Baylor runs wild in 49-38 triumph
ORLANDO, Fla. — When it was at full strength this season, Baylor had the most productive offense in college football.
Even without several of their key pieces, the Bears proved they could be just as impressive.
Johnny Jefferson rushed for three touchdowns and a record 299 yards, and No. 18 Baylor ran past No. 10 North Carolina 49-38 in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Tuesday night.
Despite missing two quarterbacks, an award-winning receiver, and a 1,000-yard running back, the Bears’ No. 1-ranked scoring offense stayed creative, pounding out 645 yards rushing and 756 total yards — both records for this bowl.
Devin Chafin added 161 yards and a touchdown, and Terence Williams rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears (10-3).
North Carolina (11-3) tried to match Baylor’s scoring output but had a key fumble in the third quarter that stifled its comeback efforts.
Tar Heels quarterback Marquise Williams passed for 243 yards and three scores, and rushed for two more. Elijah Hood added 118 yards rushing.
Armed Forces BowlFORT WORTH, Texas — If Jared Goff is headed to the NFL early, California’s junior quarterback replaced a couple of pretty big names in the record books in his final college game.How about Aaron Rodgers and Marcus Mariota.Goff threw for 467 yards and six touchdowns and the Bears won in the postseason for the first time in seven years, beating Air Force 55-36 in the Armed Forces Bowl on Tuesday.The 6-foot-4 Goff was already the season leader two times over in passing yards and touchdowns at Rodgers’ alma mater.Now he has Mariota’s Pac-12 record for touchdowns with 43 a year after the former Oregon star threw 42 in leading the Ducks to the national championship game before going No. 2 overall in the NFL draft to Tennessee.
Texas BowlHOUSTON — Texas Tech showed improvement in Kliff Kingsbury’s third season as coach.LSU showed the Red Raiders they still have a ways to go.Leonard Fournette scored five touchdowns and ran for 212 yards as the No. 22 Tigers used a big third quarter to pull away for a 56-27 win over Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl on Tuesday night.Texas Tech (7-6) cut the lead to one early in the third before the Tigers (9-3) scored 21 straight points, with two touchdowns by Fournette, to make it 42-20 entering the fourth.
Arizona BowlTUCSON, Ariz. — The inaugural Arizona Bowl was ridiculed for having two teams from the same conference, both with mediocre records. The stands had vast empty spaces. Many TV viewers were unsure where to find the game.It ended up being quite a show, particularly the closing flourish.James Butler scored on a 4-yard run with 1:06 left and Nevada benefited from a late gaffe by Colorado State’s Jordon Vaden to beat the Rams 28-23 in the Arizona Bowl.
