PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Blake Corum rushed for a 17-yard touchdown on the second snap of overtime, and top-seeded Michigan advanced to its first College Football Playoff championship game with a 27-20 victory over fourth-seeded Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Michigan’s defense ended only the second overtime game in the 110 editions of the Rose Bowl when Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was emphatically stopped when he attempted to sneak up the middle on fourth down from the Michigan 3. Coach Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines will play for their school’s first national title since 1997 against Washington on Jan. 8 in Houston.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Jalen Milroe helped rally Alabama with his legs and put the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide on the verge of its seventh appearance in the College Football Playoff championship game. The dynamic quarterback was denied at the very end. With the Crimson Tide needing a touchdown and facing fourth-and-goal from the Michigan 3-yard line in overtime, Milroe tried to go up the middle on a draw, but was stopped by Josaiah Stewart for a 1-yard gain, giving the top-ranked Wolverines a 27-20 victory in the 110th Rose Bowl. Milroe finished with 63 yards on 21 carries despite being sacked six times, but most of those yards came after halftime.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava ran for three touchdowns and threw for one in his first career start, and No. 25 Tennessee shut down No. 20 Iowa’s Division I-worst offense to beat the Hawkeyes 35-0 in the Citrus Bowl. Iamaleava stepped in for senior Joe Milton, who opted out of the game to prepare for the NFL draft. The 19-year-old threw for 151 yards, and his 27 rushing yards included three scores. Dylan Sampson rushed 20 times for 133 yards for the Vols, and Tennessee’s defense did the rest against an Iowa offense that came in averaging 16.6 points per game and 238.8 yards. The Hawkeyes were blanked in consecutive games to close the season
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Garrett Nussmeier threw for 395 yards and three touchdowns, helping 13th-ranked LSU launch its post-Jayden Daniels era with a come-from-behind 35-31 victory over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Stepping in to make his first college start after Heisman Trophy winner Daniels opted out to begin preparing for the NFL draft, Nussmeier completed 31 of 45 passes. He tossed TD passes of 14 yards to Chris Hilton and 38 and 4 yards to Brian Thomas. Thomas’ second touchdown gave LSU its only lead with 3:08 remaining. Nussmeier rallied the Tigers from a 14-point second-half deficit to overshadow a stellar performance by Wisconsin’s Tanner Mordecai, who threw for a season-high 378 yards and three TDs.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The No. 25 Tennessee Volunteers have built their program under coach Josh Heupel based on speed and getting through as many plays as possible without huddling. The No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes are the opposite, relying on a stifling defense to give their struggling offense a chance to score. If styles make fights, the Citrus Bowl will be an interesting one between one of the best offenses in the nation against one of the best defenses in college football.
UNDATED (AP) — Purdue remained atop the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the third straight week while Gonzaga dropped to No. 24 after a loss to San Diego State but managed to keep alive its streak of 142 consecutive weeks in the poll. The Boilermakers picked up three first-place votes and had 49 of 63 from the national panel of voters. Kansas was second with five first-place votes and Houston remained third with the other nine first-place votes. UConn and Tennessee each moved up one spot to round out the top five following Arizona’s loss to Stanford on Sunday. The Wildcats fell from fourth to 10th.
UNDATED (AP) — South Carolina started the new year where it finished off 2023 — atop The Associated Press women’s basketball poll. The Gamecocks received 34 of the 35 first-place votes from a national media panel Monday. They had been unanimous the previous six weeks. UCLA got the other No. 1 vote after beating then-No. 6 USC in a Los Angeles showdown. Syracuse entered the poll at No. 25, marking its first appearance since Jan. 18, 2021. No. 3 North Carolina State and Iowa followed UCLA. Colorado moved up three spots to No. 5 after a win over then-No. 12 Utah.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sportsbook director Jay Kornegay is anticipating massive crowds at Westgate’s Las Vegas location this weekend and Monday to bet on the two College Football Playoff semifinal games. Part of it is timing. Last season’s games were on New Year’s Eve. This season’s games are on New Year’s Day. The other part is the field. Michigan is ranked first by the CFP committee. The Wolverines face No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl. No. 2 Washington plays No. 3 Texas in the Sugar Bowl.
