Momentary lapse fails to keep Boise St. from beating Oregon
LAS VEGAS — Bryan Harsin didn’t have to say anything.
Boise State had committed two turnovers that were returned for touchdowns in the final minute of the first half, turning a 24-point rout in the making into a competitive 10-point contest and allowing Oregon back into the game.
Without any special speech from their head coach, the Broncos regrouped and responded.
Cedrick Wilson caught 10 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown, Kekaula Kaniho returned an interception 53 yards for a score and No. 25 Boise State beat Oregon 38-28 in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday.
“New slate. It’s a whole different half. As far as we were concerned, it was 0-0,” Broncos linebacker Leighton Vander Esch said.
Brett Rypien threw for 362 yards and two touchdown passes to help the Broncos (11-3) break a three-game losing streak against Power 5 opposition. Ryan Wolpin rushed for two touchdowns.
Troy Dye and Tyree Robinson each scored a defensive touchdown for the Ducks (7-6) in new head coach Mario Cristobal’s debut.
TROY 50, NORTH TEXAS 30
Brandon Silvers passed for four touchdowns and ran for another, the Trojans produced five turnovers and beat the Mean Green in the New Orleans Bowl.
Josh Anderson, filling in for injured starter Jordan Chunn, rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns, and Silvers also scored on a short run to help Troy (11-2) win.
Silvers passed for 306 yards. Two of his TD passes went to Damion Willis, who had 136 yards and two TDs receiving on a New Orleans Bowlrecord-tying 11 catches.
Mason Fine passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns for North Texas (9-5), but was intercepted twice and fumbled twice. He finished with Mean Green single-season records of 4,052 yards and 31 TDs passing.
NORTH CAROLINA A&T 21 GRAMBLING ST. 14
Lamar Raynard scored on a 1-yard sneak with 38 seconds left and the unbeaten Aggies won their second Celebration Bowl in three years, defeating the Tigers in Atlanta.
N.C. A&T (12-0) won its fourth Historically Black College and University national championship. The Aggies claimed titles in 1990 and 1999 in addition to 2015, when they defeated Alcorn State 41-34 in the first Celebration Bowl.
Raynard completed 23 of 43 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown. The junior QB drove the Aggies 56 yards in seven plays for the winning touchdown, shaking off nearly throwing his third interception. Grambling (11-2) challenged, but the pass was ruled incomplete.
Grambling was trying for a second straight HBCU national title as the Tigers beat North Carolina Central 10-9 last year.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 35 ARKANSAS ST. 30
Brent Stockstill passed for 232 yards and two touchdowns and the Blue Raiders came up with some key stops to hold off the Red Wolves in the Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.
Middle Tennessee (7-6) ran out most of the final five minutes with a series of short passes from Stockstill after losing much of an 18-point lead. That capped a wild game that included DJ Sanders’ 54-yard fumble return for a touchdown, six turnovers and 17 penalties.
MARSHALL 31 COLORADO ST. 28
Keion Davis rushed for 141 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown run, and the Thundering Herd had two other big scoring plays in a victory over the Rams in the New Mexico Bowl at Albuquerque.
Chase Litton threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns, helping Marshall (8-5) hold off Colorado State (7-6).
The Thundering Herd are 11-2 in bowls — 5-0 under current coach Doc Holliday. Conversely, the Rams have lost four straight bowls,.
GEORGIA ST. 27 WESTERN KENTUCKY 17
Conner Manning threw for 276 yards and a touchdown to lead the Panthers past the Hilltoppers in the Cure Bowl at Orlando, Fla.
Georgia State (7-5) finished with a winning record with the first bowl win in its eight-year football history.
Mike White (351) had his eighth straight 300yard game passing for Western Kentucky (6-7).
From wire reports