Fresno State tops Arizona State in Las Vegas Bowl
Ronnie Rivers rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns, Anthoula “Tank” Kelly had a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown and Fresno State beat Arizona State 31-20 in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday.
Marcus McMaryion rushed for a touchdown and was 15-of-29 passing for 176 yards to help the Bulldogs (12-2) set a school record for wins in a season. He also threw two interceptions.
Eno Benjamin rushed for 118 yards and one touchdown for the Sun Devils (7-6) in their third straight bowl loss. Manny Wilkins threw for 129 yards, with a 3-yard scoring pass to Kyle Williams and two interceptions.
Rivers put Fresno State back in front 24-20 with a 68-yard touchdown run up the middle in the third quarter and had a 5-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter to seal Fresno State’s second win over a Pac-12 opponent this season.
Camellia Bowl
Georgia Southern 23, Eastern Michigan 21: Tyler Bass kicked a 40-yard field goal as time expired to lift Georgia Southern.
Shai Werts kept the winning drive alive with a 29-yard scramble on fourthand-10. Bass came on for his third field goal after Wesley Fields’ two runs pushed Georgia Southern (10-3) 7 yards closer.
Bass also made a 50-yarder on the final play of the first half.
Eastern Michigan (7-6) had delivered its own big fourthdown play to take the lead for the first time. Mike Glass threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Arthur Jackson with 3:33 left on fourth-and-4, followed by Chad Ryland’s extra point.
Georgia Southern took over at its own 25 with a triple-option offense that attempted fewer passes than every FBS team but Army. Werts completed a 15-yard pass to tight end Ellis Richardson, but Georgia Southern fittingly covered most of the 52 yards with runs.
New Orleans Bowl
Appalachian State 45, Middle Tennessee 13: Appalachian State receiver Malik Williams passed for two TDs on trick plays, QB Zac Thomas caught a scoring pass and threw for three more, and the Mountaineers routed Middle Tennessee.
Camerun Peoples had a 63-yard TD run for the Mountaineers (11-2), which gave Appalachian State alum and former player Mark Ivey a victory in what might have been his only chance to coach his alma mater. Ivey took over on an interim basis after Scott Satterfield left for Louisville.
Middle Tennessee finished 8-6.