Eric Shelton scored on the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run with 6:48 left, and the seventh-ranked Louisville Cardinals held off No. 10 Boise State 44-40 Friday in the highest-scoring Liberty Bowl ever.
Stefan LeFors also threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third as the Cardinals (11-1), who have never finished ranked higher than 13th, ensured their best ranking ever by matching a school record for victories in a season.
PHOTO: AFP
The Cardinals won their third Liberty Bowl in their final appearance as Conference USA by snapping a 22-game winning streak by Boise State (11-1).
PHOTO: AFP
Boise State had one last chance to win after Art Carmody's 19-yard field goal with 1:10 left padded Louisville's lead.
Sophomore quarterback Jared Zabransky drove the Broncos to the Louisville 30 before his final pass into the end zone as time expired was intercepted by Louisville safety Kerry Rhodes.
Everyone expected a high-scoring game in a bowl pairing the nation's top two offenses, and the teams didn't disappoint as they swapped the lead five times. Their combined 84 points topped the 80 points by Colorado and Alabama in 1969 and was one of a handful of records set.
Minnesota 20, Alabama 16
In Nashville, Tennessee, Marion Barber III ran for 187 yards and a touchdown and teammate Laurence Maroney added 105 yards on the ground to lead Minnesota over Alabama in the Music City Bowl.
Barber and Maroney were the only runners to go over 100 yards in a game this season against the Crimson Tide, who entered the game with the nation's second-ranked defense.
The Golden Gophers (7-5) ran for 276 yards to overcome three turnovers -- including two by Barber -- on their first three drives. Still, they nearly gave the game away in the fourth quarter.
Rhys Lloyd, who made field goals from 27 and 24 yards, missed a 24-yard attempt with 5:34 left that would have sealed the victory.
On Minnesota's next possession, it was pinned deep in its own end and elected to take a safety to make it 20-16 rather than attempt a punt.
The decision nearly backfired.
Alabama's Tyrone Prothro returned the free kick to the Minnesota 48, and four completions by Spencer Pennington got the Crimson Tide to the 15. But Pennington overthrew an open receiver for a likely touchdown on third down and couldn't convert a fourth-and-5 with 1:14 to left, ending the game.
No. 21 Arizona St. 27, Purdue 23
In El Paso, Texas, Sam Keller showed remarkable poise in his first collegiate start, throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Rudy Burgess with 44 seconds left to lead Arizona State over Purdue in the Sun Bowl.
Starting for injured star Andrew Walter, the untested sophomore completed all four of his passes on the winning drive for 80 yards in a frantic finish that stunned the Boilermakers and the Sun Bowl-record crowd of 51,288.
Burgess caught Keller's final throw on a screen play, slipped two tackles along the sideline and cut back inside en route to the end zone to give the 21st-ranked Sun Devils (9-3) the lead.
Purdue (7-5) had one more chance to go ahead, but quarterback Kyle Orton's desperation heave into the end zone fell incomplete as time expired.
Keller put on quite a show in place of Walter, going went 25-of-45 for 370 yards and three touchdowns.
No. 14 Miami 27, No. 20 Florida 10
In Atlanta, Georgia Devin Hester returned a blocked field goal 78 yards for a touchdown and intercepted a pass to set up another score, helping the 14th-ranked Miami Hurricanes beat the No. 20 Florida Gators in the Peach Bowl.
Miami (9-3) also earned a third consecutive "state title" by beating Florida and Florida State in the same season, spoiled interim coach Charlie Strong's debut and extended its winning streak against the Gators (7-5) to six games.
Brock Berlin, the senior quarterback who transferred from Florida in January 2002, finished 13-of-23 for 171 yards, and had a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Moore in the third quarter that made it 24-3.
But Miami's special teams and defense did more damage on New Year's Eve.
Just four plays after a blocked punt gave the Gators great field position, defensive lineman Thomas Carroll blocked Matt Leach's 32-yard field goal attempt. Hester picked up the loose ball and sprinted the other way for a score.
After a Hurricanes' field goal, Miami forced Florida to punt on the ensuing possession, and Roscoe Parrish caught the line-drive kick and ran untouched up the seam for a 72-yard score.
Chris Leak finished 19-of-39 for 262 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for Florida.
ROSE BOWL
No. 6 Texas (10-1) versus
No. 13 Michigan (9-2)
In Pasadena, California today, two of the country's top programs meet for the first time in the one BCS game that has little intrigue.
Texas won 10 games for the fourth straight year, but the Longhorns have lost to conference rival Oklahoma in each of those seasons. This season Texas leapfrogged California after its last game to grab an at-large BCS berth and will need a victory to prove it belongs.
The Longhorns have one of the best backs in the country in Cedric Benson -- he is fourth with 160.3 rushing yards a game -- but their passing attack is largely suspect.
Michigan has an athletic defense that will look to stop the run, and the freshman backfield of Chad Henne at quarterback and Mike Hart at running back gives the Wolverines a balanced offense.
Michigan lost to Notre Dame early this season and finished its season with a loss to Ohio State.
The Wolverines were Big Ten champions, but did not win outright; they won a tiebreaker because of their regular-season victory over Iowa.
FIESTA BOWL
No. 19 Pittsburgh (8-3)
versus No. 5 Utah (11-0)
For each of these teams a victory in Tempe, Arizona today would earn a measure of respect.
Utah went undefeated and won its second straight Mountain West title to become the first team from outside the six major conferences to earn a berth in a BCS game, but the Utes still needs a victory to prove they belong with the major conferences.
Utah's junior quarterback, Alex Smith, threw 28 touchdown passes and only four interceptions while also running for 10 scores. He finished the season with the second-highest passing efficiency rating in the country (174.9).
Pittsburgh won six of its last seven games and finished in a four-way tie atop a weak Big East Conference. By virtue of a complicated tiebreaker, the Panthers earned the conference championship. A victory by the Panthers would go a long way toward proving that a Big East without Miami and Virginia Tech still deserves a BCS berth.
Quarterback Tyler Palko played strong down the stretch, throwing 16 of his 23 touchdown passes in the last five games.
Both coaches are in their last games with these schools: Utah's Urban Meyer is headed to Florida, while Pitt's Walt Harris will coach Stanford next season.
SUGAR BOWL
No. 9 Virginia Tech (10-2)
versus No. 3 Auburn (12-0)
Despite a 12-0 record for the first time and its first Southeastern Conference title since 1989, Auburn was left out of the national title picture.
The Tigers have little time to feel sorry for themselves because of a tough, well-coached Virginia Tech squad. The teams are very similar. Virginia Tech has the fourth-ranked defense in the country and Auburn the fifth best.
Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell threw 19 touchdown passes and only six interceptions, while Hokies quarterback Bryan Randall had 19 touchdown passes and seven interceptions.
Auburn's advantage seems to be its ability to run the ball. Running backs Carnell Williams (1,104 yards rushing) and Ronnie Brown (845) combined for 20 touchdowns.
Virginia Tech, which was picked no higher than sixth in the preseason Atlantic Coast Conference rankings, started the season 2-2 but won its last eight games. The biggest was a 16-10 victory over Miami in the final game that gave the Hokies the ACC crown and a berth in a BCS game. Auburn has trailed only twice this season -- only once in the fourth quarter -- and if the Hokies can force the Tigers to play from behind in New Orleans today, they may be able to pull an upset.
ORANGE BOWL
No. 1 Southern California (12-0)
versus No. 2 Oklahoma (12-0)
Two undefeated teams with 17 combined national titles and no shortage of star power square off in Miami today in what could be one of the greatest national championship games.
Each team boasts a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback, with USC's Matt Leinart winning this year and the Sooners' Jason White taking the award last year.
On the other side of the ball, USC has the seventh-ranked defense in the country, while Oklahoma's is ranked ninth. The difference maker could be the Trojans' versatile Reggie Bush, who has accounted for 2,181 all-purpose yards as a running back, receiver and kick returner; his average of 181.75 all-purpose yards a game is fourth in the country.
Although Leinart won the Heisman, Bush's teammates named him USC's most valuable player.
Oklahoma's main weapon on offense has been the freshman running back Adrian Peterson, who finished second in the Heisman voting. The Trojans counter with the second-ranked rushing defense (75.3 yards a game), and if they can stop Peterson they may be on their way to a national title.
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