Huskers shut down Arizona
Zac Lee threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Niles Paul in the third quarter to highlight No. 20 Nebraska's 33-0 rout of No. 22 Arizona in San Diego last night, the first shutout in the 32-year history of the Holiday Bowl.
Zac Lee threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Niles Paul in the third quarter to highlight No. 20 Nebraska's 33-0 rout of No. 22 Arizona in San Diego last night, the first shutout in the 32-year history of the Holiday Bowl.
The coaches expected a defensive game, and the Cornhuskers, for their part, delivered on a rainy night, earning their first shutout in 46 bowl appearances.
Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, the Associated Press college football player of the year and a Heisman finalist, had only three tackles, including one for a loss, but helped the Huskers harass Arizona quarterback Nick Foles all night. Suh even went out for a pass early in the third quarter.
Arizona set Holiday Bowl records for futility with six first downs and nine punts.
Humanitarian Bowl. Max Komar made a sliding 16-yard touchdown catch with four seconds remaining, and Nathan Enderle passed to Preston Davis for the two-point conversion, lifting Idaho to a 43-42 victory over Bowling Green in Boise, Idaho.
The Falcons (7-6) took a 42-35 lead with 32 seconds left on a 51-yard pass from Tyler Sheehan to Freddie Barnes, who slipped behind the Vandals' secondary for his 17th catch of the game and No. 155 in his NCAA record-setting season.
Barnes, who had 138 catches coming into the game, broke the record held by Manny Hazard, who made 142 grabs in 1989 for Houston.
But Idaho (8-5) answered with a 50-yard heave from Enderle to Davis that got the ball to the Bowling Green 16. After an incompletion with eight seconds left, Enderle found Komar in the middle of the field, and he slid to cradle the low pass.
Severe knee injury. Miami running back Graig Cooper could miss next season because of a severe right knee injury, a person briefed on an initial diagnosis told the Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of school policies.
Cooper was hurt in the Hurricanes' 20-14 loss to Wisconsin in Orlando on Tuesday when his knee gave way after a misstep on slippery turf late in the first half. He led the Hurricanes with 695 yards rushing this season.
On the play, Cooper picked up a short kickoff at the Miami 24, burst through a hole, and seemed poised for a long runback. Near midfield, he planted his knee in what players described as sandy turf - large divots appeared in the surface all game long - and the joint gave out.