In the first quarter, Donnell Kirkwood fought back for Minnesota. He ran for 27 yards, but the Golden Gophers trail 3-0 at the end of the first quarter.

(AP) Brendan Gibbons drilled a 37-yard field goal down the middle in overtime to lift Michigan to a 23-20 victory over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl on Tuesday night. The victory capped an impressive debut season for head coach Brady Hoke, who has led the Wolverines (11-2) back to prominence with a BCS bowl victory. Denard Robinson highlighted an otherwise unspectacular night with touchdown passes of 45 and 18 yards to Junior Hemingway. Virginia Tech (11-3) had more than double Michigan’s total yards, 377-184, and had 22 first downs to Michigan’s 12. Read the full AP recap, get Tom Dienhart’s reaction, see the box score, check out our photo gallery and don’t forget about our 2011-12 bowl schedule. And get your Sugar Bowl Champs gear here in our BTN,com store.

(AP) Kirk Cousins threw for 300 yards and one touchdown and Dan Conroy kicked a 28-yard field goal in the third overtime, giving No. 12 Michigan State a 33-30 victory over No. 18 Georgia in the Outback Bowl on Monday. Georgia’s Blair Walsh became the Southeastern Conference’s career scoring leader with a field goal in the second extra period. But he missed a 42-yarder in the first overtime after conservative play-calling and had a 47-yard attempt blocked on the final play of the game. Michigan State (11-3) ended a five-game bowl losing streak with its first postseason win since beating Fresno State in the 2001 Silicon Valley Bowl. Read the full AP recap, get Tom Dienhart’s reaction, see the box score and view our photo gallery.

(AP) Connor Shaw threw two touchdown passes and No. 11 South Carolina had six sacks as the Gamecocks shut out the Nebraska in the final three quarters of 30-13 win in the Capital One Bowl on Monday. The victory gave South Carolina 11 wins for the first time in school history and snapped a string of three straight bowl losses. Nebraska lost its second consecutive bowl game and drops to 12-6 all-time in bowl matchups against SEC foes. Both teams lost standout players in the third quarter when Gamecocks’ leading receiver Alshon Jeffrey and Cornhuskers’ cornerback Alfonzo Dennard were ejected for a post-play skirmish in which both players threw punches. Read the full AP recap, get Tom Dienhart’s reaction, see the box score and view our photo gallery.

(AP) Florida’s special teams came up big in the Gator Bowl, scoring twice as the Gators beat Ohio State 24-17 on Monday in a game between Urban Meyer’s old team and his future one. Andre Debose returned a kickoff 99 yards – the longest scoring play in bowl history – and Chris Rainey blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown. The speedsters helped the Gators (7-6) avoid their first losing season since 1979. Ohio State (6-7) finished below .500 for the first time since 1986. The Buckeyes can take solace in knowing that Meyer, who officially takes over at Ohio State this week, will make it a priority to improve special teams. Read the full AP recap, get Tom Dienhart’s reaction, see the box score and view our photo gallery.

(AP) Penn State’s tumultuous year ended with a 30-14 loss to Houston in the TicketCity Bowl on Monday, a dispiriting finish to a season in which coach Joe Paterno was fired as part of a child sex-abuse scandal that shook college sports. The 24th-ranked Nittany Lions were picked apart by Cougars star Case Keenum, who threw for 532 yards and three touchdowns. Penn State was allowing 162 yards passing per game, but Keenum threw for more than double that by halftime. He burned the Nittany Lions’ veteran secondary with touchdown passes of 40 and 75 yards to build a 24-7 lead by halftime. It was the school’s first bowl game without Paterno as head coach since the 1962 Gator Bowl, a 17-7 loss to Florida. Read the full AP recap, get Tom Dienhart’s reaction, see the box score and view our photo gallery.

Blake Bell ran for three touchdowns to help No. 19 Oklahoma survive a late rally and a crashing camera to beat Iowa 31-14 in the Insight Bowl Friday night. Iowa (7-6) fell into a 21-0 hole before rallying behind two touchdown passes from James Vandenberg. The Hawkeyes came up just short and dodged a potential disaster when an overhead camera crashed to the field next to receiver Marvin McNutt in the closing minutes (see photos of the crashed camera). Jump inside for links to stats and recaps for each quarter of the Insight Bowl.

(AP) Purdue recovered two onside kicks and Raheem Mostert returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown before halftime to give Purdue a big lead, and the Boilermakers held on to beat Western Michigan 37-32 Tuesday night in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. The Broncos had the ball with a chance to go ahead, but their comeback hopes ended when quarterback Alex Carder fumbled for his fifth turnover with just under 2 minutes left.

(AP) Montee Ball scored four more touchdowns in his pursuit of an NCAA record, powering No. 15 Wisconsin to a 45-7 rout of No. 20 Penn State and a spot in next week’s Big Ten championship game. Ball has scored 34 touchdowns this season for the Badgers (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten), the second-most in a single season in NCAA history. Barry Sanders holds the record, scoring 39 for Oklahoma State in 11 games in the 1988 season. With the win, Wisconsin will play Big Ten Legends division winner Michigan State in Indianapolis next Saturday. The Nittany Lions (9-3, 6-2) took an early 7-0 lead but quickly unraveled, falling behind 28-7 by halftime. Read the full AP recap, see the box score and view our Big Ten scoreboard.

(AP) MarQueis Gray rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another score, guiding Minnesota past backsliding Illinois 27-7 on Saturday in the season finale and sending the Fighting Illini to their sixth straight defeat. Gray took off 27 times to break the single-season rushing record for a Golden Gophers quarterback, giving him 966 yards. Billy Cockerham had 831 yards rushing in 1999. Troy Pollard‘s 11-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was the only highlight for the Illini (6-6, 2-6 Big Ten), who wasted their best start in 60 years and put coach Ron Zook’s job in obvious danger. Read the full AP recap, see the box score and view our Big Ten scoreboard.

(AP) Ralph Bolden scored one touchdown, Caleb TerBush threw for another and Carson Wiggs made four field goals Saturday to lead Purdue past Indiana 33-25 for the Old Oaken Bucket. The victory makes Purdue (6-6, 4-4 Big Ten) bowl-eligible for the first time under coach Danny Hope. But the Boilermakers are not guaranteed a bowl spot because 10 Big Ten teams are eligible for the league’s eight bowl berths. The milestone victory also was tarnished by a third-quarter injury to Bolden, who appeared to injure his right knee and did not finish the game. Indiana (1-10, 0-8) finished the season on a nine-game losing streak and is the only BCS conference team not to beat a Football Bowl Subdivision foe. Read the full AP recap, see the box score and view our Big Ten scoreboard.

(AP) Denard Robinson accounted for five touchdowns, helping No. 17 Michigan beat Ohio State 40-34 on Saturday and snap a school-record, seven-game losing streak in the rivalry. The Wolverines (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) were forced to settle for a six-point lead with 1:59 left on Brendan Gibbons‘ career-long 43-yard field goal after two apparent TDs were negated by a video review and then penalties. The Buckeyes (6-6, 3-5) had a chance to win the game on their final drive, but freshman Braxton Miller sailed a pass over Deviser Posey’s head on what could’ve been a 76-yard TD and threw a loss-sealing interception to Courtney Avery. Read the AP recap, see the box score and view our Big Ten scoreboard.

(AP) Keshawn Martin returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown just before halftime and Kirk Cousins threw two TD passes to B.J. Cunningham as No. 11 Michigan State warmed up for next week’s Big Ten championship game by beating Northwestern 31-17 on Saturday. Cousins threw a 33-yarder to Cunningham in the third quarter and hit him again on a juggling 29-yarder with 5:17 left to complete a 93-yard drive. It was the 62nd career TD pass for Cousins, breaking the school record held by Jeff Smoker (61). The Spartans will play the winner of the Penn State-Wisconsin game in the title game. Read the AP recap, see the box score and view our Big Ten scoreboard.

Rex Burkhead, who started the week with his right foot in a walking boot, ran for 160 yards and a touchdown on a school-record 38 carries and No. 22 Nebraska defeated Iowa 20-7 on Friday. Burkhead pounded away at Iowa’s defense 4 and 5 yards at a time and looked like his old self after being held to a season-low 36 yards in last week’s loss at Michigan.

(AP) No. 21 Penn State won for the first time since coach Joe Paterno was fired, with Stephfon Green running for two touchdowns and the Nittany Lions’ solid defense holding Ohio State scoreless in the second half of a 20-14 victory Saturday. Penn State (9-2, 6-1) earned a share of the Big Ten’s Leaders Division title and set up a division title game next week at Wisconsin. The winner will play in the conference’s first championship game on Dec. 3. Braxton Miller ran for a touchdown and threw a 7-yard scoring pass to Jake Stoneburner for Ohio State (6-5, 3-4), but he had an intentional grounding and three incompletions on the Buckeyes’ final possession. Read the full AP recap, see the box score and view our Big Ten scoreboard.