Dec 28, 2023; Orlando, FL, USA;  during the Pop-Tarts bowl at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Bowl roundup: K-State toasts NC State in Pop-Tarts Bowl

Avery Johnson found Jayce Brown for an 11-yard touchdown to cap the clinching drive in the fourth quarter as No. 25 Kansas State defeated No. 18 North Carolina State 28-19 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Thursday in Orlando.

The Wildcats took the ball with 10:12 left in the fourth quarter and kept it for 7:24 on the decisive march, which lasted 15 plays and covered 72 yards.

Kansas State (9-4) had only one quarterback on the roster Thursday, limiting the Wildcats’ use of Johnson in the running game. He still finished with 71 yards on seven carries to go with 14-of-31 passing for 178 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

North Carolina State (9-4) was seeking its second 10-win season in program history (2002). Brennan Armstrong was 14 of 28 for 164 yards and one interception. He led the Wolfpack with 121 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground but ran for only 7 yards in the second half.

Fenway Bowl: Boston College 23, No. 24 SMU 14

Thomas Castellanos rushed for two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Eagles rallied past the Mustangs in Boston.

Castellanos ran for 156 yards on 21 carries and logged 96 of his 102 passing yards in the second half to lead Boston College (7-6), which lost its last three regular-season games.

SMU (11-3), which had a nine-game winning streak snapped, was shut out 13-0 in the second half and gained just three first downs in the fourth quarter.

Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers 31, Miami 24

Kyle Monangai rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown, Gavin Wimsatt added two short scoring runs and the Scarlet Knights rallied in the second half to top the Hurricanes in New York.

Wimsatt completed 7 of 15 passes for 84 yards for Rutgers (7-6), which beat Miami for the first time in 12 meetings. It marked Rutgers’ first bowl victory since 2014.

Jacurri Brown was 20 of 31 for 181 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his first start for the Hurricanes (7-6). He also ran for two touchdowns.

–Field Level Media

Dec 27, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) gestures during a running play against the Louisville Cardinals in the second half at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Bowl roundup: USC backup fires Holiday Bowl-record 6 TD passes

Miller Moss passed for a Holiday Bowl-record six touchdown passes in his first career start to lead Southern California to a 42-28 victory over No. 15 Louisville on Wednesday night in San Diego.

Moss got the start due to 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams opting out of the game and he was up to the task, completing 23 of 33 passes for 372 yards with one interception while setting the school’s bowl record for passing touchdowns.

Tahj Washington caught seven passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns for the Trojans (8-5), who won for just the second time in their past seven games. Ja’Kobi Lane also had two scoring receptions, Duce Robinson had one and Kyron Hudson caught one while also blocking a punt.

Isaac Guerendo rushed for 161 yards and three touchdowns and also caught five passes for 42 yards for the Cardinals (10-4), getting extra work after star runner Jawhar Jordan opted out of the game. Jack Plummer completed 21 of 25 passes for 141 yards.

Texas Bowl: No. 20 Oklahoma State 31, Texas A&M 23

Alan Bowman passed for 402 yards and two touchdowns as Oklahoma State defeated Texas A&M 31-23 in the Texas Bowl on Wednesday night in Houston.

Rashod Owens caught two of Bowman’s touchdown passes and finished with 164 yards on 10 receptions for the No. 20 Cowboys (10-4), who finished with 570 total yards. Brennan Presley added 16 catches for 152 yards. Ollie Gordon II, the nation’s leading rusher and the winner of the Doak Walker Award, produced 118 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries.

Aggies quarterback Jaylen Henderson injured his right arm on the first play of the game and was replaced by Marcel Reed. The freshman backup completed 20 of 33 passes for 361 yards and amassed 29 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries for Texas A&M (7-6).

Military Bowl: Virginia Tech 41, Tulane 20

Kyron Drones rushed for a career-best 176 yards and accounted for three touchdowns to lead Virginia Tech to a victory over Tulane in Annapolis, Md.

The teams combined for eight fumbles (losing five) in wet and slippery conditions. The Green Wave lost all three of their fumbles.

Bhayshul Tuten rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns as the Hokies rolled up 362 yards on the ground. Drones completed 13 of 21 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for a score.

Duke’s May Bowl: West Virginia 30, North Carolina 10

Lee Kpogba’s 12 tackles led the West Virginia defense as the Mountaineers defeated North Carolina in Charlotte, N.C.

WVU quarterback Garrett Greene was 11-of-22 passing for 204 yards and a touchdown. He also led the Mountaineers with 75 yards rushing. North Carolina lost for the fifth time in its past seven games, and UNC quarterback Conner Harrell was 18-of-27 passing for 199 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

After forcing a North Carolina punt, the Mountaineers went 78 yards in two plays to open a three-score advantage. Jahiem White ran to the end zone from 11 yards out to give West Virginia a 27-10 lead with 12:48 left in the game.

–Field Level Media

Dec 26, 2023; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jason Bean (9) celebrates with the trophy after defeating the UNLV Rebels at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Bowl roundup: Jason Bean (6 TDs) lifts Kansas past UNLV

Kansas survived a second-half comeback by UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, overcoming three turnovers and 18 penalties for a 49-36 win on Tuesday.

Jason Bean threw three interceptions but also had a Kansas bowl-record six touchdown passes and 449 yards through the air. Lawrence Arnold (six receptions, 132 yards) and Luke Grimm (four receptions, 160 yards) each had three touchdown catches.

The Jayhawks (9-4) led 28-7 late in the second quarter before the Rebels (9-5) scored 17 unanswered points.

The Jayhawks’ defense intercepted UNLV quarterback Jayden Maiava twice, but 210 yards in penalties hurt Kansas in what turned into a second-half shootout. Maiava finished with 291 yards, three TDs and the two picks on 24-for-35 passing.

Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota 30, Bowling Green 24

Darius Taylor had 35 carries for 208 yards and a touchdown and the Golden Gophers held on for a win over the Falcons in Detroit.

Cole Kramer passed for two touchdowns and rushed for one more for Minnesota (6-7), which won its seventh straight bowl game. Elijah Spencer and Jameson Geers had one touchdown catch apiece.

Connor Bazelak passed for 221 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another score for Bowling Green (7-6). Odieu Hiliare had 10 catches for 152 yards and a touchdown, and PaSean Wimberly led the way on the ground with 63 rushing yards and a TD.

First Responder Bowl: Texas State 45, Rice 21

Brian Holloway returned two interceptions for touchdowns and Jahmyl Jeter ran for three scores as the Bobcats won their FBS bowl debut, trouncing the Owls in Dallas.

Texas State (8-5) limited Rice (6-7) to 197 total yards, intercepting five passes, forcing and recovering a fumble and notching four sacks. Holloway had interceptions returns of 36 and 48 yards, and Jeter made scoring runs of 29, 1 and 1 yard. Ismael Mahdi rushed for a game-high 122 yards on 24 attempts, while quarterback TJ Finley hit on 15 of 29 passes for 152 yards.

Rice quarterback AJ Padgett struggled before being pulled in the fourth quarter, completing only 10 of 21 attempts for 85 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. Backup Shawqi Itraish wound up 2 of 4 for 19 yards with two picks.

–Field Level Media

Nov 18, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Sam Hartman (10) watches from the bench in the fourth quarter against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman picks draft prep over bowl game

Notre Dame is going to the Sun Bowl without quarterback Sam Hartman.

Hartman won’t play for the Fighting Irish with his focus shifted to preparing for the 2024 NFL Draft.

No. 16 Notre Dame (9-3) faces No. 19 Oregon State (8-4) in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 29 in El Paso, Texas, and expects sophomore Steve Angeli to line up in Hartman’s spot. Angeli had 272 yards and four touchdowns this season with 19 completions in 25 pass attempts and one interception.

Hartman, 24, played one season at Notre Dame after a prolific career at Wake Forest.

He completed 191 of 301 pass attempts for 2,689 yards with 24 touchdowns with eight interceptions in 2023.

Oregon State has its own questions at QB. Senior starter DJ Uiagalelei and freshman backup Aidan Chiles already are in the transfer portal.

Ben Gulbranson was 7-1 as the starter for the Beavers in 2022, including being named MVP of the Las Vegas Bowl.

–Field Level Media

Oct 23, 2021; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; A general view of the Big 12 Conference logo on the field after the game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Oklahoma Sooners at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Big 12 considering bowl game in Mexico

The Big 12 Conference is looking at bringing a bowl game to Monterrey, Mexico, ESPN reported.

The bowl game, reportedly targeted to begin with the 2026 postseason, would be the first in Mexico between two U.S. college football teams.

It would be the second game on the current bowl calendar to take place outside of the U.S., joining the Bahamas Bowl.

The league is said to be still exploring potential sponsors as well as a league pairing for the proposed bowl game.

Big 12 schools are also expected to begin playing exhibition games against local teams in baseball and women’s soccer as part of an overall initiative to develop the league’s footprint south of the border, per the report.

–Field Level Media

Dec 2, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) throws the ball against the Southern California Trojans in the first half of the Pac-12 Championship at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Utah, Penn State to Rose Bowl as full bowl game schedule revealed

Utah and Penn State will square off in the Rose Bowl and Alabama will face Big 12 champion Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl as part of this season’s slate of 41 bowl games, which were finalized Sunday.

Teams were invited to their respective bowls after the College Football Playoff selection committee named Georgia, Michigan, TCU and Ohio State to the four-team playoff. No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Ohio State will play in the Peach Bowl in one semifinal and No. 2 Michigan will meet No. 3 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl for the other.

As for the other New Year’s Six bowls, ACC champion Clemson drew SEC at-large Tennessee in the Orange Bowl, and No. 16 Tulane, the highest-ranked team from the Group of Five conferences, will go to the Cotton Bowl and play Southern California.

No. 8 Utah won the Pac-12 title game in a 47-24 rout of USC, allowing the Utes to punch their ticket to the Rose Bowl for the second straight season. Last week, the Rose Bowl had floated the idea of taking the Nittany Lions over Ohio State to avoid the same matchup in consecutive years, but that was rendered moot when the Buckeyes made the playoff field.

Alabama was ranked No. 5 in Sunday’s final CFP rankings, the first team out of the playoff. Kansas State moved up a spot to No. 9 after edging TCU 31-28 in overtime Saturday to win the Big 12 title.

Eighty-two of the 131 FBS teams will play in a bowl game, starting Dec. 16 when Miami (Ohio) and UAB kick off the Bahamas Bowl, and Troy and UTSA — which snuck into the final CFP rankings at Nos. 24 and 25, respectively — play in the Cure Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

The full bowl schedule is below:

Friday, Dec. 16
Bahamas Bowl: Miami (Ohio) vs. UAB
Cure Bowl: No. 24 Troy vs. No. 25 UTSA

Saturday, Dec. 17
Fenway Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Louisville
New Mexico Bowl: SMU vs. BYU
LA Bowl: Washington State vs. Fresno State
LendingTree Bowl: Rice vs. Southern Miss
Las Vegas Bowl: Florida vs. No. 14 Oregon State
Frisco Bowl: North Texas vs. Boise State

Monday, Dec. 19
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Marshall vs. UConn

Tuesday, Dec. 20
Idaho Potato Bowl: Eastern Michigan vs. San Jose State
Boca Raton Bowl: Liberty vs. Toledo

Wednesday, Dec. 21
New Orleans Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. South Alabama

Thursday, Dec. 22
Armed Forces Bowl: Baylor vs. Air Force

Friday, Dec. 23
Independence Bowl: Louisiana vs. Houston
Gasparilla Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Missouri

Saturday, Dec. 24
Hawaii Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. San Diego State

Monday, Dec. 26
Quick Lane Bowl: New Mexico State vs. Bowling Green

Tuesday, Dec. 27
Camellia Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Buffalo
First Responder Bowl: Memphis vs. Utah State
Birmingham Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. East Carolina
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma State

Wednesday, Dec. 28
Military Bowl: UCF vs. Duke
Liberty Bowl: Kansas vs. Arkansas
Holiday Bowl: North Carolina vs. Oregon
Texas Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss

Thursday, Dec. 29
Pinstripe Bowl: Syracuse vs. Minnesota
Cheez-It Bowl: Oklahoma vs. No. 13 Florida State
Alamo Bowl: No. 20 Texas vs. No. 12 Washington

Friday, Dec. 30
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Maryland vs. No. 23 NC State
Sun Bowl: Pitt vs. No. 18 UCLA
Gator Bowl: No. 21 Notre Dame vs. No. 19 South Carolina
Arizona Bowl: Ohio vs. Wyoming
Orange Bowl: No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Clemson

Saturday, Dec. 31
Sugar Bowl: No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 9 Kansas State
Music City Bowl: Iowa vs. Kentucky
Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 TCU vs. No. 2 Michigan (CFP semifinal)
Peach Bowl: No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Georgia (CFP semifinal)

Monday, Jan. 2
ReliaQuest Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Illinois
Cotton Bowl: No. 16 Tulane vs. No. 10 USC
Citrus Bowl: No. 17 LSU vs. Purdue
Rose Bowl: No. 11 Penn State vs. No. 8 Utah

Monday, Jan. 9
College Football Playoff national championship game: TCU-Michigan winner vs. Ohio State-Georgia winner

–Field Level Media

Nov 19, 2022; Columbia, Missouri, USA; New Mexico State Aggies quarterback Diego Pavia (10) runs the ball against the Missouri Tigers during the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

New Mexico St. granted waiver to play in bowl at 5-6

New Mexico State was approved to play in a bowl game despite playing only 10 games against FBS opponents and winning five of them.

The Aggies (5-6) had sought a waiver from the NCAA Division I football oversight committee for their extenuating circumstances. The school had an Oct. 22 game against San Jose State postponed and eventually canceled after San Jose State running back Camdan McWright was killed in a scooter accident that week.

New Mexico State, an FBS independent, was unable to schedule a replacement game against an 11th FBS opponent. Eleven is the normal scheduling requirement, with six wins being the usual mark for bowl eligibility.

The appeal was approved on Tuesday, which helps fill a spot among 82 overall bowl berths. According to the Action Network, 79 teams are bowl eligible after the inclusion of New Mexico State.

The 5-6 Aggies will be considered before any 5-7 teams. Auburn, which finished the year 5-7, is out of the running for a spot with the Aggies’ inclusion.

New Mexico State earned just its second bowl berth in 61 years.

Bowl game matchups will be finalized Sunday afternoon.

–Field Level Media

Mar 29, 2019; Albany , NY, USA; General view of a NCAA logo prior to an Albany regional semifinal game of the women's 2019 NCAA Tournament between the UCLA Bruins and the UConn Huskies at the Times Union Center. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

NCAA waives record requirement for 2020-21 bowls

Some sad-sack college football teams could play in bowl games this season thanks to a decision made Wednesday by the NCAA Division I Council.

All 127 Football Bowl Subdivision teams will be bowl-eligible under the one-time exception approved for the 2020-21 season, meaning even a winless program might head to a postseason destination.

The Division I Football Oversight Committee had proposed the exception that was approved Wednesday.

In prior years, teams needed at least six wins to be bowl-eligible, but with all teams playing shortened schedules due to the coronavirus pandemic, that threshold probably wouldn’t have left enough teams to fill out the 39 bowl games. There have been exceptions made previously, as in 2015 and 2016, when a total of five teams with 5-7 records advanced to bowl games.

“In keeping with the Division I membership’s desire to provide maximum flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council voted to allow as many student-athletes as possible the opportunity to participate in bowl games this year,” Division I council chair M. Grace Calhoun, the Penn athletic director, said in a statement. “The decision also provides some certainty for schools and coaches as we move toward the postseason.”

In addition on Wednesday, the NCAA Division I Council put forth a proposal allowing current student-athletes a one-time transfer without the need to sit out a season. The proposal reportedly would be voted on in January, and if it passes, it would take effect on Aug. 1, 2021.

Fall and winter sports athletes would have until May 1 to notify their schools of their intention of transferring, though an extension until July 1 would be afforded at those programs that change coaches after the season or if a scholarship wasn’t renewed. Spring sport athletes would face a July 1 notification deadline.

Student-athletes must maintain their academic eligibility in order to receive the transfer waiver.

–Field Level Media