Michael Pratt connected with Alex Bauman on a 6-yard scoring pass with nine seconds left and Valentino Ambrosio followed with the decisive extra point as No. 16 Tulane scored 16 points in the final 4:07 to notch a dramatic 46-45 victory over No. 10 Southern California to win the Cotton Bowl on Monday at Arlington, Texas.

After a series of late-game laterals by the Trojans were unsuccessful, the Green Wave players and coaches stormed the field to celebrate a signature win for Tulane’s program.

Tulane (12-2) completed the biggest year-to-year turnaround in FBS history after going 2-10 last season. It’s the first time the Green Wave have won a New Year’s Six bowl game since 1934 and only the second 12-win season in program history.

Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams did all he could for USC (11-3), completing 37 of 52 passes for 462 yards and five touchdowns. Playing without star wideout Jordan Addison (ankle), Williams’ favorite target on the day was Brenden Rice, who hauled in six passes for a career-high 174 yards and two scores.

Tulane was led by a rushing attack powered by Tyjae Spears, who racked up 205 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries. Pratt ran for 83 yards and completed 8 of 17 passes for 234 yards.

USC is still searching for its first bowl win since the 2016 season.

After USC opened the scoring with a pair of passing touchdowns from Williams, Tulane tied the game at 14 with its first passing score of the contest, with Pratt finding Jha’Quan Jackson in the middle of the defense. Jackson made two defenders miss after bringing in the catch, then broke up the sideline and outran the rest of the USC defense for an 87-yard score.

That touchdown for Tulane came after Williams was picked off by Jarius Monroe, and it seemed to tilt momentum in the Green Wave’s favor. But the Trojans scored twice more to take a 28-14 advantage into halftime.

Tulane cut the deficit to four points in the third quarter, but USC again pulled away with two more scoring strikes from Williams to eventually lead 45-30.

The Trojans grinded out long possessions and kept the Green Wave’s tired defense on the field for long stretches. USC converted 13 of 17 third and fourth downs and held possession for more than 39 minutes. Still, USC’s well-rested defense couldn’t stop the Green Wave.

With less than five minutes to play, Tulane showed life and began erasing that 15-point deficit. After Spears’ fourth score, Tulane defensive lineman Patrick Jenkins stuffed a USC rush attempt in the end zone for a safety. That trimmed the deficit to six points and set up Pratt to orchestrate a 12-play, 66-yard game-winning drive.

–Field Level Media

Two 11-2 teams meet in the Cotton Bowl on Monday in Arlington, Texas, when No. 16 Tulane takes on No. 10 Southern California.

Both squads are coming off appearances in their conference championship games. The Green Wave beat UCF for the American Athletic Conference crown, while the Trojans fell to Utah in the Pac-12’s title bout.

Tulane is playing in its fourth bowl game in the past five seasons, but this may be the biggest bowl game the Green Wave have played in since they faced Texas A&M in the 1940 Sugar Bowl. Tulane has a chance to win a New Year’s Six bowl, beat a Power 5 opponent and achieve just the second 12-win season in program history.

For USC, an appearance in the Cotton Bowl caps off a remarkable one-year turnaround under first-year head coach Lincoln Riley. The Trojans went 4-8 last season — marking just the third time in program history that that USC took that many defeats.

With Riley on the sideline and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams at quarterback, the Trojans won double-digit games for the first time in five seasons. USC enters the Cotton Bowl with the nation’s third-best scoring offense at 41.1 points per game.

Williams sustained a hamstring injury in the loss to Utah but aims to play in the bowl game.

“I’m doing well. Hamstring is doing well,” Williams said recently. “I’m confident that I will be out there.”

While USC will be armed with Williams, it will be missing a handful of key players on both sides of the ball. Williams’ top target — former Biletnikoff Trophy winner Jordan Addison — will miss the game due to an ankle injury. Addison caught 59 passes for 875 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

USC will also be without a pair of starters on the offensive line, Andrew Vorhees and Brett Neilon, who are rehabbing injuries ahead of the NFL Draft. And on defense, linebacker Ralen Goforth entered the portal and announced a transfer to Washington. Goforth had 43 tackles and an interception this year.

Tulane enters the game with the 23rd-ranked scoring defense in the nation, allowing 20.5 points per game, and the 18th-best pass defense, allowing 188.5 yards per game through the air. Facing a USC offense without Addison and with a reshuffled offensive line, the Green Wave should have a chance to frustrate Williams.

In the Pac-12 championship game, Utah sacked Williams seven times. Tulane tallied six sacks in the AAC title game against UCF.

Williams amassed 4,075 passing yards, 37 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 66.1 percent of his throws.

“It’s very exciting, to have the opportunity to play a player of (Williams’) caliber, for sure,” Tulane linebacker Dorian Williams said, according to NOLA.com. “He has the ability to make any pass on the field and does a great job of moving in the pocket and outside the pocket. He has great legs.”

Tulane is led on offense by a mobile quarterback, too. Michael Pratt led the AAC in passer efficiency rating this season with a 159.7 mark, but he also rushed 114 times for 395 yards and 10 touchdowns. Through the air, he completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 2,775 yards and 25 touchdowns with five interceptions.

“We had a few of those mobile quarterbacks we played in games throughout this year,” USC defensive tackle Tyrone Taleni said. “We just needed to do better up front, making plays, executing our calls, and once we do that, it’ll be easy to contain him and not make any explosive plays in the backfield.”

USC is 2-1 all-time against Tulane, though the teams haven’t met since 1946.

This is the third time USC is playing in the Cotton Bowl. The Trojans beat Texas Tech in January 1995 and lost to Ohio State in December 2017. Tulane will be competing in the Cotton Bowl for the first time.

–Field Level Media