Oklahoma State Cowboys Set Record in Fiesta Bowl Win Over Notre Dame; Baylor Does Same in Sugar Bowl
Notre Dame blows 21-point Fiesta Bowl lead, loses to Oklahoma State in Marcus Freeman's debut
Sam Cooper
Sun, January 2, 2022, 7:12 AM·
Everything was going wonderfully in Marcus Freeman’s debut as Notre Dame head coach. And then the wheels fell off.
Facing Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl, Notre Dame was carving up the OSU defense with its passing game and jumped out to a 28-7 lead late in the first half. And with the Notre Dame defense stifling the OSU offense, it looked like the Irish would cruise to a victory to kick off the Freeman era in South Bend in style.
Instead, Oklahoma State stormed back and scored 30 unanswered points en route to a 37-35 victory over the Irish.
Notre Dame’s defense simply had no answers in the second half. The Cowboys cut Notre Dame’s lead to 28-14 with a four-play, 75-yard drive right before halftime and that carried over into the second half.
In the third quarter, Oklahoma State embarked on scoring drives of 87 and 89 yards to tie the score at 28-28. Spencer Sanders, who struggled mightily in OSU’s Big 12 title game loss, was excellent during the comeback. And before the quarter came to an end, Oklahoma had a 31-28 lead - its first of the ballgame.
From there, the Cowboys added on two more field goals to make it 37-28 late in the fourth while the defense put the clamps on Notre Dame’s offense. The lead actually should have been bigger. Oklahoma State fumbled twice inside the Notre Dame 15 in the fourth quarter, including once just before crossing the plane of the goal line.
But those mistakes wouldn’t matter. The heralded Oklahoma State defense, playing without defensive coordinator Jim Knowles (who left for Ohio State), made the halftime adjustments it needed and overwhelmed the Irish throughout the second half. The Irish wouldn’t get on the second half scoreboard until there was just 1:05 remaining. It was too late.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman greets players prior to the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022, in Glendale, Ariz.
With the win, Oklahoma State reached the 12-win mark for just the second time in program history. The Cowboys lost a heartbreaker in the Big 12 title game and just missed out on a College Football Playoff berth. A New Year’s Six bowl win over a program like Notre Dame has to feel like a strong consolation for the Cowboys.
On the Notre Dame side, it was a pretty stunning collapse after such a hot start. Jack Coan was on fire early, throwing for 342 yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone. Those passing lanes for Coan were not there in the second half as he was just 14-of-35 for 167 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the game’s last two quarters.
By comparison, Sanders was 23-of-30 for 236 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. He finished the game with a season-high 371 yards and four touchdowns through the air. He also rushed for 125 yards, another season high.
There’s still a lot to be optimistic about for Notre Dame under Freeman, but this is a game that will leave a bad taste throughout the offseason.
https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-blows-21-point-fiesta-bowl-lead-loses-to-oklahoma-state-in-marcus-freemans-debut-221230283.html
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Winners and losers of college football's bowl season
Nick Bromberg and Sam Cooper
Sun, January 2, 2022, 11:17 AM·
We’ve just about reached the end of bowl season. It’s been quite a ride.
While the two College Football Playoff semifinal games resulted in blowouts, there have been some truly excellent games over the course of the last few weeks. That includes Saturday night’s Rose Bowl thriller between Ohio State and Utah.
With a few more bowls to go (the national title game not included), we figured it was time to assess whose bowl performances were the best and worst across college football.
Let’s go.
Winners
. . .
Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State fell just short of winning the Big 12 and potentially earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. That was disappointing, no doubt. But a 21-point comeback victory over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl isn’t the worst consolation prize. The Cowboys fell behind 28-7 late in the first half but responded with 30 unanswered points. Spencer Sanders, who struggled with turnovers in the Big 12 title game, had his best outing of the season with 371 yards and four TDs passing and 125 rushing yards. With the win, OSU reached the 12-win mark for just the second time in program history.
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Baylor gets school-record 12th win with Sugar Bowl victory over Ole Miss
Sam Cooper
Sun, January 2, 2022, 2:34 PM·
No. 7 Baylor capped off a remarkable turnaround with a few more milestones: the program’s first-ever 12-win season and a major bowl victory.
In 2020, Dave Aranda’s first season in Waco, the Bears managed to win only two games. A year later, Baylor won 12 of them. That included a Big 12 title, the program’s first outright conference championship since 2013 and the Sugar Bowl over No. 8 Ole Miss on Saturday night in New Orleans.
The 21-7 win over the Rebels is the first in a New Year’s Six bowl game since 1979, when Baylor beat Clemson in the Peach Bowl. The win also gives the Bears a program record for most wins in a single season.
Baylor got the job done on Saturday night with a stalwart defensive effort and a bruising ground attack. Early on, after Ole Miss lost star quarterback Matt Corral to an injury, Baylor opened up the scoring with a 96-yard pick-six by Al Walcott.
Luke Altmyer was in the game for Corral and led the Ole Miss offense to the BU 12-yard line, but had his pass tipped at the line. That ball then fell right into the hands of Walcott, who then sprinted nearly the length of the field for a touchdown.
That was the only score of the half. And in the third quarter, Ole Miss managed to tie the score at 7-7.
Early in the fourth quarter Ole Miss missed a potential go-ahead field goal and BU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes reached into his bag of tricks when the Bears went back on offense. Baylor QB Gerry Bohanon was struggling, so Grimes got the ball into the hands of speedy receiver Monaray Baldwin on an end-around.
Baldwin exploded through the Rebels defense for a 48-yard touchdown, giving Baylor a 14-7 lead.
On the ensuing drive, Baylor’s defense intercepted Altmyer for a third time and did so deep in Ole Miss territory. The offense cashed that turnover in three plays later when Bohanon hit Tyquan Thornton for a quick two-yard score.
That touchdown came with 7:24 to play and the two-score advantage proved to be too much for Ole Miss to overcome.
In the win, Baylor rushed for 279 yards, registered nine sacks, had three interceptions and held Ole Miss to just 6-of-22 on third down. That's a heck of a way to end a historic season.
https://sports.yahoo.com/baylor-gets-school-record-12-th-win-with-sugar-bowl-victory-over-ole-miss-053456010.html
Sam Cooper
Sun, January 2, 2022, 7:12 AM·
Everything was going wonderfully in Marcus Freeman’s debut as Notre Dame head coach. And then the wheels fell off.
Facing Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl, Notre Dame was carving up the OSU defense with its passing game and jumped out to a 28-7 lead late in the first half. And with the Notre Dame defense stifling the OSU offense, it looked like the Irish would cruise to a victory to kick off the Freeman era in South Bend in style.
Instead, Oklahoma State stormed back and scored 30 unanswered points en route to a 37-35 victory over the Irish.
Notre Dame’s defense simply had no answers in the second half. The Cowboys cut Notre Dame’s lead to 28-14 with a four-play, 75-yard drive right before halftime and that carried over into the second half.
In the third quarter, Oklahoma State embarked on scoring drives of 87 and 89 yards to tie the score at 28-28. Spencer Sanders, who struggled mightily in OSU’s Big 12 title game loss, was excellent during the comeback. And before the quarter came to an end, Oklahoma had a 31-28 lead - its first of the ballgame.
From there, the Cowboys added on two more field goals to make it 37-28 late in the fourth while the defense put the clamps on Notre Dame’s offense. The lead actually should have been bigger. Oklahoma State fumbled twice inside the Notre Dame 15 in the fourth quarter, including once just before crossing the plane of the goal line.
But those mistakes wouldn’t matter. The heralded Oklahoma State defense, playing without defensive coordinator Jim Knowles (who left for Ohio State), made the halftime adjustments it needed and overwhelmed the Irish throughout the second half. The Irish wouldn’t get on the second half scoreboard until there was just 1:05 remaining. It was too late.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman greets players prior to the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022, in Glendale, Ariz.
With the win, Oklahoma State reached the 12-win mark for just the second time in program history. The Cowboys lost a heartbreaker in the Big 12 title game and just missed out on a College Football Playoff berth. A New Year’s Six bowl win over a program like Notre Dame has to feel like a strong consolation for the Cowboys.
On the Notre Dame side, it was a pretty stunning collapse after such a hot start. Jack Coan was on fire early, throwing for 342 yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone. Those passing lanes for Coan were not there in the second half as he was just 14-of-35 for 167 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the game’s last two quarters.
By comparison, Sanders was 23-of-30 for 236 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. He finished the game with a season-high 371 yards and four touchdowns through the air. He also rushed for 125 yards, another season high.
There’s still a lot to be optimistic about for Notre Dame under Freeman, but this is a game that will leave a bad taste throughout the offseason.
https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-blows-21-point-fiesta-bowl-lead-loses-to-oklahoma-state-in-marcus-freemans-debut-221230283.html
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Winners and losers of college football's bowl season
Nick Bromberg and Sam Cooper
Sun, January 2, 2022, 11:17 AM·
We’ve just about reached the end of bowl season. It’s been quite a ride.
While the two College Football Playoff semifinal games resulted in blowouts, there have been some truly excellent games over the course of the last few weeks. That includes Saturday night’s Rose Bowl thriller between Ohio State and Utah.
With a few more bowls to go (the national title game not included), we figured it was time to assess whose bowl performances were the best and worst across college football.
Let’s go.
Winners
. . .
Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State fell just short of winning the Big 12 and potentially earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. That was disappointing, no doubt. But a 21-point comeback victory over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl isn’t the worst consolation prize. The Cowboys fell behind 28-7 late in the first half but responded with 30 unanswered points. Spencer Sanders, who struggled with turnovers in the Big 12 title game, had his best outing of the season with 371 yards and four TDs passing and 125 rushing yards. With the win, OSU reached the 12-win mark for just the second time in program history.
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Baylor gets school-record 12th win with Sugar Bowl victory over Ole Miss
Sam Cooper
Sun, January 2, 2022, 2:34 PM·
No. 7 Baylor capped off a remarkable turnaround with a few more milestones: the program’s first-ever 12-win season and a major bowl victory.
In 2020, Dave Aranda’s first season in Waco, the Bears managed to win only two games. A year later, Baylor won 12 of them. That included a Big 12 title, the program’s first outright conference championship since 2013 and the Sugar Bowl over No. 8 Ole Miss on Saturday night in New Orleans.
The 21-7 win over the Rebels is the first in a New Year’s Six bowl game since 1979, when Baylor beat Clemson in the Peach Bowl. The win also gives the Bears a program record for most wins in a single season.
Baylor got the job done on Saturday night with a stalwart defensive effort and a bruising ground attack. Early on, after Ole Miss lost star quarterback Matt Corral to an injury, Baylor opened up the scoring with a 96-yard pick-six by Al Walcott.
Luke Altmyer was in the game for Corral and led the Ole Miss offense to the BU 12-yard line, but had his pass tipped at the line. That ball then fell right into the hands of Walcott, who then sprinted nearly the length of the field for a touchdown.
That was the only score of the half. And in the third quarter, Ole Miss managed to tie the score at 7-7.
Early in the fourth quarter Ole Miss missed a potential go-ahead field goal and BU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes reached into his bag of tricks when the Bears went back on offense. Baylor QB Gerry Bohanon was struggling, so Grimes got the ball into the hands of speedy receiver Monaray Baldwin on an end-around.
Baldwin exploded through the Rebels defense for a 48-yard touchdown, giving Baylor a 14-7 lead.
On the ensuing drive, Baylor’s defense intercepted Altmyer for a third time and did so deep in Ole Miss territory. The offense cashed that turnover in three plays later when Bohanon hit Tyquan Thornton for a quick two-yard score.
That touchdown came with 7:24 to play and the two-score advantage proved to be too much for Ole Miss to overcome.
In the win, Baylor rushed for 279 yards, registered nine sacks, had three interceptions and held Ole Miss to just 6-of-22 on third down. That's a heck of a way to end a historic season.
https://sports.yahoo.com/baylor-gets-school-record-12-th-win-with-sugar-bowl-victory-over-ole-miss-053456010.html