Zappe throws 6 TD passes to lead Western Kentucky
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Bailey Zappe capped his record-setting season by passing for 422 yards and six touchdowns, and Western Kentucky handed Appalachian State its first-ever bowl loss by beating the Mountaineers 59-38 in the Boca Raton Bowl on Saturday.
Zappe finished the season with 5,977 yards and 62 touchdowns for the Hilltoppers (9-5). He topped the previous marks of 5,833 yards set by Texas Tech’s B.J. Symons in 2003 and 60 touchdowns set by LSU’s Joe Burrow in the Tigers’ run to the national championship in the 2019 season.
Jerreth Sterns caught 13 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns for Western Kentucky, finishing his season with 150 catches for 1,902 yards. Mitchell Tinsley had two TD catches for the Hilltoppers and Noah Whittington needed only seven carries to rush for 150 yards — 86 of those on a third-quarter scoring run.
Chase Brice passed for 317 yards and four touchdowns for Appalachian State (10-4) before leaving in the fourth quarter with a right leg injury. It was the first loss in seven all-time bowl games for the Mountaineers.
It was 24-24 late in the opening half, when Zappe — who completed 33 of 47 passes — put his name in the record book and put the Hilltoppers ahead for good.
He broke the yardage mark on a 43-yard pass to Sterns — who finished the season with the fifth-most receiving yards in FBS history — late in the half, then tied the touchdown mark on the same drive when he connected with Sterns for a 10-yard score. That started what became a 35-7 run by the Hilltoppers.
CELEBRATION BOWL
South Carolina State 31, Jackson State 10: At Atlanta, Cory Fields threw for four touchdowns, three to Shaquan Davis, to lead South Carolina State to a stunning victory over Jackson State a game considered to be the national championship of historically Black colleges and universities.
It marks the first time the Bulldogs (7-5) has topped the HBCUs since 2009. Jackson State (11-2) hasn’t won the title since 1996.
The game was dominated by defenses, as South Carolina State limited Jackson State to just 194 yards of total offense, a record for the Celebration Bowl, which began in 2015. The Bulldogs scored their first three touchdowns shortly after turnovers by Jackson State (11-2) gave South Carolina State the ball in the red zone, at the Jackson State 5-, 16-, and 19-yard lines.
Those three turnovers were by freshman quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of head coach Deion Sanders. He threw two interceptions, one of which glanced off the hands of a receiver, and lost a fumble when sacked.
South Carolina State, champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, entered the game in Mercedes Benz Stadium as underdogs. Jackson State had rolled into the contest with just one loss, but the champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference never got going.
Midway through the second quarter, South Carolina State defensive end Patrick Godbolt sacked Sanders and forced a fumble. Linebacker BJ Davis recovered to set the Bulldogs up at the Jacksonville State 5-yard line. Three plays later, Fields hit Davis over the middle for a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7.
NEW MEXICO BOWL
Fresno State 31, UTEP 24: At Albuquerque, N.M., Jordan Mims ran for 165 yards and two touchdown and and caught five passes for 71 yards and another score to help Fresno State beat UTEP.
Fresno State (10-3) won the bowl game for the first time in three tries.
Jake Haener was 26 of 41 for 286 yards and a touchdown. His status had been somewhat in doubt when he briefly entered the transfer portal after coach Kalen DeBoer took the job at Washington.
The Miners (7-6) pulled to 26-24 early in the fourth quarter on Calvin Brownholtz’s 51-yard touchdown pass to Trent Thompson.
But Fresno State got a field goal, followed by a UTEP safety, before the Bulldogs ran out the clock.