COLLEGE FOOTBALL / BOWL ROUNDUP
LIBERTY BOWL No. 21 Navy 20, Kansas State 17
Bijan Nichols kicked a 23-yard field goal with two seconds remaining and No. 21 Navy capitalized on a fourth-down gamble in the final minute to beat Kansas State 20-17 in the Liberty Bowl on Tuesday in Memphis, Tenn. A Navy team with the nation’s top-ranked rushing attack set up the winning score by completing a halfback option pass with less than 30 seconds left. The Midshipmen snapped the ball on fourth-and-3 from the Kansas State 46. Quarterback Malcolm Perry pitched to C.J. Williams, and he threw downfield to a wide-open Chance Warren for a 41-yard gain. “Sometimes you just go with your gut,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “You have all this analytics stuff and all these sheets, but sometimes you’ve got to go with your gut and roll with it.” Perry, who rushed for 213 yards, spiked the ball with 5 seconds left to set up Nichols’ field goal. Nichols had missed a 38-yarder earlier in the fourth quarter. The victory enabled Navy (11-2) to tie a program record for wins and ensured the Midshipmen will finish a season in the AP Top 25 for just the third time in the last 56 years. Navy finished 18th in 2015 — when it also won 11 games — and was 24th in 2004. Navy went 3-10 last year and matched the second-biggest season-to-season improvement in win-loss record of any team in Football Bowl Subdivision history. Hawaii owns the record by going 9-4 in 1999 after finishing 0-12 in 1998. “Everything that happened this year isn’t surprising to me because they did the work, they paid the price,” Niumatalolo said. “They did everything that was asked of them.”
SUN BOWL Arizona State 20, Florida State 14
Willie Harts returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to lead Arizona State over Florida State in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. Harts, a freshman cornerback, halted a 14-0 surge by Florida State (6-7) and helped the Sun Devils (8-5) hang on for their fourth Sun Bowl victory, despite not scoring an offensive touchdown. James Blackman threw a 91-yard touchdown pass, the longest pass play in Sun Bowl history, to Tamorrion Terry to give Florida State its first lead, 14-9, in the third quarter. The Seminoles trailed 9-0 at halftime. Cristian Zendejas kicked a Sun Bowl record-tying four field goals for Arizona State, including a 34-yarder in the fourth quarter to cut the FSU lead to 14-12. Then Blackman’s fourth interception of the game was returned by Harts to put the Sun Devils ahead for good with 10:06 left in the fourth. Jayden Daniels was 12-for-28 passing for 198 yards to lead the Sun Devils. He also ran 36 yards and a 2-point conversion.
BELK BOWL Kentucky 37, Virginia Tech 30
Lynn Bowden Jr. ran for 223 yards on 34 carries, and then tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Josh Ali with 15 seconds left as Kentucky rallied behind its remarkable receiver-turned-quarterback to beat Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C. Bowden ran for two touchdowns before leading an 18-play, 85-yard game-winning drive that took more than eight minutes off the clock, It ended with Ali getting open down the middle of the end zone. Bowden, who took over as Kentucky’s quarterback after five games because of injuries, passed for 73 yards on 12 attempts. The Wildcats (8-5) added a final touchdown as time expired when Jordan Wright returned a failed lateral attempt by the Hokies 28 yards for a touchdown. Hendon Hooker threw for 110 yards and two touchdowns and Deshawn McClease ran for 126 yards and a score to lead the Hokies (8-5).
ARIZONA BOWL Wyoming 38, Georgia State 17
Xazavian Valladay ran for 204 yards and scored two touchdowns, quarterback Levi Williams accounted for four scores and Wyoming rolled over Georgia State in the Arizona Bowl. Wyoming (8-5) started slow before scoring two quick touchdowns late in the first quarter and early in the second. The Cowboys built a 14-point lead by halftime and racked up 524 total yards to win a bowl game after being left out of the postseason last year. Williams made his first career start after Tyler Vander Waal entered the transfer portal but remained with the team for bowl practices. The freshman was poised under the bowl spotlight, throwing for three touchdowns and running for another. Valladay had three catches for 91 yards and a touchdowns. Georgia State (7-6) jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter but had a hard time stopping the big-play Cowboys. The Panthers twice turned the ball over on downs deep in Wyoming’s end in the second half. Dan Ellington, who played with a torn right ACL, threw for 156 yards and a TD, adding 70 yards and a score rushing.