JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--- What has Virginia head coach Tony Elliott emphasized every week? Winning the middle eight. Virginia did just that as the Cavaliers secured their first 11 win season of program history by beating Missouri in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- — Jaxson Dart's final college pass was a 69-yard touchdown that got him chewed out by coach Lane Kiffin on the sideline.
It's one the quarterback will never forget.
Dart threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns in his final start for Ole Miss, leading the 16th-ranked Rebels to a 52-20 romp over Duke in the Gator Bowl on Thursday night.
Dart connected with Jordan Watkins seven times for 180 yards and two scores, including the longest pass play of the night with 1:27 to play. Kiffin ripped him for it afterward.
“I love him except for the last play when he checks to a pass play he’s not supposed to do,” Kiffin said. “He's got to learn a little better class there.”
Dart added 43 yards rushing, leaving EverBank Stadium with grass and dirt stains all over his red and white uniform.
The senior never considered opting out of the bowl game. Instead, he helped the Rebels (10-3) make history. With the victory, Ole Miss notched double-digit wins in consecutive years for the second time in program history and the first since 1959-60.
“This place changed my life," Dart said. "It was the best decision that I made. Just the relationships that I built with everybody here will last a lifetime.”
Ulysses Bentley IV, another senior playing his last college game, ran for 70 yards and two scores for the Rebels. Isaiah Hamilton returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter. All of them got to celebrate with sideline dunks on a portable basketball hoop adorned with Duke logos.
This ACC-SEC postseason matchup was never close. It wasn’t expected to be, either. Ole Miss was a 17 1/2-point favorite, according to , mostly because the Blue Devils (9-4) were without quarterback Maalik Murphy and running back Star Thomas. Both entered the transfer portal after Duke’s regular-season finale.
Third-year sophomore Henry Belin IV made his second career start and was harassed all night. Belin completed 25 of 44 passes for 236 yards, with two touchdowns and the interception. He was sacked three times.
Belin’s TD passes were two of the team's few highlights. Sahmir Hagans' 99-yard kickoff return — off a cross-field lateral, no less — was another.
One of Ole Miss’ few miscues came when Kiffin called for a trick play on fourth down. Kicker Caden Davis’ pass got picked off in the end zone, and Dart took nearly every snap the rest of the way.
“I think the thing that jumped out today is a special quarterback who played special," Duke coach Manny Diaz said.
The takeaway
Duke: The Blue Devils won't put too much stock into the loss, not with Belin getting a rare start and more offensive help on the way.
Ole Miss: The Rebels had most of their starters play in the bowl, a testament to how they feel about Dart and Kiffin. CB Jadon Canady and RT Micah Pettus, both starters, entered the transfer portal. And LB and leading tackler Chris Paul Jr. opted out to prepare for the draft process.
Key injuries
Duke cornerback Terry Moore, who intercepted the kicker’s pass on the trick play, left the game in the first half and ended up in the locker room. Ole Miss offensive lineman Eli Acker injured his right knee on an extra point in the second period and was helped off the field.
Chewed-up field
The field at EverBank Stadium was far from pristine. The center section of grass was mostly chewed up, looking more like a community sandlot than the bright-green sod that usually seems pulled from a resort golf course. The Jaguars hosted Tennessee in an NFL game four days earlier, leaving little time to get the turf in its best shape. Overnight temperatures in the 40s didn’t help regrowth, either.
Up next
Duke awaits the arrival of former Tulane QB Darian Mensah, who will reportedly get $8 million in NIL funding over two years to play for the Blue Devils.
Ole Miss will turn to highly touted left-handed QB Austin Simmons, a redshirt freshman from Miami. Simmons enrolled two years early and spent the last two seasons watching and learning from Dart.
You’ll likely hear a lot about Clemson running back Phil Mafah tonight, and for a good reason: Mafah is a stud and was the key to a Clemson 38-35 Gator Bowl win over Kentucky.
In the Gator Bowl win, Mafah was dominant on the ground, even with his limited workload. Taking just 11 carries on the game, Mafah gained 71 yards and scored four touchdowns, including the game-winner on a 3-yard touchdown with seconds left in the fourth quarter.
It was not only an excellent performance for Mafah but also historic. Mafah’s four touchdowns in this win broke two records: the Gator Bowl touchdown record and Clemson’s bowl game record. Mafah’s performance in this Gator Bowl will go down as an all-time great bowl game performance in the program’s history.
Clemson star running back Will Shipley was injured in Clemson’s 38-35 Gator Bowl win over Kentucky, with head coach Dabo Swinney sharing an update on Shipley’s health during his press conference following the game.
Late in the fourth quarter, Shipley was injured on a big kick return as he landed awkwardly out of bounds. Shipley was down for a while before being helped up and over to the bench. Here is what Swinney had to say about the injury.
“We’ll do an MRI. It’ll either be tomorrow or the next day,” Swinney said. “We’ll wait and see. But initial reports seem to be encouraging, but you never know until you do the MRI.”
Hopefully, it looked worse than it is for Shipley, who still has a decision to make on his future with the program.
Tyler Buchner fit a season’s worth of highlights and drama into his only start since week 2. Seven times the sophomore quarterback made a decision that directly led to a touchdown, though two of those were interception returns to the end zone for No. 19 South Carolina (8-5).
Yet he led No. 21 Notre Dame (9-4) to a comeback win in the Gator Bowl, bouncing back from each of his mistakes with better decisions. Buchner finished the day with five total touchdowns, not counting those pick-sixes, to carry the Irish to a 45-38 win in a chaotic showing.
His third touchdown pass of the day came on the drive immediately after a red-zone interception allowed the Gamecocks to tie the game at 38 late in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame had run the ball into the red zone with ease when Buchner never identified a defender on the goal line, gifting O’Donnell Fortune a 100-yard interception return touchdown.
The Irish did it all over again on the next drive and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees once again called a passing play in the red zone despite the efficient rushing. Buchner connected with sophomore tight end Mitchell Evans for the game-winning score.
He missed Notre Dame’s last 10 regular-season games after suffering a shoulder sprain in week two, but Buchner never looked worried about contact on Friday. He converted an early third-and-short on a quarterback sneak, leading with his injured shoulder, and then on the same drive took a quarterback draw 15 yards to put the Irish on the scoreboard.
His shoulder never bothered him, but his accuracy still somewhat lacked, as it did early in the season, as well. Worse yet, Buchner made three woefully poor decisions resulting in those Gamecocks’ defensive touchdowns. An impromptu shovel pass became an interception; a short, deflected pass resulted in a pick-six; and missing Fortune cost Notre Dame a ripe scoring chance in the red zone.
Buchner finished with 274 yards on 18-of-33 passing, throwing three touchdowns along with those three interceptions. He added 82 yards and two more scores on 10 rushes, sacks adjusted.
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
11:48 — South Carolina touchdown. Xavier Legette 13-yard pass from Spencer Rattler. Mitch Jeter PAT good. South Carolina 7, Notre Dame 0. (10 plays, 75 yards, 3:12)
5:54 — Notre Dame touchdown. Tyler Buchner 15-yard rush. Blake Grupe PAT good. South Carolina 7, Notre Dame 7. (10 plays, 50 yards, 3:37)
2:27 — South Carolina touchdown. Hunter Rogers 23-yard pass from Kai Kroeger. Jeter PAT good. South Carolina 14, Notre Dame 7. (10 plays, 75 yards, 3:27)
0:44 — South Carolina touchdown. DQ Smith 47-yard interception return. Jeter PAT good. South Carolina 21, Notre Dame 7.
Second Quarter
8:36 — Notre Dame field goal. Grupe 37 yards. South Carolina 21, Notre Dame 10. (12 plays, 56 yards, 7:08)
5:18 — South Carolina field goal. Jeter 45 yards. South Carolina 24, Notre Dame 10. (10 plays, 48 yards, 3:18)
5:06 — Notre Dame touchdown. Logan Diggs 75-yard pass from Buchner. Grupe PAT good. South Carolina 24, Notre Dame 17. (1 play, 75 yards, 0:12)
Third Quarter
10:28 — Notre Dame touchdown. Buchner 11-yard rush. Grupe PAT good. South Carolina 24, Notre Dame 24. (5 plays, 68 yards, 2:21)
8:31 — South Carolina touchdown. Legette 42-yard pass from Rattler. Jeter PAT good. South Carolina 31, Notre Dame 24. (5 plays, 67 yards, 1:48)
0:31 — Notre Dame touchdown. Braden Lenzy 44-yard pass from Buchner. Grupe PAT good. South Carolina 31, Notre Dame 31. (1 play, 44 yards, 0:08)
Fourth Quarter
12:41 — Notre Dame touchdown. Logan Diggs 39-yard rush. Grupe PAT good. Notre Dame 38, South Carolina 31. (7 plays, 73 yards, 2:13)
7:42 — South Carolina touchdown. O’Donnell Fortune 100-yard interception return. Jeter PAT good. Notre Dame 38, South Carolina 38.
1:38 — Notre Dame touchdown. Mitchell Evans 16-yard pass from Buchner. Grupe PAT good. Notre Dame 45, South Carolina 38. (12 plays, 80 yards, 6:01)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Sam Hartman's big day capped Wake Forest's best season in 15 years.
Hartman tossed three touchdown passes, two of them to tight end Brandon Chapman, and the No. 17 Demon Deacons beat Rutgers 38-10 in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Friday to reach 11 wins for the second time in program history.
Hartman completed 23 of 39 passes for 304 yards. He added 21 more yards rushing and pushed his touchdown total to 50 this season -- 39 passing and 11 rushing. He was named the winning team's most valuable player.
"It's everything," Hartman said. "I'm just enjoying the moment."
The Demon Deacons (11-3) controlled the game from the start, scoring on their first three drives and opening a double-digit lead just before halftime. It played out about as expected given Rutgers (5-8) was a late replacement for No. 25 Texas A&M.
The Aggies pulled out because of a lack of available players due to injuries, opt-outs, transfers and COVID-19 issues. The NCAA gave Rutgers the first shot at filling the void because it had the highest Academic Progress Rate score of all the eligible 5-7 teams.
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano hastily gathered his players from Christmas break and held two practices in a heated bubble before heading south. They got in two more in nearby Ponte Vedra Beach this week before taking the field.
They were ready, willing and probably overmatched against the one of the nation's best offenses. When it was over, Schiano raised his fist and saluted the Rutgers faithful who made the long trip to much warmer weather.
"What we did has never been done before," Schiano said. "This is the hardest week of work that I've ever done as a coach, and I've done it for 34 years. I'll remember everything it took and all the people who made it possible. ... But that was a little bit unhealthy."
The Demon Deacons finished with 452 yards, converted 8 of 15 third downs and their lone fourth-down try. The offensive show carried them to 11 wins for the first time since 2006, which was their only Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
"This was a historical season," Wake coach Dave Clawson said. "We're hopefully part of a debate of what the greatest team is. The 2006 team was an incredible team, but the 2021 was a really good team as well."
THE TAKEAWAY
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons should be among the preseason favorites in the Atlantic Coast Conference next season. They could lose as few as six of 22 starters.
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights turned the ball over twice, which was twice too many for an offensively challenged team with a small margin for error. Rutgers was 5-0 this season when playing turning-free football.
TURNING POINT
The key play came in the second quarter, when Wake Forest cornerback Gavin Holmes stepped in front of Noah Vedral's pass to Joshua Youngblood at the goal line and intercepted it. Wake led 17-10 at the time and ended up driving for a field goal and a 10-point lead at the break.
Vedral was one of five players who threw passes for Rutgers. He completed 8 of 13 passes for 87 yards and the interception.
DO IT ALL
Rutgers quarterback Johnny Langan was all over the field. He lined up at quarterback, running back, tight end and receiver. He completed both passes for 21 yards. He ran six times for 20 yards. And he caught six balls for 57 yards.
"I've been playing football my whole life and it just comes naturally," Langan said.
EJECTED AGAIN
Wake Forest linebacker Ryan Smenda, a junior who grew up in nearby Orange Park, was ejected for the third time this season for targeting. Smenda barely made contact, if at all, this time. He was penalized for intent because he led with his helmet while chasing Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt. Wimsatt slid late, and Smenda flew over the top of him.
Smenda also was ejected in regular-season games against Army (Oct. 23) and North Carolina State (Nov. 13). He will have to sit out the first half of Wake's 2022 season opener against Virginia Military Institute on Sept. 1.
KEY INJURIES
Wake Forest punter Ivan Mora was carted off the field in the fourth quarter with an air cast on his right ankle/foot. Mora got caught at the bottom of a pileup after kicking off.
UP NEXT
Wake Forest expects to get Hartman back for a fifth year. He's started 33 games over four seasons and accounted for 87 touchdowns, including 71 passing.
Rutgers says goodbye to nine sixth-year seniors, including seven defenders. The most notable departures are cornerback Tre Avery and defensive tackle Julius Turner.
Despite its best efforts to give the game away down the stretch, Kentucky held on for its third straight postseason victory of the Mark Stoops era. UK withstood a series of self-inflicted errors to overcome N.C. State 23-21 in the 2020 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
Senior A.J. Rose rushed for a career-high 148 yards on just 12 carries, but 10 penalties for a total of 103 yards — including a trio of them in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter with UK clinging to a 16-14 advantage — kept the Wolfpack within striking distance throughout the second half after the Cats built a 13-0 lead before the break.
An interception off a deflected pass by Jamin Davis — his third of the season — gave way to a 26-yard touchdown run by Chris Rodriguez with 2:55 left. His second score more or less put the game out of reach for N.C. State, which was able to answer that touchdown with 1:10 remaining but couldn’t recover an onside kick.
“We just wanted to refuse to lose the game, honestly,” Davis said of the moments leading up to his interception. “We just wanted to keep our backs against the wall and let nobody take it from us. That’s the same thing that we’ve been preached to do all year, if the ball is in the air then it’s our ball. That was my mindset, to keep playing and ice the game.”
Terry Wilson, likely starting his final game as UK’s quarterback, finished 12 of 20 for 99 yards. He rushed for 14 yards on six carries.
Kentucky finished its season 5-6, and won a third bowl game in as many seasons for just the second time in school history (2006-2008 was the other time). This was its first postseason victory amid a pandemic, of course.
“It’s unfortunate that the season is over, but it felt good to end on that win like we did,” said Rose, who was named Kentucky’s MVP for the game. “… It’s been a long year, a tough year, due to these COVID restrictions and everything that’s going around, but I feel like we managed and did a great job of keeping players safe and keeping those around us safe.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kentucky’s first drive ended in three points after it converted a fourth-and-1 on a Rodriguez rush to N.C. State’s 14-yard line. Wilson started 4-for-4 passing before missing short on a throw to Josh Ali in the end zone for a would-be touchdown right after that conversion, and the Cats eventually settled for a Matt Ruffolo field goal.
Brandin Echols quickly gave Kentucky the ball back after recording his first interception of the season and returning it to midfield. The Cats were unable to convert on fourth-and-1 this time, though, and turned the ball over to the Wolfpack at their own 29.
N.C. State followed with a short, fruitless drive of its own before each team had slightly longer possessions that ended without points. Kentucky broke the streak with a six-play, 79-yard streak down the field capped by a 4-yard touchdown run from Rodriguez.
The Wolfpack marched 52 yards on 14 plays but were forced to settle for a field-goal try from Kentucky’s 23; safety Ty Ajian got a finger on the ball as it went up and it fell a couple yards short as a result. A couple of big gains — a 31-yard burst from Rose and a 23-yard connection from Wilson to Keaton Upshaw — set Kentucky up in the red zone but it was only able to tack on a second field goal right before halftime.
A 30-yard kickoff return by Zonovan Knight put N.C. State at its own 32, from where it traveled to 23 before an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty forced a third-and-23 try. The Wolfpack got 13 yards back but Christopher Dunn was wide right on a 43-yard kick, leaving them scoreless. Kentucky didn’t travel far on its ensuing series before punting.
UK lost Echols for the game midway through the third quarter after he and teammate Vito Tisdale collided with one another while trying to tackle an N.C. State receiver. His exit left UK without a single cornerback who started a game during the regular season; Carrington Valentine started in place of Cedrick Dort, who was “medically unavailable” on Saturday. N.C. State finally got on the board on the drive where UK lost Echols, as Bailey Hockman hit C.J. Riley for a touchdown on a fourth-and-6 pass from UK’s 9-yard line.
Kentucky stalled out at the Wolfpack’s 44 but pinned them inside the 5-yard line on Max Duffy’s next punt. They didn’t get much further before punting to Ali, who caught it at UK’s 38. UK moved into N.C. State turf on its next trip but elected to punt on fourth-and-2 from State’s 40, and it was downed at the 13.
The Cats’ offense got back to action immediately after Yusuf Corker intercepted Hockman at N.C. State’s 42. A 27-yard rush by Rose set Kentucky up at the Wolfpack’s 3-yard line but the Cats couldn’t punch it in. Ruffolo went 3-for-3 on field-goal tries with a 20-yard kick to extend the lead to 16-7 with 5:45 left.
Two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and a late-hit penalty put N.C. State at UK’s 8, and Knight capitalized with a touchdown run to bring the Wolfpack within two at 16-14 less than a minute later. They halted Kentucky again but would never get closer than that margin.
