NEW ORLEANS — Bryce Young passed for 321 yards and five touchdowns in a game that other top NFL prospects might have skipped, and No. 5 Alabama responded to an early two-score deficit with 35 straight points to defeat 11th-ranked Kansas State 45-20 in the Sugar Bowl on Saturday.

While a number of pro-bound college stars sat out bowl games that were not part of the College Football Playoff, the Crimson Tide and Wildcats had their best prospects on the field and making a number of memorable plays – from Young’s pivotal passes, to Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn’s 88-yard touchdown run, to interceptions by Alabama’s Jordan Battle and Brian Branch.

Young was substituted out during a series in the fourth quarter, raising his right hand to Alabama fans who loudly rose to their feet as the former Heisman Trophy winner trotted to the sideline.

Jermaine Burton caught three passes for 87 yards and a touchdown for Alabama (11-2). Tide running back Jahmyr Gibbs had 142 yards from scrimmage – 76 rushing and 66 receiving. Young’s other touchdowns went to Isaiah Bond (6 yards), Cameron Latu (1 yard), Ja’Corey Brooks (32 yards) and Kobe Prentice (47 yards). Jase McClelland added a 17-yard scoring run.

Kansas State (10-4) entered its first Sugar Bowl on a four-game winning streak and was riding high after knocking off No. 3 TCU – a CFP team – in the Big 12 title game.

MUSIC CITY BOWL: Joe Labas threw for 139 yards and a touchdown in his first start and Iowa (8-5) posted the first shutout in the Music City Bowl’s 24 years by beating Kentucky (7-6), 21-0, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz also capped his 24th season by matching the late Joe Paterno for the most bowl victories among Big Ten coaches with his 10th.

Iowa got a bit of payback for ending last season losing to Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl after a late comeback by the Wildcats. The Hawkeyes defense outscored its offense, returning two interceptions for TDs in the second quarter. The Hawkeyes finished the season with their fifth win in six games.

MEN’S HOCKEY

MAINE 1, COLGATE 1: The Black Bears (6-9-2) got a second-period goal from Didrik Henbrant but settled for a tie against Colgate (9-9-2) in Hamilton, New York.

Alex Young tied the game with a power-play goal midway through the second.

ELMIRA 3, COLBY 1: Chance Gorman scored the eventual winning goal with 6:54 remaining as the Soaring Eagles (8-5) beat the Mules (6-3) in Elmira, New York.

Abdoul Diouf cut Colby’s deficit to 2-1 with 5:44 left, but Elmira clinched the win with an empty-net goal.

UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND 10, SUNY CORTLAND 4: Mike Tersoni and Jayden Price scored twice and six others added a goal apiece as the Nor’easters (8-3) routed the Red Dragons (6-5) in the Middlebury Holiday Classic in Middlebury, Vermont.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

COLBY 87, SOUTHERN MAINE 80: Lucas Green had 22 points and nine rebounds as the Mules (11-1) beat the Huskies (7-5) in Gorham.

Will King added 10 points and five assists, while Noah Tyson finished with 11 points for Colby.

Clay Kuhn had 23 points, Chance Dixon 15, Jason Lombard 11 and Simon Chadbourne 10 for Southern Maine.

BOWDOIN 80, MAINE MARITIME 51: James McGowan scored 21 points to lift the Polar Bears (6-6) to a win over the Mariners (4-4) in Brunswick.

Xander Werkman added 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Alex Halpern had 10 points.

Curt Heinz had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Maine Maritime.

(22) XAVIER 83, (2) UCONN 73: Zach Freemantle scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Colby Jones also scored 16, helping the Musketeers (12-3, 4-0 Big East) hand the Huskies (14-1, 3-1) their first loss of the season, in Cincinnati.

Jack Nunge started the game for Xavier despite an illness that limited him during warmups. He didn’t rejoin the team after halftime until a couple of minutes into the half but finished with 15 points in 24 minutes. Jerome Hunter also had 15.

(3) HOUSTON 71, CENTRAL FLORIDA 65: Tramon Mark scored 19 points, Marcus Sasser had 18, and the Cougars (14-1, 2-0 AAC) held on for a win over the Knights (10-4, 1-1) in Houston.

(4) KANSAS 69, OKLAHOMA STATE 67: KJ Adams scored the go-ahead basket with 5.8 seconds left, Kansas stopped Oklahoma State twice at the other end, and the No. 4 Jayhawks (12-0) came back from 15 down to beat the Cowboys (8-5) in Lawrence, Kansas, in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

(5) ARIZONA 69, ARIZONA STATE 60: Azuolas Tubelis scored 21 points, Oumar Ballo had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and the Wildcats (13-1, 2-1 Pac-12) withstood a second-half comeback by the Sun Devils (11-3, 2-1) in Tempe, Arizona.

(6) TEXAS 70, OKLAHOMA 69: Marcus Carr hit the go-ahead basket in the final minute as the Longhorns (12-0) escaped with a victory over the Sooners (9-4) in Norman, Oklahoma, in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

(10) GONZAGA 111, PEPPERDINE 88: Drew Timme scored 22 of his season-high 35 points as part of Gonzaga’s first-half scoring outburst, and the No. 10 Bulldogs (12-3, 1-0 West Coast Conference) raced past the Waves (7-8, 0-1) in Spokane, Washington.

IOWA STATE 77, (12) BAYLOR 62: Gabe Kalscheur and Caleb Grill combined for 41 points as the Cylones (10-2) toppled the Bears (10-3) in Ames, Iowa, in a Big 12 opener.

(13) VIRGINIA 74, GEORGIA TECH 56: The Cavaliers (10-2, 2-1 ACC) blew away the Yellow Jackets (7-6, 0-3) with a 25-0 run beginning at the end of the first half and carrying over after the break, cruising to a victory in Atlanta that pushed Tony Bennett into a tie with Terry Holland for the most coaching wins in Cavaliers history.

(17) DUKE 86, FLORIDA STATE 67: Ryan Young came off the bench for a season-high 20 points, Jaylen Blakes scored 17 points in his first career start and the Blue Devils (11-3, 2-1 ACC) beat the Seminoles (4-11, 2-2) in Durham, North Carolina.

(18) TCU 67, TEXAS TECH 61: Mike Miles Jr. scored 23 points, and the Horned Frogs (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) rallied in the second half for a victory over the Red Raiders (10-3, 0-1) in Fort Worth, Texas.

(19) KENTUCKY 86, LOUISVILLE 63: Oscar Tshiebwe had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Jacob Toppin added a career-high 24 points and the Wildcats (9-4) shot a season-best 60% to dominate the rival Cardinals (2-12) in Lexington, Kentucky.

(22) NEW MEXICO 76, WYOMING 75: Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 20 points, including the winning free throws with 17 seconds remaining, to lead the Lobos (14-0, 2-0 Mountain West) to a victory over the Cowboys (5-9, 0-2) in Laramie, Wyoming.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

BATES 72, RUSSELL SAGE 53: Meghan Graff scored 22 points to lead the Bobcats (6-4) over the Gators (6-3) in Albany, New York.

Graff scored 20 in the first half as Bates built a 53-29 lead, aided by a 23-7 run in the second quarter.

Morgan Kennedy had 12 points and Davina Kabantu finished with 10 points for the Bobcats, who held a 53-36 rebounding advantage.

(3) OHIO STATE 66, MICHIGAN 57: Taylor Mikesell scored 16 points and Rikki Harris added 14 as the Buckeyes (15-0, 4-0 Big Ten) won their 15th straight, coming from behind to beat the turnover-prone Wolverines (12-2, 2-1) in Columbus, Ohio.

(8) UCONN 61, MARQUETTE 48: Lou Lopez Senechal had 22 points and Caroline Ducharme added 19 points and seven rebounds to lead the Huskies (11-2, 4-0 Big East) to a victory over the visiting Golden Eagles (9-5, 2-3) in Storrs, Connecticut.

(15) IOWA STATE 81, TEXAS TECH 58: Ashley Joens and Lexi Donarski scored 22 and 21 points, respectively, and the Cyclones (9-2, 1-0 Big 12) used a strong finish to beat the Red Raiders (12-2, 0-1) in Lubbock, Texas.

(19) GONZAGA 96, LOYOLA MARAMOUNT 51: Yvonne Ejim scored 24 points, Brynna Maxwell added 22 and the Bulldogs (14-2, 4-0 West Coast Conference) won their 30th straight over the Lions (4-11, 1-3), in Los Angeles.

(20) OKLAHOMA 98, WEST VIRGINIA 77: Ana Llanusa scored 28 points, shooting 11 for 13, Madi Williams scored 24 and the Sooners (11-1, 1-0 Big 12) pulled away from the Mountaineers (9-3, 0-1) in Morgantown, West Virginia.

(21) CREIGHTON 92, DePAUL 82: Lauren Jensen scored 21 points, including seven straight late in the game to help Creighton regain the lead, and the Bluejays (9-4, 3-2 Big East) edged the Blue Demons (10-5, 3-1) in Chicago.

(22) KANSAS 80, OKLAHOMA STATE 65: Holly Kersgieter scored 23 ponts, Taiyanna Jackson recorded a double-double and the Jayhawks (11-1, 1-0 Big 12) beat Oklahoma State (10-3, 0-1) in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

(23) BAYLOR 64, TCU 42: Caitlin Bickle scored 19 points and the Bears (10-3, 1-0 Big 12) pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Horned Frogs in Waco, Texas.

(25) ST. JOHN’S 68, GEORGETOWN 48: Jayla Everett scored 20 points and the Red Storm (13-0, 4-0 Big East) dominated the second quarter to roll to a win over the Hoyas (8-6, 1-4) in Washington, extending the best start in Red Storm history.

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