After Blowout Loss, Miami Puts Up a Fight
Miami waited until after the Peach Bowl to put up a fight. Miami and LSU players exchanged punches in the tunnel as they left the field Friday night after the Tigers' 40-3 victory, the Hurricanes' most lopsided bowl loss.
Matt Flynn threw two touchdown passes in his first start for No. 10 LSU (11-2) and the Tigers attempted two late fake kicks against the No. 9 Hurricanes (9-3).
Georgia State Patrol officers intervened in the brawl, with one officer holding a Taser while trying to prevent more players from entering the tunnel.
Minutes later, Miami's Andrew Bain, appearing to be dazed, was escorted by officers out of the tunnel. Miami coach Larry Coker said Bain and teammate Khalil Jones were knocked unconscious, but no players were detained by police.
Jones was taken to a hospital for observation, Coker said Saturday morning.
"I don't know what happened and I don't condone it," Coker said the night before.
While players surged to the tunnel, LSU coach Les Miles was surrounded by reporters on the field.
"It really did surprise me to find out there was a problem," Miles said.
LSU tailback Joseph Addai, who ran for 130 yards and a touchdown and added a touchdown catch, insisted the Tigers "try to play with class."
"We play with our helmets and you see it on the scoreboard," Addai said.
LSU's Jacob Hester, who ran for 70 yards and a touchdown, said trash-talking began as normal banter and involved Tigers receiver Dwayne Bowe, a Miami native.
"We had a guy who is from Miami who was kidding around with one of his boys," Hester said. "Miami thought it was something serious. They came in the tunnel and they were swinging, but it was just a joke between friends."
After a few minutes, LSU players were back on the field celebrating the win.
Miami players weren't available for comment after the game.
In other bowl games Friday, No. 17 UCLA beat Northwestern 50-38 in the Sun Bowl, Virginia edged Minnesota 34-31 in the Music City Bowl, and Missouri beat South Carolina 38-31 in the Independence Bowl.
Led by Flynn, LSU scored on eight straight possessions starting with a field goal late in the first quarter. Flynn completed 13 of 22 passes for 196 yards with no interceptions and was selected the offensive MVP.
"I was just trying to get the ball to the athletes around me," Flynn said.
LSU attempted a fake field goal while leading 34-3 late in the third quarter and failed on a fake punt with a 40-3 lead. Miles said he called for the fake field goal, but that his players called for the fake punt.
"They can call whatever play they want to," Coker said. "It is our job to stop it."
LSU piled up 468 yards, the most allowed by Miami this season. The Hurricanes entered the game leading the nation in pass defense and ranked third in total defense.
The Tigers were just as impressive on defense, holding Miami to 153 yards and six first downs - none in the second half. Kyle Wright completed 10 of 21 passes for 100 yards for Miami.
LSU's dominant performance negated Miami's plan to use cornerback Devin Hester as a multiple threat on offense. On Miami's first possession, Hester lined up at tailback and receiver and took a direct snap.
LSU had its largest margin of victory in a bowl game, easily surpassing its 45-26 win over Michigan in the 1995 Independence Bowl. Miami's previous most-lopsided loss in a bowl game was a 29-0 loss to Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 1994.
The Peach Bowl is sponsored by Chick-fil-A.
Sun Bowl
No. 17 UCLA 50, Northwestern 38
At El Paso, Texas, Brandon Breazell returned two onside kicks for touchdowns and Drew Olson threw three scoring passes for UCLA in the highest-scoring Sun Bowl ever.
Chris Markey ran for 150 yards and Kahlil Bell added 136 to help the Bruins (10-2) gave coach Karl Dorrell his first bowl victory in three tries.
The Wildcats (7-5) closed to 36-31 with 2:29 to play on Brett Basanez's 9-yard touchdown pass to Mark Philmore, but Breazell - a receiver lined up to make sure the Bruins kept the ball - returned the ensuing onside kick 43 yards.
The Wildcats, who led 22-0, set a Sun Bowl record with 584 total yards and the teams combined for another record with 1,037 yards.
Music City Bowl
Virginia 34, Minnesota 31
At Nashville, Tenn., Connor Hughes kicked a 39-yard field goal with 1:08 left, and Marques Hagans passed for two TDs and a career-high 358 yards for Virginia (7-5).
Minnesota (7-5), which led 31-24 early in the fourth quarter, had a chance to pull out its fourth straight bowl victory, but Marcus Hamilton intercepted Bryan Cupito's pass in the end zone with 36 seconds remaining.
After the game, Minnesota running back Laurence Maroney said he will forgo his senior season to enter the NFL draft.
Independence Bowl
Missouri 38, South Carolina 31
At Shreveport, La., Brad Smith ran for three touchdowns - including a 1-yarder in the final minutes - and passed for another score for Missouri (7-5).
Smith, who ran for 1,151 yards and passed for 2,022 this season, accounted for 431 of Missouri's 504 yards as the Tigers overcame a 21-0 deficit. Smith completed 21 of 37 passes for 282 yards and ran for 150 yards on 21 carries.
South Carolina also finished the season 7-5.
