LSU gave Matt Flynn all the help he needed to be successful, and then toyed with Miami before dealing the Hurricanes their most lopsided bowl loss.
Flynn threw two touchdown passes, Joseph Addai rushed for 130 yards and the No. 10 Tigers humbled Miami's proud defense, even running a couple of fake kicks after the game was a rout, romping 40-3 in the Peach Bowl on Friday night.
Trash-talking between players grew into a postgame brawl in the LSU tunnel, and Larry Coker, coach of No. 9 Miami, said two of his players were knocked unconscious.
PHOTO: AP
There were shoves and punches between players immediately after the game as the teams left the field by the same tunnel. Georgia State Patrol officers intervened, and minutes later Miami's Andrew Bain, apparently dazed, was escorted by officers back out of the tunnel.
Coker said Bain and Miami's Khalil Jones were knocked unconscious, and the coach said no players were detained by police. No players were hospitalized.
"I don't know what happened and I don't condone it," Coker said.
PHOTO: AP
LSU's Jacob Hester, who ran for 70 yards and a touchdown said trash-talking, some involving LSU receiver Dwayne Bowe, a Miami native, began as good-natured fun.
"We had a guy who is from Miami who was kidding around with one of his boys," Hester said. "Miami thought it was something serious. They came in the tunnel and they were swinging, but it was just a joke between friends."
After a few minutes, the entire LSU team was back on the field celebrating the win with fans.
PHOTO: AP
Miami players weren't available for comment after the game.
Flynn, a sophomore filling in for injured starter JaMarcus Russell, completed 13 of 22 passes for 196 yards with no interceptions.
"I was just trying to get the ball to the athletes around me," Flynn said.
Flynn also rushed for 39 yards and was named the offensive MVP.
"Our players come into the final game of the season with a new quarterback, a very capable quarterback," said LSU coach Les Miles. "I felt they had to control the line of scrimmage for him and find a back who would scrap for yards and play dominant defense and that's what they did."
Led by Flynn, LSU (11-2) rebounded from its worst game of the year, a 34-14 loss to Georgia in the Dec. 3 Southeastern Conference championship game, returning to the Georgia Dome and delivering one of its strongest performance of the season.
LSU scored on eight straight possessions in a streak that started with a field goal late in the first quarter.
Even with a lopsided lead, LSU attempted to add to the rout, faking a field goal while leading 34-3 late in the third quarter and then failing on a fake punt with a 40-3 lead late in the game.
Miles said he called for the fake field goal but his players called for the fake punt.
Coker wasn't affected by the trickery.
"They can call whatever play they want to," he said. "It is our job to stop it."
LSU piled up 468 yards, the most allowed by Miami this season. The Hurricanes (9-3) entered leading the nation in pass defense and ranked third in total defense.
The Tigers were just as impressive on defense, holding Miami to 153 yards and six first downs -- none in the second half. Kyle Wright completed only 10 of 21 passes for 100 yards.
LSU's dominant performance negated Miami's plan to utilize cornerback Devin Hester as a multiple threat on offense.
On Miami's first possession, Hester lined up at tailback and receiver and also took a direct snap at quarterback. Hester had a 24-yard run on the possession to set up a field goal. But overall, the junior and the Hurricanes were contained.
LSU had its largest margin of victory in a bowl game, easily surpassing its 45-26 win over Michigan in the 1995 Independence Bowl. Miami's previous most lopsided loss in a bowl game was a 29-0 loss to Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 1994.
Addai scored on a 4-yard pass from Flynn in the second quarter and a 6-yard run in the third.
With the game tied at 3-3, a key fourth-down stop by LSU's defense early in the second quarter gave the Tigers momentum.
On fourth-and-1 from the LSU 35, Wright faked a pitch to his left and then ran right, where he was hit by LSU's Melvin Oliver short of the first down.
The Tigers seized the opportunity as Flynn connected with Craig Davis for a 49-yard touchdown pass over Miami cornerback Randy Phillips.
After Jackson's 47-yard field goal pushed LSU's lead to 13-3, the Tigers added another touchdown late in the half on Flynn's pass to Addai.
Addai went over 100 yards rushing on his second carry of the second half. He rambled 25 yards to the 6, setting up his scoring run on a pitch to the left one play later.
With Addai suffering from cramps, Jacob Hester filled in on the Tigers' second touchdown drive of the quarter. Hester's dive over the top from the 1 with 5:27 left in the period pushed the lead to 34-3.
The Tigers faked a 46-yard field goal late in the quarter, with Jackson running 12 yards to the Miami 17. Colt David's 35-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter pushed the lead to 37-3. Jackson added a 50-yard field goal with 8:20 left to play.
No. 17 UCLA 50, Northwestern 38
Brandon Breazell put the perfect wild finish on a wacky Sun Bowl.
Twice, in fact.
Breazell returned two onside kicks for a pair of highlight-reel touchdowns and Drew Olson recovered from an awful first quarter by throwing three TD passes, leading No. 17 UCLA to a 50-38 win over Northwestern on Friday.
"I won't be able to watch it on TV because we'll be on the plane going home," Breazell said. "I hope somebody records it for me."
The Wildcats (7-5) pulled within 36-31 with 2:29 remaining when Brett Basanez threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Mark Philmore, but Breazell -- a receiver lined up to make sure the Bruins kept the ball -- returned the ensuing onside kick 43 yards.
After Basanez added a 5-yard TD pass to Shaun Herbert with 23 seconds remaining, Breazell struck again by taking the next onside kick for a 41-yard score, punctuating the highest-scoring Sun Bowl ever.
"The first one, I was kind of stunned," Breazell said. "When I got to the end zone, I saluted the troops I saw in the stands. The second one, I was real anxious. I wanted it so bad. My mind was going in 100 directions."
Nobody involved with this year's Sun Bowl had seen it happen twice in one game, let alone within such a short span.
It was a fitting ending to a crazy afternoon, where the teams combined to set 11 Sun Bowl records.
It figured to be a wild day, as both teams came in ranked among the national leaders in offense but among the nation's worst defenses. Sure enough, the Wildcats set a record with 584 total yards and the teams combined for another record with 1,037 yards.
But the kickoff returns? It seemed like too much, even in such a wacky setting.
"They were high-hoppers, and he's right there on the front of the line," said UCLA coach Karl Dorrell, who won his first bowl game on the third try. "The first touchdown looked easy. The second one, he had to think on his feet. It was just heads-up play."
Said Wildcats coach Randy Walker: "I can't explain it to you. We have a play for when that happens. That kick isn't easy to execute."
The Bruins also overcame three first-quarter interceptions by Olson, who threw three all season while setting a school record with 31 TD passes. They erased a 22-0 early deficit and survived an injury to star tailback Maurice Drew.
"I don't know if I've ever had a game quite like that one," Walker said, still looking for the school's first postseason win since beating Cal in the Rose Bowl after the 1948 season.
Olson, who finished 10-of-24 for 143 yards, guided the Bruins to 29 unanswered points. He threw a 58-yard TD strike to Ryan Moya and Bell scored on runs of 5 and 6 yards. Then Olson added an 8-yard TD pass to Marcus Everett late in the first half as the Bruins took a 29-22 lead.
With Drew sidelined much of the first half, Markey filled the void as UCLA established a ground attack. He opened one drive with runs of 24 and 51 yards, setting up Bell's 6-yard TD, and had 120 yards rushing by halftime.
Basanez was 38-of-70 for 416 yards passing with two TDs and two interceptions for Northwestern, while freshman Tyrell Sutton, who averaged 126 yards rushing per game this season, had 84 yards.
Virginia 34, Minnesota 31
In Nashville, Tennessee, Connor Hughes kicked a 39-yard field goal with 1:08 left, and quarterback Marques Hagans helped Virginia overcome a 14-point deficit to beat Minnesota 34-31 on Friday in the Music City Bowl.
Minnesota (7-5) appeared on the verge of dominating the Cavaliers and winning this bowl for the third time in four years, but the nation's fifth-best college gridiron football offense bogged down after taking a 31-24 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Gophers had one last chance to pull out their fourth straight bowl victory, but Marcus Hamilton intercepted Bryan Cupito's ill-advised pass into double coverage in the end zone with 36 seconds remaining to seal the game for Virginia. It was the Cavaliers' first bowl win since the 2003 Continental Tire Bowl over Pittsburgh.
Missouri 38, South Carolina 31
In Shreveport, Louisiana, Brad Smith ran for three touchdowns -- including a 1-yarder in the final minutes -- and passed for another to rally the Missouri Tigers for a 38-31 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Independence Bowl.
Smith, who rushed for 1,151 yards and passed for 2,022 this season, accounted for 431 yards of Missouri's 504 yards as the Tigers staged their biggest comeback victory of the year.
Missouri (7-5) trailed 21-0 after the first quarter as Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks dominated the first half. South Carolina (7-5) outgained Missouri 312 yards to 174 in the first half and held the football almost 11 minutes longer (20:02-9:58)
Smith completed 21 of 37 passes for 282 yards, with one touchdown and an interception. He passed for 200 or more yards for the 18th time. He also ran for 150 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries.
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