WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2020
BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL SEASON
ARIZONA BOWL
Arizona St. edges Florida St.
Cowboys gallop
past Georgia St.
shows the potential for our
defense.”
EL PASO, Texas — With
James Blackman threw
each team missing its stand- a 91-yard touchdown pass,
out rusher, defense domi-
the longest pass play in Sun
nated at Tuesday’s Sun Bowl. Bowl history, to Tamorrion
Hardly pretty, but hardly a
Terry to give Florida State
concern for Arizona State
its fi rst lead, 14-9, in the
coach Herm Edwards.
third quarter. The Seminoles
“Obviously it was a game
trailed 9-0 at halftime.
not pleasing to the eye,” he
Cristian Zendejas kicked
said.
a Sun Bowl record-tying four
Willie Harts returned an
fi eld goals for Arizona State,
interception 25 yards for
including a 34-yarder in the
a touchdown in the fourth
fourth quarter to cut the FSU
quarter to lead Arizona State lead to 14-12.
to a 20-14 victory against
Blackman’s fourth in-
Florida State. Harts, a fresh- terception of the game was
man cornerback, halted a
returned by Harts to put the
14-0 surge by Florida State
Sun Devils ahead for good
(6-7) and helped the Sun
with 10:06 left in the fourth.
Devils (8-5) hang on for their
“When you get six turn-
fourth Sun Bowl victory, de- overs, you should probably
spite not scoring an offensive win the game,” Edwards said.
touchdown.
Jayden Daniels was named
“Our D was on fi re to-
the game’s MVP after going
night,” Harts added. “It just
12-for-28 passing for 198
By John Erfort
Associated Press
yards to lead the Sun Devils.
He also ran 36 yards and a
2-point conversion.
The fi rst half was a comedy
of errors for both offenses as
the defenses stepped up in
the absence of the teams’ star
rushers. Eno Benjamin of
ASU and Cam Akers of FSU
both sat out to protect their
NFL draft stock.
Florida State turned the
ball over three times (two
interceptions and a fumble)
and had a fi eld goal blocked,
while Arizona State lost two
fumbles.
“The guys played hard,”
FSU interim coach Odell
Haggins said. “We made a
few mistakes. We’ve got to
keep creating great habits.
We turned the ball over ... we
can play better. We are going
to play better.”
Cornerback Stanford
Samuels also sat out for the
Seminoles,
Florida State played
redshirt freshman Deonte
Sheffi eld at running back,
who fi nished with 87 yards
on 18 carries. Arizona State
had freshman Demetrious
Flowers and sophomore A.J.
Carter handle rushing duties.
Blackman fi nished 14 of 26
for 244 yards, with one TD.
Terry had nine catches for
165 yards.
“I didn’t perform at the
level my teammates needed
me to perform,” Blackman
said.
By the end of the game, Ar-
izona State was down three
defensive starters – safety
Cam Phillips didn’t dress,
while cornerbacks Jack Jones
and Chase Lucas suffered
injuries during the game.
Sun Devils defensive lineman
Jermayne Lole also missed a
chunk of second half.
Garbers leads Cal past Illinois
the second quarter while helping the
Bears set a season-high for scoring.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As a fresh-
It was signifi cantly different than
man a year ago, Chase Garbers was
2018, when Garbers threw three fi rst-
benched at halftime for ineffectiveness half interceptions against TCU in the
during his fi rst trip to a bowl game.
Cheez-It Bowl and spent the remain-
The California quarterback made his
der of the game on the sidelines.
second appearance in the postseason
“It went a lot better today than last
much more memorable for both himself year,” Garbers said. “It just speaks to
and the Golden Bears.
the guys in our offensive room and the
Garbers threw four touchdown pass- team and how hard we work. We knew
es and ran for another score, leading
playing Illinois there would be shots
California to a 35-20 win over Illinois
we needed to take. You just have to
on Monday in the Redbox Bowl.
execute those shot plays.”
“He’s taken that next step and he’s
The Bears won all seven games this
worked at it, whether it’s the weight
season when the oft-injured Garbers
room, meetings, practice” Golden Bears played more than one half.
coach Justin Wilcox said. “He has
Christopher Brown Jr. ran for 120
just continued to work at it and guys
yards on 20 carries, and Makai Polk
respect him because of how hard he
caught fi ve passes for a season-high
works. It really showed today.”
105 yards as Cal (8-5) won its fi rst
Garbers, who had been in and out
bowl game since 2015.
of the lineup all season because of a
Brandon Peters passed for 273 yards
shoulder injury, got going after being
and one touchdown for Illinois (6-7) in
sacked on the fi rst play from scrim-
his return after sitting out the regular-
mage and throwing an incomplete pass season fi nale with a concussion. Peters,
on the second. The offensive MVP of
who was shaken up again after diving
the game, Garbers completed 22 of 31 out of bounds following a scramble late
passes for 272 yards with TD passes of in the fourth quarter, completed 22 of
4, 3, 2 and 6 yards. He also scored on
37 passes and added a team-high 68
quarterback sneak from the 1 early in rushing yards.
By Michael Wagaman
Associated Press
The Illini lost despite outgaining the
Bears in total yards 450-395.
“We didn’t play well enough. You
have to give Cal credit for that,” Illinois
coach Lovie Smith said. “Sometimes
yards can be a little misleading. They
got in the end zone more than we did.”
The strong showing by Garbers
offset an uneven day by California’s
defense.
The Bears allowed a fi eld goal and
touchdown on the Fighting Illini’s fi rst
two drives, then surrendered a late
fi eld goal before halftime.
Illinois’ offense was mostly stagnant
after that, while California pulled
away.
The Bears had lost three of their
previous four bowl games.
California led 14-10 late in the sec-
ond quarter before the teams combined
for 10 points in the fi nal 25 seconds.
After Wilcox made the decision to go
for it on a 4th-and-goal, Garbers threw
a short swing pass to Brown, who
stiff-armed Illinois linebacker Tolson
Khalan before reaching the end zone.
Peters helped the Illini answer
quickly. He completed three consecu-
tive passes for 58 yards, setting up a
30-yard fi eld goal by James McCourt.
By John Marshall
AP Sports Writer
TUCSON, Ariz. — Wyoming wanted to make the
most of its bowl game after being passed over in the
postseason last year. Giving a freshman quarterback his
fi rst career start didn’t seem like the best approach to
accomplishing that goal.
Levi Williams handled it just fi ne and the Cowboys are
riding off from the 2019 season with a bowl victory.
Williams accounted for four scores, Xazavian Valla-
day ran for 204 yards and scored two touchdowns, and
Wyoming rolled over Georgia State 38-17 in the Arizona
Bowl on Saturday.
“He was composed, made a lot of big plays,” Wyoming
coach Craig Bohl said. “He had a couple things we wish
he could have had back, but for a freshman, for any quar-
terback, he played with a lot of poise and composure.”
The Cowboys won six games to become bowl eligible in
2018, yet found themselves at home watching TV after
they weren’t among the 78 teams to get bowl invites.
Once at the 2019 Arizona Bowl, the Cowboys turned to
Williams over Tyler Vander Waal, who entered the trans-
fer portal but remained with the team for bowl practices.
Williams did not shy away from the spotlight, hurting
the Panthers with his arm and legs.
He threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns, with
53 yards and a score on the ground for the Cowboys
(8-5), who racked up 524 yards to end the season on a
high note.
“He’s a great leader, a freshman stepping up on the
big stage like this,” said Valladay, who had three catches
for 91 yards and a touchdowns.
Georgia State (7-6) jumped to a 10-0 lead in the fi rst
quarter but had a hard time stopping the big-play
Cowboys. The Panthers also turned the ball over twice
on downs deep in Wyoming’s end in the second half and
had a crucial roughing the punter penalty that led to
Wyoming touchdown just before halftime.
The miscues spoiled a gritty performance by Dan
Ellington. Georgia State’s senior quarterback accounted
for 236 yards and two touchdowns despite playing with
a torn right ACL.
“They ought write a book about Dan,” Panthers coach
Shawn Elliott said. “You talk about heart, you talk
about courage, you talk about leadership, you talk about
enthusiasm, you talk about putting a program on your
back.”
The Panthers got off to a fast start, marching quickly
for Ellington’s 4-yard TD run and going up 10-0 after a
fi eld goal.
The Cowboys took over from there, scoring two
touchdowns in less than two minutes. Williams threw
an 18-yard TD to Austin Conway and, following an
interception thrown by Ellington, he found Valladay on
an 8-yard score to put Wyoming up 17-7.
Early in the second quarter, Williams had an intercep-
tion deep in Georgia State’s end on an ill-advised back-
foot throw. He made a similar throw just before halftime,
but that one turned into a 51-yard touchdown when
Ayden Eberhardt broke two tackles, weaved through
Georgia State’s secondary and broke another tackle div-
ing into the end zone.
PAC-12 MEN’S BASKETBALL PREVIEW
Pac-12 amasses impressive nonconference record
eight, four through nine.”
The Pac-12 has three ranked
PHOENIX — The Pac-12 has
teams heading into conference play:
gone through a couple of rough
No. 6 Oregon, No. 21 Washington
seasons the past few years. The con- and No. 24 Arizona. The conference
ference went 0 for 3 in the in 2018
has a combined winning percentage
NCAA Tournament and last year
of .744 through Saturday’s games
looked like it may have only one
and had three wins over top-15
team in the bracket of 68 before the teams in a span of a week in late
selection committee pushed three
December.
through.
Every Pac-12 team has a winning
This season, the Pac may be back. record except 6-6 California and fi ve
Bolstered by loaded teams at the teams have double-digit wins.
top and with depth nearly all the
Pac-12 teams could end up beat-
way through, the Pac-12 is poised to ing up on one another during the
be among college basketball’s elite
conference season, as has happened
conferences again as the season
in the past, but the league appears
turns to league play this week.
to be in good shape for a strong
“There are times when we’ve had showing in March.
a very good upper tier or couple of
A few things to know as the Pac-
teams that really could challenge
12 gets ready to kick off its confer-
deep into the NCAA Tournament,
ence season:
but maybe the bottom team or a
couple teams at the bottom almost SOARING DUCKS
Oregon was picked to win the Pac-
acted as an anchor against all of
us,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. 12 in the preseason media poll and
“But this year, I don’t believe that’s has lived up to expectations so far.
The Ducks (11-2) have three wins
the case. I think the middle has
never been stronger. It’s hard to dif- over ranked opponents, including a
ferentiate maybe between the very one-point road victory over then-No.
top teams and maybe four through 5 Michigan, and their only losses
By John Marshall
AP Basketball Writer
to fi nd its footing under fi rst-year
coach Mick Cronin.
The Bruins (7-6) lost at home to
Hofstra, went 1-2 at the Maui Invi-
tational and closed out the noncon-
ference season with a home loss to
Cal State Fullerton.
Arizona State (9-4) got off to a
strong start with a win over St.
John’s in New York and shut down
Georgia star freshman Anthony
SURPRISING STANFORD
Edwards.
RANKED TEAMS
Stanford didn’t have many out-
The Sun Devils followed with an
Washington generated plenty of
side expectations heading into the
ugly 40-point loss to Saint Mary’s
preseason buzz after coach Mike
season. The Cardinal were young,
and a home loss to Creighton before
Hopkins landed a stellar recruit-
struggling with injuries and picked beating Texas Southern to close out
ing class, led by Isaiah Stewart and to fi nish 10th in the preseason poll. the nonconference schedule.
Jaden McDaniels.
Heading into Sunday’s game
Oregon State (10-2) has one of the
The 6-foot-9 freshman duo has
against Kansas, Stanford was the
Pac-12’s best players in Tres Tinkle
lived up to expectations. Stewart is surprise of the Pac-12. The Cardinal and rolled through most of a rela-
averaging 19.2 points and 8.8 re-
(11-1) had more wins than any team tively easy nonconference schedule.
bounds while shooting 61% percent. in the conference and their only loss The Beavers followed with a clunker
McDaniels is putting up 14.4 points was by one to No. 12 Butler at a
against Texas A&M, scoring 49
and 5.6 rebounds for the Huskies
neutral site.
points in a 15-point loss.
(10-3).
Junior big man Oscar da Silva
Utah (9-3) has one of the Pac-12’s
Arizona (10-3) got off to a stellar
has been terrifi c so far this season, best wins so far this season, knock-
start behind the freshman trio of
averaging 17.6 points and 6.0 re-
ing off then-No. 6 Kentucky in Las
Nico Mannion, Josh Green and Zeke bounds while shooting 61%.
Vegas. The Utes also have losses to
Nnaji. The Wildcats stumbled with
Coastal Carolina and Tulane and
INCONSISTENT TEAMS
losses to Baylor, Gonzaga and St.
scored 52 points in a blowout loss to
UCLA may need a little time
John’s but have the type of roster
No. 15 San Diego State.
are to top-ranked Gonzaga and
North Carolina.
Payton Pritchard has been superb
to start his senior season, averaging
19.6 points and 4.3 rebounds, and
Oregon has four players averaging
at least 10 points. The Ducks also
got a huge boost in early December,
when 6-foot-11 freshman N’Faly
Dante became eligible after reclas-
sifying as a 2019 signee.
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that could make a deep March run.
Colorado (11-2) dropped out of
the AP Top 25 after losses to No. 5
Kansas and Northern Iowa but has
plenty of talent and a veteran roster.
Point guard McKinley Wright and
forward Tyler Bey are the type of
players who could lead the Buffaloes
back to the NCAA Tournament for
the fi rst time since 2016.
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