The Cotton Bowl Classic that many thought would be a big win for the Big Ten ends in an upset. The Gator Bowl featured a classic between a former perennial College Football Playoff team and an SEC team known more for basketball. Notre Dame comes out firing on all cylinders in the Sun Bowl. And the American picks up another bowl win in an essential home game.
Cotton Bowl Classic: Missouri 14 | Ohio St. 3
The Ohio St. Buckeyes were in the thick of the College Football Playoff discussion all year until they lost to Michigan in their regular season finale. Missouri overachieved most of the season, but most experts didn’t think the Tigers could compete with the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl. But when Kyle McCord announce he was entering the transfer portal, many thought the game would be closer than originally expected.
While Ohio St. was still a favorite with second string QB Devin Brown getting the start, things took a turn once he was injured. Despite completing two thirds of the passes he attempted, he left in the first half and took any hope of an Ohio St. offense with him. The Buckeyes turned to their defense to win the game, and for most of the game, the defense dominated. Ohio St. entered the fourth quarter leading 3-0, but that’s when Missouri finally broke through.
Missouri was finally able to break through for two touchdowns: a rush from Cody Shrader and a touchdown pass from Brady Cook to Luther Burden III. The Tigers won 14-3 clinching their first Bowl win in nine years. It wasn’t the most lopsided game Friday, but the Cotton Bowl may have been the worst game of the day.
Gator Bowl: Clemson 38 | Kentucky 35
Earlier in the day, the ACC and SEC kicked off Friday’s action in what may be the best bowl game of the season so far. Clemson and Kentucky went back-and-forth in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Kentucky looked to be poised to upset the No. 22 ranked Tigers as the Wildcats led 21-10 after three quarters. But both teams exploded for 42 combined points in the fourth quarter. Clemson managed to edge Kentucky 38-35.
Cade Klubnik guided Clemson up-and-down the field, completing 30 of 41 passes for 261 yards. Once the Tigers got close, the running game would finish the job as Phil Mafah rushed for four touchdowns on the day. In contrast, Kentucky QB Devin Leary found the end zone twice with his arm but also threw two interceptions on the day. Two Kentucky running backs also found the end zone, and Barion Brown returned a kickoff 100 yards for another touchdown. The ACC walks away with a big win and the SEC remained winless in the bowl season.
Sun Bowl: Notre Dame 40 | Oregon St. 8
From one of the best bowl games of the season to one of the worst, everything about the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl was a blowout. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish came out fighting and never looked back. Notre Dame led the game 33-0 in the fourth quarter before Oregon St. finally found the end zone with six minutes left in the game. Notre Dame recovered the ensuing onside kick effectively ending the game before they added another touchdown for good measure.
Quarterback Steve Angeli passed for 232 yards and three touchdowns to guide the Fighting Irish to the bowl victory. Seven Notre Dame players also rushed for a combined 236 yards and scored two more touchdowns in the trouncing.
It was not the ending to the season Oregon St. was hoping to see. The Beavers were hoping for a strong finish to the final year of the traditional PAC-12. With ten of the 12 teams fleeing to other conferences, only Oregon St. and Washington St. will make up the conference in 2024.
Liberty Bowl: Memphis 36 | Iowa St. 26
In Tennessee, the Memphis Tigers played a home game as they took on the Iowa St. Cyclones of the Big 12 in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. This was a game of both teams alternating dominant quarters. Memphis came out strong early outscoring Iowa St. 19-0 in the first quarter. The Cyclones responded in the second scoring 13 points while only giving up three, cutting the deficit to nine at halftime. Memphis doubled up Iowa St. in the third quarter scoring two touchdowns while only giving up one. Only Iowa St. would score in the fourth quarter, but a failed two point conversion kept the deficit at ten, giving the Group of Five one more bowl win.
Memphis QB Seth Henigan passed for 364 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for a fifth touchdown. Iowa St. QB Rocco Becht outpaced Henigan as he threw for 446 yards but only three touchdowns. Memphis gives the American one more bowl win while handing the Big 12 a rare bowl loss.
Conference Bowl Records (Must Field 3 Teams Through Entire Bowl Season)
- Big 10 (3-1)
- Big 12 (5-3)
- American (3-2)
- ACC (5-5)
- PAC-12 (3-3)
- C-USA (2-2)
- Sun Belt (5-7)
- MAC (2-3)
- Mountain West (2-4)
- SEC (1-2)
Saturday Bowl Matchups
The bowls pick back up on Saturday with the SEC taking center stage for three of the four bowl games. Ole Miss faces Penn St. in the Peach Bowl at Noon. Two hours later, Auburn takes on Maryland in the Music City Bowl. That will be followed by the bowl that has courted the most controversy this year. Georgia and Florida St. square off in the Orange Bowl in a game that neither team really wanted to play in as both were hoping to make the College Football Playoff. The Saturday games wrap up with a pair of Group of Five teams as Toledo and Wyoming face each other in the Arizona Bowl.
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