Horvath leads No. 22 Navy past Cincinnati in Liberty Bowl

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Blake Horvath threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for a score to lead No. 22 Navy to its 11th victory of the season, 35-13 over short-handed Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl on Friday.

Horvath scored on a 2-yard run and had scoring passes of 30 and 13 yards. The senior QB, who helped open up the passing game this season for the run-heavy Midshipmen (11-2), finished 9 of 15 for 108 yards.

Alex Tecza rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown for Navy, which finished the season on a four-game winning streak, includinga 17-16 victory over Armyin its most important game of the year. Eli Heidenreich ran for 62 yards and had five receptions for 64 yards.

Cincinnati (7-6) was missing several key players, including quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who threw for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns this season, and its leading tackler, linebacker Jake Golday. The absences of Sorsby and running backs Tawee Walker and Evan Pryor left the Bearcats without their top three rushers.

ARMED FORCES BOWL

TEXAS STATE 41, RICE 10

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Quarterback Brad Jackson threw for 173 yards and three touchdowns, plus ran in another score on the ground for Texas State in a win over Rice.

Lincoln Pare rushed for 106 yards on 11 carries for one touchdown for the Bobcats (7-6), totalling 1,022 rushing yards in his final season. Chris Dawn Jr. caught two touchdown passes.

Jackson opened the scoring for Texas State off a 6-yard rush in the second quarter and the Bobcats went into halftime up 10-7. After the break, Jackson threw a 69-yard pass to Beau Sparks. Dawn Jr. caught passes from 12 and 14 yards out to score.

Pare broke away on a 63-yard run up the middle in the fourth quarter.

Kicker Tyler Robles hit two field goals for Texas State, from 30 and 28 yards out.

Aaron Turner caught Rice's (5-8) only touchdown of the day, a 2-yard pass up the middle from quarterback Patrick Crayton Jr. Crayton Jr. finished the day completing four passes for 70 yards and one interception.

HOLIDAY BOWL

SMU 24, NO 17 ARIZONA 19

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Kevin Jennings threw for 278 yards, highlighted by an 80-yard completion on a razzle-dazzle play on the second play from scrimmage, and SMU beat Arizona.

Jennings completed 21 of 32 passes, and set up two touchdown runs by T.J. Harden and one by Stone Eby for the Mustangs (9-4). They snapped a five-game postseason losing streak that included a 38-10 defeat to Penn State in the opening round of last season's College Football Playoff. Arizona also finished 9-4.

SMU was up 24-0 at halftime, a big enough lead to overcome three interceptions by Jennings in the second half and three touchdown passes by Arizona's Noah Fifita.

Fifita threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Barmore with 33 seconds left but SMU recovered the ensuing onside kick.

DUKE'S MAYO BOWL

WAKE FOREST 43, MISSISSIPPI STATE 29

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Robby Ashford threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 50 yards and two scores, Koredell Bartley scored on a 100-yard kickoff return and Wake Forest beat Mississippi State, earning coach Jake Dickert a mayonnaise bath.

Ashford threw TD passes of 14 yards to Kamrean Johnson, 64 yards to Jack Foley and 62 yards to Ty Clark III and had scoring runs of 2 and 1 yards for the Demon Deacons (9-4). They won seven of their final nine games.

Clark finished with 153 yards from scrimmage after taking over the starting role after second-team All-ACC selection Demond Claiborne opted out of the game after declaring for the NFL draft.

Freshman quarterback Kamario Taylor, making his second college start, had a big second half for Mississippi State (5-8) and finished 13 of 22 for 241 yards and a touchdown. He ran for 60 yards and another score before suffering what appeared to be a significant leg injury with 1:46 left in the game. He was carted off the field and there was no immediate word on the extent of the injury.

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January 02, 2026

Horvath leads No. 22 Navy past Cincinnati in Liberty Bowl

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Blake Horvath threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for a score to lead No. 22 Navy to its 1...

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Ole Miss Player Slams Ex-Coach Lane Kiffin for 'Trying to Steal Our Shine' Ahead of Their Sugar Bowl Upset Win

Justin Ford/Getty; David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• Lane Kiffin's sudden departure from the Ole Miss Rebels last month felt like "a slap in the face" to players, defensive tackle Zxavian Harris told ESPN

• Harris added that Kiffin is "just trying to steal our shine" and said the former head coach "was trying to be a troll" before their Sugar Bowl win

• The Ole Miss Rebels defeated the Georgia Bulldogs on Jan. 1 and will take on the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoffs semifinal on Jan. 8

Former Ole Miss head coachLane Kiffin's sudden exit from the team last month left players feeling disrespected.

Rebels defensive tackle Zxavian Harris toldESPNhe thinks Kiffin's behavior amid his transition to rival LSU is Kiffin "just trying to steal our shine," particularly after the coach said he wanted to attend Ole Miss' Sugar Bowl game on Thursday, Jan. 1.

Harris added, "That's all he's trying to do. That's all he's been trying to do is steal our shine."

After Ole Miss's win over the Georgia Bulldogs on New Year's Day, which secured their spot in the College Football Playoff semifinal, the former head coach congratulated the Rebels on social media,writing, "What a great finish!!! So much fun!! Only two more to go @OleMissFB," alongside photos of his family celebrating the win.

What a great finish!!! So much fun!! Only two more to go ⁦@OleMissFB⁩ 🇹🇹 🪄 🏆#BTApic.twitter.com/axTTTHP5pO

— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin)January 2, 2026

Harris told ESPN that Kiffin's sudden exit from the Rebels just before they competed in the College Football Playoffs felt like "a slap in the face" adding, "Like a slap and the backhand."

"He was trying to be a troll," Harris said. "We're going to troll him. We got something for him."

Tyler Kaufman/Getty

Kiffin accepted the head coaching job at LSU — a more storied program with multiple national championships which had recently faltered under former head coach Brian Kelly, who was fired earlier this season — on Nov. 30, a shocking move midway through the college football season.

Ole Miss opted to not let Kiffin finish out the season and fired him, which meant leaving the team during one of their best seasons. After the announcement, aphotoshared on social media appeared to show that Ole Missleft Kiffin's clothing rackout on the street outside of an athletic facility.

A spokesperson for the Ole Miss athletic department did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on the image, shared by Ole Miss football podcaster Ben Garrett.

Kiffin'sdaughter Landry, 20, trolled "angry football fans" in a TikTok video following her father's move to LSU, sharing an eight-second TikTokvideoset to the song "The Joke Is On You" by Niki Watkins, of herself singing and blowing kisses to the camera.

Over the video, Landry wrote, "Wish I could be as creative as angry football fans," adding a heart-hands emoji.

In her caption, the Ole Miss student wrote about her father, who accepted the head coaching job at LSU: "It's not that deep."

Read the original article onPeople

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January 02, 2026

Ole Miss Player Slams Ex-Coach Lane Kiffin for 'Trying to Steal Our Shine' Ahead of Their Sugar Bowl Upset Win

Justin Ford/Getty; David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty NEED TO KNOW Lane Kiffin's sudden departure from the Ole Miss Rebels l...

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SMU avoids collapse, holds off No. 17 Arizona at Holiday Bowl

T.J. Harden ran for two touchdowns, Kevin Jennings amassed 278 yards through the air and SMU defeated No. 17 Arizona 24-19 to win the Holiday Bowl on Friday night in San Diego.

SMU (9-4) was ahead 24-0 at halftime but had to overcome Jennings' three second-half interceptions to pick up its first bowl win since 2012. Yamir Knight led all receivers with seven catches for 104 yards in the win.

"It's all just preparation in practice," said Knight, who had four receptions of 20 yards or longer and was selected the game's offensive MVP. "We go hard all week, every week in practice, and we just came out here and paid attention to the details, and we got things done."

Jennings said in the postgame TV interview, "We fought our butts off each and every week, but we came out here and still grinded every single day, so I'm just proud of this group right here. I had a terrible second half ... but this team got my back no matter what. I love these guys."

Noah Fifita led Arizona's comeback efforts, going 28 of 43 for 265 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He was also the game's leading rusher with 73 yards on 13 attempts, but the Wildcats (9-4) saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.

Each of the Mustangs' first two possessions after halftime resulted in third-down interceptions. The first, by Michael Dansby at his own 4-yard line, set up Arizona for a 15-play, 96-yard drive. Fifita hit Javin Whatley for a 28-yard touchdown with 2:37 left in the third, but the two-point conversion failed.

Arizona got another interception but turned it over on downs. However, the Wildcats forced a three-and-out and later scored on fourth-and-2 from the 10 when Fifita hit Tre Spivey in the end zone. Fifita's two-point pass was knocked down, leaving it 24-12.

SMU was driving to bleed the fourth-quarter clock, but Arizona linebacker Riley Wilson dropped into zone coverage and Jennings threw straight to him with less than five minutes to play.

Four plays later, however, Fifita's pass was batted at the line and Alexander Kilgore intercepted it for SMU.

Still, Arizona forced a punt for one more chance, and Fifita connected with Cameron Barmore on third-and-10 from the 15 for a touchdown with 33 seconds left. But the Wildcats could not recover the onside kick necessary to continue their rally.

On the game's second play from scrimmage, Jennings lofted a pass to a wide-open Matthew Hibner down the right sideline and the tight end raced toward the goal line before being marked down at the 1 for an 80-yard pitch and catch. Harden followed with his first touchdown of the game.

The Mustangs doubled their lead before the quarter ended. Arizona committed pass interference on a third-and-9 incompletion to give SMU new life. Harden ran it in from the 3 on the next play.

The next SMU possession turned into a 16-play, 94-yard march. Tight end Stone Eby had an 18-yard catch on the drive before he lined up as a fullback and pushed in a 1-yard touchdown.

Sam Keltner's 24-yard field goal in the final minute of the half made it 24-0 at intermission.

--Field Level Media

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January 02, 2026

SMU avoids collapse, holds off No. 17 Arizona at Holiday Bowl

T.J. Harden ran for two touchdowns, Kevin Jennings amassed 278 yards through the air and SMU defeated No. 17 Arizona...

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Antetokounmpo's dunk in closing seconds gives Bucks 122-121 win over Hornets

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpodunked on a lobfrom Kevin Porter Jr. with 4.7 seconds remaining to give the Milwaukee Bucks a 122-121 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.

Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for his NBA-leading 158th game with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Antetokounmpo overtook Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who each accomplished that feat 157 times.

The lead changed hands three times in the last 10 1/2 seconds.

Milwaukee's Kyle Kuzma sank a 3-pointer to put the Bucks ahead 120-118 with 10.3 seconds left.

After Charlotte called a timeout, Sion James inbounded the ball to Miles Bridges, who was heading toward the basket. Bridges laid the ball in while drawing Kuzma's sixth foul with 8.8 seconds left. Bridges then hit the ensuing free throw to complete a 3-point play that put Charlotte back ahead.

Milwaukee called a timeout, then Porter threw an inbounds pass to Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo passed to Porter and then headed toward the basket and caught the lob to dunk home the winning basket.

Charlotte still had one more timeout. LaMelo Ball inbounded to Brandon Miller, whose contested driving layup attempt bounced off the backboard and didn't go through as the buzzer sounded.

Kon Knueppel scored 26 points, Bridges 25, Miller 19 and Collin Sexton 16 for Charlotte. Ryan Rollins had 29 points and eight assists for Milwaukee, while Bobby Portis scored 20 points.

Milwaukee's dramatic victory came two nights after the Bucks lost 114-113 to the Washington Wizards on a last-second jumper from CJ McCollum.

The Bucks and Hornets were facing off for the second time in five days, as theBucks won 123-113at Charlotte on Monday.

Milwaukee was playing its final home game before starting a four-game trip west.

Hornets: At Chicago on Saturday.

Bucks: At Sacramento on Sunday.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

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January 02, 2026

Antetokounmpo's dunk in closing seconds gives Bucks 122-121 win over Hornets

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpodunked on a lobfrom Kevin Porter Jr. with 4.7 seconds remaining to give the Milwau...

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Buzelis scores 21 points, Huerter adds 20 as Bulls beat Magic 121-114 for 2nd straight win

CHICAGO (AP) — Matas Buzelis scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, Kevin Huerter added 20 points, and the Chicago Bulls rallied to beat the Orlando Magic 121-114 on Friday night for their second straight win.

Buzelis hit a pair of free throws with 22.8 seconds left to make 119-114, then pulled in his ninth rebound to send in Isaac Okoro for a game-sealing dunk with 4 seconds remaining. Buzelis also finished with a season-high seven assists.

Nikola Vucevic added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Ayo Dosumnu had 17 points as Chicago outscored Orlando 30-19 in the fourth quarter to climb back to .500. (17-17).

Paolo Banchero scored 31 points and Anthony Black added 18 for the Magic in a game with 19 lead changes.

Jalen Suggs had 11 points for Orlando in his second game back after missing seven with a hip injury, but left this one after landing hard on his right knee late in the third quarter. Desmond Bane added 14 and Wendell Carter Jr. had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Six Chicago players reached double figures as the Bulls played a second game without its top two scorers in Josh Giddey and Coby White, who wereinjured in a loss to Minnesotaon Monday night.

The Magic have been without leading scorer Franz Wagner (22.7 point per game) since he suffered a high ankle sprain on Dec. 7.

Orlando led 95-91 heading into the fourth quarter, but Bulls took a 105-102 lead on Buzelis' 3-pointer 4:44 into the quarter.

The Bulls pulled into 59-all tie at halftime on Huerter's cutting layup after falling behind by 10 early and trailing by as much as 13 in the first quarter after the Magic went on a 14-0 run.

Banchero hit his first four shots and five of six to score 11 of his 13 first-half points in just over the opening 7:16.

Magic: Host Indiana on Sunday

Bulls: Host Charlotte on Saturday.

AP NBA:https://www.apnews.com/nba

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January 02, 2026

Buzelis scores 21 points, Huerter adds 20 as Bulls beat Magic 121-114 for 2nd straight win

CHICAGO (AP) — Matas Buzelis scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, Kevin Huerter added 20 points, and the Chica...

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