College Football Bowl Game Capsules

Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – In what was likely his final game at Louisville, junior quarterback Teddy Bridgewater put an exclamation point on a stellar collegiate career with the Cardinals. Bridgewater threw for a career- high 447 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for a score, and the Louisville defense stifled Miami-Florida en route to a 36-9 triumph in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Saturday. Billed by most as the top quarterback prospect for the 2014 NFL Draft, Bridgewater completed 35-of-45 passes and became Louisville’s all-time leader for TD tosses in a single season with his 31st scoring strike of the year. Bridgewater was named the game’s MVP, marking the second straight year he’s taken home MVP honors in a bowl game after last year’s 33-23 win over Florida in the Sugar Bowl. Louisville (12-1) held the Hurricanes to just 174 total yards, including a minuscule 14 on the ground, and an 0-for-11 mark on third down, as the Cardinals secured their second 12-win season in school history and first since 2006. Louisville’s stout defense caused problems for Stephen Morris throughout the game, with the senior signal-caller completing just 12-of-27 passes for 160 yards for the Hurricanes (9-4), who were making their first postseason appearance since 2010 following a self-imposed two-year bowl ban due to improper benefits from a booster.

Final Score: (25) Notre Dame 29, Rutgers 16

Bronx, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Tommy Rees threw for 319 yards and Kyle Brindza kicked five field goals to help 25th-ranked Notre Dame claim a 29-16 win over Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl from Yankee Stadium. Three of Brindza’s makes came during a second half in which the Fighting Irish outscored the Scarlet Knights by a 16-3 count to prevail and wrap up a mildly disappointing 2013 season on a good note. Rees completed 27-of-47 passes in a turnover- free effort in the senior quarterback’s final collegiate game. Tarean Folston and T.J. Jones added rushing touchdowns for Notre Dame (9-4), with Cam McDaniel churning out 80 of the Irish’s 175 yards on the ground on 17 carries. Notre Dame also intercepted Chaz Dodd three times that contributed to Rutgers (6-7) losing for a sixth time in seven games following a 4-1 start. Dodd finished just 10-of-28 for 156 yards with a touchdown pass to Brandon Coleman, who had 65 yards on a pair of catches.

Final Score: North Carolina 39, Cincinnati 17

Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Freshman Ryan Switzer tied the NCAA single-season record with his fifth punt return for a touchdown, and the North Carolina Tar Heels posted a 39-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Belk Bowl. Switzer matched the mark Chad Owens set with Hawaii in 2004 with an electrifying 86-yard run in the third quarter, one of two special teams touchdowns by North Carolina. Romar Morris had two rushing touchdowns for the Tar Heels (7-6), who had lost their three previous appearances in this Charlotte-based bowl game when it was formerly known as the Continental Tire Bowl (2004) and the Meineke Car Care Bowl (2008-09). Marquise Williams was 19-of-33 for 171 yards with one touchdown pass and added 46 yards on the ground. Brendon Kay finished with 181 yards and one interception on 15-of-35 passing for Cincinnati (9-4).

Final Score: Kansas State 31, Michigan 14

Tempe, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – During a team meeting earlier in the week, Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder requested everyone in the room who had won a bowl game to raise their hands. Nobody did. Those hands can go up now. Jake Waters tossed three touchdown passes to Tyler Lockett and Kansas State earned its first bowl win in 11 years following a 31-14 pasting of Devin Gardner-less Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. The Wildcats had lost all five of their postseason games since beating Arizona State in the 2002 Holiday Bowl, including the Cotton and Fiesta Bowl the last two years. Waters and Lockett hooked up for scores on each of Kansas State’s (8-5) first three drives to help the Wildcats jump out to a comfortable lead. They never looked back. Lockett caught 10 passes for 116 yards, John Hubert carried the ball 16 times for 80 yards and a touchdown and Waters was 21-of-27 for 271 yards in the triumph. After losing several key assets to last year’s Big 12- winning squad — including Heisman finalist quarterback Collin Klein and linebacker Arthur Brown — a bowl appearance appeared bleak following a 2-4 start that included a season-opening loss to FCS member North Dakota State. The Wildcats, though, turned the year around by winning five of their last six tilts to earn a bowl bid. True freshman Shane Morris, filling in for Gardner, who was nursing a foot injury, completed 24-of-38 passes for 196 yards with an interception for Michigan (7-6), which began the season 5-0 before losing six of its last eight to close the campaign. Morris had thrown just nine passes, all in mop-up duty, coming into the tilt.

Categorized in: NCAA Football