Associated Press
NEW YORK ó Gary Patterson guided TCU to its best season in 70 years on the way to becoming the first Associated Press Coach of the Year from outside the six conferences with automatic BCS bids.
Patterson led the Horned Frogs to a perfect regular season, their first Mountain West Conference title, their first BCS appearance and even had them vying for a spot in the national championship game.
“I’m really kind of humbled by the whole thing,” Patterson said in a telephone interview. “The best way I know how to deal with it is to put my nose down and keep getting ready for Boise.”
No. 3 TCU will play No. 6 Boise State (13-0) in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 4.
In a close vote released Wednesday, Patterson received 21 votes from the AP college football poll panel to edge Brian Kelly. The former Cincinnati coach, now with Notre Dame, received 19 votes, and Alabama’s Nick Saban, who won the award last season, got 14 votes.
Chip Kelly of Oregon received three votes and Boise State’s Chris Petersen and Texas’ Mack Brown each got one vote.
Poinsettia Bowl
No. 23 Utah 37, Cal 27
SAN DIEGO ó Jordan Wynn threw for a career-high 338 yards and three touchdowns to rally No. 23 Utah from an early two-touchdown deficit.
The Utes scored 27 straight points to win their ninth straight bowl game, the longest current streak in the country. The Golden Bears, in a bowl game for the school-record seventh straight year, had their four-game postseason winning streak snapped.
LIBERTY BOWL
MEMPHIS, Tenn. ó All 62,000 seats have been sold for the Jan. 2 Liberty Bowl game between East Carolina and Arkansas.
The 51st annual game is the bowl’s second sellout in three seasons.
MIAMI
CORAL GABLES, Fla. ó Miami football practices are closed to the public. Unless, of course, the public is Bill Parcells and Alex Rodriguez.
The 14th-ranked Hurricanes had some star power at their final two workouts at their home facility this season. Rodriguez, whose name adorns the adjacent baseball stadium on Miami’s campus ó watched practice Tuesday. He works out at the school regularly during his offseason.
Parcells was there for Wednesday’s workout, joined by Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland.