Aggies, Falcons searching for 2023 momentum in Quick Lane Bowl
Monday’s Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit (2:30 p.m., ESPN) features a pair of teams looking to establish winning traditions heading into next season.
Bowling Green, which will travel 75 miles north of its campus to Detroit’s Ford Field, has a chance to build momentum for coach (amd former longtime Michigan assistant) Scot Loeffler’s fifth season in 2023 with its first winning season in seven years. New Mexico State won more games this season under first-year coach Jerry Kill than it had the previous three years combined and another victory would provide a boost before joining Conference USA next season.
Bowling Green senior QB Matt McDonald has thrown for 6,024 yards and 37 touchdowns in a four-year career that started at Boston College. New Mexico State picked off just six passes this season with Bryce Jackson and Syrus Dumas each making two INTs each. Its defense has 27 sacks, led by Lazarus Williams’ 71⁄2.
Loeffler will be looking for a first of his own: The former Detroit Lions assistant has never won at Ford Field, as the Lions went 016 — and 0-8 at home — during his lone season as an NFL coach. Kill, meanwhile, has a shorter history on the turf in Detroit; his Northern Illinois squad lost the MAC title game in 2010.
Bowling Green earned a bowl bid for the first time since 2015 and is 5-8 in bowl games. The Aggies are 3-0-1 in bowl games and are appearing in their first since 2017.
Bowling Green junior and Detroit native Tyrone Broden (West Bloomfield) is 6 feet 77, tied for the tallest WR in FBS and tied for the team high with six receiving TDs.
Ex-Clemson QB Uiagalelei says he’s transferring to Oregon State
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is transferring from Clemson to Oregon State, he announced on social media.
Uiagalelei entered the transfer portal two weeks ago after an up-and-down two seasons as Clemson’s starter. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
“Next stop … Corvallis,” he tweeted Saturday, along with a picture showing himself in a Beavers uniform.
No. 17 Oregon State (10-3) used a two-quarterback system in its 30-3 victory over Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 17. Starter Ben Gulbranson was told beforehand that Tristan Gebbia would get at least two series. Gulbranson didn’t let the decision faze him, completed 12 of 19 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. He was named game MVP.
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Uiagalelei was one of the top recruits in the country out of St. John Bosco High in Bellflower, California. Over 35 games in three seasons for Clemson, he threw for 5,681 yards and 36 touchdowns with a 59.8% completion rate and 17 interceptions.
The decision sets up a brotherly rivalry in next year’s season-ending game between Oregon and Oregon State; younger brother Matayo Uiagalelei, a five-star edge rusher out of California, signed with the Ducks during the early signing period Wednesday.
Saturday’s bowl
Middle Tennessee 25, San Diego State 23:
Zeke Rankin kicked four field goals, including a 37-yarder for the go-ahead score with 2:05 left in the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu.
The Blue Raiders (8-5) overcame a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to turn back the Aztecs (7-6) in a game that featured six lead changes.
“What a ball game,” Middle Tennessee State coach Rick Stockstill said. “I’m just really proud of our team. We struggled offensively up front protecting us at the line of scrimmage, but we found a way on that last drive to make things happen to get us down here and Zeke made a big-time field goal.”
San Diego State took a 23-22 lead with 5:43 to play on a 52-yard field goal by Jack Browning, but Middle Tennessee State drove 55 yards in 12 plays, capped by Rankin’s 37-yard field goal to put his team ahead for good.