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Dak Prescott

Prescott, Cowboys Bounced Back With 28-17 Win Over Arizona

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dak Prescott threw for two touchdowns and flipped into the end zone on a 10-yard run for another and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Arizona Cardinals 28-17 on Monday night.

Before the game, Cowboys and outspoken owner Jerry Jones kneeled before the National Anthem, which drew boos from sections of the stands at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

Members of both teams then stood in separate locations in a locked-arm anthem protests.

“We planned and it was executed that we would go out and kneel,” Jones said.

“Basically make the statement regarding the need for unity and the need for equality.”

Even pop star Jordin Sparks, who sang the national anthem, had a message. Hers was written on her hand and it was “PROV 31:8-9”

The bible verse read: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

ACTION ON THE FIELD

When play got underway on the field, Jaron Brown scored on a 25-yard pass from Carson Palmer to give the Cardinals the lead midway through the first quarter.

However, the Cowboys (2-1) answered back when shortly before the halftime break when Prescott finished off a 10-yard run with a head over heels flipped into the end zone with 1:11 left in the second quarter.

The third quarter ended 14-14 after Prescott found Dez Bryant with a 15-yard scoring pass for Dallas and Carson Palmer mirrored that distance when he found Larry Fitzgerald to knot the game.

Prescott and the Cowboys then pulled away in the fourth quarter after Brice Butler pulled down a 37-yard pass inside the end zone and Ezekiel Elliott ran home from 8-yards to polish off the game, as the travelers outscored Arizona 14-3 in the last quarter.

Dak Prescott - Dallas Cowboys QB
Dak Prescott of Dallas Cowboys flipped into the end zone

Prescott finished 13 of 18 for 183 yards without an interception, while Butler took two catches for 90 yards and his TD and Elliott ran for 80 yards and his TD for Dallas, which bounced back from the 42-17 defeat to Denver in Week 3.

“He just kept battling,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said of his QB.

“He kept making good decisions. Obviously he made some good plays, big-time throws, but as much as anything else he’s got an amazing spirit and our players follow him.”

Meanwhile, Carson Palmer went 29 of 48 for 325 yards and two touchdowns for the Cardinals (1-2), who outgained Dallas 332-273, but had only 49 rushing yards.

“There running game was dependent on me,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said, as he took the blame.

“I loved what we had passing the ball. We just had to protect better.”

Larry Fitzgerald collected 13 of 15 targets to tie a career high for receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown and Jaron Brown also had a scoring reception for Arizona in the defeat.

“That’s Fitz. It’s Monday night,” Arians said. “He’s a money player.

“It was a great performance by him. It’s a shame we couldn’t play better around him.”

 

2016 NFL MVP Leaders: Carr Still Pacing The Pack

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MIAMI, FL – There are a substantial amount of contenders in the race to win the NFL MVP award.

However, there are two current standouts that are setting themselves apart from the field.

It has been a tight race for a large portion of the term and this will most likely continue as the regular season begins to wind down.

Early Leaders Heading Into Week 14

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Two of leading candidates for the league’s prestigious individual award, based on effective performances this season, are Derek Carr of the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys rookie Ezekiel Elliott, who is third on the voting list but the highest none quarterback.

Carr Getting The Top Picks

Based on this season, Carr’s performance easily qualifies him for the Most Valuable Player Award.

The fact that he’s been at his best at the most pivotal moments, is a strong indication he’s MVP material.

Carr has helped lead his team to victory in five games in which they have trailed in the fourth quarter.

The 25-year-old has come through for the Raiders during tough situations all year and the pundits believe the former Fresno State QB has to be given the edge because he’s been doing his damage with far fewer weapons than some of the other candidates.

Carr, in his third season in the NFL, has now won as many games this year as he did in his first two seasons combined, stays the stats gurus.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the quarterback has masterminded ten game-winning drives in the 4th quarter or overtime in the last two seasons, which ties him with Matthew Stafford for most in the NFL during that period.

At the same time, though, Carr’s overall numbers don’t standout with the other MVP-candidate quarterbacks, which could affect him further down the stretch.

Several football analysts also maintain that Carr is the second-most valuable player on his own Raiders team, behind pass-rusher Khalil Mack.

But with eight first-place votes, which values five points each, it’s easy to see how Carr’s managed to build such a dominant lead.

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Elliott, 3rd In Points, But Another Strong MVP Applicant

Following Carr, who has tallied 55 points, is Tom Brady, who is trailing by 23 points, but Ezekiel Elliott, the rookie running back for the Dallas Cowboys, needs to be watched closely.

As many would guess, Elliott is the leading skills player in the race for the award, with four of the top five candidates being quarterbacks.

What sets Elliott apart, first of all, is that he has a stellar offensive line that many think should be the league’s MVP.

However, the award isn’t given to a group of players.

In terms of standout stats thus far, Elliot has 71 rushing first downs, which is 18 more than any other player in the league.

The former Ohio State tailback is also averaging 4.9 yards a carry and is also the only player in the NFL with at least 10 runs of 20 yards or more.

Elliott is leading the NFL in rushing yards with 1,285, which is 242 more than second place and has raced home for 12 touchdowns.

As with Carr, football pundits and experts believe the running back is being hampered by the impressive performances of fellow Cowboys rookie Dak Prescott, who he’s been splitting votes with.

Rounding out the top 5 in ESPN’s NFL MVP Poll results were: Brady of the New England Patriots, who is sitting second in the voting with 32 points, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (24) and Prescott (15).

NFL MVP Poll Top Five

Derek Carr QB Raiders (55)
Tom Brady QB Patriots (32)
Ezekiel Elliott RB Cowboys (27)
Matthew Stafford QB Lions (24)
Dak Prescott QB Cowboys (15)
Matt Ryan QB Falcons (10)

Week 12 NFL Scores; Cowboys Win Again: Nov. 24

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ARLINGTON, Texas — Ezekiel Elliott ran for a pair of scores, fellow rookie Dak Prescott accounted for two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Washington Redskins 31-26 on Thursday for their 10th straight win this season.

Dynamic Rookies Lead Cowboys Again

Prescott completed 17 of 24 passes for 195 yards and ran for another score in the fourth quarter with 39 yards, while running back Elliott carried the ball 20 times for 97 yards for Dallas (10-1) which extended its franchise regular-season record with another win.

“We have high expectations for ourselves on offense,” Prescott said. “We obviously want to score on every possession and they gave us some scoring chances late.

“No matter if we’re up or down, we’re going to go out there and score and I think we’ve shown that the last couple of weeks,” added Prescott, who found Terrance Williams for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Prescott was impressive again in the fourth quarter on Thursday after missing just one of his passes to help the Cowboys end a two-game Thanksgiving losing streak.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Dallas Cowboys young quarterback is 30 of 33 for 325 yards, with 2 touchdown passes and 1 rushing TD in his last 11 fourth quarter and overtime drives.

“Over time, you keep running the football, you’re going to wear them down,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said.

“He made some big runs late that were critical. It really broke their back.”

Bryant and Norman Clash

Meanwhile, Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, who battled throughout the game with Redskins cornerback Josh Norman caught 5 of his 7 targets for 72 yards.

The pair battled throughout the game and were warned numerous times by officials but it didn’t stop there.

After the game Bryant went to search for Norman and that led to the two players having to be separated during a scuffle on the field.

Bryant, who made one of the biggest catches for the Cowboys to help set up a fourth quarter touchdown, called Norman soft after the game and said the Redskins should go get their money back.

“First off, Washington needs to get their money back from Josh Norman,” Bryant told reporters after the game.

“I didn’t make it personal,” Bryant said. “I was just going to come out and do my job and that’s exactly what I did.

“He wanted to bump and me and him got to bumping a little bit and it just made me attack him even more. I honestly feel like the guy is extremely soft.

“He’s a bunch of talk. If he was out and about, I wouldn’t dare on my life let him talk to me like that.

“Those words would never come out of his mouth. I promise. I promise it wouldn’t. We got after that ass and it was a hell of a win. It feels good.”

The Cowboys led 17-6 at halftime, but Washington managed to cut the deficit to 24-19 with 9:22 left in the game.

However, Elliott ran for a one-yard score to open back up the lead and the visitors failed in their late comeback push.

Cousins Has Impressive Day In Defeat

Quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 41 of his 53 passes for 449 yards and three touchdowns for the Redskins (6-4-1).

“We pulled within striking distance a couple of times, but the way Dallas was able to come back and score says a lot of how good of a football team they have and why they’re leading out division,” Cousins told reporters.

“We know as an offense, that the job’s the same and we need to put points on the board and manage it well.

Jordan Reed caught two touchdown passes for 95 yards and DeSean Jackson finished with 118 receiving yards and a score in the defeat for Washington.

Cousins and the Redskins will be off for 10-days before the second of three straight road games in Arizona on Dec. 4.

The upcoming stretch will be vital.

“We’ve been in third place for a while, so we have to understand where we are what it’s going to take to get an opportunity to come back here in the future,” Washington coach Jay Gruden said.

“The last five games of the year are critical.”

Meanwhile, in the other two games on Thanksgiving, Matt Prater kicked a 40-yard field goal as time expired to help the Detroit Lions to a 16-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings, while Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown helped the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Indianapolis Colts 28-7.

NFL Thanksgiving Scores: Week 12
Thursday, November 24

COWBOYS 31, REDSKINS 26
LIONS 16, VIKINGS 13
STEELERS 28, COLTS 7

Watch, Follow Cowboys v Redskins: Thanksgiving Football 2016

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DALLAS, Sporting Alert – Dallas Cowboys put their impressive season streak on the line when they host the Washington Redskins at AT&T Stadium on Thanksgiving.

The Cowboys are 9-0 since losing to the New York Giants in the opening game of the season and ESPN’s Football Power Index gives them a 73 percent chance to win 10 straight games and improved to 10-1 overall this term.

Thanksgiving Day game picks: NFL.com

Dallas, which owns the NFL best record at the moment, is being led two rookies and an offense line that should be rewarded for making life easy for the league’s dynamic offensive newbies.

So far this season, rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott has carried that ball 223 times for 1,102 yards with nine touchdowns, while fellow rookie quarterback Dak Prescott has passed for 2, 640 yards and 17 touchdowns with two interceptions.

Both players have been seriously mentioned in the early MVP discussions but the pundits believe the Cowboys’ offense line is what should be rewarded for the club-record winning streak.

Dallas, which is coming off a 27–17 victory against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, will take on a Washington (6-3-1) side that is looking to avenge the 27-23 defeat it suffered in Week 2 at home on Sep 18.

The game is a quick turnaround for both teams, but Prescott is excited about playing in his first Thanksgiving game as a pro.

He noted that he will need to remember to eat late on the day.

“I’m excited about it. I have never done this before, to respond real quick and play another game,” Prescott said.

“But I love ball, and I love these games. I’m excited for it and I’m looking forward to it.”

If the Cowboys manage to complete the season sweep of the Redskins on Thanksgiving, they would match their only 10-1 start in franchise history with came in 2007 when they finished 13-3 in the regular season.

However, veteran receiver Dez Bryant, who should be fine to play despite a back problem, isn’t getting too carried away.

“We’re taking it one game at a time and focusing on what’s happening at that moment,” said Bryant, who has five touchdown catches, but is questionable with a back injury. “We’re not looking too far ahead.”

The Redskins, who are defending NFC East champions, have not been beaten in the last three outings, winning two games and playing to a 27-27 overtime tie with the Cincinnati Bengals in the other.

In Week 11, quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 375 yards and found three different receivers for touchdowns, while Robert Kelley ran for 137 yards and three scores in Washington’s 42-24 flogging of the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Cousins and Co. head to Arlington, Texas, in a buzzing mood and ESPN First Take’s Stephen A. Smith is predicting an upset win for the visitors.

Follow all the action from AT&T Stadium live on Fox, starting at 4:30pm ET.

NFL.com and ESPN.com will also provide live stats and text play-by-by commentary.

There are two other games on Thanksgiving, with the Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions @ 12:30pm on CBS and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts live on NBC at 8:30pm.

Thanksgiving NFL Schedule
Thursday, November 24

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions @ 12:30 PM CBS Ford Field
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys @ 4:30 PM FOX AT&T Stadium
Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts 8:30 PM NBC

Cowboys, Chiefs, Seahawks Win In NFL Week 10 Scores: Nov. 14

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DALLAS, Sporting Alert – Latest NFL scores after Sunday’s Week 10 games, with the Cowboys, Chiefs and Seahawks among the highlighted winners.

Elliott and Prescott Power Cowboys

Rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 114 yards and two late touchdowns and took two catches for 95 yards, including an 83-yard pass for a score, and the Cowboys pulled off an exciting 35-30 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Elliott ran for 14 and 32-yard scores inside the final two minutes of the game and the Cowboys (8-1) have now won eight straight in a season for the first time since 1977.

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Rookie quarterback Prescott overcame an early fumble lost to pass for 319 yards and two scores without an interception for Dallas (8-1), while Dez Bryant caught six passes for 116 yards and a 50-yard touchdown in the win.

With the victory on Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys have now matched the longest single-season win streak in club history.

Ben Roethlisberger threw for a season-high 408 yards and completed touchdown passes to Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and Eli Rogers for the Steelers.

Antonio Brown caught 14 passes for 154 yards and linked up with Roethlisberger to give Pittsburgh the lead with 42 seconds left.

However, then Prescott and Elliott combined to win it for the travellers, while the Steelers suffered their fourth loss in a row.

Chiefs Comeback Win Against Panthers

Cairo Santos kicked three fourth-quarter field goals, including a 37-yard FG as time expired, and the Kansas City Chiefs overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Carolina Panthers 20-17 in the NFL on Sunday.

Santos also made 36 and 33 yard field goals in the final quarter as well for Kansas City (7-2), which won five straight and took over the lead in the AFC West.

The Chiefs, who are without star running back Jamaal Charles, who is out with a knee injury, have now won 17 in their last 19 games.

Eric Berry also returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown in the win for the Chiefs, who are making it a habit of using turnovers to set up victories.

Cam Newton went 23 of 38 for 261 yards with one interception and a touchdown, while running for 54 yards and another score for the Panthers (3-6), who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

Seahawks Top Tom Brady, Patriots

Russell Wilson went 25 of 37 on completed passes for 348 yards and connected with Doug Baldwin for the three touchdowns and the Seattle Seahawks secured a 31-24 victory over the New England Patriots in NFL Sunday Night Football.

Seattle (6-2-1) was winning its second game in a row to stay atop the NFC West.

Tom Brady finished 23 of 32 for 316 yards but failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time since returning from his four-game suspension.

Brady had thrown 12 TDs in his first four games back from the league ban.

With 11 seconds to play, the Patriots had the ball but Brady was unable to connect with Rob Gronkowski on fourth down as New England (7-2) saw its four-game winning streak ended.

Complete Football Scores and Results

NFL SCORES: WEEK 10
Sunday, November 13

BRONCOS 25, SAINTS 23
BUCCANEERS 36, BEARS 10
CARDINALS 23, 49ERS 20
CHIEFS 20, PANTHERS 17
COWBOYS 35, STEELERS 30
DOLPHINS 31, CHARGERS 24
EAGLES 24, FALCONS 15
RAMS 9, JETS 6
REDSKINS 26, VIKINGS 20
TEXANS 24, JAGUARS 13
TITANS 47, PACKERS 25

Check Out The Box Scores and Play by Play Texts

Elliott, Prescott Power Cowboys To 35-30 Win Over Steelers

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PITTSBURGH, Sporting Alert – Running back Ezekiel Elliott rushed through the middle for a 32-yard touchdown to lead the Dallas Cowboys to a 35-30 victory over Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL on Sunday night.

Trailing 30-29 late in the fourth quarter, Dallas was just looking to pick up some valuable yards to set up a close field goal range for kicker Dan Bailey.

However, Elliott took the ball from fellow rookie Dak Prescott and ran through the Steelers’ defense untouched and into the end zone to complete the five plays and 75 yards drive that took 0:33 seconds.

Prior to Elliott scoring the winning touchdown, Pittsburgh grabbed the lead when Antonio Brown caught a pass from Ben Roethlisberger for a 15-yard score with 43 seconds left.

Sunday’s triumph saw the Cowboys winning eight straight games in a season for the first time since 1977, while Elliott (1,005 yards) became the first Dallas rookie with 1,000 rushing yards since Tony Dorsett in 1977.

The former Ohio State star ran 21 times on Sunday for 114 yards and two scores, while taking both his targets for 95 yards and a TD.

Prescott went 22 of 32 on completed passes for 319 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Dez Bryant caught six passes for 116 yards and a score for Dallas (8-1) to stay undefeated on the road with a 5-0 away record.

Ben Roethlisberger was 37 of 46 for 408 yards and three touchdowns for the Steelers, who paid big time for a late facemask penalty.

Antonio Brown caught 14 passes for 154 yards and a TD, while Le’Veon Bell tallied 134 all-purpose yards and two scores for Pittsburgh.

The Steelers (4-5) have now dropped it last four games and its season looks to be slowly slipping away.

Complete Game Box Scores

Other NFL Scores In Week 10

Tennessee 47, Green Bay 25
Washington 26, Minnesota 20
Tampa Bay 36, Chicago 10
Kansas City 20, Carolina 17
Philadelphia 24, Atlanta 15
Los Angeles 9, New York Jets 6
Denver 25, New Orleans 23
Houston 24, Jacksonville 21
Miami 31, San Diego 24
Dallas 35, Pittsburgh 30
Arizona 23, San Francisco 20

NFL Week 8 Schedule and Live Stream: Oct. 30

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ARLINGTON, TX, Sporting Alert – NFL schedule and TV channels for Week 8 on Sunday, October 30.

The Dallas Cowboys will look to for their sixth win in a row when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football live on NBC and streaming live on the NBC Online Players, from the AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Dallas (5-1) heads into this game with a 61 percent chance of beating Philadelphia, according to ESPN’s Football Power Rankings.

Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott is coming off a three-touchdown performance against the Green Bay Packers in a 30-16 victory before their bye week.

Prescott was 18 of 27 on completed passes for 247 yards, with one interception.

Fellow rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott, the NFL’s leading rusher

has run for over 100 yards in the last four games for the Cowboys and ran for 157 yards on 28 carries against the Packers.

“We’re not really worried about that, honestly,” said Elliott. “We just focus on now.

“We focus on going out there and winning every week and getting better as a team. To this team, it really doesn’t matter who is at quarterback.

“We have faith in our guys. So, I mean, whatever happens, happens, and we’re going to keep getting better as a team.”

As a team, the Dallas Cowboys are scoring 26.5 points per game and allowing 17.8 points per contest, which is ranked seventh in the both categories.

For the Eagles (4-2) Carson Wentz helped Philadelphia handed the Minnesota Vikings their first loss of the season with a 21-10 last Sunday and the rookie QB is looking forward to having another impressive display.

In other games on Sunday, the Detroit Lions take a three-game winning streak into their fixture against the Houston Texans on the road, the New England Patriots are at the Buffalo Bills, looking for their fourth win in a row as well, while the Cleveland Brows are hunting their first win of the season against the New York Jets.

Teams on byes this week are the Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers.

NFL Schedule 2016
Sunday, October 30

Washington at Cincinnati LIVE FOX Wembley Stadium, London
Kansas City at Indianapolis 1:00 PM CBS Lucas Oil Stadium
Oakland at Tampa Bay 1:00 PM CBS Raymond James Stadium
Seattle at New Orleans 1:00 PM FOX Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Detroit at Houston 1:00 PM FOX NRG Stadium
New York Jets at Cleveland 1:00 PM CBS FirstEnergy Stadium
New England at Buffalo 1:00 PM CBS New Era Field
Arizona at Carolina 1:00 PM FOX Bank of America Stadium
San Diego at Denver 4:05 PM CBS Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver
Green Bay at Atlanta 4:25 PM FOX Georgia Dome
Philadelphia at Dallas 8:30 PM NBC AT&T Stadium

Prescott, Elliott The New Faces Of Dallas Cowboys?

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DALLAS, Sporting Alert – The Dallas Cowboys beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFL on Sunday for their fifth win in a row, but what does the future holds for rookie quarterback Dak Prescott.

Prior to the kick-off on Sunday, the experts and pundits barely gave Dallas (1-5) a look and predicted that Prescott would have struggled against Green Bay’s defense.

However, the inform quarterback overcame all doubts to deliver yet another impressive performance at the historic Lambeau Field in the 30-16 win over the Packers.

Prescott went 18 of 27 for 247 yards and three touchdowns and bounced off two fumbles and an interception for the Dallas Cowboys in the win.

STILL NOT YOURS DAK

Despite his performances this season so far, though, Prescott is still not guaranteed the starting place at the QB position when the injured Tony Romo returns.

In fact, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones still insists Romo will be the club’s starting quarterback when he returns to full fitness.

“Tony is our No. 1 quarterback,” Jones said. “We’re going to have the luxury of being able to, I think, see them both.

“I don’t want to presume that Dak is going to be necessarily healthy, I don’t want to presume anything like that.

“But I welcome the opportunity of having Dak playing at this level and Tony back in excellent health. It’s going to be really special for the Cowboys.”

ELLIOTT SETTING RECORD

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Meanwhile, according to Elias Sports Bureau, running back Ezekiel Elliott is the first rookie to have 4 straight 130-yard rushing games.

Elliott carried the ball 28 times and finished Sunday’s game with 157 yards.

The former Ohio State Buckeyes standout achieved his feat against a Green Bay Packers defense that had not allowed a runner to gain more than 39 yards this season.

This is rather impressive.

With the immediate rise of both Elliott and Prescott, Jones can’t help but to admit that they have become the new faces of the Dallas Cowboys.

Will the insertion of Romo break the flow should be returns after Dallas’ bye week against the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 30?

Bowl Game Scores From December 30; Prescott Shines

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SPORTING ALERT – College football bowl scores from the games that took place on Wednesday, 30 December, as Dak Prescott closed out his college football career in style.

FINAL SCORE: BELK BOWL
MISSISSIPPI STATE 51, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 28

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dak Prescott ended his college football career impressively on Wednesday night after throwing for a Belk Bowl-record 380 yards and four touchdowns, as Mississippi State ran over North Carolina State 51-28.

Prescott, one of the most prominent players in the SEC and school history, completed 25 of 42 passes on his way to becoming the fourth player in FBS history to throw for 9,000 yards and run for 2,500 yards. He joined Tim Tebow, Colin Kaepernick and Dan LeFevour.

Some very good names for company.

“I don’t think there’s words to really describe what he’s done for this program,” head coach Dan Mullen said. “I think he’s taken a university and a football program and changed the way people think about it.

“I guess that’s the best way to do it, and that’s pretty unique.”

Brandon Holloway caught two touchdown passes from Holloway in the second half for 78 yards, De’Runnya Wilson took five catches for 96 yards and a TD and Fred Ross had seven receptions for 74 yards and a score for the Bulldogs (9-4), who had raced out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter.

Jacoby Brissett threw for 214 yards and one score and ran for another 67 yards and a score for North Carolina State (7-6).

Jaylen Samuels ran for two scores and Pharoah McKever took a catch for a 82-yard touchdwon in the defeat for the Wolfpack.

Prescott was named MVP for the game and Mississippi State finished with its third nine-win season under coach Mullen, while securing successive nine-win seasons for the first time in program history.

“In 114 years of Mississippi State football, only six teams have won nine games,” Mullen revealed. “This team is one of them.”

FINAL SCORE: BIRMINGHAM BOWL
AUBURN 31, MEMPHIS 10

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Jeremy Johnson passed for a touchdown and ran for another score to help Auburn secured a 31-10 victory over Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl.

Jovon Robinson finished with 126-yards and a score and Kerryon Johnson also ran for a touchdown for the Auburn Tigers (7-6) who sealed the win that made sure coach Gus Malzahn continued his streak of finishing seasons with a winning record.

Memphis junior quarterback Paxton Lynch, who had 28 TD passes entering this game, was held without a touchdown pass for the second time this season after he went 16 of 37 on passing for 108 with an interception.

FINAL SCORE: HOLIDAY BOWL
WISCONSIN 23, No. 23 USC 21

SAN DIEGO — Rafael Gaglianone’s 29-yard field goal with 2:27 left guided Wisconsin to a 23-21 victory over No. 23 USC in the Holiday Bowl.

The Trojans took a 21-20 after Darreus Rogers caught a pass from Cody Kessler for a seven-yard touchdown 10:19 left, but the Badgers (10-3) used a late field goal and solid defensive plays in the final minutes to hold on for the win.

Joel Stave completed 18 of 27 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown without an interception and Corey Clement rushed for 66 yards and a score for Wisconsin.

Justin Davis ran for two touchdowns for USC and Cody Kessler threw for 221 yards and one touchdown in the defeat.

Bowl Game Scores; Wed, 30 Dec.

WISCONSIN 23, No. 23 USC 21
AUBURN 31, MEMPHIS 10
WISCONSIN 23, No. 23 USC 21
LOUISVILLE 27, TEXAS A&M 21 – MUSIC CITY BOWL