Playoff-snubbed Ohio State got defensive even without one of its best defenders in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Ohio State safety Damon Webb returned an interception for a touchdown after recovering a fumble to set up an early score, and the No. 5 Buckeyes beat No. 8 Southern California, 24-7, on Friday night in a matchup that traditionally has been in the Rose Bowl instead of deep in the heart of Texas.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 champions would usually play New Year’s Day in Pasadena, but the Rose Bowl is a College Football Playoff semifinal game this season.
Ohio State (12-2) instead quickly settled in at the stadium where three years ago it won the first national championship in the four-team playoff format. The Buckeyes just missed the playoff this season.
U.S.C. (11-3), the Rose Bowl champion last season, lost for only the third time in its last 23 games. The Trojans committed four turnovers that led to 21 Ohio State points in what could have been the final college game for Sam Darnold, a third-year sophomore quarterback who is widely expected to turn professional.
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Buckeyes cornerback Denzel Ward, an All-America junior, has already decided to enter the N.F.L. draft, and he didn’t play in the game after practicing with the team this week.
With Ward on the sideline in his No. 12 jersey over street clothes, Webb recovered a fumble on the third play of the game. That led to J.T. Barrett’s 1-yard keeper for a score that put the Buckeyes ahead to stay.
Webb returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown to put Ohio State up by 17-0 less than a minute into the second quarter. It was the first pick-six this season for the Buckeyes, and the team-leading fifth interception for Webb.
Ohio State was up by 24-0 when Barrett ran 28 yards for another touchdown after the first of Darnold’s two fumbles while being sacked. Darnold was sacked eight times over all.
“That defensive line took a quarterback that we have a tremendous amount of respect for, and he didn’t set his feet all night,” Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer said. “That’s the way we won that game.”
MUSIC CITY BOWL Justin Jackson ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 20 Northwestern held off Kentucky, 24-23, in Nashville on Friday in a game 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.
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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.
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 a fourth consecutive bowl game and their sixth in seven years under Coach David Doeren.
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.
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.
ARIZONA BOWL Larry Rose III scored on a 21-yard run in overtime, and New Mexico State won in its first bowl game in 57 years, defeating Utah State, 26-20, in Tucson.
Utah State had the ball first in overtime, and Dominik Eberle hit the right upright on a 29-yard field-goal attempt. New Mexico State (7-6) ran two plays in overtime, with Rose bursting through a hole on the left side of the line.