Bowl roundup: BYU heats up late at Pop-Tarts Bowl, edges Georgia Tech
Jovesa Damuni scored the go-ahead touchdown with two minutes remaining as No. 12 BYU overcame an 11-point deficit to beat No. 12 Georgia Tech 25-21 on Saturday at the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
Damuni's 4-yard run capped a 15-point fourth-quarter flurry for the Cougars (12-2), which earned their first 12-win season since 2001. Enoch Nawahine also rushed for a score in the final quarter and Evan Johnson made the game-sealing interception in the end zone with 6 seconds left.
Bear Bachmeier completed 27 of 38 passes for 325 yards, one touchdown and one interception for BYU. Chase Roberts had a touchdown catch, and Carsen Ryan had eight receptions for 120 yards.
Haynes King was 23-of-40 passing for 275 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Yellow Jackets (9-4), who lost for the fourth time in five games. Trelain Maddox rushed for a touchdown while Eric Rivers (102 receiving yards) and J.T. Byrne caught scoring passes. Malik Rutherford had eight catches for 105 yards.
No. 19 Virginia 13, Missouri 7
The Cavaliers held off the Tigers and reached 11 wins for the first time in school history with a Gator Bowl victory in Jacksonville, Fla.
Chandler Morris completed 25 of 38 passes for 198 yards, Harrison Waylee rushed for the go-ahead touchdown and Virginia (11-3) controlled the clock to secure its first bowl win since 2018.
Missouri (8-5) scored a touchdown on the game's opening drive but was blanked the rest of the way to fall to 0-5 this season against ranked opponents. All-American Ahmad Hardy ran for 89 yards on 15 carries. True freshman Matt Zollers started with senior quarterback Beau Pribula entering the transfer portal and managed 101 yards on 12-of-22 passing with an interception.
No. 25 North Texas 49, San Diego State 47
Caleb Hawkins ran for 198 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries and caught a pass for another score as the Mean Green outlasted the short-handed Aztecs in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque.
North Texas (12-2) won a dozen games in a season for the first time while snapping a streak of seven straight bowl losses. Record-setting quarterback Drew Mestemaker passed for 250 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions as the team racked up 618 yards of total offense. Ashton Gray added 152 yards and two TDs on 16 totes as the Mean Green totaled 368 on the ground.
San Diego State quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns in a quarter and a half before suffering a left shoulder injury. His backup, Kyle Crum, passed for 169 yards and a score and ran for two other TDs for the Aztecs (9-4), who had 532 yards of total offense including 326 rushing.
Penn State 22, Clemson 10
Ethan Grunkemeyer completed 23 of 34 throws for 262 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns to lead the Nittany Lions past the Tigers in the Pinstripe Bowl in snowy New York.
Trebor Pena (five catches, 100 yards) and tight end Andrew Rappleyea caught the late TD passes that ensured the Nittany Lions (7-6) would end the season on a four-game winning streak and avoid their first losing record in a non-COVID year since 2004.
Cade Klubnik completed 22 of 39 passes for 193 yards in his final game as the quarterback for Clemson (7-6). T.J. Moore had six catches for 83 yards while Adam Randall had 35 rushing yards, eight receiving yards and scored the Tigers' only touchdown. Of the 32 points in the game, 23 were scored in the fourth quarter.
East Carolina 23, Pitt 17
Anthony Smith caught two long touchdown passes, Nick Mazzie kicked three field goals and East Carolina took advantage of five Pitt turnovers in Annapolis, Md., to defeat an Atlantic Coast Conference foe in the Military Bowl for the second year in a row.
The Pirates (9-4) came through without their starting quarterback and top rusher, both of whom opted out to go into the transfer portal. Chaston Ditta hit eight of 17 passes for 177 yards and two scores in his first start while Smith caught four passes for 156 yards.
Mason Heintschel completed 25 of 40 throws for 256 yards, one score and one interception for the Panthers (8-5). Tight end Justin Holmes caught six passes for 100 yards. Linebacker Rasheem Biles racked up 16 tackles -- five for losses -- while turning one of his two sacks into a fumble that he returned for a touchdown.
Army 41, UConn 16
Freshman running back Godspower Nwawuihe and junior quarterback Cale Hellums each rushed for two touchdowns as the Black Knights beat the Huskies in the Fenway Bowl in Boston for their third straight bowl victory.
Army (7-6) won on the strength of the run game, recording 368 yards on the ground. The Black Knights broke open a 14-10 halftime score with 13 points in the third quarter and finished with a 476-267 advantage in total offense. Nwawuihe, who had previously rushed for just 25 yards on the season, logged a game-high 171 on 12 carries and his first two career scores.
Noah Short posted Army's best receiving performance of the season, catching all seven of Hellums' completions for 108 yards and a touchdown. Ksaan Farrar made his first career start at quarterback for UConn (9-4), going 11-of-17 passing for 84 yards while rushing for a fourth-quarter touchdown.
Fresno State 18, Miami (OH) 3
E.J. Warner threw for 214 yards and a touchdown, and the Bulldogs' defense held the RedHawks' offense to 192 total yards to emerge victorious in the Arizona Bowl in Tucson.
Josiah Freeman caught seven passes for 143 yards, while Richie Anderson III scored the only touchdown of the game on a 2-yard reception early in the fourth quarter. Dylan Lynch made four of his five field-goal attempts to provide most of the scoring for Fresno State (9-4).
Freshman quarterback Thomas Gotkowski completed just 6 of 22 passes for 72 yards with an interception for Miami (Ohio), the defending Arizona Bowl champion. Jordan Brunson managed just 43 yards on nine carries. Dom Dzioban opened the scoring with a 33-yard boot in the first quarter, but the RedHawks (7-7) failed to add to the scoreboard the rest of the way.