Bowl season begins; BYU steps on the gas

In the first game of college football's bowl season, freshman Jake Heaps threw four touchdown passes, connecting with Cody Hoffman on three, and finished with 264 yards passing to help BYU beat overmatched Texas-El Paso, 52-24, on Saturday in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque.

It capped a big turnaround for the Cougars (7-6), who began the season 1-4.

Coffman had 137 yards receiving, while Joshua Quezada and J.J. DiLuigi combined for 199 yards on the ground.

Humanitarian Bowl. Quarterback Chandler Harnish ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, and Northern Illinois made interim coach Tom Matukewicz a winner with a 40-17 victory over Fresno State in Boise, Idaho.

Division II Championship. David Nadeau's 32-yard kick as time expired in Florence, Ala., gave 15-0 Minnesota-Duluth a 20-17 victory over Delta State in the Division II national title game, wrapping up the school's second perfect season in the last three years.

Stagg Bowl. Levell Coppage ran for 299 yards and three touchdowns and Wisconsin-Whitewater forced five turnovers to win its second consecutive NCAA Division III football national championship, 31-21, in Salem, Va.

NAIA Championship. In Rome, Ga., quarterback Gary Wagner had an 83-yard touchdown run, and Carroll College beat Sioux Falls, 10-7, in the NAIA championship game, snapping the Cougars' winning streak at 42 games.

Terrapin soup. The University of Maryland has told head coach Ralph Friedgen that he cannot return in 2011, according to the Baltimore Sun. Friedgen has reportedly been asked to retire. If he refuses, the school could buy him out of his nearly $2 million per year contract.

Friedgen is the 2010 ACC coach of the year. He has a 74-50 record over 10 seasons and will take the team to the Military Bowl on Dec. 29.