Saturday evening bowls
- TEXAS: #24 Texas Tech 26, Ole Miss 17
- HOLIDAY: Pittsburgh 24, Utah 20
- RATE: ILLINOIS 48, Oklahoma State 45 (OT)
Ole Miss at one point had a 317-91 edge in yards...and a 10-3 lead. Missed a FG, and had two red zone interceptions. That opportunity to be up big was wasted, as Texas Tech turned it on.
Pitt jumped to a quick 14-0 lead, but the Utes scored 20 unanswered to go ahead early in the 4th. The Panthers got inside the 10 with about 6 minutes to go, and elected to kick a FG to cut the score to 20-17, and were paid off when they intercepted Utah's second play from scrimmage and punched it in with 1:16 left. Utah never crossed midfield.
There was zero defense in the desert, both team going over 500 total yards. Illinois scored on their first two drives, holding the Pokes to a three and out in between. That was the only drive Oklahoma State didn't score on until late in the third. It was a game of momentum swings, as Oklahoma State went from down 14-0 to up 24-14, but it was tied at 24 at halftime. Illinois opened up a 45-35 lead, but the Cowboys weren't done, with Spencer Sanders leading the team on a pair of scoring drives, including a 31 yard FG on the final play to send it to OT. After moving the ball at will, both teams had negative yardage in overtime. Oklahoma State elected to go for it on 4th and 20 over kicking a 52 yard field goal, and while the pass was complete, it was well short of the necessary yardage. Illinois, after dropping a 3rd down pass which would have set up a 34 yard game winning field goal, instead drilled a 49 yarder for the program's first bowl win since 2011.
