Terry Smith started his time as Penn State’s interim head coach started by having to fix a disaster.
The Nittany Lions were 3-3, James Franklin had been fired and hopes of a national championship were long out the window. Then he lost three more difficult Big Ten games.
NEW YORK -- — Dylan Raiola passed for 228 yards and a touchdown as Nebraska built an 18-point lead through three quarters and hung on to beat Boston College 20-15 Saturday for its first bowl victory since 2015.
After Nebraska built a 13-2 lead in the first half on scoring runs by Rahmir Johnson and Kwinten Ives, Raiola hit Emmett Johnson with a 13-yard TD pass on fourth down with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter for a 20-2 edge and the Cornhuskers (7-6) held on for the win.
Raiola completed 23 of 31 passes in front of a sizable Nebraska crowd that celebrated the team’s first bowl win since topping UCLA in the 2015 Foster Farms Bowl and first winning season since 2016.
“The biggest thing is that finally they can walk off the field and say ’Hey we got it done,'” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “We’ll have a lot of momentum heading into the offseason.”
Raiola completed passes to 10 receivers, including Jahmal Banks, who finished with four receptions for 79 yards.
“He’s gotten so much better as the year’s gone on in terms of the speed, movement and those things,” Rhule said of Raiola.
Rahmir Johnson and Ives scored on short TD runs in the second period, and Nebraska’s defense set up the critical score in the third.
Emmett Johnson scored on fourth-and-3 play for a 20-2 lead. That score came after John Bullock sacked Boston College quarterback Grayson James, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Elijah Jeudy at midfield.
James finished 25 of 40 for 296 yards as Boston College (7-6) fell to 0-3 in Pinstripe Bowl games.
The Eagles got past midfield on five of their first seven drives, but committed two turnovers and failed to convert four fourth downs, including two inside the 10-yard line. Boston College finally cashed with 6:11 left in the fourth when Turbo Richard scored on a 1-yard run, but the two-point conversion failed. BC made it a one-score game on Jordan McDonald’s 2-yard run, a play after getting possession on a blocked punt.
"I thought we were productive, but we couldn’t score,” Boston College coach Bill O’Brien said. “So that’s a problem because you have to score to win.”
After a scoreless opening quarter, Rahmir Johnson easily scored on a 4-yard run on the first play of the second period. After BC turned it over on downs twice in Nebraska territory, the Cornhusker’s took a 13-0 lead on Ives’ 2-yard run that was set up by Rahmir Johnson’s 22-yard run.
The Eagles picked up their only points of the first half when Ashton McShane blocked John Hohl’s extra point and returned it for two points.
Takeaways
Nebraska: Rahmir Johnson was named MVP in his final game at Nebraska to cap an emotional season in which he lost his mother in November. Johnson finished with 10 carries for 60 yards and the Cornhuskers totaled 127 yards on the ground and 363 yards overall. “Even with news like that, I still want to play for these guys," Johnson said. “And that's just the type of person I am.”
Boston College: Without ACC sacks leader DE Donovan Ezeiruaku, the Eagles could not get Nebraska and had to burn their final two timeouts after getting within 20-15.
Up next
Nebraska opens its 2025 season against Cincinnati on Aug. 30. Boston College takes on Fordham on Aug. 30 to open its season and will welcome Alabama transfer Dylan Longeran into its quarterback mix.
It wasn't just the fact that Rutgers football beat old rival Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl on Thursday, that signified a breakthrough moment -- although it didn't hurt.
The Rutgers football 31-24 win over Miami on Thursday was such a big moment because it cliched a winning season for the Scarlet Knights for the first time since 2014. That was also the last time that they had won a bowl game.
However, this win was still bigger than that. It was a signature win for Schiano -- at least of this era and one was needed. For years, Rutgers football fans have wanted a win over a team like Michigan, Penn State, or Ohio State. And while Miami isn't MIAMI right now -- the Scarlet Knights will take it.
So will Greg Schiano.
Part of the reason Rutgers fans had to love the win, was the way the Scarlet Knights went about it.
Running back Kyle Monangai, who already announced that he's coming back for next season, dominated against Miami in New York, carrying the ball 26 times for 163 yards. Rutgers had three rushing touchdowns total, as well as a blocked punt for a TD in typical Schiano fashion.
Even though bowl games "don't matter" it's clear that the Pinstripe Bowl mattered to Rutgers football. And if it didn't matter to Miami, maybe it should have.
Maybe that's why Miami can't get back because even though it hasn't earned the right to be dismissive of the Pinstripe Bowl -- it was and that's all about coaching. It probably says more about culture and in year two of Mario Cristobal, it's not a good sign.
Yet, as Schiano showed -- it can take time to build it. What's exciting is there could be a chance to keep things rolling as Monangai will be back along with Gavin Wimsatt, if he's able to hold off a potential transfer for the starting job.
At any rate, if there was any concern about Greg Schiano being the right head coach for Rutgers football, that should be put to rest after the 2023 season and the signature win over Miami.
Tanner Morgan came off the bench to throw a pair of touchdowns in his final game.
NEW YORK (AP) — Mohamed Ibrahim rushed for 71 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown and became Minnesota's all-time rushing leader in the Golden Gophers' 28-20 win over Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.
Ibrahim, who missed virtually all of last year with a ruptured Achilles, closed out a solid career in dramatic fashion. After getting injured in the 2021 season opener against Penn State, Ibrahim returned for a sixth season and finished his career with 4,668 yards and 53 rushing touchdowns in 40 games since joining the Golden Gophers as a two-star recruit from Baltimore.
Ibrahim broke the school record held by Darrell Thompson (4,654 yards from 1986-89) on a 10-yard gain with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Before breaking the record, Ibrahim scored a gritty 4-yard run with 13:39 remaining in the half before sitting out the final periods. The TD gave him 20 and moved him past Gary Russell (19 in 2005) for the most single-season TDs in school history.
Trey Potts replaced Ibrahim in the backfield and had 27 yards on 10 carries. Daniel Jackson hauled in a pair of TD passes — a 20-yard reception in the second and a 25-yard grab in the final minute of the third.
Athan Kaliakmanis started at QB for Minnesota (9-4) and completed 7 of 9 passes for 80 yards before being helped off the field with an injury. Tanner Morgan made his first appearance since Nov. 5 and completed 4 of 7 passes for 58 yards.
Syracuse (7-6) ended what was a promising season on a down note, playing without star running back Sean Tucker, who declared for the NFL draft on Dec. 17. Syracuse's offense totaled 477 yards, but struggled at times as the Orange lost six of their final seven games after a 6-0 start elevated them to No. 14 in The Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
LeQuint Allen replaced Tucker and finished with 103 yards on 16 carries.
Garret Shrader faced constant pressure and completed 32 of 51 passes for 329 yards. He ran for both of Syracuse's TDs, and also overthrew receivers at times.
Ibrahim opened the scoring and nearly took a tackler with him up the middle with 13:39 left in the second quarter for a 7-0 lead. After Kaliakmanis was injured, Jackson made a leaping catch in the right corner of the end zone seven minutes later.
Shrader's run moved Syracuse within 14-7 by halftime, and a 40-yard field goal by Andre Szmyt made it 14-10 early in the third. The Golden Gophers took a 21-10 lead when Coleman Bryson stepped in front of a pass intended for Oronde Gadsden II and returned the interception 70 yards.
Jackson's second TD put Minnesota up 28-13 with 38 seconds left in the third. Syracuse caught a break when Allen lost a fumble, but it was negated due to Minnesota having 12 men on the field. Shrader scrambled from eight yards out with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.
UP NEXT
Syracuse: The replacement for Tucker will become a major storyline ahead of the season opener against Colgate on Sept. 2.
Minnesota: Whoever Ibrahim's successor is in the backfield will open the season Aug. 31 against Nebraska. The Gophers also will face powerhouses Michigan and Ohio State in the same season for the first time since 2015.
NEW YORK — Maryland head football coach Mike Locksley did not mince words when asked what redshirt sophomore quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa's MVP performance in Wednesday's New Era Pinstripe Bowl means entering 2022. Before 29,653 people at Yankee Stadium, Tagovailoa completed 20 of 24 passes (83.3%) for 265 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 42 yards on four rushes (10.5 average), as the Terrapins (7-6, 3-6 Big Ten) throttled Virginia Tech (6-7, 4-4 ACC) to put an exclamation point on 2021.
"I hope it quiets some of the critics and maybe he gets a little bit of the respect that I think he deserves as a quarterback," Locksley — who capped Year 3 in College Park, Maryland, by engineering UMD's first winning season since 2014 — said. "I feel like we've got one of the best quarterbacks in the league, if not the country. As I've said before, we wouldn't be in this situation that we're in with the winning season if it wasn't for Taulia.
"Obviously, he's not the finished product and I think you'll continue to see him get better as with all aspects of our program. But really proud of him and the way he's responded, the way he has a positive impact on others, his teammates. Very unselfish. ... Hopefully, this is the start of the '22 season and maybe we can get him a little bit of respect in terms of being one of the top quarterbacks in the country — which I really feel and believe he is."
Senior wide receiver Darryl Jones echoed his coach's sentiments. After he caught four passes for 111 yards (27.8 average) and two touchdowns — including a pivotal 70-yard score at the second quarter's 9:13 mark to put Maryland up 14-3 — Jones shared a strong perspective.
"I would definitely agree," said Jones, who later added a 32-yard touchdown that widened the Terps' advantage to 34-10 with 6:48 left in the third quarter. "You could see, from the start of the season till now, how 'Lia has progressed. People sometimes forget, with his name, that he's still a young kid learning and you can see that he can learn and he has progressed. And I think 'Lia's done a fantastic job from coming in, taking over, being a leader and showing people how he works and how to work. And he's just pushing and pulling guys along every day. So I definitely do think 'Lia's proved some critics wrong."
As Jones alluded to, Taulia Tagovailoa — Alabama legend and second-year Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's brother — brings the aura of being a former college football star's younger sibling. Still, following a second-year campaign as Maryland's starter in which he tied the program's single-season record for passing touchdowns at 26, Taulia Tagovailoa is making a name for himself with the Terps.
"I think, obviously, it gives us a lot of confidence going into the offseason and going into next season," said Tagovailoa — a four-star recruit in 2019 out of Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson and one-year Crimson Tide quarterback before transferring to UMD — who closes the season after going 328 for 474 (69.2%) with 3,860 yards and 26 touchdowns against 11 interceptions through all 13 games. "And for me, myself, I think it was good playing against an ACC team. And I don't know — I think I'm just ready, going into spring ball and offseason training with confidence. And I think it's more so just our team kind of building off of this going into our next season."
