Texas Tech: 45, Northwestern: 38: Moves Big Ten to 2-1.
The Wildcats rallied to get within a touchdown twice in the fourth quarter and were driving for a tie or win when the Red Raiders intercepted a heave on the final play, preserving a 45-38 victory and allowing Tuberville to joke about his risky move. Northwestern (7-6) lost its eighth straight bowl game, extending a drought that dates to 1949. Coming close after being down by 22 points wasn't much solace because the Wildcats were close the last two post seasons, dropping both in overtime.
The consolation prize is coach Pat Fitzgerald is now counting on the guys who've endured three straight crushing bowl losses to come out hungry as seniors next fall. He challenged them with a fiery opening statement to his postgame news conference that's certain to be replayed all offseason.
Mississippi State: 52, Michigan: 14: Moves Big Ten to 2-2
Chris Relf accounted for four touchdowns, Vick Ballard ran for three scores and coach Dan Mullen's 21st-ranked Bulldogs routed Rich Rodriguez's Wolverines 52-14 on Saturday.
The 38-point drubbing was the worst bowl loss in Michigan's storied history and might have sealed Rodriguez's future. His three-year tenure has been tainted by consecutive losing seasons, NCAA sanctions and late-season slides.
Rodriguez said all the speculation about his job was "the elephant in the room" during meetings and practices but insisted his team never "cheated the University of Michigan a day of work."
Paterno hoped the Nittany Lions' record 37th bowl trip under him would set a nice tone for next season. The six losses are the most Penn State's had since going 4-7 in 2004, and the legendary coach is confident the team is headed in the right direction.
"As I told them, keep their heads up. ... Go home and take it easy for a couple weeks, and then we'll start thinking about all we'll get done in spring football," Paterno said. "We're obviously way ahead of where we were at this stage a year ago."
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| A strong running game and defense killed the Spartans. |
Alabama: 49, Michigan State: 7: Moves Big Ten to 2-4
The team picked to repeat as national champions gave a glimpse of everything it could've been and more.
Too bad for Alabama it came too late.
Mark Ingram ran for two scores to break the school record for career touchdowns, and the Crimson Tide rolled past Michigan State 49-7 on Saturday in the most lopsided Capital One Bowl in the game's history.
"We were outcoached, we were outplayed and we were outphysicaled and that's just the way it is," said Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, who worked under Alabama coach Nick Saban when he was at the helm for the Spartans. "Sometimes, you get an avalanche come on you and that's just what happened."
At this point in the day, Big Ten fans started to worry, as they should have. Wisconsin and Ohio State would need to win just to make the Big Ten reach .500. The SEC is one win away (against Ohio State) from sweeping the Big Ten in bowl games for the first time since the 2001-2002 season. Fans started to calm down, as Wisconsin was taking the field, against the TCU Horned Frogs. On Wisconsin, right?
TCU: 21, Wisconsin: 19: Moves Big Ten to 2-5
When Tank Carder leaped with perfect timing and swatted Wisconsin's final pass to the turf, the TCU linebacker felt as if he got a boost from every player at every school that never even imagined playing in the Rose Bowl.
Sure, these unbeaten Horned Frogs realized they couldn't win the national title. They still celebrated their perfection on the hallowed Pasadena turf in the name of all the little guys outside the monolithic powers of major college football.
Defense won this game for TCU. Early on, I said to bank on Wisconsin's defense late. The Horned Frogs proved me, and the country, wrong with a final 2 point conversion stand to seal the Rose Bowl victory.
It's now up to Ohio State to move the Big Ten to 3-5. Even then, the critics will be there waiting. If they lose, it's going to be even worse. The Big Ten is in a no win situation, and now nothing can be done.
