MOND LEADS TEXAS A&M TO WIN OVER OKLAHOMA ST.
Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher talks to his team every day about the importance of grit.
On Friday night the Aggies showed the quality their coach talks about so much when they shook off a tough start to rally for 24-21 victory over No. 25 Oklahoma State in the Texas Bowl.
“When they jumped out early we didn’t say, ‘Here we go again,’ ” Fisher said. “They said, ‘We’re going to fix this. We’re going to handle it. We’re going to keep our poise.’ Then they got in the groove and got their confidence back and started playing well.”
Kellen Mond ran for a career-high 117 yards and threw a touchdown pass as Texas A&M scored 24 straight points to overcome the early deficit.
“After a really poor start we were able to come out in the second half as an offense and make a lot of big plays,” Mond said,
Texas A&M 24,
No. 25 Oklahoma St. 21
Mond ran 67 yards to give the Aggies (8-5) a 21-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. Mond cut to the right to avoid a couple of defenders and outran everyone else. Tre Sterling had a shot to tackle him around the 25, but Mond ran away from his diving attempt.
“He did a great job of stretching the option which allowed everybody to get their blocks just sorted out,” Fisher said. “And then he got inside and ran away from everybody and it was a big-time play and a big-time moment.”
The Cowboys (8-5) went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Texas A&M 34 on their next possession, but Spencer Sanders was stopped for no gain.
The Aggies added a 24yard field goal to make it 24-14 with about three minutes to go.
Oklahoma State cut the lead to three on a touchdown reception by Braydon Johnson with about a minute left. The Cowboys attempted an onside kick, but A&M recovered it to secure the victory.
“They wore our front down as the game went on,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “We had some concerns coming into the game that they’re pretty physical up front on both sides of the ball and I think they just wore us out a little bit.”
Chuba Hubbard, who finished the regular season as the nation’s leading rusher, ran for 158 yards, and Johnson had 124 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the Cowboys.
Pinstripe Bowl
Michigan State 27, Wake Forest 21: Brian Lewerke threw for 320 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score in the Spartans’ victory over the Demon Deacons at Yankee Stadium.
Lewerke threw a 10-yard pass to wide receiver Cody White in the third quarter to put the Spartans (7-6) ahead 27-21 and they survived down the stretch to give embattled coach Mark Dantonio his sixth bowl victory.
Wake Forest (8-5) missed a chance to win nine games for just the third time in program history.
Lewerke passed Connor Cook (9,403) to become Michigan State’s career leader in total offense and was the bowl MVP.
White finished with 97 yards receiving, and Elijah Collins had 96 yards rushing.
Military Bowl
North Carolina 55, Temple 13: Freshman Sam Howell threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns and caught a scoring pass in North Carolina’s victory over the Owls at Annapolis, Md., in the Military Bowl. Howell completed 25-of-34 passes and ran for 53 yards on three carries to help the Tar Heels (7-6) to their first bowl victory since 2013. Temple (8-5) has gone to a bowl five years in a row — and lost four of them.
Cheez-it Bowl
Air Force 31, Washington State 21: Kadin Remsberg rushed for 178 yards and one touchdown as the Falcons (11-2) beat the Cougars (6-7) at Phoenix.
Notable
Miami (Fla.) fired offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dan Enos, one day after the Hurricanes were shut out by Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl and finished with a 6-7 record.