Penn State 31, Boston College 30 (OT)

At Yankee Stadium, Sam Ficken was Penn State's captain in the clutch.

Ficken used Derek Jeter's old locker, then showed No. 2 must have left behind some postseason kismet. He booted a walk-off winner deep into Monument Park, kicking the extra point in overtime that Boston College could not to give the Nittany Lions a win in the Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday night.

Christian Hackenberg hit Kyle Carter for a 10-yard touchdown pass that set up Ficken's automatic kick that sent the Nittany Lions dancing on top of the Yankees' dugout.

"I couldn't have asked for a better ending for my career," Ficken said.

The Nittany Lions (7-6) played in a bowl game for the first time since January 2012 after the NCAA lifted the most severe sanctions levied against the program in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

Captain to captain, Ficken had the honor of using the retired Jeter's locker and some of the five-time World Series champion shortstop's clutch postseason play appeared to rub off.

Ficken sent the game into OT with a 45-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in regulation and won it with his extra point.

"He's probably been our best offensive weapon all year long," coach James Franklin said.

Tyler Murphy hit David Dudeck for a 21-yard touchdown pass on Boston College's drive. Mike Knoll shanked the extra point for the Eagles (7-6) and that was the opening Penn State needed to complete its comeback from a 21-7 deficit late in the third quarter.

"We lost a game we didn't need to lose," Boston College coach Steve Addazio said.

Penn State has played under the cloud of scandal and sanctions for the most of the last four years, tearing at the fabric of the community known as Happy Valley and tarnishing the legacy of Joe Paterno.

Moments after Penn State hoisted the bowl trophy on the field, Franklin took the microphone and thanked the seniors "who stayed with this program when we needed them most."

"I think experiences and games like this has restored the hope," Franklin said.

The Eagles left stunned after blowing the lead and missing their eighth extra point of the season. Knoll put the Eagles ahead 24-21 on a 20-yarder with 2:10 left in the fourth.

"I just told him to keep his head up," Murphy said. "That one PAT didn't lose us the game."

Ficken, who won the opener in Dublin with a 36-yard field goal as time expired, bookended the season with his biggest kick yet.

Hackenberg threw four touchdowns and played more as he did his freshman year, when he had NFL scouts raving about first-round potential rather than this season's erratic sophomore effort. He set Penn State records for completions and yards passing (34 of 50, 371 yards) and earned MVP honors. He went over the middle and hit DaeSean Hamilton to make it 21-all with 6:48 left in the fourth.

Hackenberg should have been eligible for a potential bowl game his senior season. But when the bowl ban was lifted this season, the Nittany Lions earned the chance to play in front of 49,012 fans at Yankee Stadium.

Murphy threw for two touchdowns and ran for 105 yards and Jon Hilliman had 148 yards rushing and score that helped the Eagles build a lead.

No. 24 USC 45, No. 25 Nebraska 42

Adoree' Jackson scored on a 98-yard kickoff return and a 71-yard pass from Cody Kessler, and Southern California blew most of an 18-point, third-quarter lead before beating Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.

Kessler threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns for USC (9-4), which was playing Nebraska (9-4) in a bowl game for the first time.

USC stuffed De'Mornay Pierson on fourth-and-3 from the USC 31 with 2 1/2 minutes left. Nebraska had one final shot but Tommy Armstrong Jr.'s desperation pass as time ran out was knocked down inside the 10.

Armstrong had brought Nebraska back from a 45-27 deficit with a 65-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Westerkamp and a 15-yard keeper and a 2-point conversion pass to Kenny Bell.

Armstrong threw for 381 yards and three TDs.

USC had 515 yards of total offense and Nebraska finished with 525.

No. 15 Arizona State 36, Duke 31

Kalen Ballage returned a kickoff 96 yards to set up the winning score in Arizona State's victory over Duke in the Sun Bowl at El Paso, Texas.

Ballage's big return came after Duke (9-4) took a 31-30 lead on receiver Jamison Crowder's 12-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Blakeney with 5:03 left.

On the kickoff, Ballage took the ball near the goal line and went straight up the right hash for about 15 yards before picking up a block and cutting to his right. He was pushed out of bounds at the 4.

On the next play, Demario Richard took a shovel pass from Taylor Kelly and bulled his way over the left side and into the end zone. Kelly was stopped on the 2-point conversion try.

Duke drove to 14 on its final drive, but Anthony Boone's third-and-10 pass was intercepted by Kweishi Brown in the end zone with 45 seconds left.

Richard, a freshman, was selected the game MVP. He scored four touchdowns for the Sun Devils (10-4) and tied a Sun Bowl record for points with 24. Richard carried seven times for 41 yards and two scores, and caught five passes for 22 yards and two more touchdowns.

South Carolina 24, Miami 21

Dylan Thompson threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score in South Carolina's victory over Miami in the Duck Commander Independence Bowl at Shreveport, La.

Pharoh Cooper was Thompson's favorite target, catching nine passes for 170 yards, including a spectacular 25-yard grab on the decisive drive late in the fourth quarter.

Thompson completed 22 of 34 passes.

South Carolina (7-6) has won a school-record four straight bowl games. Miami (6-7) ended the season on a four-game losing streak and hasn't won in the postseason since 2006.

Miami's Duke Johnson ran for 132 yards and caught five passes for 51 yards, but his costly fumble with a little more than 5 minutes remaining set up South Carolina's winning drive.

Miami's Brad Kaaya threw for 236 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier has had one losing season in 25 seasons as a college head coach — back in 1987 with Duke.

Virginia Tech 33, Cincinnati 17

J.C. Coleman ran for 157 yards and a touchdown, and Virginia Tech harassed and ultimately injured Cincinnati quarterback Gunner Kiel while rolling to a victory in the Military Bowl at Annapolis, Md.

The Hokies (7-6) knocked Kiel out of the game in the third quarter during a play that virtually assured the Hokies a 22nd consecutive winning season.

Deon Clarke sacked Kiel and forced a fumble at the Cincinnati 43. Nigel Williams picked up the ball and fumbled at the 12, where teammate Greg Stroman scooped it up and took it into the end zone for a 27-10 lead.

Kiel remained down for several minutes and was helped off the field before being taken to the locker room.

The 6-foot-4 sophomore did not return, and without him Cincinnati (9-4) had little chance to mount a comeback.

Kiel finished 14 for 26 for 244 yards, but his three turnovers led to the end of Bearcats' seven-game winning streak.

Michael Brewer went 14 for 24 for 94 yards and a touchdown for the Hokies. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer worked in the upstairs coaching box to avoid the risk of infection during his recovery from throat surgery.