Navy’s QB fleet sinks Virginia
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Two quarterbacks put on one heck of a show for Navy in the Military Bowl.
Zach Abey, the backup, scored five touchdowns, and starter Malcolm Perry ran for 114 yards and two scores as the Midshipmen rolled to a surprisingly easy 49-7 victory over Virginia on Thursday.
After Virginia’s Joe Reed took the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, the Midshipmen (7-6) got two touchdowns apiece from Perry and Abey while taking a 28-7 halftime lead at their home field.
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 1 1/2-point favorite.
“Malcolm did a masterful job. The kid’s phenomenal, man,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “He brings another dimension to our offense. To Zach’s credit, he came in there and played really, really well.”
The Midshipmen rolled up a Military Bowl-record 452 rushing yards, including 101 by Chris High and 88 by Abey, who began the season as the starter before losing the job. Navy salvaged a disappointing season in which it started 5-0 before losing six of its next seven, including 14-13 to Army.
“That’s the best we’ve played all year,” Niumatalolo said of the bowl win. “We put it together on both sides of the ball.”
After scoring on a 1-yard run with 11:11 remaining, Abey sat down after becoming the fifth player in Football Bowl Subdivision history to rush for five touchdowns in a bowl game.
Playing in their first bowl since 2011, the Cavaliers (6-7) could not contain Navy’s triple option and had no success moving the ball.
“I think Coach Niumatalolo had his team very well prepared,” Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “Clearly, I didn’t have our team prepared to perform to their true potential — offensively, defensively or special teams.”
Seeking its first winning season in six years, Virginia instead absorbed its sixth loss in seven games. Senior quarterback Kurt Benkert came in with a schoolrecord 3,062 passing yards this season, along with 25 touchdown passes. In this one, he went 15-for-34 for 133 yards and an interception, and the Cavaliers finished with a season-low 175 yards of offense.
› No. 17 Oklahoma State 30, No. 22 Virginia Tech 21
ORLANDO, Fla. — Mason Rudolph threw for 351 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and James Washington became Oklahoma State’s career receiving yards leader as the Cowboys won the Camping World Bowl.
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), who have won 10 games in three straight seasons, a program first.
Josh Jackson ran for two scores and threw for another for the Hokies (9-4), including a touchdown run that got Virginia Tech within 27-21 with 5:40 remaining. Deshawn McClease ran for 124 yards and Virginia Tech actually outgained the high-octane Cowboys, 518 yards to 492, but the Hokies were hurt by two turnovers in Oklahoma State territory.
Hill came through with perhaps the play of the night. Facing third-and-11 with 3:30 left, he 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.
› Purdue 38, Arizona 35
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Elijah Sindelar threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Mahoungou with 1:44 remaining as Purdue capped coach Jeff Brohm’s first season in dramatic style with a win in the Foster Farms Bowl late Wednesday night.
The Boilermakers (7-6) had squandered a 17-point halftime lead when Khalil Tate threw his fifth touchdown pass with 3:21 remaining to give the Wildcats (7-6) the lead.
But Sindelar responded with a 75-yard drive that ended with the deep throw into the end zone to Mahoungou, giving the Boilermakers their first winning record since 2011 and first bowl win over a major conference team since beating Washington in the 2002 Sun Bowl.
› Texas 33, Missouri 16 HOUSTON — Texas freshman running back Daniel Young had 64 receiving yards with a touchdown and added 48 yards on the ground to help the Longhorns win the Texas Bowl late Wednesday night.
The Longhorns (7-6), in a bowl for the first time since the 2014 season, bounced back from a loss to Texas Tech in their regular-season finale to finish with their first winning record since going 8-5 in Mack Brown’s final season (2013).
Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger split time at quarterback for Texas, and each threw a touchdown pass. The defense helped out, too, with Anthony Wheeler scoring on a fumble return in the first half and Davante Davis grabbing an interception with about three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Texas found a way to stymie Missouri’s potent offense after the Tigers (7-6) scored 45 or more points in each of their previous six games, a school record.