Dec 27, 2017 4 min read

Freshman James Blackman was throwing the touchdown passes. Another freshman, Cam Akers, was gaining big chunks of yards on the ground.

Florida State might still be a little melancholy after a season that started with national championship hopes ended Wednesday with an Independence Bowl win. But the performances from young players like Blackman and Akers in the 42-13 victory over Southern Mississippi are a solid hint that the Seminoles could be a powerhouse again in a hurry.

Blackman threw for 233 yards and an Independence Bowl-record four touchdowns, including three to junior receiver Auden Tate. Akers led the Seminoles with 94 yards rushing and also caught a 14-yard touchdown pass.

Blackman started the season’s final 12 games after sophomore starting quarterback Deondre Francois suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener. He’s had some ups and downs since the promotion, but saved the best for last against Southern Miss.

Iowa 27, Boston College 20: Drake Kulick fought for a 1-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter on his only carry of the game and Iowa beat Boston College 27-20 in the frigid Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium to snap a five-game bowl losing streak.

The Hawkeyes (8-5) had been the only team in the nation to lose a bowl game in each of the last four seasons. Iowa had last won a bowl game in 2010 and started the losing streak the next season.

It ended in New York.

The Hawkeyes used their first sack of the game late in the fourth to spark the winning drive. Iowa defensive end Anthony Nelson hit Darius Wade, and Parker Hesse recovered a fumble at the BC 45.

Nate Stanley’s pass to Nate Wieting on a rollout was ruled a touchdown until a review showed the tight end was down at the 1. No worries. Kulick got the call over 1,000-yard rusher Akrum Wadley and barged through for the go-ahead score. The smattering of Iowa fans went wild and Josh Jackson gave them reason to stay on their feet when he sealed the win with an interception.

Boston College (7-6) had nothing on its final drive and that ended an otherwise miserable day at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees’ postseason games in October seemed downright balmy compared to the kickoff temperature of 23 degrees and a wind chill that made it feel like 12 degrees. The frozen stadium turf forced players to change from cleats to sneakers to get some grip and the most common huddle was the one around the sideline heaters.

Schiano mum on dashed Tennessee deal: Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano said the time isn’t right yet for him to talk about the deal he had to become Tennessee’s football coach before a public backlash changed that.

Schiano said he wanted the focus to be on the fifth-ranked Buckeyes preparing to play No. 8 Southern California in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.

“There will be a time. I really think there will be a time that it will be appropriate for me to speak about all of that,” he said. “When I do, it will be good.”

Schiano didn’t elaborate on what he will have to say.

A memorandum of understanding for a six-year, $27 million contract was signed last month by Schiano and Tennessee athletic director John Currie, who days later was suspended and replaced by the school.

When word got out that Tennessee had contacted Schiano about its coaching vacancy, four Republican gubernatorial candidates and at least three Tennessee state representatives issued tweets or statements criticizing the school for considering the former Rutgers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach. About 100 people participated in a protest on campus.

They said their complaints stemmed from Schiano’s background as an assistant at Penn State during Jerry Sandusky’s tenure as the Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator. Sandusky is serving 30 to 60 years in prison for his conviction on 45 counts of sexual abuse.

Court documents released last year of a deposition in a case related to the Sandusky scandal included hearsay testimony suggesting Schiano might have been aware of Sandusky’s sexual abuse against children, though Schiano has said he never saw abuse or had any reason to suspect it while working at Penn State. The prosecutors involved in the case didn’t investigate the Schiano’s comments.