MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — KJ Jefferson passed to Rashod Dubinion for a 2-point conversion in the third overtime and Arkansas held off a furious second-half rally by Kansas for a 55-53 win the Liberty Bowl. The Jayhawks had rallied from 25 points down in the second half to force overtime, but a failed on a 2-point conversion pass from Jason Bean to Lawrence Arnold ended a four-and-a-half hour bowl marathon. Jefferson passed for 287 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 130 yards and two more scores to lead the Razorbacks. Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels passed for 544 yards and five touchdowns. He set Liberty Bowl records for passing yards, touchdown passes, completions (37) and total TDs scored (6).
HOUSTON (AP) — Tyler Shough threw for 242 yards and accounted for three touchdowns as Texas Tech took advantage of three early turnovers to build a big lead and held on for a 42-25 win over Ole Miss in the Texas Bowl. Shough, who finished with a career-high 111 yards rushing, ran for two scores and threw for a third in the first two quarters to help the Red Raiders (8-5) to a 26-7 halftime lead. Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart had 361 yards passing with two TD throws and a scoring run, but he threw two of his three interceptions and lost a fumble in the first half to put the Rebels in a huge hole.
HOUSTON (AP) — Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin said a Texas Tech player spit on one of his players and possibly used a racial slur Wednesday night in the Texas Bowl. A scrum between the teams came after Dayton Wade fumbled early in the fourth quarter and Texas Tech recovered. There was pushing and shoving between players and Ole Miss’ Jordan Watkins was given a personal foul penalty. After the game, which Ole Miss lost 42-25, Kiffin said that the penalty should have actually been on Texas Tech’s Dimitri Moore, who is No. 11 for the Red Raiders, instead of Watkins, who wears No. 11 for Ole Miss. When asked to clarify if a Texas Tech player used a racial slur, Kiffin said he wasn’t sure.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Riley Leonard threw for 173 yards and ran for two touchdowns, and Duke wrapped up an impressive first season under Mike Elko with a 30-13 victory over UCF in the Military Bowl. The Blue Devils have won four consecutive bowl games, although this was their first appearance in one since 2018. Jordan Moore ran for a touchdown in the first quarter, and then Duke took control in the second. UCF lost three of its final four games this season. John Rhys Plumlee managed only 28 yards passing in the first half and 182 for the game.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Bo Nix threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Chase Cota on fourth down with 19 seconds left and Camden Lewis’ PAT bounced off the left upright and went through to give No. 15 Oregon a wild 28-27 victory against North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl at Petco Park. Cota caught the ball at about the 1 and got it across the goal line as he was being tackled by Don Chapman. The play was upheld on review. Lewis then banked in the PAT. Drake Maye’s desperation heave into the end zone fell incomplete as time ran out.
UNDATED (AP) — Max Duggan has had a wild, four-year ride as TCU's quarterback. He needed unexpected heart surgery before his sophomore year and played most of last season with a broken bone in his foot. He then went from losing his starting job going into this season with a new coaching staff to being the Heisman Trophy runner-up. The fourth-year senior makes his 42nd career start Saturday for the 12-1 Horned Frogs in the College Football Playoff semifinal Fiesta Bowl against Michigan. Duggan has thrown for 3,321 yards with 30 touchdowns, and run for 404 yards with six more scores.
UNDATED (AP) — Florida State plays Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday. Florida State finished the regular season with its best record since 2019. It will look to cap a successful season with its first bowl win under coach Mike Norvell. The Seminoles haven't won a bowl game since Jimbo Fisher left the program after the 2019 season. Florida State led the ACC in rushing with 2,614 yards and 31 touchdowns. Oklahoma is hoping that a disappointing season doesn't end in a sub-.500 record as the Sooners make their 24th straight bowl appearance.
UNDATED (AP) — Dino Babers and P.J. Fleck got to know each other as up-and-coming coaches in the Mid-American Conference. They split matchups in 2014 and 2015 before Babers left Bowling Green for Syracuse and Fleck departed Western Michigan for Minnesota. Their encounters have continued over various offseason trips and again this year at the Pinstripe Bowl in New York. The athletic director who hired Babers and Fleck was Mark Coyle. He left Syracuse for Minnesota in 2016. The Gophers are 8-4 this season. They're 3-0 in bowls under Fleck. The Orange are 7-5 and in their first bowl game in four years.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs expect to have wide receiver Mecole Hardman on the field for the first time in nearly two months on Sunday when the play the Denver Broncos in the penultimate game of the regular season. Hardman has been out since Nov. 6 with an abdominal injury that landed him on injured reserve. He returned to practice a couple of weeks ago, but the ailment caused the already slight Hardman to lose weight that he’s had to put back on. The time off also diminished the endurance that players build up over the course of a season. His return would boost an offense that leads the league in yards per game and trails only the Eagles in scoring.
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said on Wednesday that Jarrett Stidham will start the final two games at quarterback in place of Derek Carr. McDaniels cited the struggles of the offense over the past month as the reason for the switch. McDaniels also said defensive lineman Chandler Jones and linebacker Denzel Perryman were placed on season-ending injured reserve. Jones has an elbow injury and Perryman a shoulder injury. The Raiders host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained his second concussion of the season in last week’s loss to Green Bay, Miami coach Mike McDaniel confirmed Wednesday. Tagovailoa’s status for the rest of the season isn’t known, and the Dolphins are preparing for Sunday’s pivotal game at New England with Teddy Bridgewater as their starter. The NFL and the players association have launched a joint review of the application of the concussion protocol.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Emanuel Miller had 20 points with 10 rebounds, and No. 18 TCU extended its win streak to nine games with a 103-57 victory over Central Arkansas. Mike Miles Jr. added 21 points as the 11-1 Horned Frogs hit triple digits in scoring for the first time since a 100-63 win over Tennessee Tech on Nov. 13, 2017. Damion Baugh had 13 points. TCU outscored the Bears 40-0 on fast-break points. Eddy Kayouloud had 14 points and Carl Daugherty 10 for 5-8 Central Arkansas, which shot a season-low 29% and lost its fourth game in a row.
WACO, Texas (AP) — Keyonte George scored 21 points, and No. 12 Baylor pulled away from Nicholls State in the second half of an 85-56 victory. George and Adam Flagler both made four 3-pointers for the Bears, who never trailed in their final game before opening Big 12 play. Flagler had 20 points and Langston Love finished with 17 on 5-of-6 shooting. Latrell Jones scored 18 points for Nicholls. Caleb Huffman had 11 points and eight rebounds.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Holiday Bowl - (15)Oregon 28 North Carolina 27
Military Bowl - Duke 30, UCF 13
Texas Bowl - Texas Tech 42, Mississippi 25
Liberty Bowl – Arkansas 55, Kansas 53
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Vermont at (14)Miami 8 p.m. (Canceled)
Final (2)UConn 74 Villanova 66
Final (3)Houston 89 Tulsa 50
Final (7)Tennessee 63 Mississippi 59
Final (8)Alabama 78 (21)Mississippi St. 67
Final LSU 60 (9)Arkansas 57
Final (10)Gonzaga 120 E. Oregon 42
Final (12)Baylor 85 Nicholls 56
Final (13)Virginia 66 Albany (NY) 46
Final (18)TCU 103 Cent. Arkansas 57
Final Missouri 89 (19)Kentucky 75
Final (20)Auburn 61 Florida 58
Final (22)New Mexico 88 Colorado St. 69
Final (22)Xavier 84 St. John's 79
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Washington 127 Phoenix 102
Final Detroit 121 Orlando 101
Final Brooklyn 108 Atlanta 107
Final Miami 112 L.A. Lakers 98
Final New Orleans 119 Minnesota 118
Final OT Chicago 119 Milwaukee 113
Final Sacramento 127 Denver 126
Final Golden State 112 Utah 107
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 4 Montreal 1
Final Boston 3 New Jersey 1
Final OT Detroit 5 Pittsburgh 4
Final SO Anaheim 3 Vegas 2
Final Calgary 3 Seattle 2