Season Leaders
| passing |
|---|
  L. Bonner 3554 YD, 36 TDS, 11 INTS L. Bonner 3554 YD, 36 TDS, 11 INTS |
 C. Nolan 2414 YD, 19 TDS, 9 INTS C. Nolan 2414 YD, 19 TDS, 9 INTS |
| rushing |
|
C. Tyler Jr. 170 ATT, 764 YD, 6 TDS C. Tyler Jr. 170 ATT, 764 YD, 6 TDS |
|
B. Baylor 209 ATT, 1259 YD, 13 TDS B. Baylor 209 ATT, 1259 YD, 13 TDS |
| receiving |
|
D. Thompkins 96 REC, 1589 YD, 9 TDS D. Thompkins 96 REC, 1589 YD, 9 TDS |
|
T. Bradford 40 REC, 606 YD, 5 TDS T. Bradford 40 REC, 606 YD, 5 TDS |
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Independence Bowl: UAB 31, BYU 28
UAB picked up its second-ever bowl win in dramatic fashion on Saturday with a 31-28 victory over No. 13 BYU in the Independence Bowl. The Blazers recovered a fumble by BYU’s Nacua Samson with 3:36 remaining and were able to run out the clock for what marks the program’s first win over a ranked foe since it was resurrected following a two-season hiatus between 2015-16.
DeWayne McBride ran for 183 yards on 28 carries to pace the Blazers, who jumped out to a 14-0 lead on a 64-yard touchdown run from McBride late in the first quarter. BYU roared back and took a 28-24 edge early in the fourth quarter, but UAB quarterback Dylan Hopkins found Trea Shropshire for a 14-yard touchdown with 6:17 remaining in what turned out to be the game’s final score. BYU was driving when Samson caught a pass over the middle that looked like it was going to plunge the Cougars deeper into UAB territory. But he never secured the ball completely and ended up fumbling after taking a few steps.
A win would have given BYU consecutive 11-win seasons. But the Cougars will finish 10-3. UAB will finish 9-4 after what will certainly go down as one of the program’s top victories. | Box score
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New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State 31, UTEP 24
The Bulldogs survived an upset bid from UTEP, which was a double-digit underdog, and reach 10 wins with a 31-24 victory. UTEP got into Fresno territory while attempting to tie the game with under five minutes to play, but a Gavin Hardison fumble recovered by the Bulldogs ended the threat and cemented the outcome.
UTEP led 17-9 early as the Fresno offense struggled a bit. But a 45-yard field goal at the end of the first half sent the Bulldogs to halftime with the lead, and they never gave it up again.
Fresno State interim coach Lee Marks tried to cast some doubt on whether star quarterback Jake Haener would start in this game after he entered the transfer portal and then withdrew following the departure of coach Kalen DeBoer for Washington. But let’s be real — he wasn’t going to jeopardize his team’s chances of winning by playing someone else. Haener started and threw for 286 yards against a UTEP pass defense that had been stout this season. | Box score
Still a great season for UTEP, which was mired in a 2-34 stretch from 2017 to 2019. Fourth-Year coach Dana Dimel has resurrected the program from an 0-12 season in 2017 to have them really competitive. The Miners lost five of their final six games this season but remained competitive during the stretch and have momentum as a program.
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Boca Raton Bowl: Western Kentucky 59, Appalachian State 38
WKU quarterback Bailey Zappe broke both B.J. Symons’ single-season passing yards record and Joe Burrow’s single-season passing touchdowns record in his 422-yard, six-touchdown effort to lead the Hilltoppers to a 59-38 win against Appalachian State in the Boca Raton Bowl. The victory improved the program’s record to 2-1 in bowl games under WKU coach Tyson Helton and snapped Appalachian State’s six-game winning streak in bowl games.
Anticipation for the records falling was high since Zappe needed just an average game, production-wise, to give himself a chance to finish with the best passing season in FBS history. The game quickly proved to be the kind of back-and-forth battle that would allow for plenty of yards and points, and Zappe broke the passing yards record first in the second quarter then the passing touchdowns mark in the third quarter.
Appalachian State had the game tied 24-24 late in the second quarter, but a few big plays in the third quarter broke the game open in favor of WKU. The Mountaineers had previously never lost in a bowl game, going 6-0 since making the FBS transition, but now fall to 6-1 after the defeat. | Recap
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Bailey Zappe sets FBS records
Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe broke the FBS records for single-season passing yardage and TD passes — which was just set by former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow in 2019 — on Saturday against Appalachian State in the Boca Raton Bowl. Burrow had the benefit of a 15th game when he set the mark in 2019 because LSU played in the SEC Championship Game and two CFP games, while this is just Zappe’s 14th game. Impressive stuff from the Houston Baptist transfer who just keeps adding to his magical season.
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Cure Bowl: Coastal Carolina 47, Northern Illinois 41
Sometimes, one stop is all it takes to turn the tide of a game. That will be the lasting takeaway from a thrilling Cure Bowl that saw Coastal Carolina outlast Northern Illinois in a game that literally went down to the final seconds. However, it was a fourth-down stop by the Chanticleers with just under seven minutes left to play that turned out to be the defining play.
The risky fourth-down call by Northern Illinois — a brilliant idea, even if it wasn’t successful — stood out not just for the unique quality of the play design, or for the fact that it immediately led to the go-ahead touchdown for Coastal Carolina. Rather, the most unique part of the play was that it was the first defensive stop Coastal Carolina had all night.
The Chanticleers and Huskies scored points on 15 of their combined 20 possessions. Northern Illinois scored on its first seven possessions (not including a kneel down before halftime) and then failed to score on its final three. NIU fumbled the ball on its next possession following the turnover on downs, and then it came up just short of the end zone in the final seconds (thanks in part to some controversial officiating) on the final drive of the game.
The two teams combined for 1,030 total yards, 11 touchdowns and seven lead changes in a Cure Bowl that gave the viewing neutral everything it could ask for from a bowl game. Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall threw for 315 yards and four touchdowns while running back Braydon Bennett rushed for 108 yards and two scores. Northern Illinois was led by two backs who finished with over 100 yards in Jay Ducker (146) and Antario Brown (105).
Coastal Carolina finishes the season 11-2, giving it two consecutive 11-win seasons. The Huskies finish 9-5, narrowly missing out on their first 10-win season since 2014. The loss also extended Northern Illinois’ bowl losing streak to seven games. | Box score
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Bahamas Bowl: Middle Tennessee State 31, Toledo 24
Middle Tennessee came into the Bahamas Bowl as a double-digit underdog with injury issues along the defensive line and a host of other reasons why they might not be pick to win against Toledo. But all of that seemed secondary once the game started and the Blue Raiders quickly asserted themselves as Toledo’s equal, riding a fourth-quarter flurry of scores to a 31-24 win.
Toledo hit a few explosive plays late in the first half to take a 17-14 lead into the locker room, but the offense wasn’t in a good rhythm and totally inept after halftime. Eventually, the Toledo defense wore down and Middle Tennessee was able to roll off the go-ahead touchdown and two more scores all in the fourth quarter.
It’s Middle Tennessee’s first bowl win since 2017 and brings the Blue Raiders to 1-1 all-time in the Bahamas Bowl. The two schools made history as the first repeat visitors to the Nassau-based bowl game with this visit going much better for the Blue Raiders while Toledo is now 0-2 in its Bahamas Bowl history. | Box score
