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PAGE 3B January 2026 E-Edition
COLLEGE BOWL GAMES RESULTS Sun Bowl - (El Paso, Texas) Duke 42 - Arizona State 39
Saturday, December 13, 2025 Celebration Bowl - Mercedes Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA) South Carolina State 40 - Prairie View A&M 38
Friday, January 2, 2026 Armed Forces Bowl - Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth) Texas State 41 - Rice 10 Liberty Bowl - Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (Memphis) Navy 35 - Cincinnati 13 Duke's Mayo Bowl - Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte) Wake Forest 43 - Mississippi State 29
Citrus Bowl - Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) No. 13 Texas 41 - No. 18 Michigan 27 Las Vegas Bowl - Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, Nevada) No. 15 Utah 44 - Nebraska 22 College Football Playoff Quarterfinal (Cotton Bowl) No. 10 Miami 24 - No. 2 Ohio State 14 AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) Thursday, January 1, 2026 College Football Playoff Quarterfinal (Orange Bowl) No. 5 Oregon 23 - No. 4 Texas Tech 0 Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, FL)
LA Bowl - Sofi Stadium (Inglewood, CA) Washington 38 - Boise 10
Tuesday, December 16, 2025 Salute to Veterans Bowl - Cramton Bowl (Montgomery) Jacksonville State 17 - Troy 13 Wednesday, December 17, 2025 Cure Bowl - Camping World Stadium (Orlando, FL) Old Dominion 24 - South Florida 10 68 Ventures Bowl - Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile) Delaware 20 - Louisiana 13
Holiday Bowl - Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego, CA) SMU 24 - No. 17 Arizona 19
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal (Rose Bowl) No. 1 Indiana 38 No. 9 Alabama 3 Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) College Football Playoff Quarterfinal (Sugar Bowl) No. 6 Ole Miss 39 - No. 3 Georgia 34 Caesars Superdome (New Orleans, LA) Thursday, January 8, 2026 College Football Playoff Semifinal (Fiesta Bowl) No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 Miami State Farm Stadium - Glendale, AZ (6:30 p.m. CT) Friday, January 9, 2026 College Football Playoff Semifinal (Peach Bowl) No. 5 Oregon vs. No.1 Indiana Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta, GA (6:30 p.m. CT) Monday, January 19, 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship Game Hard Rock Stadium - Miami, FL (6:30 p.m. CT) Vanderbilt Falls to Iowa In Reliaquest Bowl
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Xbox Bowl - Ford Center (Frisco, TX) Arkansas State 34 - Missouri State 28
Friday, December 19, 2025 Myrtle Beach Bowl - Brooks Stadium (Conway, SC) Western Michigan 41 - Kennesaw State Gasparilla Bowl - Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, FL) NC State 31 - Memphis 7 College Football Playoff First Round Game No. 9 Alabama 34 - No. 8 Oklahoma 24 Memorial Stadium (Norman, OK) Saturday, December 20, 2025 College Football Playoff First Round Game No. 10 Miami Hurricanes 10 - No. 7 Texas A&M 3 Kyle Field (College Station, Texas)
By Myra W. Pierce The Sports Ledger
The Vanderbilt Commodores fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes 34-27 in the 2025 Reliaquest Bowl, which was held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fl on New Years Eve in front of a crowd of 35,382. Vanderbilt won the toss and deferred, giving Iowa a chance to take the initial lead, and the Hawkeyes did just that. MVP Mark Gronowski rushed for 44-yards early in the game to set up Iowa's first touchdown. With 12:58 left in the first quarter, Kamari Moulton scored on a 4-yard run. The PAT by Drew Stevens was good to put the Hawkeyes up 7-0. Iowa found the red zone again, but on a 4-yard touchdown pass attempt, Vanderbilt’s Martel Hight made an ESPN worthy diving interception after the ball bounced off players from both teams. Vanderbilt managed to put points on the scoreboard with 7:49 remaining in the opening half. The Commodores scored on a 41-yard field goal by Brock Taylor making it a 7-3 game. Perhaps, the biggest momentum shift of the game occurred just before the half, when Vanderbilt’s kicker Nick Harberer punted the football after crossing the line of scrimmage. The play resulted in a turnover and a five- yard penalty. It also gave the Hawkeyes the football at the 10-yard line with just :43 seconds left in the half. One play later Hawkeyes Quarterback Gronowski completed a 10-yard pass to Reese Vander Zee for a touchdown. The PAT by Drew Stevens was good. The half ended with the Iowa Hawkeyes up 14-3. “I think Nick just lost track of where he was on the field,” said Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea about the play. “In that moment too, keep in mind at the end of the half you just want them on the long field. You do not want to give them a possession midfield or across the 50. It felt like we were on track for that. We just lost track of where we were on the field.” The momentum carried over into the second half. With 8:59 left in the third quarter Iowa’s Gronowski passed to D.J. Vonnahme for a 21-yard touchdown. The PAT was good putting the Hawkeyes ahead 21-3. Vanderbilt quickly answered. Just 15 seconds later Diego Pavio completed a 75-yard pass to Tre Richardson for a touchdown. The PAT was good to make the score 21-10. Iowa's Drew Steven's completed a 47-yard field goal with 3:54 left on the clock to the put the Hawkeyes back up 24-10. Vanderbilt made it a one score game, when Pavia completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Mcvay. The PAT was good to make the scored 24-17 with 1:45 left in the third quarter. Iowa used the remainder of the third quarter to get into position for another touchdown, and the Hawkeyes did just that. Gronowski powered his way through the middle for a one-yard touchdown run to extend the Hawkeyes lead to 31-17.
College Football Playoff First Round Game No. 6 Ole Miss 41 - No. 20 Tulane 10 Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (Oxford, MS) College Football Playoff First Round Game No. 5 Oregon 51- No. 24 James Madison 34 Autzen Stadium (Eugene, OR)
Monday, December 22, 2025 Idaho Potato Bowl - Albertsons Stadium (Boise, ID) Washington State 34 - Utah State 21 Tuesday, December 23, 2025 Boca Raton Bowl - Flagler Credit Union Stadium (FL) Louisville 27 - Toledo 22 New Orleans Bowl - Caesars Superdome (New Orleans) Western Kentucky 27 - Southern Miss 16 Frisco Bowl - Ford Center at the The Star (Frisco, TX) Ohio 17 -UNLV 10 Wednesday, December 24, 2025 Hawai'i Bowl - Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (HI) Hawai'i 35 - California 31 Friday, December 26, 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl - Ford Field (Detroit, Michigan) Northwestern 34 - Central Michigan 7
Photo By Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
Vanderbilt's Junior Sherrill hauls in a catch against Iowa during the Reliaquest Bowl. Five plays and 72 yards later, Vanderbilt pulled the game back to one possession. This time Pavia rushed 11 yards for a touchdown, to make the score 31-24. Both teams traded field goals in the fourth quarter, but Iowa held on to win the 2025 Reliaquest Bowl. Iowa’s Gronowski finished the game with MVP honors after completing 16-of-22 passes for two touchdowns. He also rushed for 54 yards and a touchdown. Teammate Kamari Moulton had 95 yards rushing and a touchdown. Despite the Hawkeyes’ impressive offensive performance, it was the Iowa defense that dominated the game. Iowa limited Vanderbilt’s offense to only 51 total rushing yards and was able to sack quarterback Diego Pavia five times. Pavia was the Commodore’s leading rusher with 51 yards. He had an even better game in the air, completing 25-of-38 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns. Following the season ending loss, coach Lea said that Vanderbilt will have “big shoes to fill” next year, but he believes the process will be exciting. “We'll have work to do over the next couple of weeks to see where we net out in the portal and what we need to make sure we keep it going. We're going to introduce I think 20 freshmen in January, which will be great to get those guys' careers off and running, and the work of a coach begins. I feel great about it. I'm excited about the future. I'm excited to be at Vanderbilt long-term, and I can't wait for the next steps,” he said.
Rate Bowl - Chase Field (Phoenix, Arizona) Minnesota 20 - New Mexico 17
First Responder Bowl - Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas, TX) UTSA 56 - FIU 20 Saturday, December 27, 2025 Military Bowl - Navy-Marine Corps Stadium (Annapolis) East Carolina 23 - Pitt 17
Pinstripe Bowl - Yankee Stadium (New York) Penn State 22 - Clemson 10
Fenway Bowl - Fenway Park (Boston) Army 41 - UConn 16
Pop-Tarts Bowl - Camping World Stadium (Orlando, FL) No. 12 BYU 25 - No. 22 Georgia Tech 21
Arizona Bowl - Arizona Stadium (Tucson, AZ) Fresno State 18 - Miami Ohio 3
New Mexico Bowl - University Stadium (Albuquerque, NM) North Texas 49 - San Diego State 47
Gator Bowl - EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, FL) No. 19 Virginia 13 - Missouri 7
Texas Bowl - NRG Stadium (Houston, TX) Houston 38 - LSU 35
Monday, December 29, 2025 Birmingham Bowl - Protective Stadium (Birmingham) Georgia Southern 29 - App State 10 Tuesday, December 30, 2025 Independence Bowl - Independence Stadium (Shreveport) Louisiana Tech 23 - Coastal Carolina 14 Music City Bowl - Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee) Illinois 30 - Tennessee 28
Alamo Bowl - Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas) TCU 30 - No. 16 Southern Cal 27
Wednesday, December 31, 2025 ReliaQuest Bowl - Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, FL) No. 23 Iowa 34 - No. 14 Vanderbilt 27
Photo By Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger Vanderbilt Quarterback Deigo Pavia calls a play during the Taxslayer Gator Bowl.
Photo By Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger Vanderbilt's Tre Richardson (#6) hauls in a 75 yard touchdown pass against Iowa.
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