TAMPA, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Michigan鈥檚 defense sacked Jalen Milroe five times and forced three turnovers by the Alabama quarterback to lead the Wolverines to a 19-13 victory over the 11th-ranked Crimson Tide in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Tuesday.
Dominic Zvada kicked four field goals and Davis Warren threw a first-half touchdown pass to Fredrick Moore for Michigan (8-5), which finished the season on three-game winning streak that included back-to-back upsets of rival Ohio State and Alabama.
Alabama鈥檚 season ended with a loss to Michigan for the second year in a row. The Wolverines and the Crimson Tide (9-4, No. 11 CFP) met in a on the way to capturing the national championship.
Tuesday鈥檚 loss ended Alabama鈥檚 string of 16 consecutive seasons with double-digit wins.
TEXAS BOWL
LSU 44, BAYLOR 31
HOUSTON (AP) 鈥� Garrett Nussmeier threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns as LSU beat Baylor in the Texas Bowl.
Nussmeier, who finished 24 of 34, tossed scoring passes of 10 yards and 1 yard to Trey鈥橠ez Green and 41 yards to Chris Hilton Jr. in the first half as LSU (9-4) built a 34-17 halftime lead.
Hilton caught four passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Anderson had eight receptions for 91 yards for the Tigers, who finished the season with a three-game winning streak. LSU has won three straight bowl games.
Sawyer Robertson was 30 of 51 for a career-high 445 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears (8-5), who had their six-game winning streak snapped. Dawson Pendergrass rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns, and Josh Cameron caught eight passes for 111 yards and a TD.
Baylor closed to 34-24 on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Robertson to Ashtyn Hawkins with six minutes left in the third quarter, and after Garmon Randolph intercepted Nussmeier to give the Bears the ball on the LSU 26, Baylor had a chance to cut into the lead further.
However, on 4th-and-1 from the LSU 17, the snap went over Robertson鈥檚 head for a loss of 36 yards, and LSU capitalized on the mistake with Josh Williams scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run to start the fourth period.
SUN BOWL
LOUISVILLE 35, WASHINGTON 34
EL PASO, Texas (AP) 鈥� Harrison Bailey threw for three touchdowns and Caullin Lacy scored twice as Louisville hung on to beat Washington in the Sun Bowl.
Lacy caught a 9-yard TD pass from Bailey in the first quarter and rushed for a score on an 8-yard end around in the fourth that gave Louisville a two-score lead that looked secure after three quarters.
But Washington rallied with scores on its final two possessions in the fourth, including a 1-yard fade from Demond Williams Jr. to Giles Jackson with nine seconds remaining.
Instead of kicking the extra point to tie it, the Huskies went for the win on a 2-point conversion try that failed when Williams鈥� pass was knocked down in the end zone by linebacker Antonio Watts.
Bailey, who had only played in four games this year for the Cardinals and completed just eight passes for 63 yards, got his first start in place of senior standout Tyler Shough, who opted out of the game to prepare for the NFL Draft.
Washington was led by Williams Jr., a freshman making only his second start, who accounted for five touchdowns. He was 26 of 32 passing for 374 yards and four TDs to go with one interception. He also rushed 20 times for 48 yards and a score.
CITRUS BOWL
NO. 20 ILLINOIS 21, NO. 15 SOUTH CAROLINA 17
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Josh McCray scored his second touchdown of the game on a 9-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to give No. 21 Illinois the lead, and the Illini held on to beat No. 14 South Carolina in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Tuesday.
Illinois鈥� defense helped seal the win by stopping South Carolina with a little more than three minutes remaining. Gamecocks freshman quarterback JaNorris Sellers threw behind receiver Joshua Simon in the end zone on a fourth-and-four play at the Illinois 7 yard line, giving the ball back to the Illini, who ran out the clock.
McCray sealed the victory with a 60-yard run on a third-and-two play from the 15 yard line as Illinois (10-3) closed out the fifth 10-win season in program history and its first since 2001.
McCray rushed for 114 yards on 13 carries, including a 3-yard TD run in the third quarter. Luke Altmeyer threw for 174 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Hank Beatty caught four passes for 90 yards, and running back Aidan Laughery rushed for 67 yards on 16 carries.
The teams exchanged the lead five times in the game, and neither team led by more than one score. Illinois took its final lead on McCray鈥檚 touchdown run with 7:29 remaining.
Sellers completed 24 of 34 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown for the Gamecocks (9-4), who fell short of the fifth 10-win season in program history. He threw a 6-yard TD pass to Simon in the third quarter for his only score.
Oscar Adaway III rushed for 69 yards on 14 carries, including a 36-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter that gave South Carolina a shortlived lead. Adaway made seven catches for an additional 37 yards.
FIESTA BOWL
NO. 5 PENN STATE 31, NO. 8 BOISE STATE 14
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) 鈥� Drew Allar threw three touchdown passes and No. 5 Penn State bottled up Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty for a win over No. 8 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, earning a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
The Nittany Lions (13-2, CFP No. 6 seed) opened their first CFP berth with and appeared headed toward the latest lopsided victory in the new 12-team format by jumping out to a 14-0 lead against Boise State.
But the Broncos (12-2, CFP No. 3 seed) have relished the role of underdog, going back to when their brand went national in the electrifying .
The Broncos galloped back from the early hole, closing to 17-14 on Matt Lauter鈥檚 53-yard touchdown catch midway through the third quarter.
Allar threw his second touchdown pass to John Mackey Award winner Tyler Warren, and Nick Singleton burst up the middle for a 58-yard TD run, sending the Nittany Lions to the Jan. 9 Orange Bowl against No. 2 Georgia or No. 3 Notre Dame.
Maddux Madsen threw three interceptions and Jonah Dalmas missed his second field goal, leaving the Broncos short of the CFP semifinals.
The Associated Press
