White puts finishing touches on Utes’ second-half comeback

EL PASO, Texas -- John White took his final handoff of the day, followed his lead blocker and set off a celebration.

White plowed into the end zone from 8 yards out to give Utah a 30-27 overtime victory against Georgia Tech on Saturday in the Sun Bowl.

"They trusted me with the ball, so I saw Shawn Asiata blast somebody and I knew I was going to go in," White said. "As soon as the ball crossed the plane, I looked up to the ref and saw his hands go up and knew it was a touchdown so I just wanted to go celebrate with my teammates."

Justin Moore kicked a 34-yard field goal in Georgia Tech's overtime possession, but White finished a 115-yard rushing day with the winning score on his 26th carry.

The Utes (8-5), who trailed 24-10 entering the fourth quarter, tied it in regulation when Jon Hays hit DeVonte Christopher, a Canyon Springs High product, for a 28-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-14 with 1:32 left.

"There's no quit in these guys," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "They kept believing, coaches kept believing, and we found a way to win in the end."

The Yellow Jackets (8-5) drove to the Utah 31-yard line with two seconds left, but David Scully missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt as time expired to send the Sun Bowl into overtime for the first time in its 77-year history. Moore had earlier missed two 42-yard tries for Tech.

"I thought (Scully) hit the ball good and I actually thought it went in but I guess it was a few feet to the right," Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said.

Georgia Tech lost its seventh straight bowl appearance and Utah improved to 7-1 in bowls under Whittingham.

Georgia Tech's Preston Lyons, who came in with only 39 carries, rushed for a career-best 140 yards on 18 carries and Tevin Washington passed for 137 yards and ran for 97.

"We couldn't block in the fourth quarter and the plays we needed to make just didn't happen," Johnson said. "It feels like somebody kicked you in the gut. When you are competitive, it really hurts."

Meineke Car Care Bowl

■ Texas A&M 33, Northwestern 22 -- At Houston, Ryan Tannehill threw for 329 yards and a touchdown, and Ben Malena ran for two scores to lead the Aggies (7-6) over the Wildcats.

Northwestern (6-7) led 7-3 early in the second quarter before A&M reeled off 27 straight points and then fought off a late rally.

Texas A&M snapped a five-game bowl losing streak in a win the team dedicated to fired coach Mike Sherman and offensive lineman Joseph Villavisencio, who was killed in a car accident last week.

Malena ran for 77 yards, filling in for Cyrus Gray, who missed his second straight game with a stress fracture in his left shoulder.

Liberty Bowl

■ Cincinnati 31, Vanderbilt 24 -- At Memphis, Tenn., Isaiah Pead ran for 149 yards and a touchdown, and Ralph David Abernathy IV's 90-yard kickoff return early in the fourth quarter put the Bearcats ahead to stay.

Cincinnati (10-3) had to work to put away Vanderbilt despite forcing three turnovers and coming up with two sacks. The Commodores (6-7) led 21-17 when Abernathy became the first Cincinnati player to return a kickoff for a TD in the program's 13 bowl appearances.

Vandy's Archibald Barnes blocked Tony Miliano's 39-yard field goal with
3:58 left, giving the Commodores the ball. Cincinnati's Nick Temple picked off a Larry Smith pass with 3:15 remaining, and Pead sealed the victory with a 12-yard TD run with 1:52 left.

Fight Hunger Bowl

■ Illinois 20, UCLA 14 -- At San Francisco, Terry Hawthorne returned an interception 39 yards for the Fighting Illini's first touchdown late in the third quarter and Illinois (7-6) snapped a six-game losing streak by beating the Bruins (6-8).

Nathan Scheelhaase added a 60-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Jenkins midway through the fourth quarter.

UCLA was held to 18 yards rushing in its third straight loss. Kevin Prince threw two touchdown passes, including one in the closing minute to Nelson Rosario after the game had been decided.

Chick-fil-A Bowl

■ Auburn 43, Virginia 24 -- At Atlanta, Onterio McCalebb scored on a 3-yard run and 25-yard catch, and the Tigers (8-5) set a season high for points in a win over the Cavaliers (8-5).

Auburn was without running back Mike Dyer, who was suspended for an undisclosed rules violation. Quarterback Clint Moseley left with an ankle injury early in the first quarter.

McCalebb had 109 yards rushing while starting for Dyer. Tre Mason added 64 yards rushing, including a 22-yard scoring run.