College Football
Prescott pure in a big Belk Bowl performance
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dak Prescott closed out his college career in impressive fashion, throwing for a Belk Bowl-record 380 yards and four touchdowns in Mississippi State’s 51-28 victory over North Carolina State on Wednesday.
Selected the game MVP, Prescott completed 25-of-42 passes and ran for 47 yards to become the fourth player in FBS history to throw for 9,000 yards and run for 2,500 yards.
Prescott threw two touchdown passes to Brandon Holloway in the second half to break it open for the Bulldogs (9-4).
Wide receiver Fred Ross had seven catches for 74 yards and a touchdown and scored on a 33-yard reverse. De’Runnya Wilson added five catches for 96 yards and a touchdown to help the Bulldogs break the Belk Bowl scoring record.
Jacoby Brissett threw for one score and ran for another for North Carolina State (7-6), but had two early interceptions that led to Mississippi State’s first 14 points.
Louisville hears victory song in Music City
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Lamar Jackson ran for a career-high and Music City Bowl-record 226 yards and two touchdowns and threw for two more scores to help Louisville beat Texas A&M, 27-21.
The freshman, making his first start since Oct. 30, finished with a bowl-record 453 total yards, and set the Louisville career rushing mark before the end of the first quarter in giving the Cardinals a 20-7 lead they never lost. Jackson ran for 126 yards in the first 15 minutes, including a 61-yard scoring run.
Louisville (8-5) won for the eighth time in 10 games. Texas A&M (8-5) became the first Southeastern Conference team to lose this bowl season. The Aggies made it interesting in the final minutes with third-string quarterback Josh Hubenak making his first career start.
Auburn feels at home in Birmingham Bowl win
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Jeremy Johnson came off the bench to run and pass for touchdowns, lifting Auburn to a 31-10 victory over Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl.
Johnson led three touchdowns drives in a 5-minute span starting late in the third quarter. Auburn (7-6) avoided the first losing season of coach Gus Malzahn’s 11-year college career.
A defense without a coordinator didn’t allow an offensive touchdown for Memphis (9-4) and star quarterback Paxton Lynch.
Johnson gave Auburn a 17-10 lead with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jason Smith. He ran 17 yards on his second play from scrimmage and opened the fourth quarter with a 5-yard touchdown run on his third. Marcus Davis set up two of the touchdowns with punt returns of 28 and 56 yards.
NFL
Broncos forced to focus back in quickly
ENGLEWOOD – The Denver Broncos are refocused if not refreshed.
They didn’t have much time to celebrate their playoff-clinching comeback over Cincinnati in overtime Monday night because they have a short week to prepare for Sunday’s game against San Diego.
Denver (11-4) needs a win to secure a first-round bye and a fifth consecutive AFC West title. The Broncos could tumble into the wild-card round with a slip-up. The Chargers (4-11) are well-rested after playing Thursday night.
So coach Gary Kubiak moved Wednesday’s practice to the night to get his players “as fresh as I possibly can.” Kubiak says his biggest concern is the sprained right ankle of linebacker Brandon Marshall, the top tackler on the NFL’s No. 1 defense.
Associated Press
