A little late but for completeness' sake, here are the results of Saturday's bowl games, the last ones of 2011.
Meineke Car Care Bowl: Texas A&M 33, Northwestern 22
Texas A&M finally held onto a double-digit lead, and Northwestern lost yet another bowl game as the Aggies beat the Wildcats 33-22 in the new Texas-based Meineke Bowl.
Although a shootout was expected by nearly everyone, the first quarter featured only a field goal as Texas A&M took a 3-0 lead. The 2nd quarter was more like it, with 24 points scored, most of them by the Aggies. Northwestern took a 7-3 lead, but a Ben Malena touchdown run and a 26-yard Ryan Tannehill pass to Jeff Fuller gave the Aggies a decent lead, and they tacked on a field goal right before halftime for a 20-7 advantage.
The third quarter has been Texas A&M's downfall all season but they made it through with flying colors. Malena had a 19-yard TD run and a 3rd Randy Bullock field goal made it 30-7 Aggies.
Northwestern never gives up and this game was no exception. Kain Colter ran for a touchdown (2-pt try converted) and passed for another as the Wildcats closed the gap to 30-22 midway through the 4th. But the Aggies ran the clock down and a fourth Bullock field goal late gave them some breathing room.
Texas A&M's #1 rated pass rush sacked Northwestern 8 times, 7 on Dan Persa and once on Colter. They protected Tannehill well as he was sacked just once. Tannehill had 329 passing yards for the Aggies, who improved to 7-6 while Northwestern fell to 6-7.
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: Illinois 20, UCLA 14
Illinois didn't get into the end zone on offense until minutes left in the game but they still beat UCLA 20-14 in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. It wasn't a pretty game by any yardstick.
There was no scoring in the first quarter as both teams' offenses were as inept as they had proved all season. In the 2nd, Illinois' failed 4th-and-1 in their own territory led to a UCLA touchdown as Kevin Prince found Taylor Embree in the end zone for a great 16-yard catch. Illinois drove to the UCLA red zone and had a 1st-and-goal from the 5 but had to settle for a field goal. The 7-3 halftime score reflected the offensive futility of the teams, not great defense.
It wasn't much better in the 2nd half. Both teams missed field goals before the Illini got their first touchdown late in the 3rd quarter on a 39 yard interception return by Terry Hawthorne, taking a 10-7 lead. In the fourth quarter they extended that to 13-7, then finally got an offensive touchdown with a huge 60-yard pass from Nathan Scheelhaase to A.J. Jenkins for a commanding 20-7 lead.
Given the offensive performances of the day, that lead seemed insurmountable and in the end it was. Even though Prince found Nelson Rosario for a 38-yard score with a minute left, but Illinois recovered the onside kick attempt. The Illini won their first game since October 8 and improved to 7-6; UCLA fell to 6-8, the worst record ever for a team that went to a bowl game.
Sun Bowl: Utah 30, Georgia Tech 27 OT
Georgia Tech had their best offensive performance in a bowl game in the Paul Johnson era but it wasn't enough to win as the Utes' overtime touchdown sealed the win at the Sun Bowl.
The Yellow Jackets, apparently aware that teams with enough practice time can scout out ways to slow down their triple-option attack, had some new tricks up their sleeve that kept Utah guessing on defense. They moved the ball well but due to 2 missed field goals and a fumble it was only worth 7 points in the first half, on Preston Lyons' 36-yard run. Meanwhile Utah scored first with a Jon Hays pass to Shawn Asiata, and made a late field goal to lead 10-7 at the half.
Georgia Tech dominated the third quarter with a game-tying field goal, a 31-yard Tevin Washington to Stephen Hill touchdown pass, and a 74 yard interception return by Quayshawn Nealy. The Ramblin' Wreck had a 24-10 lead and looked like they'd win their first bowl game since 2004.
But Utah didn't quit. Hays had two touchdown passes in the 4th quarter to tie the game at 24, first to Kendrick Moeai, then to DeVonte Christopher for 28 yards. Georgia Tech missed a 48-yard game-winner with seconds left, Justin Moore's third miss of the day.
Moore did connect on a 34-yarder in the overtime period after Utah stopped the Yellow Jackets on downs. When it was the Utes turn they picked up where they left off in the 4th quarter and scored on an 8-yard John White run.
Utah improved to 8-5 while Georgia Tech fell to the same mark after a 6-0 start.
Liberty Bowl: Cincinnati 31, Vanderbilt 24
Cincinnati beat Vanderbilt in the Liberty Bowl despite Zach Collaros' 12 of 29, 80-yard performance as Isaiah Pead carried the load for 149 yards against the Commodores.
Vanderbilt's Zac Stacy kicked off the scoring with a 7-yard TD run in the first quarter, but Stacy was held to 57 yards for the day.
Cincy tied it in the 2nd on a 69-yard run by George Winn, then took the lead when Collaros hit Anthony McClung for an 8-yard score. It was 14-7 at the half.
Vandy had the only score of the 3rd quarter, tying the game on a 5-yard Jerry Seymour run. But things really livened up in the 4th quarter, with 17 points in the first minute of action.
Just after Cincy took a 17-14 lead on a field goal, Vanderbilt's Larry Smith hit Chris Boyd who rambled and spun along the sidelines for a 68-yard highlight reel touchdown. Then Cincinnati's Ralph Abernathy took the kickoff 90 yards for a score to make it 24-21 Bearcats.
Cincinnati added insurance with a 12-yard Pead touchdown run; Vanderbilt's comeback ended after a field goal when the Bearcats garnered the onside kick attempt.
Cincinnati capped another 10-win season, their fourth in five years, finishing 10-3, while Vanderbilt fell to 6-7.
Chik-Fil-A Bowl: Auburn 43, Virginia 24
Auburn's offense overpowered Virginia en route to a 43-24 win in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl.
The teams traded touchdowns for a 7-7 first quarter tie and Michael Rocco's 2nd touchdown pass to Kris Burd gave Virginia a 14-7 lead early in the second, but after that the Tigers started to take over. Onterio McCalebb tied it at 14 with a touchdown run, after which Auburn shocked Virginia with an onsides kick that led to Kiehl Frazier's 2nd touchdown run of the day and a 21-14 lead.
Barrett Trotter passed to McCalebb for a 28-14 lead late in the half, but Virginia cut it to 28-17 with a last-second field goal.
The Tigers piled it on in the second half with a 22-yard Tre Mason run, a safety scored on a blocked punt, and two Cody Parker field goals. In between, Virginia scored their only 2nd-half points on a 1-yard run by Kevin Parks.
Both teams finished the season 8-5, but all of Auburn's losses were to top 25 teams: Clemson, Arkansas, LSU, Georgia, and Alabama.
More previews and results: View the complete 2011-2012 bowl game schedule.
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