a greater Cincinnati team in years to come."
College football would be greater for it.
Oklahoma: 2020 Cotton Bowl Champions
Three months ago, Oklahoma was 1-2 with its streak of five straight Big 12 championships appearing to be in jeopardy. Fast forward to the 2020 Cotton Bowl, and the now-No. 6 Sooners have won eight straight games after blowing the doors off of No. 7 Florida 55-20. With the victory, there's a good possibility that Oklahoma will end the year as a top-five team, if not a top-four team as it has been playing its best football at the right time.
From the start, this was Oklahoma's night. The Sooners defense picked off Gators star quarterback Kyle Trask three times in the first quarter, helping them jump out to a 17-0 lead thanks to a pick six. Of course, Florida was without its top four receiving targets -- Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney, Trevon Grimes and Jacob Copeland -- and Trask, try as he might, never quite got into a rhythm with his new-look receiving corps, many of whom spent the season on the scout team. In his defense, that was going to be near-impossible. Florida had three practices after Christmas to get ready for the game, and it showed.
Despite the obstacles, Florida actually responded well to the early deficit and at one point rallied with 13 unanswered points of its own to make it 17-13 in the second quarter. But then Oklahoma answered with two quick touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half to go up 31-13 and never looked back.
The second half is when the overall depth started to show. Oklahoma's running game, anchored by Rhamondre Stevenson, put up a whopping 435 yards -- a Cotton Bowl record. Stevenson led the way with 186 yards rushing, while Marcus Majors and Seth McGowan had big moments as well. The result was a school record for points by the Sooners in a bowl game.
The Gators were never able to catch up. Oklahoma's defense took over in the second half and kept Florida's normal big-play offense from getting loose. After starting 4 of 5 on third downs, the Gators went 0 for their next 8. And while the offense did put up 521 yards, it was at 6.4 yards per play after garbage time. For most of the second half, the Gators hovered around 5.5 yards per play.
This was Florida's worst bowl loss since the 1996 Fiesta Bowl and the most points allowed by any Florida team since that game. Even though Dan Mullen's team won the SEC East and gave Alabama a run in the SEC Championship Game, it will finish 8-4 and likely outside the top 10.
Here's what else we learned from this year's Cotton Bowl.
1. Oklahoma would make a fun eight-team playoff case
The College Football Playoff Selection Committee had a harder job than normal this year justifying two of the four teams that made the field. The amount of discontent with the current format indicates that, at some point, the field is going to expand -- likely to eight teams. One thing that allows for is the hot-hand team to make an end-of-season run. Oklahoma would be that team this year.
After starting 1-2, a lot of people counted out the Sooners. And to be fair, that's easy to do in this format. Picking the four best teams leaves some but not a lot of room for error. But after winning seven straight games coming into the Cotton Bowl, Oklahoma was playing like a top-five team even if it wasn't ranked there.
How would Oklahoma perform against, for example, No. 3 Ohio State in an eight-team playoff? It's a fun thought exercise. It's not one we'll get to see play out any time soon, but if/when it does happen, it could give credence that teams peaking at the right time are every bit as capable of winning a national championship as the top-ranked team.
2. Florida was previewing its future
One of the most exhausting #embracedebate takes from this game will be Florida's position of playing the Cotton Bowl so shorthanded. As mentioned above, a lot of key players on both sides of the ball either opted out or weren't able to play due to COVID-19. That's the story of college football in 2020. Rarely have we seen teams at their full strength for good stretches of time. In fact, Mullen said the Gators were so short-handed at certain positions they could have simply not played the game but chose to forge on, using numerous players who were on the scout team this season.
"That wasn't the 2020 football team you saw. There were about 25 guys missing from the 2020 football team out there tonight,
he said after the Cotton Bowl. "That was kind of a kick-start for us [to 2021]."
Mullen did a good job of giving other players opportunities out of necessity. QB Emory Jones got a lot more playing time than he has in any game this season and showed off some nice moments running and throwing. In fact, finished tied for first on the team with 60 yards on 10 rushing attempts and a touchdown while throwing for 86 yards. And with Pitts, Grimes, Toney and Copeland out, Florida had a new-look wide receiver group. In all, 12 different players caught at least a pass for 271 total yards.
The results were a mixed bag -- there were a lot of drops -- but Mullen knew what he was up against and chose to lean into preparing guys for next year. That's not to excuse the Gators' performance or to say that they didn't care about being there or to diminish what Oklahoma did. That's just the reality of the situation.
3. Oklahoma's defense lived up to the hype
For most of the second half of the season, there's been chatter about how improved Oklahoma's defense has been under coordinator Alex Grinch. That showed up in this game. Yes, Florida was depleted of its best players. Yes, the Gators still racked up more than 500 yards of offense by the time the final whistle blew. But you have to look deeper. The Sooners started hot with three takeaways and then were lights out in the second half. Florida was unable to convert a first down after getting four of its first five. Four of its six second-half drives went for 22 yards or fewer.
Oklahoma's defensive front played a huge role in its success. Defensive end Ronnie Perkins and linebackers David Ugwoegbu and Nik Bonitto were everywhere in the trenches, stopping plays before they started. That disruption was key in making Florida's normally potent offense far less efficient.
This was never a shut down defense and the season-long numbers were inflated a bit because of some poor Big 12 offenses, but this group was playing well together down the stretch. That strong defense effort helped the Sooners pull away in the second half.
Penn State: 2019 Cotton Bowl Champions
The No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions saved their best rushing performance for the last game of the year.
Amassing 369 total rushing yards, Penn State held on to beat the No. 17 Memphis Tigers 53-39 in Saturday’s Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Running back Journey Brown finished with a Penn State bowl record 202 rushing yards — the second-most ever in a New Year’s Six bowl game — while Noah Cain added 92. Ricky Slade also had 58, and Devyn Ford even added 2 yards and a TD.
Memphis QB Brady White had a memorable game himself, throwing for 454 yards and two interceptions. And Memphis kicker Riley Patterson set a Cotton Bowl record, and an overall all-time bowl record, with six field goals from distances of 42, 41, 51, 44, 37 and 48 yards.
James Franklin’s squad got off to a slow start and trailed early. But Penn State rebounded, and Memphis had no answer for its running game.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Penn State RB Journey Brown: The redshirt sophomore saved the best game of his career for the final game of the season. Let’s just list his stats here first because they tell quite the story: 16 carries for 202 rushing yards andtwo touchdowns. He also had two catches for 7 receiving yards.
Brown flashed speed, power and versatility Saturday, and the Memphis defense simply couldn’t stop him — even when it knew what was coming. We’ll get to one of his more memorable plays a little farther down, but Brown was simply unstoppable. His previous career high was 124 yards against Minnesota.
Only one running back has recorded more rushing yards in a New Year’s Six bowl game — Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott, who had 230 against Alabama in the 2015 Sugar Bowl.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Penn State LB Micah Parsons: The sophomore All-American was a one-man wrecking crew and absolutely dominated Saturday. He finished with a team-leading 14 total tackles, to go along with three tackles for loss, two sacks, two breakups and two forced fumbles. If it wasn’t for him, this game could’ve been a whole lot closer.
He made clutch plays at key times. When Memphis was just 20 yards shy of the end zone in the first quarter, he sniffed out a reverse for a 10-yard loss to force a third-and-20 situation. In the second quarter, he forced a three-and-out after stopping Memphis’ back for no gain and, on the next play, sacking the quarterback for an 8-yard loss. In the third quarter, he pressured Memphis QB Brady White into throwing a pick-six to safety Garrett Taylor. And, in the final period, he made Memphis settle for a field goal after a pass deflection — well, dropped interception — and sack pushed the Tigers into a third-and-19 situation early on.
Parsons should make every single all-bowl team this postesason.
PLAY OF THE GAME
RB Journey Brown’s bruising 32-yard TD run: He’s not just a burner with the 100-meter high school state record; Brown is proving he’s a multidimensional threat.
The Pennsylvania native made national highlights early in the first quarter, when he broke four tackles en route to a 32-yard touchdown run to give Penn State the 7-3 lead. On first-and-10, he followed his blockers and broke a linebacker’s arm tackle about five yards upfield. Then he shimmied to avoid a defensive back, before stiff-arming him to the ground. And then? Well, he still wasn’t finished.
Brown stiff-armed another defensive back, who tried to pull Brown down by his collar — but Brown powered through the tackle and then carried a 250-pound defensive end about 5 yards into the end zone. If it wasn’t the most impressive run of the season for Brown, it sure made his end-of-year highlight tape.
TURNING POINT
Penn State safety Garrett Taylor’s pick-six: No, this play didn’t exactly put it away for Penn State. But it gave the Nittany Lions the necessary momentum to carry them to a win.
Let’s set it up. Late in the third quarter, with Penn State nursing a 38-36 lead, the Memphis offense found itself facing a critical third-and-8 on its own 24-yard line. As soon as QB Brady White snapped the ball, linebacker Micah Parsons was bearing down on him.
With one hand on White, the signal-caller just tried to shovel the pass forward — but it landed in the waiting arms of Garrett Taylor, who didn’t hesitate and sprinted 15 yards into the end zone. That gave Penn State a 45-36 lead, and it eventually gave it the win.
Clemson: 2018 Cotton Bowl Champions
ARLINGTON, Texas -- When Clemson's Dabo Swinney entrusted a team with championship aspirations to freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence in September, this is what the Tigers' coach had in mind.
Lawrence threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns and No. 2 Clemson beat No. 3 Notre Dame 30-3 on Saturday in the Cotton Bowl to reach the College Football Playoff title game. The Tigers (14-0) will play No. 1 Alabama -- a 45-34 winner over No. 4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl -- for a fourth straight season in the playoff on Jan. 7 in Santa Clara, California.
"He's just so poised. He just sees it. And he's got a gift of an arm," Swinney said. "But I just love his humility and how consistent he is with his preparation, day in and day out. Easy, easy guy to coach. Easy guy to get behind and support. His teammates love him."
Clemson's overpowering and experienced defensive line, led by ends Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant, smothered Ian Book and the Fighting Irish (12-1), holding them to 248 yards.
On offense, freshmen led the way. Lawrence, making his 10th career start, was 27 for 39 and did not throw an interception against a Notre Dame defense that had been one of the best on the country. Freshman receiver Justyn Ross had six catches for 148 yards and two long touchdowns.
"It makes it a lot easier on me when you just have guys all around you who are such great players and take that load off of you. There's not much pressure when you have guys this good playing around you," Lawrence said.
The Irish hung around for a quarter, with the teams exchanging field goals. But in the first quarter, Notre Dame All-America cornerback Julian Love went out with what coach Brian Kelly said after the game was a head injury and Lawrence started taking apart the Irish.
Lawrence hooked up with Ross deep down the sideline and the big receiver beat Love's backup, Donte Vaughn, for a tackle-breaking, 52-yard score early in the second quarter. The Irish looked as if they might keep it close to halftime, but they couldn't keep Clemson out of their backfield -- even without suspended star tackle Dexter Lawrence.
In the final 2 minutes, Trevor Lawrence connected with Ross on a 42-yard score and with Tee Higgins for a one-handed, 19-yard touchdown reception -- again over Vaughn -- with 2 seconds left in the second quarter. Lawrence was 13 for 15 for 229 yards in the quarter.
"I wanted to help our team," said Love, who passed concussion protocol at halftime and returned to the game. "And in a sense, I let them down in that regard."
That made it 23-3 at half and once again the Fighting Irish looked outclassed against the best of the best. Not so different from the 42-14 loss to Alabama in the 2012 BCS championship game or the 44-28 loss to Ohio State in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl. In fact, Notre Dame is 0-8 in BCS and New Year's Six games since winning the Cotton Bowl in 1993.
Receiver Miles Boykin insisted this Notre Dame team was different.
"I thought we played just as athletic as them and just as fast as them and it came down to execution and we didn't execute today," he said.
Though to be fair, Clemson has been doing this to everyone since Lawrence settled in. The Tigers haven't had an opponent stay within 20 points since a close call against Syracuse on Sept. 29.
That was Lawrence's first game as a starter, one he didn't finish because of a head injury, and Clemson's first after quarterback Kelly Bryant left the team.
Bryant, a senior, led the Tigers to the playoff last season and a semifinal loss to Alabama. He was pivotal in an early victory this season at Texas A&M. But Lawrence is a rare talent, a potential first overall NFL draft pick. When Lawrence took over, the ceiling on Clemson's potential rose. Now it is being realized.
"I felt like he gave us the best chance to win and play at an explosive level," Swinney said.
With his flowing blond hair, Lawrence is positioned to become one of college football's biggest and most recognizable stars. It will help to have receivers such as Ross, Higgins and Amari Rogers, all underclassmen. And a runner like sophomore Travis Etienne, who broke a 62-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
But Lawrence is the leader. In his 11th start, he will try to become the first true freshman quarterback to lead his team to a national championship since Oklahoma's Jamelle Holieway in 1985.
"He doesn't just have a talented arm. That's just what you guys see," Clemson All-America defensive tackle Christian Wilkins said. "He's a cool customer. He's never rattled."
THE TAKEAWAY
Notre Dame: As 12-point underdogs, the Irish needed to play their best and catch a couple breaks. Neither happened. They nearly had a takeaway deep in Clemson territory in the first quarter, but a loose ball was ruled barely out of bounds by replay review. Love's injury left them exposed at corner. And an offensive line, which had been up and down and shifting around much of the season, was no match for Clemson.
Clemson: Dexter Lawrence, sidelined by a failed NCAA test for performance-enhancing drugs, was hardly missed. The 340-pound junior was on the sideline, wearing on an orange sweat shirt with a white tiger paw logo. Clemson is working on an appeal for Lawrence and two other players, but it is unlikely the Tigers will have them back for the national title game.
Ohio State: 2017 Cotton Bowl Champions
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Playoff-snubbed Ohio State got to raise another trophy in the building where the Buckeyes won a national championship.
While the streaming confetti this time was for a Cotton Bowl victory instead of a title celebration like three seasons ago, coach Urban Meyer still got a special feeling from the fifth-ranked Buckeyes' defensively dominant 24-7 win over No. 8 Southern California.
"The mindset was obvious. We wanted to go down as one of the great teams at Ohio State, Big Ten champions, obviously a top five finish," said Meyer, 73-8 in six seasons at Columbus. "This will go down as one of the best teams I've ever coached and one of the best groups of young people I've ever been around."
With Buckeyes All-America junior cornerback Denzel Ward sitting out after deciding to go into the NFL draft, fellow defensive back Damon Webb returned an interception for a touchdown after recovering a fumble to set up an early score.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 champions would usually play New Year's Day in Pasadena instead of deep in the heart of Texas, but the Rose Bowl is a College Football Playoff semifinal game this season.
Ohio State (12-2) instead quickly settled in at the NFL stadium where it won the first national championship in the four-team CFP format. The Buckeyes -- with that bad loss at Iowa after an early setback to playoff team Oklahoma -- were the first team left out this season.
USC (11-3), the Rose Bowl champion last season, lost for only the third time in its last 23 games. The Trojans had four turnovers that led to 21 Ohio State points in what could have been third-year sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold's final game.
"We kind of shot ourselves in the football in this game," USC coach Clay Helton said. "You're putting a hurt on your defense, and it led to points early in the game, and separation early in the game."
Ward was on the sideline in his No. 12 jersey over street clothes while Webb had a fumble recovery on the third play of the game. That led to J.T. Barrett's 1-yard keeper for a score that put the Buckeyes ahead to stay.
Webb's 23-yard interception return for a TD put Ohio State up 17-0 less than a minute into the second quarter. It was the first pick-six this season for the Buckeyes, and the team-leading fifth interception for Webb.
Ohio State was up 24-0 when Barrett ran 28 yards for another touchdown after the first of Darnold's two fumbles when stripped while being sacked. Darnold was sacked eight times overall.
"The strip fumbles, when I'm in the pocket, those are though," Darnold said.
"That defensive line took a quarterback that we have a tremendous amount of respect for and he didn't set his feet all night," Meyer said. "That's the way we won that game."
TAKEAWAY
Ohio State: Barrett, playing his final college game only about a two-hour drive from his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas, broke Drew Brees' Big Ten career record for total offense with 12,697 yards. Barrett played 50 games and was 38-6 as a starter. His 147 touchdowns (104 passing, 43 rushing) are also a Big Ten record, 41 more than Brees at Purdue.
"It's pretty crazy. I mean, since I was little I looked up to Drew Brees," Barrett said. "To pass a record like that, just very grateful to the people that were around me."
USC: Darnold, who became the first Trojans quarterback ever with more than 4,000 yards passing in a season, has until Jan. 15 to decide if he will head to the NFL or return to USC for another season.
"I'm really just focused on just hanging out with my teammates for the next couple of days," Darnold said. "But it's tough. I'll look at everything and make my decision after that."
Darnold was 26 of 45 for 356 yards passing, but his turnovers were costly.
NOT FOR THE ROSES
This was the eighth time Ohio State and USC met in a bowl game. The first seven were in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans had won seven straight in the matchup of powerhouse programs, including four regular-season matchups since their last meeting in Pasadena 33 years ago.
LATE SCUFFLE
There was a bit of a scuffle in the final two minutes after Buckeyes linebacker Malik Harrison delivered a late hit on Darnold, who was getting out of bounds along the USC sideline after scrambling for 7 yards. Several Trojans went to Darnold's defense, including one ejected for coming off the bench. Harrison was assessed a personal foul penalty.
UP NEXT
Ohio State will play its 2018 opener at home against Oregon State on Sept. 1, the same day Southern Cal is home against UNLV. The Buckeyes and Trojans both return to the Lone Star State for games next Sept. 15. Ohio State will be back in AT&T Stadium to play TCU, and USC will be at Texas that day to take on the Longhorns.
Wisconsin: 2017 Cotton Bowl Champions
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Wisconsin tight end Troy Fumagalli made a leaping 8-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter and the Badgers won 24-16 in the Cotton Bowl on Monday to deny Western Michigan an undefeated season.
The TD catch by Fumagalli with 14 minutes left, in the back of the end zone between two defenders, came three plays after a rare interception thrown by Zach Terrell and made it 24-10.
With their "Row The Boat" mentality inspired by young head coach P.J. Fleck, the 12th-ranked Broncos (13-1) made it from one win during his first season in Kalamazoo three years ago to the last FBS team other than No. 1 Alabama this season with a chance to be undefeated.
"Told them I was very proud of them, how much I love them, and the effort they gave," Fleck said about what he told his team on the sideline just before the end of the game. "We will continue to learn from this. We will embrace our past to create our future, and it just wasn't enough tonight."
Eighth-ranked Wisconsin (11-3), which finished with 11 wins for the fourth time in seven seasons, was clearly bigger and stronger -- especially up front. The Big Ten runner-up Badgers set the tone early, with rushing touchdowns on their first two drives to take a 14-0 lead against the Group of Five team.
Fumagalli had several other highlight catches, including a one-handed 20-yard grab on the Badgers' opening drive, and a 26-yard catch to convert third-and-8 as they ran out the final 3:27 after Western Michigan scored.
Terrell combined with All-America receiver Corey Davis for 51 career touchdowns, tying the FBS record on an 11-yarder on fourth down with 3:27 left. Even with cornerback Sojourn Shelton's arms wrapped around him in the back of the end zone, Davis broke free to make the catch.
"It doesn't matter if the defender is grabbing you or whatever it is. Go make a play on the ball if it's in the air, and go attack it," said Davis, the FBS career leader in receiving yards and likely first-round NFL draft pick in April. "My four years at Western have been phenomenal. We've been through so much and I've learned so many lessons on the field, and off the field."
Terrell had 33 touchdowns and only four interceptions this season, the last pick by Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Edwards.
"It kind of left a bad taste in our mouth after the Big Ten championship game," Edwards said. "We just wanted to get back out there and prove ourselves again."
TAKEAWAY
Western Michigan: The Broncos never backed down and Fleck has set a solid foundation for them to keep rowing forward, even with the loss of guys like Davis and Terrell, who were part of that one-win season in 2013. Western Michigan had only 280 total yards, 217 below its season average.
Wisconsin: The only losses this season for the Badgers were to Big Ten foes Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, the last in the Big Ten title game. They all also played in New Year's Six games. Freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook, who started nine games before a concussion forced him to miss the Big Ten championship game, was 2-of-2 passing. He threw the TD pass to Fumagalli, who finished with six catches for 83 yards.
UP NEXT
Western Michigan knows it has to continue play Power Five teams to have chances for more New Year's Six games, and maybe eventually a playoff appearance. The Broncos open next season Sept. 2 at USC, a week before they play Michigan State, another Big Ten opponent.
Wisconsin always gets a chance to prove itself in the Big Ten. So the Badgers can ease into its season, and will Sept. 1 at home against Utah State.
Alabama Crimson Tide: 2015 Cotton Bowl Champions
ARLINGTON, Texas — Breaking down No. 2 Alabama's 38-0 victory over No. 3 Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl.
THE BIG PICTURE: Well, here they are again. After a two-year drought that produced questions about whether Alabama had slipped a notch from its dynasty days, Nick Saban has the Crimson Tide back in the national title game trying to win his fourth championship at Alabama and fifth overall. It was accomplished in pretty dominant fashion on Thursday, as Alabama held Michigan State to 239 yards of offense, got the lead in the second quarter and administered a death grip that has become all too familiar for SEC opponents. If you can't put scoreboard pressure on Alabama and force them to do things they're not comfortable doing, their natural advantages will eventually turn into an avalanche of points.
Ever since the Crimson Tide lost to Ole Miss back on Sept. 19, they've only had one close call — a 19-14 victory over Tennessee on Oct. 24 — and look to be focused and fresh heading to Arizona for a date with No. 1-ranked and undefeated Clemson. Alabama will be favored by Las Vegas oddsmakers. On the other hand, this was a disappointing end to Michigan State's incredible season and the Connor Cook era, which included a pair of Big Ten titles. . This was simply a bad matchup for the Spartans, who try to play the same style as Alabama only with less size and talent. That doesn't work out very well for SEC teams who try it, and it didn't here. Michigan State's best hope was to keep it close into the fourth quarter and maybe catch a break, but Alabama wouldn't allow it.
WHAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT: Michigan State's plan was clear. The Spartans wanted to take away the run and make Alabama quarterback Jake Coker beat them. And that's exactly what he did. Coker, who came into the game ranked 42nd nationally in passing efficiency, played his best game of the season and picked apart Michigan State despite operating under heavy pressure. It seemed like every time Coker got hit he was able to release the ball just in time to find an open receiver, finishing 25-of-30 for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Though a few of those completions were incredible catches by the receivers and some were simple screens, Coker still delivered a handful of good downfield throws and played a solid, mistake-free game. To step up and play this well on a big stage was both a credit to Coker and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, who has made a habit of developing quarterbacks out of guys who previously struggled.
THE DECIDING PLAY: Michigan State had an opportunity to go into halftime down 10-7 and perhaps get some momentum, putting together its best drive of the game in a two-minute offense. With 25 seconds left in the half, the Spartans had a first down at the Alabama 12-yard line after an 18-yard throw to Aaron Burbridge. At minimum, Michigan State should have gotten a field goal. But on the next play, Cook tried a fade to Burbridge in the end zone but didn't get any air under it, allowing cornerback Cyrus Jones to make a break on the ball for an interception. Given that the first half was generally pretty even aside from one big passing play, it was a pretty crushing development for Michigan State. Alabama came out in the third quarter and immediately marched down the field to make it 17-0, and that was pretty much the end for Michigan State.
KEY STAT: Alabama led the nation by a pretty wide margin this season, allowing a mere 74 rushing yards per game (Boston College was second at 82.8). So it's no surprise Michigan State also struggled to run the ball against a front seven that has frequently been called one of the best in recent memory. But the level of demolition Alabama wreaked on the Spartans' offensive line was even more massive than expected. Michigan State ran for a mere 29 yards on 26 carries. Even removing sacks, the Spartans finished with just 53 rushing yards.
Michigan State: 2015 Cotton Bowl Champions
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Connor Cook and the Michigan State Spartans want to have a different role in the playoff talk next season.
With their big comeback finish in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, the No. 8 Spartans could be set up as a viable championship contender next season, after their only losses this season were to playoff teams.
Michigan State scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter on New Year's Day to beat playoff-snubbed and No. 5 Baylor 42-41 in the highest-scoring Cotton Bowl ever.
"For us to win in such an emotional and dramatic fashion like you just saw out there, really just I think with all the guys coming back, all the juniors, really just makes us feel good and brings us closer together," said Cook, who threw a 10-yard TD pass to Keith Mumphery with 17 seconds left.
Michigan State (11-2), which won the Rose Bowl as Big Ten champions last season, has won four consecutive bowl games after trailing in each of them at halftime. The Spartans' only two losses this season were to Pac-12 winner Oregon and Big Ten champ Ohio State.
Down 41-21 going into the fourth quarter, Michigan State got the winning touchdown afterMarcus Rush blocked Chris Callahan's 43-yard field goal attempt with 1:05 left.
"It's just sort of crazy," coach Mark Dantonio said. "I really probably can't put it into words. We just kept pace. We didn't panic."
When two-time Big 12 champ Baylor got the ball back for one last try, Bryce Petty was sacked on consecutive plays before Riley Bullough's clinching interception.
That was quite a final defensive stand under coordinator Pat Narduzzi, who after 11 seasons and two schools with Dantonio is leaving the Spartans to take over as head coach at Pittsburgh. Narduzzi will be about 20 miles away Friday to watch the Panthers play Houston in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on the TCU campus.
The Cotton Bowl was the lead-in game Thursday to the two national semifinals that Baylor (11-2) hoped to be part of instead -- though that doesn't matter now.
"We've played a lot of really good games over the last seven seasons. Won a lot of really good games. And this is one of the tougher non-wins that I've ever experienced," Baylor coach Art Briles said. "It's got nothing to do with the big picture. The small picture right now is letting a game get away from us today."
Petty completed 36 of 51 passes for a Cotton Bowl-record 550 yards and three touchdowns, two to speedy freshman KD Cannon and the other to 390-pount backup guard LaQuan McGowan in the third quarter for a 41-21 lead. Baylor had 583 total yards, even with minus-20 yards rushing.
Jeremy Langford ran for 162 yards and three touchdowns for the Spartans. Cook was 24-of-42 passing for 314 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.
Langford's 1-yard plunge with 4:55 left got the Spartans to 41-35, a play after Cook's 10-yard scramble that was initially ruled a touchdown before a replay review.
Callahan had a 46-yard field goal attempt that ricocheted off the right upright to start the fourth quarter. Michigan State then got Cook's 8-yard TD pass to tight end Josiah Price and recovered an onside kick.
Cook threw a 39-yard pass on the first play after the recovery, but was scrambling to avoid pressure on the next when he threw an awkward pass right to linebacker Taylor Young, who ran 84 yards to the end zone.
Young's apparent touchdown was wiped out by an illegal block, pushing Baylor back to its 43. After Petty's fourth-down incompletion, Michigan State went 60 yards for Langford's final score.
"You hate to 'if' it, but if you don't hit the upright, if you don't get a field goal blocked, if you don't have an offensive facemask, if you don't get a penalty on an interception return, then I think we feel a lot different right now," Briles said.
Baylor was fifth in the final College Football Playoff rankings, a spot ahead of Big 12 co-champion TCU, which the Bears beat 61-58 in October with its own 21-point comeback in the fourth quarter. The Horned Frogs won their bowl game handily, beating Mississippi 42-3 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Wednesday.
Cannon, already with a 49-yard TD catch, split two Michigan State defenders and was in a full sprint when he reached out with both hands and made a fingertip grab near the 35. He gathered the ball in and ran to the end zone to finish a 74-yard TD before Callahan added another field goal for a 34-14 lead early in the third quarter.
Cannon finished with eight catches for 197 yards. Corey Coleman had seven catches for 150 yards, including a 53-yard score on a throw from fellow receiver Jay Lee.
"When you're down like that against a potent offense that's pretty much scoring at will, it doesn't really look too good," Cook said. "It's just a true statement never to give up."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Missouri: 2014 Cotton Bowl Champions
ARLINGTON, Texas — After a mostly quiet night, Missouri’s unanimous All-American defensive end Michael Sam came up with the biggest play Friday in a 41-31 victory against Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium.
Sam raced around the left end with the Cowboys driving in the final minute, tracking down quarterback Clint Chelf from behind. Sam’s sack forced a fumble that sophomore Shane Ray scooped up and raced 73 yards for a game-ending touchdown.
The play gave Sam, who led the Southeastern Conference in sacks and tackles for a loss en route to becoming only the second unanimous All-America in program history, 11 1/2 sacks on the season.
Before that, Oklahoma State, which trailed by 10 at halftime, seemed poised to retake the lead and end Missouri’s remarkable turnaround in its second season in the SEC.
The victory also moved Tigers coach Gary Pinkel alone into first place on the program’s career wins list. Pinkel, who is 102-63 in 13 seasons at Missouri, passed Don Faurot, who went 101-79-10 in 19 seasons.
The Tigers, 12-2, trailed 31-27 after junior Desmond Roland’s 2-yard touchdown run with 5:04 left, but quarterback James Franklin, who had an otherwise tough ballgame in his college swansong, engineered a 69-yard go-ahead touchdown drive.
Junior Henry Josey scored his third touchdown on a 16-yard run as Missouri jumped back in front 34-31 in the closing minutes.
The game had been something of a snoozer for three quarters before both teams finally found rhythm on offense down the stretch.
Tied at 17-17, Josey moved Missouri back into the lead with a 25-yard touchdown run at the 11-minute, 32-second mark.
Oklahoma State answered less than two minutes later when Chelf weaved his way for a game-tying 23-yard touchdown.
Franklin was bailed out when he threw a pick-six as former KU cornerback Tyler Patmon stepped in front of sophomore Dorial Green-Beckham for an interception and 40-yard return. Patmon was whistled for pass interference to the chagrin of the Cowboys’ faithful in the crowd of 72,690.
Seven plays later, the Tigers took the lead instead on a 46-yard field goal by sophomore Andrew Baggett.
Sluggish doesn’t begin to describe the game’s start, which was memorable primarily for dueling interceptions and dropped passes by the Tigers throughout the first quarter.
Missouri finally broke a scoreless stalemate with three minutes remaining when junior Henry Josey scooted into the end zone on a 3-yard option pitch from senior quarterback James Franklin.
The drive was set by senior cornerback E.J. Gaines’ team-leading fifth interception of the season at midfield.
Oklahoma State senior quarterback Clint Chelf, who had scrambled from the pocket and appeared to have a clear path to the first down before throwing the ball straight to Gaines, answered with a 40-yard touchdown strike to junior Josh Stewart.
The Tigers then closed the half with 10 straight points for a 17-7 halftime lead.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Maty Mauk took over for a series and scrambled for 35 and 34 yards on consecutive plays.
Mauk capped a six-play, 80-yard drive by dropping a pretty 24-yard lob to senior wide receiver Marcus Lucas, dropping the pass over leaping cornerback Ashton Lampkin trailing safety Shamiel Gary.
Baggett added a 35-yard field goal on the second quarter’s final play, but the Cowboys would storm back thanks to two fumbles by Franklin.
The first, on a read-option handoff to Josey, set up Chelf’s 21-yard touchdown to Jhajuan Seales late in the third quarter and the second, on an option pitch to Josey, led to freshman Ben Grogan’s game-tying 25-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
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