Jefferson’s 3 TDs lead Baylor past UNC 49-38 in Russell Bowl

ORLANDO, Florida: Johnny Jefferson rushed for three touchdowns and a bowl-record 299 yards as No. 18 Baylor ran past No. 10 North Carolina 49-38 in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Tuesday.
Despite missing two quarterbacks, an award-winning receiver, and a 1,000-yard running back, the Bears’ No. 1-ranked scoring offense stayed creative, pounding out 645 yards rushing and 756 total yards — both records.
Devin Chafin added 161 yards and a touchdown, and Terence Williams rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears (10-3).
Marquise Williams passed for 243 yards and three scores, and rushed for two more. Elijah Hood added 118 yards rushing.
In Houston, Leonard Fournette scored five touchdowns and ran for 212 yards as No. 22 LSU used a big third quarter to pull away for a 56-27 win over Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl.
Texas Tech (7-6) cut the lead to 1 early in the third quarter before the Tigers (9-3) scored 21 straight points, with two touchdowns by Fournette, to make it 42-20 entering the fourth.
Fournette had two rushing touchdowns of 2 yards, ran for TDs of 43 and 4 yards and took a screen pass 44 yards for another score.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 370 yards and four touchdowns for Texas Tech, but was under heavy pressure all night and was sacked six times and scrambled away from probably 10 more.
In the inaugural Arizona Bowl, James Butler scored on a 4-yard run with 1:06 left as Nevada benefited from a late gaffe by Colorado State to beat the Rams 28-23.
Colorado State (7-6) trailed most of the game before taking the lead on Wyatt Bryan’s 38-yard field goal with just under 4 minutes left.
The Wolf Pack (7-6) responded quickly, marching 72 yards in eight plays to set up Butler’s tackle-breaking touchdown run.
Nick Stevens orchestrated a quick-hitting drive in the final minute with no timeouts, but receiver Jordon Vaden was unable to get out of bounds at Nevada’s 12-yard line and time ran out on the Rams.
In Fort Worth, Texas, Jared Goff threw for 467 yards and six touchdowns as California won in the postseason for the first time in seven years, beating Air Force 55-36 in the Armed Forces Bowl,
Goff had three of his scoring tosses in a span of five plays in the second quarter as the Bears (8-5) broke a 14-14 tie and cruised in a rematch of the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl, also won by Cal (42-36).
Receiver Kenny Lawler had three touchdowns for Cal, which last made the postseason in a 21-10 loss to Texas in the Holiday Bowl in 2011. The Bears’ last bowl win was 24-17 over Miami in the 2008 Emerald Bowl near their Bay Area campus.

UCLA tailback Paul Perkins heading to NFL draft
UCLA tailback Paul Perkins says he will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft.
Perkins announced his long-expected decision Tuesday night in a post on his Twitter account.
Perkins led the Pac-12 in rushing in 2014 as a sophomore with 1,575 yards. He was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection with the Bruins this season, rushing for 1,343 yards and 14 touchdowns despite struggling with injuries.
Perkins is the third-leading rusher in UCLA history, but the Bruins have ample depth at tailback. Promising freshman Soso Jamabo rushed for 403 yards this season, and sophomore Nate Starks added 320 yards rushing.
Defensive lineman Kenny Clark and linebacker Myles Jack also have declared their plans to leave UCLA early for the NFL.