Kenny Hill, TCU rally to beat Stanford in Alamo Bowl
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Kenny Hill passed for two touchdowns, ran for another and even caught one as No. 13 TCU rallied from a big early deficit to beat 15th-ranked Stanford 39-37 in the Alamo Bowl on Thursday night.
Cole Bunce's 33-yard field goal with just over 3 minutes to play won it for the Horned Frogs (11-3), who trailed 21-3 before storming back behind big plays from Hill and a 76-yard punt return from Desmon White. TCU rallied from 31 down in to beat Oregon in the 2015 Alamo Bowl.
Stanford (9-5) running back Bryce Love, a Heisman Trophy finalist, rushed for 145 yards and had a 69-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. K.J. Costello had three touchdown passes to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, the last one giving Stanford a 37-36 lead.
Hill then drove TCU to Bunce's game winner. The Horned Frogs defense sealed it with an interception by Innis Gaines with 2:01 left.
Hill finished with 314 yards passing, a team-high 60 yards rushing and caught a 27-yard TD pass from White in his final game.
Love finished with the season with 2,118 yards rushing, the school's single-season record.
HOLIDAY BOWL
NO. 18 MICHIGAN STATE 42, NO. 21 WASHINGTON STATE 17
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Brian Lewerke threw for 213 yards and three touchdowns, and LJ Scott ran for 110 yards and two scores for Michigan State, which took advantage of Luke Falk's absence to rout Washington State in the Holiday Bowl.
Lewerke also rushed for 73 yards for Michigan State (10-3), which rebounded from a dismal 3-9 record last year to reach double digits in wins for the eighth time in program history.
Falk, who was photographed earlier in the week with a cast on his left wrist, went through warmups but came out in street clothes at game time. He was replaced by redshirt sophomore Tyler Hilinksi, who made his first start and eighth appearance of the season. It's unclear precisely when Falk injured the wrist on his non-throwing hand, but he had issues with it throughout the season. Coach Mike Leach refused to give specifics during the week.
Hilinski led WSU (9-4) to a 45-yard field goal by Erik Powell on the Cougars' second drive, but the Cougars were overpowered by the Spartans.
CAMPING WORLD BOWL
NO. 17 OKLAHOMA STATE 30, NO. 22 VIRGINIA TECH 22
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - 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 beat Virginia Tech in 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 each of the last three seasons - another Oklahoma State first.
Josh Jackson ran for two scores and threw for another for the Hokies (9-4), including a rush that got Virginia Tech within 27-21 with 5:40 remaining. Deshawn McClease ran for 124 yards, a Virginia Tech season-best, but the Hokies were hurt by two turnovers in Oklahoma State territory.
Hill came through with perhaps the play of the night. Facing a third-and-11 with 3:30 left, Hill 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.
Virginia Tech actually outgained the high-octane Cowboys, 518 yards to 492.
MILITARY BOWL
NAVY 49, VIRGINIA 7
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Backup quarterback Zach Abey scored five touchdowns, Malcolm Perry ran for 114 yards and two scores and Navy beat Virginia in a surprisingly lopsided Military Bowl.
After Virginia's Joe Reed took the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, the Midshipmen (7-6) got two TDs apiece from quarterbacks Perry and Abey in taking a 28-7 halftime lead.
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 1ˆ½-point favorite.
Abey added a 1-yard touchdown with 11:11 remaining, then sat for the remainder of the game.
The Midshipmen rolled up a Military Bowl-record 452 yards rushing, including 101 by Chris High and 88 by Abey, who began the season as the starter before losing the job.
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.