BLOWOUTS, EXCITEMENT IN BOWL GAMES
UCF linebacker Nate Evans couldn't stop smiling as he bobbed and weaved his way through the throng assembled midfield at Raymond James Stadium Monday night.
The Knights had just put the finishing touches on a 48-25 win over Marshall in the Gasparilla Bowl, winning their 10th game of the season and giving the program its third consecutive double-digit win season.
Teammates stopped to give the senior a hug, others wanted to chat and others were hoping to capture the moment with a photograph.
Evans finished with a teamhigh 12 tackles and a sack, but it was two rushing carries near the goal line at the end of the game that represented the perfect ending to his college career.
"There is no other way that I would have preferred to go out," Evans said the win.
"Since I got here on Day 1, every defensive guy wants to play on offense and screaming they can," UCF coach Josh Heupel said when asked about giving Evans the chance to close his college career carrying the ball. "We have a deal inside the program that if you're a defensive guy and you score a touchdown, you're going to play on offense before your career's done and we were able to get that done with Nate today."
Evans wasn't the only defender to shine.
Safety Richie Grant and linebacker Tre'mon Morris-Brash scored touchdowns on an interception and fumble return, respectively, as the Knights recorded a season-high five turnovers.
"It changed the way the game was played early in the football game," Heupel said. "The turnovers on defense were critical and created a bunch of space between us and them on the scoreboard."
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel started out slow, but he finished the game 14-of-24 passing for 260 yards with two touchdowns, his 28th and 29th scores of the season. He earned the bowl's Most Valuable Player honors.
"I think there are some things to learn from over the course of this season," Gabriel said when asked to assess his freshman season. "From getting here in January to learning so much and obviously going through my first full season, I think overall there some things to work on individually and as a team and as an offense."
He finished his rookie season with 3,653 passing yards, which ranked as the fourth-most in a single UCF season behind McKenzie Milton (4,037), Ryan Schneider (3,770) and Daunte Culpepper (3,690).Junior receiver Otis Anderson finished the bowl with 130 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown catch from Gabriel in the third quarter that pushed UCFlead to 31-7.
Running back Greg McCrae added another score, a 26-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The junior finished with a team-high 80 rushing yards.
The rain began about an hour before kickoff as showers drenched Raymond James Stadium, sending fans into the concourse for cover. Heartier fans wrapped themselves in colorful ponchos, waiting out the storm.
The weather appeared to be a factor for the teams, at least early on, as Marshall turned the football over twice during a 1:15 stretch at the start of the game.
Saturday’s games
New Mexico Bowl: San Diego State 48, Central
Michigan 11 — Sometimes — all the time? — the best offense is a great defense.
San Diego State's defense came up with three first-half interceptions — and five
turnovers overall — on Saturday afternoon against Central Michigan, sparking SDSU to a 48-11 win over the Chippewas in the New Mexico Bowl.
The victory over Central Michigan (8-6) gave SDSU (10-3) double-digit victories for the fourth time in five seasons.
SDSU came into the game ranked fourth in the nation in scoring defense (12.8 ppg) and fifth in the nation in total defense (288.7 ypg).
The Aztecs also ranked ninth in the country in interceptions with 15, a total that moved higher with seemingly every other Chippewas possession in the first two quarters.
On the third play of the game, SDSU linebacker Kyahva Tezino tipped a pass at the line by Chippewas quarterback Quinten Dormady, then turned and made a diving interception.
SDSU safety Tariq Thompson added another interception near midfield midway through the second quarter.
The Aztecs converted the turnovers into touchdowns — both on passes from quarterback Ryan Agnew to wide receiver Jesse Matthews.
A redshirt freshman from Christian High, Matthews was a walk-on who was given a scholarship just two weeks ago.
He opened the scoring with a diving 22-yard catch in the right corner of the end zone for his first career touchdown reception.
One play after Thompson's pick, Matthews scored on a 74yard pass from Agnew for SDSU's longest scoring play of the season.
The third interception came with 61 seconds remaining in the half. Cornerback Luq Barcoo's pick in the end zone thwarted the Chippewas in the red zone, preserving SDSU's 20-3 halftime lead. — Kirk Kenney, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Cure Bowl: Liberty 23,
Georgia Southern 16 — The Liberty Flames brought the heat on offense to clinch a 23-16 victory over Georgia Southern in the Cure Bowl on Saturday.
Quarterback Stephen "Buckshot" Calvert starred in his home state as he rifled 16 completions for 270 yards and two touchdowns while running back Frankie Hickson added 120 yards on the ground.
At first, both teams seemed primed for a defensive brawl, gaining a collective 18 yards during the first four possessions of the game.
Liberty finally cracked open the Georgia Southern defense at the end of the first quarter. Calvert hit Johnny Huntley wide open up the gut of the field for a 57-yard sprint to the end zone.
Almost immediately, the game transformed into the expected shootout. Georgia Southern responded with a 79-yard march to tie the score, then Calvert launched three passes worth 55 yards to set up a run to punch in another touchdown and regain the lead. — Julia Poe, Orlando Sentinel
Boca Raton Bowl: Florida Atlantic 52, Southern Methodist 28 — Florida Atlantic closed out the 2019 season by making it a historic one, defeating SMU 52-28 in the Boca Raton Bowl on Saturday at FAU Stadium.
The Owls won their second bowl game in three years despite the potential distractions over the past two weeks that could’ve gotten in the way.
There were the coaching rumors surrounding former coach Lane Kiffin, with Kiffin stepping down to take over the reins at Ole Miss immediately after FAU won its second conference title in the past three years before Willie Taggart took over the full-time head coaching position on Dec. 11
There were multiple starters
missing from Saturday’s game due to various reasons: academic suspensions, injuries and personal choices.
And hours before the bowl game’s kickoff, reports came out that Jim Leavitt is set to replace interim coach Glenn Spencer, who coached the Owls against the Mustangs, as the team’s defensive coordinator. — Khobi Price, South Florida Sun Sentinel
Camellia Bowl: Arkansas State 34, Florida International 26 — The FIU Panthers had reached the point where they felt they could be totally reliant on Jose Borregales. The kicker was, in some ways, the primary driver of their comeback throughout the second half against the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Saturday. He hit a 48yard field goal in the third quarter and then a 52-yard kick in the fourth. A 14-point secondhalf deficit in the Camellia Bowl was all the way down to one when he lined up for a short kick in the fourth quarter.
The specialist lined up on the left hash mark with less than six minutes remaining and this time his kick didn't drift between the uprights. The redshirt junior pulled it to the right and an elusive lead remained unattainable for FIU. Instead, Arkansas State answered with a touchdown to help put away a 34-26 win at the Cramton Bowl.
"He was obviously hugely disappointed," coach Butch Davis said. "He hit some huge ones tonight and it was very uncharacteristic of him to go out and miss that one in the fourth quarter."
The Panthers (6-7) have spent much of Davis' latest tenure in Miami making history. They set a program record with nine wins in 2018. They beat the Miami Hurricanes for the first time last month. The win against the Hurricanes was their sixth of the season, sending them to a bowl game for a third straight year for the first time in school history. Just playing Saturday in Montgomery was history-making and Camellia Bowl records fell throughout.
Still, FIU is now 1-2 in these three bowl games. The Panthers nearly erased a 14-point deficit in the final 19 minutes, but the missed field goal and one long catch by the most productive wide receiver in the country helped the Red Wolves (8-5) hang on for the eight-point win in Alabama. — David Wilson, The Miami Herald
Las Vegas Bowl: Washington 38, Boise State 7 — Boise State pass rusher Curtis Weaver has no qualms about showing his emotions.
As his teammates made their way around Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday night for a somber thank you to the fans after the Broncos' 38-7 loss to Washington in the Las Vegas Bowl, Weaver was seated alone on one of the metal benches that lined Boise State's sideline, and he couldn't stop the tears flowing down his cheeks.
"I take it very personal," Weaver said. "It goes back all the way to when we had our first players meeting before fall camp. The whole defense and the whole offense, those guys every day are going to give you their all, and that's what it is at Boise State. No one is going to give you 90 percent. Everyone is going to give you 110 percent, and if they can't, that means they're injured."
First it was fellow defensive lineman Sonatane Lui, who was emotional himself when he leaned over Weaver to offer a hug. Then Boise State football coach Bryan Harsin perched next to him with his right arm draped over the shoulder of one of the best pass rushers in Broncos history.