UAB beats No. 12 BYU in Independence Bowl
Independence Bowl
UAB 31, No. 12 BYU 28: Dylan Hopkins broke the Independence Bowl record for completion percentage, connecting on 19 of 23 passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns in UAB’S win in Shreveport, La.
With UAB (9-4) facing fourth-and-7 with six minutes remaining, coach Bill Clark passed on a field-goal attempt, and Hopkins threw a 14-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass to Trea Shropshire, the only player from Louisiana on either roster. BYU (10-3) appeared to be in good position to at least tie it game, but Samson Nacua fumbled after making a catch inside UAB’S 25 with 3:36 remaining.
Dewayne Mcbride ran for 183 yards and a score on 28 carries for UAB.
BYU and running back Tyler Allgeier fought back from a 14-point deficit, tying it twice and eventually taking the lead in the fourth quarter. Allgeier ran for 192 yards and had three touchdowns.
Hopkins’ touchdown pass to Gerrit Prince, and Mcbride’s 64-yard scoring run gave UAB an early two-score lead.
Boca Raton Bowl
Western Kentucky 59, Appalachian State 38: 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 in Boca Raton, Fla.
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.
New Mexico Bowl
Fresno State 31, UTEP 24: Jordan Mims ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 71 yards and another score to help Fresno State beat UTEP in Albuquerque, N.M. 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. Mims’ 22-yard catch and run late in third quarter gave the Bulldogs a 26-17 lead.
The Miners (7-6) pulled to 26-24 early in the fourth quarter on Calvin Brownholtz’s 51-yard touchdown pass to Trent Thompson.
Celebration Bowl
South Carolina State 31, Jackson
State 10: Cory Fields threw for four touchdowns, three to Shaquan Davis, to lead South Carolina State to a stunning victory over Jackson State in Atlanta in 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.
Lendingtree Bowl
Liberty 56, Eastern Michigan 20: Malik Willis showed in the Lendingtree Bowl what NFL scouts have been raving about. The Liberty quarterback passed for 231 yards and accounted for five touchdowns and the Flames rolled over Eastern Michigan 56-20 on Saturday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
A potential NFL first-round pick, Willis completed 13 of 24 passes, with touchdown strikes of 54 yards to DJ Stubbs, 20 yards to Johnny Huntley and 3 yards to Demario Douglas. Willis also ran for 58 yards, with touchdowns of 2 and 35 yards. The Flames (8-5) improved to 3-0 in bowls, tying Appalachian State for the best postseason start by an FBS team.
LA Bowl
Utah State 24, Oregon State 13: Utah State third-string quarterback Cooper Legas had a breakout performance Saturday night in the inaugural LA Bowl.
The sophomore came off the bench to throw a touchdown pass on his first collegiate attempt and helped lead the Aggies to a 24-13 victory over Oregon State.
Legas came in when starter Logan Bonner suffered a knee injury during the first quarter. Andrew Peasley was Bonner’s backup throughout the season, but was ruled out prior to kickoff due to a shoulder injury he suffered Nov. 26 against New Mexico. Legas’ only action this season was late in the New Mexico game. Coach Blake Anderson said Legas had received very limited team snaps all season, but that he has an extremely high football IQ.
New Orleans Bowl
No. 16 Louisiana-lafayette 36, Marshall 21: Louisiana-lafayette senior quarterback Levi Lewis turned in one last memorable performance to help new Ragin’ Cajuns head coach Michael Desormeaux get off to a winning start.
Lewis passed for 270 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 74 yards, and No. 16 Louisiana-lafayette defeated Marshall 36-21 in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday night to end its season on a program-record 13-game winning streak.
“You always want to go out the right way,” Lewis said. “It being the last game of the season, we really wanted to win.”