23) MISSOURI 30, (20) NORTHWESTERN 23 (OT)

EVANSTON, Illinois Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin connected on a seven-yard touchdown pass in overtime as 23rd-ranked Missouri edged No. 20 Northwestern, 30-23, in the Alamo Bowl.

Daniel struggled for much of the game, ending with a season-low 200 yards and tying a career-high with three interceptions. But the senior hit his favorite target on a quick slant for one of his two touchdowns and the Tigers defense held on Northwesterns turn in the extra session to clinch the win.

Maclin, who played possibly his last game for Missouri (10-4) as speculation swirls about future, also scored on a 75-yard punt return with 60 seconds left in the first half.

C.J. Bacher threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns for Northwestern (9-4), which was in search of its first bowl victory since a triumph in the 1949 Rose Bowl.

Tyrell Sutton gained 114 yards on 29 carries and Rasheed Ward had seven catches for 101 yards and a touchdown as the underdog Wildcats fell short of the schools second 10-win season in program history.

RUTGERS 29, NC STATE 23

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama Mike Teel fittingly ended his college career by kneeling out the final seconds of a bowl win for Rutgers.

Teel rebounded from a slow start to throw two second-half touchdown passes, rallying the Scarlet Knights to a 29-23 victory over North Carolina State in the Papajohns.com Bowl.

It was the third postseason win in the last three years for Rutgers, a previously moribund program that had made only one bowl appearance prior to Teels arrival in Piscataway prior to the 2005 season.

After not playing in a loss to Arizona State in the 2005 Garden State Bowl, Teel led the Scarlet Knights to the first two bowl wins in school history – the 2006 Texas Bowl and last Januarys International Bowl.

Mondays contest started inauspiciously for Teel and the Scarlet Knights (8-5), who faced a 17-6 halftime deficit against the upset-minded Wolfpack (6-7).

Posted on December 30th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: College football news, NCAA college football