Oklahoma St. hits milestone with bowl win
They started playing football at Oklahoma State 116 years ago, and never in that span had there been a run of three consecutive 10-win seasons. Until now. Mason Rudolph threw for 351 yards and a pair of touchdowns on his way to winning game MVP honors, James Washington had a long touchdown reception and became Oklahoma State’s career receiving yards leader, and the 17th-ranked Cowboys beat No. 22 Virginia Tech 30-21 in the Camping World Bowl on Thursday night in Orlando, Florida.
“It’s cool. It speaks a lot about the senior class, about the leadership on both sides of the ball,” Rudolph said. “It’s a great achievement for us.”
Washington caught five passes for 126 yards, giving him 4,472 for his career and passing Rashaun Woods for the school mark. Justice Hill ran for 120 yards and another score for the Cowboys (10-3).
“A really good win for our organization,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “Defensively, we gave up a lot of rushing yards but we were able to make some stops and force some turnovers. For Oklahoma State, really in the end, that’s what it comes down to.”
Josh Jackson ran for two scores and threw for another for the Hokies (9-4), including a rush that got Virginia Tech within 27-21 with 5:40 remaining. Deshawn McClease ran for 124 yards, a Virginia Tech season-best, but the Hokies were hurt by two turnovers in Oklahoma State territory.
“We had a plan and we executed well at times,” Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said. “I don’t really remember Oklahoma State making very many, if any, mistakes. And we made a handful, just enough to kind of keep us from pulling the thing off. That’s not to say that Oklahoma State doesn’t deserve credit for winning the game. They do.”
Hill came through with perhaps the play of the night. Facing a third-and-11 with 3:30 left, Hill took a handoff, went left, waited for a lane to open — and broke loose for a 31-yard gain down to the Hokies’ 18. Matt Ammendola’s 38-yard field goal with 2:34 left put the Cowboys up by nine, essentially sealing the outcome. Backup quarterback Zach Abey scored five touchdowns, Malcolm Perry ran for 114 yards and two scores and Navy beat Virginia in a lopsided Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland. After Virginia’s Joe Reed took the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, the Midshipmen (7-6) got two TDs apiece from quarterbacks Perry and Abey in taking a 28-7 halftime lead. Perry left in the third quarter with a foot injury, leaving Abey to score on runs of 5 and 20 yards to make it 42-7 in a game Navy entered as a 1½-point favorite. Seeking its first winning season in six years, Virginia (6-7) instead absorbed its sixth loss in seven games.
Brian Lewerke threw three touchdown passes and LJ Scott rushed for two scores to lead Michigan State (10-3) past Washington State (9-4) in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego.