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LAS VEGAS — Ben Bryant passed for 222 yards and found Bryce Kirtz in the corner of the end zone midway through the fourth quarter, helping Northwestern beat Utah 14-7 on Saturday night in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl.

Bryant went 23-for-34 with two touchdowns as Northwestern (8-5) closed out its season with a fourth straight win. The Wildcats limited Utah (8-5) to 211 yards and had two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

“Ben being a transfer, he embodies what it looks like to be a transfer to Northwestern,” coach David Braun said. “It’s about the right person. Not the right athlete, but the right person.”

The victory closed out a tumultuous season for Northwestern. Braun was hired in January as the defensive coordinator but took over as head coach when Pat Fitzgerald was fired July 10 as a result of an investigation into a hazing scandal.

Bryson Barnes was 8-for-13 for 55 yards with two interceptions, and Ja’Quinden Jackson rushed for 55 yards on eight carries to lead Utah, which lost three of its last four games.

The winning drive started at the Northwestern 47-yard line after the defense held Utah on a fourth-and-2 with 7:10 left to play. The first play was an incomplete pass before Bryant connected with A.J. Henning for 34 yards to the Utah 19.

On the touchdown pass, Bryant lofted a pass into the right corner of the end zone that was hauled in by Kirtz.

“We had a little slant-go there,” Bryant said. “It didn’t look like he was going to be there, but I trusted him through that collision. I threw it up to him, and he made the play.”

The Utes trailed 7-0 early in the fourth quarter and tied the game with 12:38 left when Micah Bernard scored on a 6-yard run. The touchdown capped an eight-play, 60-yard drive that took 3:59. Bernard was playing for the first time since injuring a knee in the season opener against Florida.

“Tough to win a football game scoring seven points,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Our defense was pretty good, kept us in the game. This is not the players’ fault. We as coaches have to get them better prepared.”

Northwestern scored the first points of the game with 1:20 left in the first half when Bryant connected with Cam Johnson from 12 yards out for a score. The touchdown capped an eight-play drive that covered 78 yards, including a 25-yard completion to Marshall Lang to set up a first down at the 12-yard line.

The Wildcats had a chance at a field goal on the final play of the half, but Jack Olsen missed a 40-yard attempt. It was his second miss of the half after failing to convert from 51 yards in the first quarter.

Northwestern threatened earlier in the second quarter after Jaheem Joseph intercepted Barnes and returned it 45 yards to the Utah 7. But Northwestern was stopped on a third-and-goal play from the 1, and Barnes then threw incomplete on fourth down, turning the ball over.

Joseph also intercepted a pass in the end zone to thwart a Utah drive in the first quarter.

The Utes will hope to rebound from a disappointing season with quarterback Cam Rising, who missed the whole season with a knee injury, returning for 2024. It will be his seventh season of college football. At Northwestern, Braun inherited a team that went 1-11 in 2022 and improved to 8-5 with a bowl victory in his first year as Wildcats coach.

UP NEXT

Utah: The Utes, who will move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 next season, will open the season at home against Southern Utah on Aug. 29.

Northwestern: The Wildcats open the 2024 season at home against Miami (Ohio).

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Bruins show love to emotional Marchand in return

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Bruins show love to emotional Marchand in return

BOSTON — The Little Ball of Hate still has a lot of love back in Boston.

Brad Marchand appeared to be holding back tears on the ice when the TD Garden crowd gave him a standing ovation Tuesday night during his first game as a Bruins opponent. The 37-year-old forward tapped his heart, wiped his face and waved to the crowd as both teams banged their sticks against the ice and even the referee and each linesperson clapped along.

The last remaining member of Boston’s 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team, Marchand was traded to the Panthers last season for another chance at a title. He helped Florida complete its pursuit of back-to-back championships, while the Bruins plummeted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

In his first game back as a Panther, the Boston crowd cheered him off the ice after the pregame warmups, as the TD Garden DJ played a mashup of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Marchand responded with a stick salute as he headed off via the visitors bench.

Fans wearing Marchand’s Boston and Florida No. 63 jerseys cheered again during introductions for the former Bruins captain. (They booed when he drew a tripping penalty just 33 seconds into the game, then gave a mixed reaction when the Panthers scored on the power play — a goal that first appeared to be Marchand’s but was credited to Mackie Samoskevich; Marchand picked up an assist.)

But things got really emotional during a commercial break midway through the first period, when the scoreboard showed a highlight reel from Marchand’s time in Boston — including shots of him raising the Stanley Cup, and ending with him posing with the captain’s “C” that he wore for just one full season.

Florida ended up winning the game, 4-3, on a last-minute goal.

A four-time All-Star who had 422 goals and 554 assists in 16 seasons in Boston, Marchand remains in the Bruins’ top 10 for goals, assists, short-handed and overtime goals, playoff goals and points. His 1,090 games played is fourth in team history, one spot ahead of Don Sweeney, the general manager who dealt him to Florida at the trade deadline.

Marchand did play in the TD Garden as a visitor in February when he suited up for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Although he was still a member of the Bruins, the Boston fans booed him.

He was traded to Florida a few weeks later as Boston sold off its roster and began a rebuild. But when the Panthers visited for the Bruins’ first home game after the trade deadline, Marchand was injured and skated on the Garden ice only in practice.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Back from IR, Oilers D Walman nets winner in OT

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Back from IR, Oilers D Walman nets winner in OT

OTTAWA — Defenseman Jake Walman, activated from injured reserve on Monday after missing the season’s first six games with an injury, scored in overtime on Tuesday night, lifting the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Walman, a late-season acquisition last year who helped Edmonton back to the Stanley Cup Finals, was injured in a preseason game on Sept. 21, but the 28-year-old veteran picked up where he left off on Tuesday. He finished with 25 shifts across 18:51 of ice time, and registered four blocks.

The Oilers wrapped up their five-game road trip and handed the Senators their second consecutive loss on home ice.

The Senators scored twice in a span of 1:25 to tie the game 2-2 early in the third. Ottawa got on the board after winning a puck battle along the boards. Drake Batherson dished a pass to Dylan Cozens who scored on the power play past Stuart Skinner, who made 19 saves. Just over a minute later Thomas Chabot beat a screened Skinner to tie the game.

The Oilers opened the scoring late in the first with a power-play goal when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fed Connor McDavid, who snapped a shot from the top of the faceoff circle for his first of the season.

Edmonton extended its lead to 2-0 just 49 seconds into the second period after a turnover by the Senators. Leon Draisaitl skated in before sliding a pass back to rookie Isaac Howard, who beat Linus Ullmark, who finished with 22 saves, for his first career NHL goal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Hughes’ 3rd career hat trick lifts surging Devils

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Hughes' 3rd career hat trick lifts surging Devils

TORONTO — Jack Hughes registered the third hat trick of his NHL career, and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Cody Glass and Brenden Dillon also scored for New Jersey, and Jake Allen had 23 saves. Jesper Bratt added three assists for the Devils, who have won five in a row since opening the season with a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

John Tavares and Matias Maccelli scored for Toronto. Anthony Stolarz stopped 30 shots. William Nylander had two assists for the Maple Leafs, who have lost two in a row and four of six after a season-opening win.

Toronto led 1-0 after the first period before giving up three goals in the first five minutes of the second much to the dismay of the home crowd at Scotiabank Arena.

Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev left with an upper-body injury during a second-period penalty kill after he collided with Devils center Dawson Mercer.

Toronto challenged New Jersey’s first goal for goaltender interference only to see the call on the ice stand. The Devils went on the power play with the ensuing delay-of-game penalty, and Glass made it 2-1 moments after Tanev skated off to the locker room.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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