In other bowl games, North Carolina State and Wake Forest triumphed.
Justin Jackson ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 20 Northwestern held off Kentucky, 24-23, in Nashville on Friday in a Music City Bowl that might be remembered more for injuries, ejections and a wild finish.
Both starting quarterbacks left in the first half with injuries, though Kentucky’s Stephen Johnson returned early in the third quarter. Kentucky lost running back Benny Snell Jr. to an ejection for contact with an official early in the second quarter, and Northwestern lost its leading tackler, linebacker Paddy Fisher, before halftime when he was ejected for targeting.
Northwestern (10-4) still finished off back-to-back bowl wins in consecutive years for the first time in program history, and the Wildcats notched their second 10-win season in three years under Coach Pat Fitzgerald. The senior class also won its 27th game for the best stretch in more than a decade.
Kentucky (7-6) had a chance to win after Johnson ran for his second touchdown of the second half with 37 seconds left. Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops went for the 2-point conversion rather than play for overtime, but Johnson could not connect with Tavin Richardson on the pass.
SUN BOWL Nyheim Hines had three 5-yard touchdown runs as North Carolina State defeated Arizona State, 52-31, in El Paso.
Hines finished with 72 yards on 16 carries for North Carolina State. The Wolfpack played in their fourth consecutive bowl game and their sixth in seven years under Coach David Doeren.
Reggie Gallaspy added 79 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries for the Wolfpack. Ryan Finley completed 24 of 29 passes for 318 yards and a score, and Stephen Louis had three catches for 115 yards.
Arizona State played its final game under the fired coach Todd Graham. Manny Wilkins was 25 of 40 for 352 yards and three touchdowns for the Sun Devils. He also threw three interceptions.
BELK BOWL John Wolford threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns, and Matt Colburn ran for 150 yards and the go-ahead score in Wake Forest’s 55-52 victory over Texas A&M in Charlotte, N. C.
The teams combined for 1,260 yards and 107 points, making it one of the highest-scoring games in bowl history.
Aggies quarterback Nick Starkel threw for a Belk Bowl-record 499 yards and four touchdowns, three of those to wide receiver Christian Kirk, who caught 13 passes for 189 yards.
