MORNING SPORTS BRIEFS 12/28/21

College Football

In bowl action Monday, Western Michigan downed Nevada 52-24 in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.

Today’s Bowl schedule has 20th ranked Houston meeting Auburn in the Birmingham Bowl at 11 am, Mississippi State and Texas Tech face off in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, UCLA goes against 18th ranked NC State in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego and West Virginia plays Minnesota in the Guarantee Rate Bowl in Phoenix.

The Boise State football team won’t play in the Arizona Bowl due to COVID-19 issues in the program. As a result of the Broncos withdrawing, Central Michigan will head to the Sun Bowl to play Washington State. The Cougars needed a new opponent in the game after Miami withdrew because of COVID issues. The Sun Bowl will be played on Friday in El Paso, while the Arizona Bowl that was scheduled for Friday in Tucson is in doubt.

College Basketball

ESPN reports Duke is expected to postpone its conference games this week due to COVID issues within the program. The 2nd-ranked Blue Devils were scheduled to face Clemson on Wednesday and Notre Dame on Saturday. With the ACC modifying its rescheduling policy, postponed games that can’t be played at a later date will result in a no contest.

NFL

The Miami Dolphins shut down the New Orleans Saints offense to win their seventh game in a row last night. The Dolphins took down the Saints 20-3 as Tua Tagovailoa threw for 198 yards, with a touchdown and an interception as Miami improved to 8-and-7. Ian Book finished with 135 passing yards and two interceptions in his first start of the season as New Orleans was dealing with COVID-19 issues. The Saints drop to 7-and-8.