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Lawmakers’ lists of questions outnumber U.S. government answers about a Chinese spy balloon and a trio of mysterious aerial objects shot down between Alaska and the Great Lakes over the weekend.

That situation became untenable by Monday as howls from frustrated lawmakers grew louder, so federal officials this morning plan a classified briefing for senators despite concessions that significant information about the vaguely described objects detected above Alaska, Canada and Michigan is unclear. Debris from the objects shot down by fighter jets over remote, frigid terrain and over Lake Huron has yet to be retrieved, according to officials.

The White House says President Biden and the North American Aeronautic Defense Command (NORAD) scrambled fighter jets to shoot down the unexplained objects because they posed a potential threat to civilian aircraft, although such detection appeared to be a new experience for NORAD. 

Reuters: U.S. still stumped by latest flying objects as friction with China grows. 

Even the wreckage of the Chinese surveillance balloon, downed by a Sidewinder missile over shallow water off the coast of South Carolina 10 days ago, is taking the Navy and Coast Guard weeks to retrieve, let alone assess to help determine what Beijing wanted with data gathered over the continental United States by a floating 10-story orb. The balloon and its protruding electronics were initially detected by the United States on Jan. 28.

Senators will receive a separate classified briefing about China on Wednesday (The Hill).

In the absence of answers, there will be an abundance of assessment. The Biden administration on Monday announced the formation of an interagency task force “to study the broader policy implications for detection, analysis and disposition of unidentified aerial objects that pose either safety or security risks,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a White House press briefing (NBC News).

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) echoed some of his colleagues when he went to the Senate floor to complain.

“What in the world is going on? Has the Biden administration just dialed the sensitivity of our radars all the way up? If so, what are the objects that we are just now noticing for the very first time?” the senator said. “Are they benign science projects and wayward weather balloons or something more nefarious that we’ve somehow been missing all this time?” (The Hill).

“President Biden owes the American people some answers,” McConnell continued. “What are we shooting down? Where do they come from? Whether they are hostile or not, is there coherent guidance about when to shoot them down? … How did we get into a position where the greatest nation in the world doesn’t know what is traversing our own airspace?”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin conceded on Monday that the United States could not “definitively assess” the purpose, capabilities or origins of the aerial objects (The Hill).

One was initially described by a Canadian official on Saturday as cylindrical and about the size of a small automobile. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) over the weekend said the White House told him that all three objects were “balloons.” The object spotted over Lake Huron was described as octagon-shaped and may have fallen after a missile strike to land on the Canadian side of the lake. U.S. officials said the flight pattern of the three objects was justification to blow them out of the sky.

“We don’t know if they were actually collecting intelligence, but because of the route that they took, out of an abundance of caution, we want to make sure that we have the ability to examine what these things are and potentially what they were doing,” Austin told reporters after landing in Brussels on Monday.

The White House may not know what the objects are, but it has ruled out alien invaders. “There is no — again, no — indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

▪ The Hill: What we know and don’t know aboutthe objects shot down by the U.S. military.

▪ Bloomberg News: Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese diplomat Wang Xi may meet this week during a Munich conference. Blinken canceled this month’s planned meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping in protest over the Chinese spy balloon publicly detected when it moved over Montana at high altitude.

▪ The Hill: The White House denied China’s assertion on Monday that more than 10 U.S. surveillance balloons moved across that country since the beginning of 2022. “Just absolutely not true,” Kirby told MSNBC.

During an exclusive interview with The Hill’s Niall Stanage, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who says he is mulling a 2024 GOP presidential campaign, criticized Biden for his reaction to the Chinese balloon that traversed the country.

“The whole world saw a slow-moving balloon transiting Montana, Kansas, South Carolina — and the United States of America did nothing,” said Pompeo, a former member of Congress from Kansas.

Tracking the balloon for days delivered “an enormous geopolitical advantage” for China, the former CIA director contended. “I can’t imagine that the risk of some falling debris over a place like Montana exceeded the risk of global shame.”

Related Articles

▪ The Hill: Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton to receive a Wednesday briefing about previous incursions by spy balloons. 

▪ The Atlantic: China’s balloon-size blunder is a huge opportunity.

▪ The Hill: A Georgia judge on Monday ordered limited release from a grand jury report of information related to former President Trump and alleged 2020 election interference. 

▪ The Hill: A lawyer who represents Trump said his client used an empty folder marked classified to block blue light from a telephone in his bedroom at night. 

LEADING THE DAY

➤ CONGRESS 

The anticipated GOP impeachment case against Alejandro Mayorkas would remove the Homeland Security secretary largely based on a law that gives him broad discretion over how to meet a near impossible standard at the border, The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch and Rafael Bernal report. The Secure Fence Act of 2006 was passed during a failed Bush-era effort to move a comprehensive immigration reform bill, and in the fallout, House Republicans rushed to show they were taking action on border security. 

Now, Republicans argue that Mayorkas has been ineffective in managing what they see as a crisis at the southern border. 

“He has taken an oath, a constitutional oath, to obey the laws of the United States and protect us,” said Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), who this year filed the first articles of impeachment against Mayorkas. “In 2006, the Secure Fence Act was passed which requires the Department of Homeland Security Secretary to maintain the operational control of the southern border. He has clearly not done that.”

House Republicans are officially relaunching their investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic by calling for testimony and information from Anthony Fauci and other current and former Biden administration officials. The 12-member coronavirus response subcommittee is charged with examining the origins of the pandemic, including federal funding of what’s known as gain-of-function research, or research that enhances a virus’s ability to cause an infection in order to predict pandemics and develop cures. The examination of this research is central to the claim the virus originated from a lab in Wuhan, China, that was potentially backed by funding from the U.S. government. Last year, Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee released a report concluding the pandemic began with a virus that escaped from the Wuhan lab.

Aside from Fauci’s testimony, the lawmakers are seeking phone records, official calendars and other communications from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases regarding the Wuhan Institute of Virology and any federal grants to EcoHealth Alliance (The Hill).

Lawmakers on Monday removed from his position the U.S. architect of the Capitol “at the president’s direction.” The move comes after calls for J. Brett Blanton to resign or be removed from office following the October release of an inspector general report alleging a litany of ethical breaches, including misusing a government vehicle and allegedly impersonating a law enforcement officer.

The president’s move comes just hours after Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called for Blanton to step down or be removed by Biden. Only the president has the authority to fire the Architect of the Capitol. Blanton was nominated by Trump to a 10-year term, and was confirmed by the Senate in December 2019 (Roll Call and The Hill).

“After being given the opportunity to respond to numerous allegations of legal, ethical, and administrative violations, and failing to directly respond, the President has removed Mr. Brett Blanton from his position — a decision I firmly stand behind,” House Administration Committee ranking member Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Monday. “President Biden did the right thing and heeded my call for action. I look forward to working with my colleagues to begin a search for a new Architect immediately.” 

▪ The New York Times: GOP legislative agenda hits snags amid party divisions.

▪ The Washington Post: Congress could block additional weapons and aid to Ukraine, the U.S. has warned Kyiv while encouraging progress at the one-year mark of the war against Russia. “‘As long as it takes’ pertains to the amount of conflict,” an official told the Post, referring to Biden’s much-quoted U.S. assurances. “It doesn’t pertain to the amount of assistance.”

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ INTERNATIONAL

Thousands of rescue operations are still underway across Turkey and Syria as workers race against the clock in their search for survivors, one week after a pair of devastating earthquakes tore through the region, killing more than 37,000. Humanitarian groups say the delay in aid has severely hampered rescuers’ abilities to pull people out of the rubble alive; even now, Syrians are waiting for the kind of heavy machinery and specialized tools available on the Turkish side of the border.

Hundreds of thousands of people in both countries are injured or homeless, with many living in makeshift tents or in their cars; meanwhile, there are growing reports of looting and insecurity in some of the hardest-hit areas (The Washington Post). Rescuers in Turkey pulled several children alive from collapsed buildings on Monday, but hopes of many more survivors were fading and criticism of the authorities grew (Reuters).

The New York Times: Some structures promoted as being built to modern seismic codes did not withstand the quake in Turkey. One upscale tower that fell may have had a design flaw, engineers said.

The eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut endured heavy artillery fire on Monday as a major new Russian offensive began, days before the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion. Ukrainian defenders, who have already held out for months, were braced for new ground attacks, local military officials said. Bakhmut is a prime objective for Russian President Vladimir Putin; its capture would give Russia a new foothold in the Donetsk region and a rare victory after several months of setbacks.

“The reality is we have seen the start (of a Russian offensive) already because we see now what Russia does now — President Putin does now — is to send thousands and thousands more troops, accepting a very high rate of casualty,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters (Reuters).

▪ The New York Times: The order for aid groups to leave Bakhmut could be a prelude to Ukrainian withdrawal.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Ukraine faces painful choice as Russia tightens chokehold on Bakhmut.

▪ The Washington Post: Russians abandon wartime Russia in historic exodus.

▪ Reuters: The United States tells its citizens: Leave Russia immediately.

A battle over the future of Israel’s judiciary grew more fraught on Monday as roughly 100,000 protesters from across the country filled the streets outside parliament in Jerusalem. The demonstrators gathered to oppose a sweeping judicial overhaul proposed by Israel’s new government — the most right-wing and religiously conservative in the country’s history. The changes would reduce the Supreme Court’s ability to revoke laws passed in parliament and give the government greater influence over who gets to be a judge (The New York Times). Israeli lawmakers, meanwhile, traded insults on Monday over the plans as the president warned the country was on the brink of “constitutional collapse” (Reuters).

The Hill: Report finds LBQ women face discrimination, violence in countries around the world.

⛷️Overall World Cup winners Mikaela Shiffrin, Federica Brignone and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde are among nearly 200 athletes from multiple disciplines who have signed a letter addressed to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation demanding action over climate change. Warm weather and a lack of snow wiped out nearly a month of racing at the start of this season, with preseason training on melting European glaciers heading toward extinction and the impact of climate change on the schedule being seen even in January (ABC News). 

“We are already experiencing the effects of climate change in our everyday lives and our profession,” the athletes said in the letter. “The public opinion about skiing is shifting towards unjustifiability. … We need progressive organizational action. We are aware of the current sustainability efforts of FIS and rate them as insufficient.”

➤ STATE WATCH

Biden referenced the U.S. housing affordability crisis briefly during his State of the Union speech a week ago, leaving some industry leaders and advocates grousing about a missed opening to lay out a comprehensive housing plan and address fair housing practices. As The Hill’s Adam Barnes and Sylvan Lane report, the U.S. is short at least 1 million homes amid one of the most volatile housing markets in more than a decade. And since the beginning of the pandemic both rents and home purchase prices have soared. 

▪ The Hill: These cities have the fastest-growing home prices.

▪ Markets Insider: U.S. home prices are heading for a further drop this year even though mortgages are getting cheaper, a housing market expert says.

▪ The Hill: Consumer price index calculation to be revised for January price data.

In the District, “The Ethel,” a permanent supportive apartment option for the homeless, located in Southeast Washington, is named after Ethel Kennedy, 94, and was dedicated at a Monday event with Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) (WUSA9). 

The Hill: States that have disclosure requirements for fracking have higher water quality, according to a new report that studied impacts in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.  

Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, were cleared to return home Friday following the massive chemical spill that followed a train derailment. But questions swirled over the weekend around the root causes of the accident, the continued threat to land and water, and the arrest of a journalist by authorities (NPR and NBC News).

▪ Fox News: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for “direct action” and a congressional inquiry following the recent Ohio train derailment. Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (R) said Monday that “many questions remain.”

▪ The Cincinnati Enquirer: East Palestine residents seek medical care after Ohio train derailment.

▪ WBNS: Ohio train derailment prompts water utility to take precautions.

▪ CBS News: Video shows sparks and flames well before Ohio train derailment.

OPINION

■ Nikki Haley has a great future behind her, by Stuart Stevens, opinion contributor, The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/3E31ZgJ

■ Beyond political gridlock: A congressional road map for 2023, by Kelly Veney Darnell and Michele Nellenbach, opinion contributors, The Hill. https://bit.ly/3E4qYAr 

WHERE AND WHEN

💗 Happy Valentine’s Day!

📲 Ask The Hill: Share a news query tied to an expert journalist’s insights: The Hill launched something new and (we hope) engaging via text with Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack. Learn more and sign up HERE.

The House will convene for a pro forma session at 10 a.m.

The Senate meets at 10 a.m. 

The president and Vice President Harris will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10:30 a.m. Biden will be the keynote speaker at 1:15 p.m. at a conference of the National Association of Counties in Washington and then return to the White House. 

The Secretary of State at 1:30 p.m. will meet with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the State Department.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will speak to the National Association of Counties conference at 9:50 a.m.

Economic indicators: The Bureau of Labor Statistics at 8:30 a.m. will report on January’s consumer price index and real earnings in January. The Hill’s ​​Riley Gutiérrez McDermid dissects five oddities measured as part of the price index, from olives to sewing machines.

White House turnstile: Biden is poised to name Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard as director of the White House National Economic Council, to succeed Brian Deese, who is departing (The Wall Street Journal).

The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 2:30 p.m.

ELSEWHERE

➤ TECH

The race is on among tech companies to roll out generative artificial intelligence tools as Microsoft and Google forge ahead to release new tools to the public, writes The Hill’s Rebecca Klar. The battle is raising concerns about how potential flaws in the tech, and blindspots in regulation, heighten existing issues about the spread of misinformation, bias in results and the use of Americans’ personal data by tech companies. 

The labor market looks rock solid, with an unemployment rate at its lowest level in 50 years and a downward trend for layoffs. But there’s one glaring exception — the tech industry. Nearly every major tech company has announced layoffs in the last few months, which is exactly the opposite of how things played out over the last decade, when the sector was a bright spot in an otherwise sluggish job market. So what’s going on? Bloomberg News has answers.

▪ CBS News: “AI can be a friend or a foe”: As we become more reliant on artificial intelligence, focus should be on balance, expert says.

▪ Business Insider: The artificial intelligence war has Wall Street in a frenzy over Google, Microsoft and anything related to bots.

▪ Reuters: Silicon Valley layoffs are a boon for tech-hungry farm equipment makers.

▪ TechCrunch: Here are the tech industry’s 2023 Super Bowl commercials, with noticeably less crypto.

➤ HEALTH & PANDEMIC 

Weekend news: The Centers for Disease and Prevention says an outbreak of drug-resistant bacteria across 12 states has caused one death and five cases of blindness. According to the CDC, 56 patients were infected with pseudomonas aeruginosa, likely from using a brand of contaminated artificial tears (WFLA).

“Patients reported over 10 different brands of artificial tears and some patients used multiple brands,” the CDC warned. “EzriCare Artificial Tears, a preservative-free, over-the-counter product packaged in multidose bottles, was the brand most commonly reported. This was the only common artificial tears product identified across the four healthcare facility clusters.”

A woman in Florida filed a lawsuit late Thursday against the maker of EzriCare artificial tears and Walmart after suffering a bacterial infection that she said was caused by the eyedrops (NBC News).

⚠️ In a separate report, the CDC says nearly 3 in 5 teenage girls reported feeling persistent sadness in 2021, double the rate of boys, and 1 in 3 girls seriously considered attempting suicide, according to data released Monday. The findings also showed high levels of violence, depression and suicidal thoughts among lesbian, gay and bisexual youth, of which more than 1 in 5 of these students reported attempting suicide in the year before the survey. The rates of sadness are the highest reported in a decade, reflecting a long-brewing national tragedy only made worse by the isolation and stress of the pandemic.

“I think there’s really no question what this data is telling us,” Kathleen Ethier, head of the CDC’s Adolescent and School Health Program, told The New York Times. “Young people are telling us that they are in crisis.”

▪ The Washington Post: Capitalizing on the pandemic explosion in telehealth and therapy apps that collect details of your mental health needs, data brokers are packaging that information for resale, a new study finds. There’s no law stopping them.

▪ Vox: The number of people without health insurance just hit a new low — but the expiration of a pandemic policy could erase those gains.

▪ The Atlantic: The future of long COVID-19.

Information about the availability of COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots can be found at Vaccines.gov.

Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (trackers all vary slightly): 1,114,546. Current U.S. COVID-19 deaths are 3,171 for the week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (The CDC shifted its tally of available data from daily to weekly, now reported on Fridays.)

THE CLOSER

And finally … 💘 It’s Valentine’s Day! On a Hallmark day associated with sweet amore, The New York Times asks the burning question: Did Valentine’s Day start as a Roman party or to celebrate an execution? 

Regardless of its origin, the holiday lives on, and CBS News estimates Americans will spend nearly $26 billion on Valentine’s Day this year, up from $23.9 billion last year, to communicate affection, passion, appreciation and obligation using cards, blossoms and that satisfying obsession known as chocolate — plus treats for four-legged furry Valentines beloved by humans everywhere. 

💐 Modern floriography can be traced back to the 19th century, when the etiquette standards of the day meant that flowers were sent to communicate messages that could not be said aloud. Sending a bouquet of roses is a traditional way of saying “I love you,” but you can choose a varied bunch of blooms to tell your Valentine something more specific. USA Today has a primer on flower meanings (and it’s not too late to buy a bouquet today). Questions linger over latest objects shot down in US EPA pressed to go stricter on air pollution limit

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Bowl previews and takeaways: Mayo for Minnesota after beating Virginia Tech

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Bowl previews and takeaways: Mayo for Minnesota after beating Virginia Tech

Takeaway: Quarterback Brady Cook‘s record-setting career ended appropriately with a one-score win and an impressive comeback. Missouri faced a talented Iowa defense without wide receiver Luther Burden III, who declared for the NFL draft, and starting tight end Brett Norfleet (knee surgery). The Tigers also lost leading receiver Theo Wease Jr. to an injury in the first half. But Cook, who became only the fourth Missouri player to eclipse 10,000 career yards of offense — joining Chase Daniel (13,485), Brad Smith (13,088) and Drew Lock (12,630) — led three straight scoring drives in the second half after Iowa took a 24-14 lead with 5:19 left in the third quarter. After a tough start on special teams that included a 100-yard kick return touchdown by Iowa’s Kaden Wetjen, Missouri held the edge there thanks to Blake Craig field goals of 51 and 56 yards, the latter marking his fourth go-ahead make from 50 yards or more this season, most in the FBS. Six of Missouri’s 10 wins this season came by seven points or fewer, a testament to Cook, who had 287 passing yards and two touchdowns and added a team-high 54 rushing yards. The Tigers’ defense also deserves credit for limiting Iowa to 32 yards in the fourth quarter and stuffing a quarterback sneak to seal the win.

MVP: Cook is the pick after accounting for 341 yards of offense in his final college game, but mentions also go to kicker Craig and wide receiver Marquis Johnson, who stepped up for injured teammates to post career highs for receptions (7) and receiving yards (122) and had a 7-yard touchdown catch. — Adam Rittenberg

Takeaway: After Sun Belt champion Marshall dropped out of this game following the departure of its coach, Charles Huff, and a mass exodus to the transfer portal, a bowl matchup with Louisiana Tech — which went 5-7 during the regular season — wasn’t exactly a fitting end for AAC champion Army. So, considering the mismatch, it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise to see the overwhelming win by the Black Knights.

Army quarterback Bryson Daily capped a brilliant season by running for 127 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. He broke the single-season FBS record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 32. Only Oklahoma State‘s Barry Sanders (37) and Wisconsin‘s Montee Ball (33) ever rushed for more scores in a campaign. Hayden Reed added 114 rushing yards and a touchdown as Army set a single-season school record with its 12th win.

MVP: Daily wrapped up one of the best seasons in college football history with another standout performance. — Kyle Bonagura

Takeaway: What started as “the people’s Big 12 championship,” as BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff called it this week, turned into a BYU blowout. The Cougars took out a month of frustration after a 9-0 start — including a win over College Football Playoff pick SMU — that gave way to an Alamo Bowl berth, after successive losses to Kansas and Arizona State by a total of eight points knocked them out of contention for the Big 12 title game.

Colorado arrived with the star power of Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter as well as quarterback Shedeur Sanders, but the BYU defense held the Buffaloes scoreless until midway through the third quarter, with BYU already leading 27-0. Sanders threw two interceptions, the Buffaloes gave up a 64-yard punt return touchdown to Parker Kingston and LJ Martin ran for two touchdowns for the Cougars. Both teams had remarkable seasons after being picked at the bottom of the conference, but they will head into the offseason on different notes.

MVP: Linebacker Isaiah Glasker had eight tackles (one for a loss), an interception and was the face of a defense that frustrated Colorado’s high-flying offense that came in averaging 34.5 points. — Dave Wilson

Takeaway: What had been a thrilling game ended in a melee that left one official bleeding as coaches for NC State and East Carolina struggled to get their players back to their respective sidelines with less than a minute remaining. Frustrations boiled over after NC State’s potential game-winning drive ended with an interception with under a minute to play. It was a significant blow to the ACC, which is currently 1-9 in its bowl games. With NC State’s loss, the league went 0-4 on Saturday, with Miami, North Carolina and Boston College also losing.

In what was a dreary, rainy day in Annapolis, Maryland, the two teams located 83 miles apart in North Carolina battled to the bitter end for bragging rights, but the fight that broke out overshadowed what had otherwise been a seesaw game. NC State has lost five straight bowl games, the longest streak in team history, and Dave Doeren suffered his third losing season (along with 2013 and 2019) in his 12th overall campaign as the Wolfpack’s head coach. East Carolina won consecutive bowl games for the second time in school history, along with the 2022 Birmingham Bowl.

MVP: With 44 seconds left and NC State driving in ECU territory, ECU defensive back Dontavius Nash snagged an interception that was intended for Hollywood Smothers but was tipped, sealing the win for the Pirates as he held onto it while hitting the ground. — Heather Dinich

Takeaway: Miami-Ohio‘s defense had been dominant during the latter half of the season and was again the difference against Colorado State.

Miami-Ohio has earned 20 wins over a two-year span, the program’s most since winning 21 games from 2003 to 2004 (13 and 8 respectively). Miami overcame a 1-4 start this season and won seven straight games before losing to Ohio in the Mid-American Conference championship game. During that span, it allowed just 12.9 points per game — the second best in the FBS behind Notre Dame. The RedHawks were again stifling, snagging three turnovers in the first three quarters. Sixth-year quarterback Brett Gabbert threw for 184 yards, and his 10-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter put the RedHawks up 22-3. Miami has won at least nine games in back-to-back seasons for just the third time in school history (1973, 1974 and 1975.) Colorado State, which was appearing in its first bowl in seven seasons, dropped to 6-12 in bowl games, including five straight losses.

MVP: Running back Kevin Davis scored on a 97-yard touchdown run — the second longest in program history and the school’s longest play of any kind in a bowl game — with 6:46 remaining in the third quarter to give the RedHawks a commanding 29-3 lead. He finished with 148 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just eight carries. — Heather Dinich

Takeaway: The “It was a tale of two halves” cliché is tired and dreadfully overused, but the Pop-Tarts Bowl was literally a tale of two halves. The first was a track meet in which the teams combined for 625 total yards, Cam Ward threw for 190 yards and three touchdowns and Miami outscored Iowa State 31-28.

The second, with Ward having arranged to play only one half in his final collegiate game, was a rock fight in which ISU topped the Hurricanes 14-10 thanks to a late 15-play touchdown drive and a scoring plunge by quarterback Rocco Becht. Add the two halves up, and the Cyclones won by a cumulative 42-41. Miami’s Damien Martinez and Mark Fletcher Jr. combined for 241 rushing yards and two scores to nearly fend off the Cyclones. But in the end Matt Campbell’s Cyclones made a late defensive stop, lifted the glorious Pop-Tarts Trophy and, of course, cannibalized the giant, cinnamon roll-flavored pastry.

MVP: Becht earned easy player-of-the-game honors with 270 passing yards — 117 of those went to wideout Jaylin Noel — plus three passing downs, a number of key scrambles and the game-winning touchdown run. — Bill Connelly

Takeaway: TCU averaged nine wins per season in Sonny Dykes’ first two years in charge, but the Horned Frogs did it in just about the wildest possible way, surging to 13-2 in 2022 and then plummeting to 5-7 in 2023. This year they took the direct route, wrapping up a 9-4 season with an easy 34-3 win over Louisiana in the New Mexico Bowl. Josh Hoover threw touchdown passes to four different receivers, but the story of this one was a dominant defense. Louisiana gained just 113 yards in the first three quarters and didn’t top 200 yards until the final 30 seconds of the game. After allowing 30.8 points per game in its first six games under new defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, TCU gave up just 19.3 per game over the past seven.

This bowl season has been loaded with close games, but this one was over quickly. The four TD passes by Hoover and two field goals gave TCU a 34-0 lead barely five minutes into the second half, and UL didn’t get on the board until early in the fourth quarter.

MVP: Hoover was awesome, but you have to go with someone on the defensive side here, and with more pass breakups (3) than tackles (2) — you can’t make a tackle if your guy doesn’t catch the ball — corner LaMareon James was one of the main reasons UL’s Ben Wooldridge went just 7-for-20 passing. — Bill Connelly

Takeaway: Matt Rhule has led Nebraska to its first winning season since 2016 and its first bowl victory since 2015. The Cornhuskers secured the win on a rainy day inside Yankee Stadium in dramatic fashion, holding on in the final minutes of what turned into a tight one-score game. Nebraska took a 20-2 lead into the fourth quarter thanks to its stout defense, which delivered four fourth-down stops in the Huskers’ first game since losing defensive coordinator Tony White to Florida State. But the Eagles answered in the final six minutes with a 64-yard touchdown drive, then a blocked punt to set up an easy 2-yard touchdown with 4:18 remaining. Dylan Raiola and Nebraska’s offense managed to run out the clock from there, driving 45 yards in nine plays with a clutch fourth-down conversion by running back Rahmir Johnson. It was a fitting finale and a big step in the right direction after the Huskers had lost 10 of 12 games decided by one-score margins over Rhule’s first two seasons.

MVP: Johnson clinched the win on a fourth-and-1 conversion, breaking tackles on an inside run for an 11-yard gain. The senior from Harlem made the most of his homecoming game with 69 total yards on 11 touches and his first rushing touchdown since 2021. — Max Olson

Takeaway: Jim Mora has achieved one of the more impressive turnarounds in college football at UConn, taking the program from 1-11 to 9-4 in just three years. He closed out the Huskies’ first nine-win season since 2007 with a dominant performance against North Carolina. UConn’s defense had no trouble shutting down the Tar Heels, allowing just 67 yards through three quarters with seven drives ending in three-and-outs. North Carolina went 0-for-9 on third downs and got 86 passing yards from backup quarterback Michael Merdinger. The Huskies pulled away quickly in the first half, with quarterback Joe Fagnano leading them to scores on five of their first seven possessions to power the program’s first bowl win since 2009. UConn also secured its second victory over a Power 4 opponent since 2017. Both wins have come under Mora’s leadership. North Carolina endured a 6-7 finish for the second time in four years, but it has plenty of reason for optimism now that the Bill Belichick era is officially underway. Belichick did not attend the game while he focuses on roster building for 2025.

MVP: UConn defensive lineman Pryce Yates earned defensive MVP honors after recording six tackles, including a team-high three tackles for loss and a sack of Merdinger that helped stop the Tar Heels’ final drive of the day. — Max Olson

Takeaway: Just when it looked as if USC was going to limp to the finish line in coach Lincoln Riley’s third season, the Trojans found some late magic for an improbable comeback win in Las Vegas. Both teams struggled to find a rhythm on offense in the first half, but Texas A&M blew things open with 17 straight points to start the third quarter for a 24-7 lead. At that point, it seemed unlikely the stagnant USC offense would bring the Trojans back. But it did.

Ja’Kobi Lane‘s third touchdown reception of the game came with 4:30 left to put the Trojans up 28-24. Texas A&M quickly answered with a touchdown, only for the Trojans to put together a 75-yard winning touchdown drive, capped by a 7-yard pass from Jayden Maiava to Kyle Ford with 8 seconds left. The win prevented USC (7-6) from finishing with a losing record, which is a small consolation for what was an otherwise disappointing season in Los Angeles.

Riley has been mostly immune from serious hot-seat talk because of his pricey buyout, but if a third straight season of irrelevance comes next year, that could change. Meanwhile, Texas A&M’s (8-5) once-promising season finished with four losses in the final five games.

MVP: USC’s Lane turned in a memorable game with 7 catches for 127 yards and three touchdowns. — Kyle Bonagura


Takeaway: Washington State entered the game as depleted as any team in the country without its head coach, both coordinators, star quarterback and several other key players. And for much of the first half Friday, the Cougars were able to hang around thanks in large part to the inspired play of quarterback Zevi Eckhaus, who guided Washington State to a 21-14 first-quarter lead. But Syracuse scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter and continued to pile it on offensively (607 total yards) against a Washington State team that didn’t quit fighting despite being down so many players. Eckhaus, who had attempted only seven passes all season (all in the season opener) as John Mateer’s backup, threw three touchdown passes and ran for another. But Syracuse’s quick-strike offense, with quarterback Kyle McCord passing for 453 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions, was too much for Washington State to overcome. Syracuse ended the season on a four-game winning streak in Fran Brown’s first year as coach, and the Orange won 10 games for only the second time in the past 23 seasons.

MVP: McCord became the ACC’s single-season record holder for passing yards, and it was the 12th time in 13 games this season that he passed for 300 or more yards. The Ohio State transfer completed passes to seven different players and averaged 13.3 yards per attempt. — Kyle Bonagura


Takeaway: After a disappointing close to the regular season, Arkansas erupted with one of its best offensive showings in this meeting of old Southwest Conference rivals. The Hogs jumped to a 21-3 lead in the first quarter, but the Red Raiders pulled within 21-19 in the second quarter. The Hogs regained control in the second half and made some key adjustments on defense and shut out Texas Tech until the Red Raiders scored with 3:03 to play.

The win moved Arkansas to 7-6, helping to ease the pain from a 4-8 finish a year ago. The two teams combined for 1,056 total yards, and both rushed for more than 200. Texas Tech (8-5) was playing without Tahj Brooks, who opted out of the bowl game. Brooks is Texas Tech’s all-time rushing leader.

MVP: Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green passed for 341 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 81 yards and a score. His 97-yard touchdown pass to Dazmin James with the Hogs backed up against their own goal line late in the first quarter changed the complexion of the game. — Chris Low


Takeaway: Vanderbilt led 14-13 with a little over five minutes to go in the third quarter. But a string of questionable calls went against the Yellow Jackets, who then imploded with turnovers as the Commodores pulled away.

Georgia Tech coach Brent Key was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct following a controversial defensive pass interference call on Trenilyas Tatum. The two penalties gave Vanderbilt a first down and possession at the Georgia Tech 22-yard line. Diego Pavia finished off the drive with a three-yard touchdown pass to Eli Stowers.

Georgia Tech’s Haynes King was intercepted on the ensuing snap, setting up another Pavia touchdown pass three plays later. Then, off a Georgia Tech fumble, Pavia put the Yellow Jackets away with a six-yard scoring run.

The Commodores led 35-13 with 7:17 to play when the game was delayed due to lightning. Play resumed almost an hour later. The Yellow Jackets scored two late touchdowns after the delay but failed to recover a late onside kick.

The victory snapped Vanderbilt’s 13-game losing streak to Georgia Tech dating to 1941, when the Commodores last won 14-7.

MVP: Pavia totaled five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing), the most by a Vandy player in a bowl game. — Jake Trotter


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0:51

Navy wins Armed Forces Bowl after denying Oklahoma’s 2-point conversion

Oklahoma scores a touchdown with six seconds left, but elects to go for a win, and the Sooners are stopped by Navy on a 2-point conversion attempt.

Takeaway: The Sooners went for a 2-point conversion and the win after Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. found Jake Roberts for a 10-yard touchdown pass with six seconds remaining. But Navy‘s Justin Reed sacked Hawkins on the 2-point try, sealing the victory for the Midshipmen. With the bowl defeat, the Sooners finished with a losing record for the second time in three years under coach Brent Venables; until 2022, Venables’ first season, OU had not had a losing record since 1998.

Quarterback Blake Horvath led the way offensively for Navy (10-3), which reached double-digit wins for the first time since 2019.

He sliced through the Oklahoma defense for a school-record 95-yard touchdown run to tie the score in the third quarter, then engineered the game-winning drive in the fourth.

Hawkins had his moments too after taking over for Jackson Arnold, who transferred to Auburn earlier this month. But Hawkins got little help from his receivers, who dropped several passes. Though Hawkins is expected back, the Sooners are banking that transfer quarterback John Mateer — who followed his offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, from Washington State — can elevate an OU offense that struggled in its first year in the SEC.

MVP: With his 155 rushing yards and two touchdowns, Horvath became the first FBS player since Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts in 2019 to reach 1,250 rushing yards and 30 total touchdowns in a season, according to ESPN Research. — Jake Trotter


Takeaway: The first bowl game after Christmas featured 17 lead changes, multiple scuffles, two pick-sixes, a handful of premature celebrations and the first six-overtime finish in FBS bowl game history. Pitt entered Thursday decimated at the quarterback position with starter Eli Holstein (leg) sidelined by injury and backups Nate Yarnell and Ty Dieffenbach in the transfer portal. The Panthers’ remaining quarterbacks — redshirt freshman walk-on David Lynch and true freshman Julian Dugger — combined for just 137 passing yards and prompted Pitt to run the ball 60-plus times in a game for the first time in more than a decade, leaning heavily on junior Desmond Reid (33 carries, 169 yards, one touchdown). Dugger eventually settled in and delivered a gutsy performance in the loss, but the quarterback battle decidedly belonged to Toledo junior Tucker Gleason, who threw for 336 yards and two touchdowns with an interception and accounted for five scores in overtime, including his winning connection with Junior Vandeross III in OT No. 6. Down 30-20 before Darius Alexander‘s 58-yard, fourth-quarter pick-six, Toledo stormed from behind to claim its second victory in seven bowl appearances under head coach Jason Candle. Meanwhile, Pitt, which opened the season 7-0, became the second bowl team in FBS history to end its season on a six-game losing streak.

MVP: Wide receiver Junior Vandeross III. On the day Gleason reached a career-high yardage total, he found the junior wide receiver on roughly 46% of his completions. Vandeross hit career bests with 12 receptions for 194 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown grab in regulation, before completing the game-sealing 2-point conversion. — Eli Lederman


Rate Bowl: Kansas State 44, Rutgers 41

Kansas State ranked 16th nationally in rushing during the regular season (204.5 yards per game), and the Wildcats rode a dominant run game to erase a 14-point, second-half deficit in Phoenix. Dylan Edwards‘ searing speed was the platform as Kansas State exploded for 340 rushing yards Thursday night, representing the program’s second-best total of the season and second-highest bowl game rushing tally. Missing star running back Kyle Monangai (opted out), Rutgers delivered an impressive rushing performance of its own, leaning on Antwan Raymond and Ja’shon Benjamin (25 carries, 146 rushing yards, 5 touchdowns combined) to build a 34-17 lead six minutes into the second half. But Kansas State clawed back with Edwards’ pair of long rushing scores and two second-half passing touchdowns from Avery Johnson, scoring 27 second-half points to secure the program’s largest comeback win since 2020. Wildcats coach Chris Klieman has back-to-back bowl wins and three straight nine-plus win seasons.

MVP: Running back Dylan Edwards, who averaged a whopping 10.9 yards per carry and bookended Kansas State’s second-half scoring with electric rushing touchdowns of 65 and 35 yards, the second of which put the Wildcats ahead 44-41 with 4:15 remaining. Edwards’ 196 yards on 18 carries were the most in a bowl game in Kansas State program history. — Eli Lederman


68 Ventures Bowl: Arkansas State 38, Bowling Green 31

Takeaway: Despite being outgained by more than 100 yards, Arkansas State emerged from Thursday night’s bowl with the program’s first eight-win season since 2019. The Red Wolves did not have a particularly explosive day on the ground or in the air, but they made plays in every facet of the game and were opportunistic in the face of the Falcons’ mistakes. The Arkansas State defense forced a key fumble, made a crucial fourth-down stop in the second half and played a role in three missed field goals from Bowling Green. Special teams did its part, too, as Courtney Jackson returned a punt for a touchdown in the first quarter that put Butch Jones’ team up 10 early and gave the Wolves the necessary momentum for the rest of the game. And when Arkansas State needed it most, the offense stitched together an eight-play, 68-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that ate up the clock and ended up being the difference. Red Wolves quarterback Jaylen Raynor was a steady presence, while running back Zak Wallace ran for 99 yards, including several clutch runs late in the game that kept the chains moving and ended any slim chance the Falcons had at a comeback.

MVP: It’s not common to give this honor to a player on the losing side, but it’s hard not to recognize Harold Fannin Jr., who capped his incredible season with a 17-catch, 213-yard, one-touchdown performance. The junior tight end finished his season with 117 catches for 1,555 yards and 10 touchdowns. — Paolo Uggetti


Hawai’i Bowl: South Florida 41, San José State 39 (5 OTs)

Takeaway: The only football game (college or pro) on Christmas Eve did not disappoint, technically ending on Christmas Day in the Eastern time zone but not in Hawai’i, where South Florida prevailed in a record fifth overtime. No bowl game had exceeded three overtimes since the overtime rules were implemented in 1996. Coach Alex Golesh’s team ultimately had the upper hand in key situations, especially on special teams, as the Bulls had a 93-yard kick return touchdown, connected on two field goals to extend the game and received a 72-yard punt from Andrew Stokes — one of three that traveled 50 yards or longer — that backed up San José State at the end of regulation. The Bulls scored on four of their five overtime possessions and could have won the game in the fourth extra session if wide receiver Michael Brown-Stephens had stayed in bounds on a creative 2-point conversion attempt. Quarterback Bryce Archie started strong, completing his first 12 pass attempts, before going cold and throwing a near pick-six that appeared to cost South Florida the game. But he responded well late in regulation and in overtime as the Bulls improved to 10-1 in overtime games, the best mark in FBS history. San José State received a career performance from Matthew Coleman (12 receptions, 119 yards), filling in for FBS receiving yards leader and Biletnikoff Award finalist Nick Nash. But some situational miscues ultimately doomed the Spartans.

MVP: South Florida linebacker Mac Harris had a big night for a playmaking defense, recording two tackles for loss, eight total tackles, a quarterback hurry and a pass breakup. — Adam Rittenberg


Takeaway: Never say the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl doesn’t give you your money’s worth. In the fourth quarter and overtime alone, we got two missed go-ahead field goals (one from each team), three quick overtime touchdowns, endless overtime trickery from NIU and, eventually, a crushing, game-winning fourth-down sack from Jordan Hansen to give the Huskies a 28-20 victory. And after the celebrations and french fry baths, we got the winning team lifting Spuddy Buddy on its shoulders. What else could you possibly want from your bowl experience?

The ending was worth it, but both teams had chances to seize the game in regulation. Fresno State led 13-3 at halftime, but NIU scored 10 points early in the second half — including six on a beautiful 26-yard touchdown catch from Grayson Barnes — to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter. NIU drove the length of the field late but settled for a 35-yard field goal attempt on fourth-and-1 (violating the swashbuckling spirit of the Potato Bowl) and missed with 3:02 left. Then Fresno State missed a 34-yarder at the buzzer, too. Destiny demanded overtime, and the Huskies took all the potato glory.

MVP: Josh Holst. The freshman quarterback threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns, led NIU with 65 rushing yards and caught a 2-point conversion pass in the second OT. — Bill Connelly


Takeaway: With Coastal Carolina playing at home, and UTSA having lost each of its six road games this season, Monday’s game between 6-6 teams figured to be competitive. But the Chanticleers were decimated by losses in the transfer portal, including their top two quarterbacks, as well as a few star players on defense. After a slow start in the first quarter, UTSA scored touchdowns on three straight possessions to take a 21-0 lead at the half. The Roadrunners added two field goals in the third quarter. After Coastal Carolina finally got on the scoreboard on Tad Hudson‘s 50-yard touchdown pass to Bryson Graves on the first play of the fourth quarter, UTSA answered with Chris Carpenter’s 93-yard kickoff return for a score to make it 34-7. The highlight of the game came when UTSA players celebrated Jakevian Rodgers‘ interception on a fake punt by jumping into the makeshift beach at Brooks Stadium. They were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. It was one of 10 such penalties in the game. After starting 3-5, the Roadrunners won four of their past five games to finish 7-6. After starting 4-1, the Chanticleers dropped six of their last eight to finish 6-7.

MVP: UTSA quarterback Owen McCown accounted for touchdowns passing and running, completing 23 of 30 passes for 254 yards with one TD pass and one interception. He also ran four times for 37 yards with one touchdown, helping the Roadrunners set bowl records for points and total yards (513). — Mark Schlabach


Takeaway: It took a while for Florida to get going on offense, as DJ Lagway struggled at times — throwing two interceptions, including one in the red zone. Indeed, the early trips to the red zone ended in field goals — keeping Tulane in the game. But once the Gators started converting their long drives into touchdowns in the second half, they put the game out of reach. Tulane struggled without quarterback Darian Mensah, who has already transferred to Duke. The Gators, meanwhile, rolled up 529 yards — the most against an FBS team this year — and Lagway ended up throwing for 305 yards, moving to 6-1 as the starter this season. The defense was stellar, with three interceptions and a near shutout, giving up a touchdown with 29 seconds left. Florida finishes the season with eight wins for the first time since 2020 — a somewhat unexpected result considering the way the season began. But since athletic director Scott Stricklin announced Billy Napier would return for 2025 in early November, Florida went 4-1 — including a four-game winning streak to end the season. Lagway returns next season, along with his top receivers and young running backs, too. There should be reason for optimism in Gainesville based on the way the season ended and who is set to come back.

MVP: Desmond Watson. The 449-pound defensive lineman had multiple viral moments — lifting Tulane’s running back in the air to make a tackle, then later in the game, carrying the ball and gaining a yard on third-and-1 to pick up the first down. –– Andrea Adelson


Takeaway: The Bobcats took a 20-point lead at the half and then held on in the final two quarters for their seventh straight victory. After the Gamecocks pulled within a field goal with about 3½ minutes left, Ohio ran out the rest of the clock with a long drive. It was an impressive debut for Ohio coach Brian Smith, who was promoted from offensive coordinator on Wednesday after Tim Albin left for Charlotte. The Bobcats captured 11 victories in a campaign for the first time in the 63-year history of the program. They’ve also won six straight bowl games; their last loss was at the 2016 Dollar General Bowl. After punting on each of its first two possessions in the Cure Bowl, Ohio scored touchdowns on four of its next five to grab a 27-7 lead at the half. The Bobcats piled up 309 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes, including 153 rushing. Jacksonville State, which won a Conference USA title in its second season as an FBS member, didn’t put up much of a fight in the first half. The Gamecocks were led by interim coach Rod Smith, after former coach Rich Rodriguez agreed to return to West Virginia. Jacksonville State is hiring Auburn defensive coordinator Charles Kelly to replace Rodriguez, sources told ESPN on Friday. The Gamecocks had only 8 rushing yards and five first downs in the first half. They had more than a dozen players enter the transfer portal after Rodriguez’s departure, including top edge rusher Reginald Hughes (Colorado) and safety Zechariah Poyser (Miami), who didn’t play against Ohio.

MVP: Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro, who was the offensive MVP of the MAC championship game, accounted for four touchdowns in the first half against Jacksonville State, scoring on three runs and throwing an 11-yard pass to running back Anthony Tyus III. — Mark Schlabach


Takeaway: Sam Houston captured its first bowl victory as an FBS team. The Bearkats nabbed three first-half interceptions that they turned into 14 points. QB Hunter Watson had 14 straight completions at one point in the first half, tying the New Orleans Bowl record previously set by Louisiana’s Terrance Broadway in 2014. Sam Houston’s defense and special teams continued to overwhelm Georgia Southern in the second half, intercepting JC French a fourth time and forcing a fumble on a punt return. The Bearkats put the finishing touches on what would become a 10-3 season with a strong defensive performance against one of the better teams in the Sun Belt this season.

MVP: Sam Houston DB Jaylon Jimmerson had his first and second interceptions with the Bearkats in this game, and it’s part of what helped them build a 21-7 lead in the first half. He also had nine total tackles and a TFL. — Harry Lyles Jr.


Takeaway: It would have been easy for UNLV to not show up for this one. After finishing off a 10-3 season during which two of their losses came to the same team (Boise State) with the second one preventing them from making the College Football Playoff, plus watching their head coach Barry Odom take the Purdue job, not many would have blamed the Rebels for being beaten by a feisty Cal team. Instead, interim head coach Del Alexander stepped up and kept UNLV rolling as it forced two turnovers and limited the Bears to only 13 points. The Rebels had the seventh-best turnover margin in the nation this season and looked the part of a top-25 team all year long. Incoming head coach Dan Mullen will have a lot to live up to after an 11-win season and the program’s first bowl win since 2000.

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0:36

UNLV executes fake punt to perfection

UNLV’s Marshall Nichols fakes a punt and shovels a pass to Greg Burrell for 52 yards vs. California.

MVP: UNLV’s Marshall Nichols punted the ball eight times Wednesday night, but he’ll be remembered for his arm after pulling off an incredible fake-punt pass play that was drawn up and executed to perfection. — Paolo Uggetti


Boca Raton Bowl: James Madison 27, Western Kentucky 17

Takeaway: Taylor Thompson hauled in the winning touchdown with superhero flair, and Khairi Manns finished off the Hilltoppers with the defensive play of the night. With the score tied in the fourth quarter, Thompson capped off JMU’s 75-yard drive by snagging a pass in the end zone over the top of Western Kentucky linebacker Terreance Ellis. After keeping his body in bounds, Thompson slapped his own helmet three times, then jumped and flashed his hands as if he were shooting Spider-Man webs. The acrobatic score gave JMU a 24-17 lead. Later in the fourth quarter, Manns ended Western Kentucky’s last chance to tie the score. He beat the blocker off the edge, swatted the ball out of the hands of quarterback Caden Veltkamp and recovered the fumble himself. The Dukes finished 9-4 including their first bowl win, an impressive accomplishment for a program that lost coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana and several key players from last season’s team.

MVP: JC Evans. According to ESPN Research, the freshman quarterback became the first FBS player since Washington’s Richard Newton (2019) to rush for a touchdown and also throw a touchdown on his only passing attempt in a bowl game. — Jake Trotter


Takeaway: A game that began with three straight drives resulting in punts turned into an offensive shootout as the Tigers and Mountaineers combined for more than 1,000 yards of total offense and 79 points.

While 10-2 Memphis looked to be in control, going up by as many as 18 in the third quarter, West Virginia scored back-to-back touchdowns to get back in it. The Tigers added another touchdown to go up five points in the fourth. That’s when the fun began. A 50-yard field goal that would have sealed the result for Memphis missed with under a minute left. Then, WVU quarterback Garrett Greene threw what looked to be a game-deciding interception, but Elijah Herring appeared to fumble the ball giving interim coach Rod Smith one last chance to give West Virginia the improbable win before the Rich Rodriguez era begins again. Not so fast. A replay review then determined Herring was sliding and thus, ruled down before the fumble, put an end to the madness and gave Memphis’ head coach Ryan Silverfield an 11-win campaign and a bath of iced coffee his players joyously dumped on him. This is what bowl season is all about!

MVP: Memphis wide receiver Demeer Blankumsee. The senior had one of the best games of the season, totaling a game-high 120 receiving yards, including an 89-yard chunk play, an 18-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion. — Paolo Uggetti


Takeaway: After picking up their first bowl win in school history a year ago, the Jaguars added No. 2 with a convincing win against Western Michigan to cap their first season under coach Major Applewhite. Early in the season, it didn’t seem like this was likely. South Alabama went 2-4 to open the season before winning four of five — with a win against Louisiana — to reach bowl eligibility.

Shortly before the game began, it was reported that South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez would not play against Western Michigan as he continues to deal with a turf toe injury. This gave Bishop Davenport the opportunity to make his second start of the season and first since a 27-20 loss to Ohio in the second week of the season. The Jaguars got off to a slow start, falling behind 10-0, but they went on a 23-3 run to take control.

MVP: Davenport. The fill-in starter completed 15 of 24 passes for 271 yards with two scores and ran for 85 yards on 11 carries with a 50-yard touchdown run. — Kyle Bonagura


Takeaway: Things looked promising early for Jackson State despite running back and SWAC Offensive Player of the Year Irv Mulligan having just 29 yards on 13 carries (with a touchdown) in the first half, and two other touchdowns wiped off because of penalties. The Tigers took a 14-0 lead into the break, with South Carolina State unable to find a rhythm on offense. It was much of the same in the second half, as the Bulldogs came out flat, perhaps a product of rust, having not played a game since Nov. 23. Jackson State’s defense was stout throughout the game, holding South Carolina State’s offense to just 212 total yards.

Despite Chennis Berry leading South Carolina State to a Celebration Bowl appearance in his first year, replacing the legendary Buddy Pough, it was T.C. Taylor’s team that came out with more vigor in avenging its 2021 loss in this same football game to the Bulldogs. The win was also Jackson State’s first in the Cricket Celebration Bowl, after losing consecutive appearances during the Coach Prime era in 2021 and 2022.

MVP: Sophomore WR Joanes Fortilien had seven receptions for 55 yards, including two great touchdown grabs and one last catch to seal the game for Jackson State. — Harry Lyles Jr.


Previews

Buffalo
Season storyline: The Bulls rebounded nicely from a 3-9 season in 2023 under first-year coach Pete Lembo, who returned to the MAC and helped Buffalo to its highest wins total since 2019. Buffalo recorded notable MAC wins against Northern Illinois (in overtime on the road) and Toledo, and after several blowout defeats, it won its final four regular-season contests. Lembo’s team has a balanced offense that limits turnovers and a defense with some star power but some inconsistent play. The Bulls boast one of the nation’s most prolific linebacker tandems in Shaun Dolac and Red Murdock, who have combined for 302 tackles to lead the MAC, including 30.5 for loss and eight quarterback hurries.

Player to watch: Dolac. The senior linebacker won MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors after leading the FBS in total tackles with 159, while leading the conference in both tackles for loss (16.5) and interceptions (five). He also led the league in tackles last season with 147, which ranked second nationally. Dolac earned MAC defensive player of the week honors five times, a program record, and had two interceptions (including a pick-six) in a late-season win against Eastern Michigan. Liberty will need to craft its offensive game plan around identifying the 6-1, 225-pound Dolac, who is all over the field for coordinator Joe Bowen’s defense.

Liberty
Season storyline: The Flames won a team-record 13 games and reached the Fiesta Bowl in 2023, and returned star quarterback Kaidon Salter and other key pieces for coach Jamey Chadwell. But after a 5-0 start, Liberty saw its nation-leading win streak end against previously winless Kennesaw State, marking the first time in 23 years — and just the sixth time in the AP poll era — that a team 5-0 or better fell to an opponent 0-5 or worse. The Flames would drop two more games and failed to qualify for the Conference USA championship game. Led by Salter and running back Quinton Cooley, Chadwell’s offense remained solid but didn’t reach its standard productivity level.

Player to watch: Cooley. After a 1,400-yard season in 2023, Cooley continued to consistently pile up yards, even for a less-potent Liberty offense. He had eight 100-yard rushing performances and four multi-touchdown games, finishing the regular season with 1,254 yards and 13 touchdowns in 11 contests (Liberty’s game against Appalachian State was canceled). A bowling ball at 5-7 and 220 pounds, Cooley averaged at least 4.1 carries in every game and 6 yards per carry in six games. He will be a challenge for a Buffalo team that ranks 62nd nationally in defending the run. — Adam Rittenberg

ESPN BET early line: Liberty -2

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Science

SpaceX’s Starship to Deploy Mock Starlink Satellites in Flight 7 Test

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SpaceX's Starship to Deploy Mock Starlink Satellites in Flight 7 Test

Elon Musk’s SpaceX said on Friday its upcoming Starship test flight would include the rocket’s first attempt to deploy payloads in space by releasing 10 model Starlink satellites, a key demonstration for Starship’s potential in the satellite launch market.

“While in space, Starship will deploy 10 Starlink simulators, similar in size and weight to next-generation Starlink satellites as the first exercise of a satellite deploy mission,” SpaceX said in a blog post on its website.

The Starship flight from SpaceX’s sprawling Boca Chica, Texas facilities, tentatively planned for later this month, will mark the seventh demonstration in a test-to-failure style of rocket development where the company tests new upgrades with each flight.

In October, Starship’s “Super Heavy” first stage booster returned to its launch pad’s giant mechanical arms for the first time, a milestone for its fully reusable design.

The rocket’s sixth test flight in November, attended by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, achieved similar mission objectives – besides the landing of Super Heavy, which was forced to target a water landing on the Gulf of Mexico because of a launchpad problem.

Starship is the centerpiece of SpaceX’s future satellite launch business – an area it currently dominates with its partially reusable Falcon 9 – as well as Musk’s dreams to colonize Mars.

The rocket’s power, stronger than the Saturn V rocket that sent Apollo astronauts to the moon in the last century, is key for launching huge batches of satellites into low-Earth orbit and is expected to rapidly expand the company’s Starlink satellite internet network.

SpaceX is under contract with NASA to land U.S. astronauts on the moon later this decade using Starship.

Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, has become a close ally of Trump who has made getting to Mars a more prominent goal for the incoming administration.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Judge orders Donald Trump to be sentenced in hush money case – but signals he won’t be jailed

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Judge orders Donald Trump to be sentenced in hush money case - but signals he won't be jailed

A judge has ordered US president-elect Donald Trump to be sentenced next week in his New York hush money case – but has suggested he will not jail him.

In a surprise move, the sentencing has been set for 10 January, just 10 days before the presidential inauguration.

Trump‘s spokesperson called the case “lawless” and a “witch hunt” in a statement released after the date was announced.

He was found guilty in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records, relating to an alleged scheme to hide a hush money payment to adult actress Stormy Daniels in the last weeks of his first campaign in 2016.

Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial, has now confirmed sentencing will go ahead, but signalled in a written decision that he would hand down what is known as a conditional discharge, in which a case gets dismissed if a defendant avoids re-arrest.

FILE - Stormy Daniels arrives at an event in Berlin, on Oct. 11, 2018. Witness testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial is set to move forward again and all eyes are on who will be called next. An attorney for Stormy Daniels says the porn actor is expected to appear as a witness on Tuesday.  File pic: AP
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The case centred on payments made to former adult actress Stormy Daniels. Pic: AP

“While this court as a matter of law must not make any determination on sentencing prior to giving the parties and defendants, opportunity to be heard, it seems proper at this juncture to make known the court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorised by the conviction but one the people concede they no longer view as a practicable recommendation,” the judge said.

The development still puts Trump on course to be the first president to take office convicted of felony crimes.

Lawyers for the 78-year-old had pushed to dismiss the verdict and throw out the case on presidential immunity grounds, due to his impending return to the White House.

Judge Merchan rejected this argument, saying he found “no legal impediment to sentencing” and that it was “incumbent” on him to do so prior to the inauguration.

Trump has always denied a sexual encounter with Daniels, but was convicted of falsifying business records over a $130,000 (£102,000) payment to allegedly keep her from publicising claims in the lead up to the 2016 election.

Responding to the sentencing order, the president-elect’s spokesperson, Steven Cheung, called the judge “deeply conflicted” and said the case was a “witch hunt” by the Manhattan district attorney.

“This lawless case should have never been brought and the constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed,” he said. “President Trump must be allowed to continue the presidential transition process and to execute the vital duties of the presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this or any remnants of the witch hunts.

“There should be no sentencing, and President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead.”

The president-elect has shaken off other legal cases following his win over Kamala Harris.

Prosecutors ended two federal cases over alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and claims he hoarded classified papers at his Florida estate.

A separate state case in Georgia – again over election interference claims – is largely on hold.

Mr Trump has denied the allegations in all the cases.

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