Bowl season is finally upon us! Our reporters are breaking down the best of the games from notable performances, breakout players and so much more.
Saturday, Dec. 17
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel: Fresno State Bulldogs 29, Washington State Cougars 6
A 1-4 start to the season now feels like a lifetime ago. Fresno State hasn’t lost since then, beating Washington State, 29-6, in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel to finish the year with a 10-4 record. Quarterback Jake Haener was sharp, completing 24 of 36 passes for 283 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. And Jordan Mims went off, rushing for a career-high 210 yards and two touchdowns on only 18 carries. But don’t forget the Bulldog defense, which kept quarterback Cameron Ward to just six points, the Cougars lowest point total of the season. A 3,000-yard passer, Fresno State picked Ward off and held him to only 137 yards passing on 32 attempts. — Alex Scarborough
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: No. 14 Oregon State Beavers 30, Florida Gators 3
0:28
Silas Bolden puts on his cape and dives to make an incredible snag for a Beavers first down.
A week after giving Jonathan Smith a new six-year deal worth $30.6 million, the Oregon State coach went out and led his team to a dominating 30-3 win over Florida in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl, securing the Beavers’ first 10-win season in 16 years and their first ever win against an SEC opponent. It was a balanced, all-round effort for Oregon State, which threw for 189 yards and rushed for 164 yards — 107 of which came from junior Deshaun Fenwick. The defense allowed only 1.2 yards per rush. A 40-yard field goal by Adam Mihalek with less than a minute remaining avoided the shutout and extended the Gators’ streak of scoring in games to 436. — Scarborough
Cricket Celebration Bowl: NC Central Eagles 41, Jackson State Tigers 34 OT
In his final game as coach at Jackson State, coach Deion Sanders failed to complete an undefeated season as NC Central upset the Tigers 41-34 in a wild overtime finish. Shedeur Sanders threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Travis Hunter with no time left to send the game to overtime. But it was NC Central’s Davius Richard who did the scoring in the extra period. NC Central reached 10 wins, the third team in program history to reach double-digit wins in a single season. NC Central had 276 yards rushing. Richard had 177 passing yards, 97 rushing yards and 3 total touchdowns. But all eyes were on Jackson State and what would happen as Deion Sanders exits for Colorado. It was a back-and-forth game throughout. Shedeur Sanders finishes the season with 46 total touchdowns. With one chance left to send the game into a second overtime, he threw an incompletion to end the game. Jackson State finishes 12-1, the most wins in a season in program history. — Andrea Adelson
Wasabi Fenway Bowl: Louisville Cardinals 24, Cincinnati Bearcats 7
Louisville claimed the Keg of Nails trophy in the renewal of its rivalry with the Bearcats, using a dominant defense and run game to win 24-7 — its first bowl victory since 2019. The game featured two interim coaches — Kerry Coombs at Cincinnati for Luke Fickell (who left for Wisconsin) and Deion Branch for Louisville, after Scott Satterfield left to replace Fickell. Satterfield was not at the game, instead hosting recruits in Cincinnati. But his former team played hard without him, and its aggressive defense — No. 2 in the nation in sacks — made play after play, making it a long day for Cincinnati quarterback Evan Prater. Louisville, playing without quarterback Malik Cunningham (opt out) was far from perfect on offense but had a season-high 287 yards on the ground — getting 100-yard rushing performances each from reserve running backs Maurice Turner and Jawhar Jordan. — Adelson
Friday, Dec. 16
Hometown Lenders Bahamas Bowl: UAB 24, Miami (Ohio) 20
1:21
UAB LB Reynard Ellis makes the game-saving tackle at the 2-yard line to secure the victory for the Blazers in a 24-20 thriller vs. the RedHawks.
Junior running back Jermaine Brown Jr.’s big day led the way as UAB secured a 24-20 victory over Miami (Ohio), giving incoming head coach Trent Dilfer some momentum to build off heading into 2023. Brown ran 24 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns to help the Blazers win without the services of FBS-leading rusher DeWayne McBride, who opted out of the game. Brown’s fourth-down touchdown run with 1:33 left in the game put UAB in front to stay — the game’s fourth lead change in the second half. Despite losing the turnover battle (3-0), UAB pulled out the victory with the help of six players combining for four sacks.
— Blake Baumgartner
Duluth Trading Cure Bowl: No. 24 Troy 18, No. 25 UTSA 12
What a finish for Troy first-year head coach Jon Sumrall, closing out a 12-2 season by scoring 18 unanswered points to beat UTSA on Friday for the Trojans’ 11th straight win. Troy had just 153 total yards and did not cross midfield in the first half, but five takeaways — including two interceptions and a forced fumble on UTSA quarterback Frank Harris, who was sixth in the FBS in passing coming into the game — was too much to overcome for the Roadrunners. The Trojans became the first team to win a bowl game with less than 175 yards of offense since UCLA in the 2002 Las Vegas Bowl against New Mexico. — Dave Wilson