College Bowl Final Scores & Recap

Tuesday, January 1st)

Final Score: (4) Georgia 41, (10) Hawaii 10

New Orleans, LA - Marcus Howard led a relentless defensive attack as the fourth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs spoiled the unbeaten season of the 10th-ranked Hawaii Warriors with a 41-10 trouncing in the Sugar Bowl at the Superdome. Howard, a defensive end, led the attack on Hawaii’s Heisman Trophy finalist, Colt Brennan, recording three sacks, tipping a pass that led to an interception and scoring a touchdown when he recovered a fumble he forced. The Bulldogs’ defense sacked Brennan eight times and forced six turnovers. Brennan had what was likely his worst game for previously unbeaten Hawaii, which entered the game as the nation’s leading scoring offense. He completed 22-of-38 passes for 169 yards, but was picked off three times and lost two fumbles, for the Warriors (12-1), who had the nation’s longest winning streak at 13 games dating back to last year’s bowl win against Arizona State. Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, on the other hand, had an efficient game, completing 14-of-23 passes for 175 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Knowshon Moreno ran for 61 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Thomas Brown had 73 rushing yards and a score for the Bulldogs (11-2), who ended their season with seven straight wins.

Final Score: (6) Southern California 49, (13) Illinois 17

Pasadena, CA - John David Booty threw for 255 yards with three touchdowns and one interception as sixth-ranked Southern California pulverized 13th-ranked Illinois, 49-17, in the Rose Bowl. Joe McKnight ran for 125 yards and a score, and caught six passes for 45 yards for USC (11-2), which made its 32nd Rose Bowl appearance and won for the second year in a row. The Trojans beat Michigan, 32-18, last January. Stafon Johnson ran for 104 yards on nine carries, and Fred Davis caught six passes for 79 yards and a touchdown for USC, which ended the season on a five-game winning streak. Juice Williams threw for 245 yards on 21-of-35 passing, but had no touchdowns and two interceptions for Illinois (9-4), which made its fifth trip to the Rose Bowl, and its first since 1984. Rashard Mendenhall ran for 155 yards, which included a 79-yard touchdown run for the Illini, who had a four-game winning streak coming into the game.

Final Score: (7) Missouri 38, (25) Arkansas 7

Dallas, TX - Tony Temple rushed for 281 yards and four touchdowns, both Cotton Bowl records, as No. 7 Missouri trounced No. 25 Arkansas, 38-7. Temple accomplished both feats on 24 attempts, breaking the old mark of 265 yards and three scores set by Rice’s Dicky Maegle in 1954. Heisman Trophy finalist Chase Daniel completed 12-of-29 passes for 136 yards with one interception for Missouri (12-2), which rebounded from a disappointing blowout loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game. Will Franklin had five grabs for 77 yards, and William Moore had an interception return for a score and a forced fumble for the Tigers, playing in their first New Year’s Day bowl since 1970, and their first Cotton Bowl since 1946. Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden, the focus of questionable media reports in the past few days regarding a sports utility vehicle he owns, gained 105 yards on 21 carries with a score for Arkansas (8-5). Casey Dick was 19-of-32 for 197 yards with one interception, and Peyton Hillis had five catches for 52 yards. Arkansas’ other talented running back, Felix Jones, rushed 10 times for 45 yards.

Final Score: Michigan 41, (9) Florida 35

Orlando, FL - Chad Henne completed 25-of-39 passes for a career-high 373 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions, and the Michigan Wolverines held off the ninth-ranked Florida Gators, 41-35, to send retiring head coach Lloyd Carr out with a win in a wildly entertaining Capital One Bowl. Adrian Arrington had nine grabs for 153 yards — both career highs — and two scores for Michigan (9-4) which closed Carr’s up-and-down season with a big win. Mike Hart gained 129 yards with two scores on 32 carries, but fumbled twice inside the Florida five-yard-line. Mario Manningham had five catches for 78 yards and a score for the Wolverines, who won despite four turnovers, to none by the Gators. Percy Harvin had a career-high 165 rushing yards on 13 carries with a score, and gained 77 yards on nine grabs with another touchdown for Florida (9-4). Heisman Trophy-winner Tim Tebow, the first sophomore ever to win the award, completed 17-of-33 passes for 154 yards with three touchdowns, and rushed 16 times for 57 yards and another score for the Gators.

Final Score: (16) Tennessee 21, (18) Wisconsin 17

Tampa, FL - Erik Ainge threw for 365 yards and two touchdowns, leading 16th-ranked Tennessee to a 21-17 victory over No. 18 Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Backup quarterback Gerald Jones added a rushing touchdown for the Volunteers (10-4), who bounced back from a loss to LSU in the SEC Championship Game and finished the season with six wins in their last seven games. Ainge completed 25-of-43 passes and was not intercepted on the way to game MVP honors. Josh Briscoe caught seven passes for 101 yards with a score and Brad Cottam also hauled in a touchdown pass in the victory. Tennessee, which lost to Penn State in last January’s Outback Bowl, notched its ninth double-digit victory season in Phillip Fulmer’s 15-year tenure as head coach. P.J. Hill ran for 132 yards on just 16 carries for Wisconsin (9-4), while Tyler Donovan battled through numerous hard hits and threw for 155 yards with a touchdown and an interception in defeat.

Final Score: Texas Tech 31, (21) Virginia 28

Jacksonville, FL - Alex Trlica’s 41-yard field goal with two seconds left capped a furious Texas Tech comeback and lifted the Red Raiders to a 31-28 victory over 21st-ranked Virginia in the Gator Bowl. With the score deadlocked at 28, Texas Tech began the game-winning drive at its own 47. Four consecutive runs by Kobey Lewis, who recovered his own fumble during one of the carries, spotted the ball at the Virginia 34. Graham Harrell then completed a nine-yard pass to Lewis, setting the stage for Trlica’s heroics. Virginia coach Al Groh called a timeout in an attempt to freeze Trlica, who split the uprights and completed a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback. The Red Raiders (9-4) scored 17 points in the final 3:31 of regulation to improve to 3-1 in the Gator Bowl. Harrell threw for 407 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Michael Crabtree caught nine passes for 101 yards with one score and Eric Morris finished the game with 77 yards on nine receptions. Danny Amendola added six grabs for 68 yards and one touchdown. Mikell Simpson rushed for 170 yards on 20 carries, including a record-setting 96-yard touchdown, and added 36 yards on five catches for Virginia (9-4), which finished the season on a two-game skid.

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