MSU topples Georgia, 33-30 in 3OT; Gators & Ducks win, too

Senior Kirk Cousins had a slow start, but gave the 12th-ranked Michigan State Spartans a 33-30 triple overtime win the #18 Georgia Bulldogs at the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida. The victory ended a five-game bowl losing streak dating to Michigan State’s win in the 2001 Silicon Valley Bowl. It also stated the Spartans’ case for a top-10 final ranking.

Cousins led an 85-yard drive scoring to tie it in the closing seconds of regulation and Dan Conroy’s 28-yard field goal in the third overtime won it. The Spartans, who trailed 16-0 at halftime, had been 0-4 in bowl games under coach Mark Dantonio.

Nose tackle Anthony Rashad White got a hand on the potential tying kick, setting off a celebration among Spartans fans in the crowd of 49,429 at Raymond James Stadium.




Case Keenum threw for 532 yards and three touchdowns to lead the #20 Houston Cougars to 30-14 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions at the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas, Texas.

The Cougars (13-1) finished with a school record for victories and made Tony Levine a winner in his debut as Houston coach. Keenum came into the game as the NCAA’s career leader in yards passing and touchdowns passes, then set a bowl record with 227 yards passing in the first quarter.




Andre Debose returned a kickoff 99 yards—the longest scoring play in bowl history—and Chris Rainey blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown, which made the difference in the Florida Gators' 24-17 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida.

Ohio State (6-7) dropped four straight to finish below .500 for the first time since 1988, and lost seven games for the first time since 1897.




Alshon Jeffery caught four passes for 148 yards and a touchdown before getting ejected for fighting and the South Carolina Gamecocks set a school-record for victories with a 30-13 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

Connor Shaw, who took over at quarterback when senior Stephen Garcia was kicked off the team, came up big by passing for two scores and rushing for another in one. He finished 11 for 17 for 230 yards and ran for 42 yards.




Darron Thomas passed for three touchdowns and De’Anthony Thomas scored on runs of 91 & 64 yards as the #6 Oregon Ducks, wearing special shiny helmets, earned their first bowl victory under head coach Chip Kelly by holding off the Wisconsin Badgers, 45-38 in the highest-scoring Rose Bowl ever played in Pasadena, California.

The last time Oregon won the Rose Bowl was way back in 1917 when they defeated Pennsylvania, 14-0, while wearing leather helmets.




Surviving a missed field goal at the end of regulation and getting a big kick of their own in overtime, the #3 Oklahoma State Cowboys opened the door for the chance at a split national championship with a wildly entertaining 41-38 win over the #4 Stanford Cardinal at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.

Oklahoma State (12-1) kept pace with Andrew Luck and the high-scoring Cardinal, getting huge performances from its two stars, Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon, in their final college game. Weeden threw for 399 yards and the three touchdowns to Blackmon, who announced he’s leaving for the NFL after catching eight passes for 186 yards.