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Here are the 10 best bowl moments prior to New Year’s games:
10. Many folks’ preseason No. 1 getting crushed by Clemson in Orlando: Turn your head, Sooners fans. It was that ugly in this week’s Russell Athletic Bowl after Clemson humiliated Oklahoma, 40-6. The hot seat is now scorching for Bob Stoops who seems to have worn out his welcome in Norman.
9. Arkansas’ dominant effort against Texas, limiting the Longhorns to 59 total yards: One of the least thrilling bowl games was in Houston where the Razorbacks thoroughly spanked Texas with a fierce effort from its defensive line. Arkansas even scored a defensive touchdown during its 24-point drubbing.
8. Exciting battle of bluebloods USC and Nebraska: Eighty-seven total points and over 500 yards of total offense from each team provided for one of bowl season’s most watchable games from San Diego. USC built an 18-point lead in the second half before holding on to win by three in the final moments after stopping the Huskers short on fourth down.
7. Jamison Crowder’s punt return against Arizona State: One of the top playmakers in Duke football history who recorded three straight 1,000-yard seasons as the Blue Devils’ primary wideout gave his team momentum with a nifty special teams score just before halftime. It wasn’t enough, but Crowder left his mark in Durham during the David Cutcliffe era.
6. Missed kicks that ended in losses for San Diego State and Boston College: For Steve Addazio’s team, this one really stung. Boston College shanked an extra point in overtime to fall to Penn State while San Diego State stubbed its toe against Navy.
5. Leonard Fournette’s kickoff return and 89-yard touchdown run in Nashville: LSU may have lost the game, the SEC’s first loss of the bowl season, but the Tigers’ fabulous freshman posted the most impressive outing of his rookie campaign, registering 264 total yards and three touchdowns against Notre Dame. Fournette’s 100-yard burst through the heart of the Irish’s special teams unit was one of LSU’s best plays this season.
4. TCU’s double-pass for a touchdown on first possession during blowout of Ole Miss: The sixth-ranked Horned Frogs proved a point in the Chick-fil-A Bowl for missing out on the College Football Playoff, running away from the Rebels, 42-3. Trevone Boykin found Kolby Listenbee two yards behind the line of scrimmage on TCU’s first drive following an interception and Listenbee tossed it for a 31-yard score — a double-pass executed to perfection.
3. Sans the fight, a competitive Boca Raton Bowl: The final moments in double overtime were marred by a bench-clearing brawl, but Memphis’ 55-48 win over BYU was thrilling for viewers two days before Christmas Eve. After tying the game on an incredible 54-yard field goal from Jake Elliott in the first overtime, the Tigers sealed the win with an interception on the Cougars’ second possession in the extra session.
2. Nick Chubb’s heroic effort against Louisville: Georgia’s star freshman tailback kickstarted his 2015 Heisman campaign with a Herculean 266-yard explosion against one of the nation’s top rushing defenses. Chubb finished with 1,547 yards this season and 14 rushing touchdowns, ending his campaign with eight straight games with 100 or more yards.
1. The final two plays of the Bahamas Bowl in Nassau: Central Michigan’s heroic 34-point fourth quarter was highlighted by a captivating, multi-lateral 75-yard touchdown on the final play of regulation. Trailing 49-48, the Chippewas tried a two-point conversion for the win but Cooper Rush’s fade to the corner of the end zone fell incomplete. Western Kentucky built a 49-14 lead after three quarters and nearly squandered it. The two teams combined for a bowl season-high 1,254 yards from scrimmage.
