JOE GERMAINE threw a four yard touchdown pass to David Boston with 19 seconds left as fourth ranked Ohio State defeated second ranked Arizona State, 20-17 in the Rose Bowl and spoiled their chances of a national championship on Wednesday. Second ranked Arizona State (11-1) fell one victory short of its first undefeated season since 1975.
Clutch quarterbacking by Germaine and a pair of interference penalties against Arizona State helped Ohio State win the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1974.
Arizona State quarterback Jake Plummer had slithered 11 yards for a touchdown with 1:40 remaining to put his side in front before Germaine, who began the game on the bench behind Stanley Jackson, guided Ohio on a 12 play, 65 yard drive.
Dimitrious Stanley, who caught a 72 yard touchdown pass from Germaine in the third quarter, caught three passes for 36 yards on the deciding march.
Arizona cornerbacks Jason Simmons and Marcus Soward were called for interference penalties. The second penalty on freshman Boston gave Ohio State the ball at the Arizona 4.4 yard line. Germaine then threw a short pass to Boston, who caught the ball near the goal line and danced into the end zone.
Germaine took over late in the first half for Jackson, who threw a nine yard touchdown pass to Boston in the first quarter.
In the Cotton Bowl Ko Kealaluhi caught a 28 yard touchdown pass with 3:38 left as fifth ranked Brigham Young overcame a 10 point deficit to defeat 14th ranked Kansas State, 19-15.
Quarterback Brian Kavanagh drove Kansas State to the Brigham Young 14 but was intercepted by Omarr Morgan at the 3 yard line with just under a minute remaining to preserve the victory, a record 14th of the season for BYU.
Despite being sacked seven times by the vaunted Kansas State defence, quarterback Steve Sarkisian completed 21 of 36 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars (14-1), who were bypassed by the bowl alliance and settled for the trip to Dallas in its first New Year's Day appearance. The snub cost BYU over $6 million in bowl revenue.
Kavanagh completed 14 of 28 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted twice and sacked four times.
Meanwhile, in the Citrus Bowl, Peyton Manning threw for 408 yards and four touchdowns as ninth ranked Tennessee routed 11th ranked Northwestern, 48-28.
In what could have been his last college game, Manning completed 27 of 39 passes without an interception and also ran 10 yards for a score. The junior has not said if he will enter the NFL draft, and many people believe he could be the top pick if he left college.
