SANTA CLARA, California (AP) Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score to help the Cornhuskers cap a losing season by beating UCLA 37-29 in the Foster Farms Bowl on Saturday.
Among the other bowl games, Virginia Tech beat Tulsa 55-52 in a pulsating Independence Bowl, and Duke beat Indiana in overtime to take out the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
Nebraska found itself in a bowl game despite going in with a 5-7 record; there were not enough teams with at least 6-6 records to fill all 80 slots. That record looked like becoming 5-8 when the Bruins took an early 21-7 lead.
But the Cornhuskers scored 30 straight points. Stanley Morgan Jr. gave them the lead for good with a one-handed, 22-yard catch in the third quarter and Imani Cross, Terrell Newby and Andy Janovich all ran for scores.
Armstrong completed 12 of 19 passes for 174 yards but Nebraska did most of its work on the ground, with a season-high 326 yards rushing.
Josh Rosen threw for 319 yards and two touchdowns for UCLA.
Virginia Tech sent coach Frank Beamer into retirement on a winning note after 29 years with the team by beating Tulsa 55-52 in the Independence Bowl.
Tulsa (6-7) rallied from a three-touchdown deficit in the second half to pull to 55-52 with 3:47 left. Virginia Tech’s Dadi L’homme Nicolas ended Tulsa’s final drive with a sack of Dane Evans on fourth down.
The 107 points were the most in Independence Bowl history. Ford’s 227 yards receiving on 12 catches set an Independence Bowl record.
Michael Brewer threw for 344 yards and Isaiah Ford had 227 yards receiving.
Duke’s Ross Martin kicked a 36-yard field goal in overtime to give the Blue Devils a 44-41 win against Indiana in the Pinstripe Bowl and their first bowl win in 54 years.
After Martin made his kick on the first possession of the extra period, the Hoosiers kicker Griffin Oakes missed a 38-yard attempt, handing the Blue Devils their first bowl victory since the 1961 Cotton Bowl.
Oakes’ try sailed over the right upright and was ruled wide. Oakes protested that it was good, but the kick could not be reviewed.
Washington State’s Luke Falk threw two touchdown passes to lead the Cougars past Miami 20-14 in an ironically snowy Sun Bowl.
Erik Powell added field goals of 30 and 25 yards to help the Cougars (9-4) win a bowl games for the first time in 12 years.
Miami (8-5) lost its sixth consecutive bowl game.
Washington’s Myles Gaskin broke a third-quarter tie with an 86-yard run and had a season-high 181 yards and four touchdowns to help the Huskies defeat Southern Mississippi 41-31 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Gaskin’s other scores came on 2- and 1-yard runs in the first quarter and a 13-yarder in the fourth. On the 86-yarder, he took a handoff inside, broke to the left sideline and shook off one final defender at the Southern Miss 35.
Marshall’s Chase Litton completed 23 for 34 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown in the 16-10 victory over Connecticut in the St. Petersburg Bowl.
Nick Smith made three field goals for Marshall, the last a 32-yarder with 1:44 to play that capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive.
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