Spartans rally past Baylor
ARLINGTON, Texas — Connor Cook threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keith Mumphery with 17 seconds left to cap a three-touchdown, fourth-quarter comeback in Michigan State's 42-41 victory over playoff-snubbed Baylor in the highest-scoring Cotton Bowl.
The Spartans (11-2) got the winning touchdown after Marcus Rush blocked Chris Callahan's 43-yard field goal attempt with 1:05 left. When Baylor (11-2) got the ball back for one last try, Bryce Petty was sacked on consecutive plays before Riley Bullough's clinching interception.
Petty completed 36 of 51 passes for a Cotton Bowl-record 550 yards and three touchdowns, two to KD Cannon and the other to 390-pount guard LaQuan McGowan that put Baylor up 41-21 late in the third quarter.
Jeremy Langford ran for 162 yards and three touchdowns for the Spartans, whose losses were to Pac-12 winner Oregon and the Big Ten champion Ohio State.
TAMPA, Fla. — Melvin Gordon ran for an Outback Bowl-record 251 yards and three touchdowns and Rafael Gaglianone kicked a 25-yard field goal in overtime to lift Wisconsin past Auburn.Gaglianone tied it with a 29-yarder with 7 seconds left in regulation.Gordon scored on runs of 25, 53 and 6 yards, bouncing back from a subpar performance against Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game to threaten Barry Sanders' FBS single-season rushing record.Gordon finished with 2,587 yards in 14 games — second most in FBS history. Sanders had 2,628 for Oklahoma State in 11 games in 1988, when the NCAA did not include bowl results in a player's statistics.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Marcus Murphy ran for 159 yards, Russell Hansbrough added 114 yards and a touchdown and Missouri beat Minnesota in the Citrus Bowl.Missouri (11-3) won its third straight bowl game to reach 11 victories for the fourth time in school history. Minnesota (8-5) trailed 19-17 entering the fourth quarter, but Missouri pulled away on Hansbrough's 78-yard touchdown run and Maty Mauk's 7-yard scoring pass to Bud Sasser.Mauk settled down to throw two TD passes after interceptions on the Tigers' first two possessions.Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner was 21 of 31 for 258 yards and a TD.
