NCAA football roundup


December 27, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

NCAA football roundup

Monday’s bowl games

St. Petersburg Bowl

Mississippi State 17, Miami (Ohio) 16

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.

Nick Fitzgerald rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns and Mississippi State held off Miami with help from a blocked field goal in the closing seconds. Nelson Adams got a hand on Nick Dowd’s potential game-winning 37-yard field goal that would have helped Miami finish a stunning turnaround from a 0-6 start to the season to a winning record. Instead, both the Bulldogs (6-7) and RedHawks (6-7) finished with losing marks. Gus Ragland threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns for Miami. He also threw his first interception of the season early in the fourth quarter, and Mississippi State turned the mistake into a 36-yard field goal that put the Bulldogs ahead with 12:03 remaining.

Quick Lane Bowl

Boston College 36, Maryland 30

DETROIT

Patrick Towles threw two touchdown passes and caught a pass for a score in the first half, helping Boston College build a big lead. The Eagles (7-6) led by 16 at halftime, 23 points early in the third quarter and had to force Boston College to turn the ball over on downs late in the game to seal the victory. The Terrapins (6-7) had the ball at their 35 with 1:48 left, but didn’t gain a yard before Harold Landry helped to finish them off with a possession-ending sack. Boston College was ahead 29-13 at halftime after Towles threw a 49-yard TD pass to Michael Walker. On a reverse and pass from receiver Jeff Smith, the quarterback scored on a 20-yard TD catch.

Independence Bowl

NC State 41, Vanderbilt 17

SHREVEPORT, LA.

Jaylen Samuels caught three touchdown passes from Ryan Finley, Nyheim Hines returned a kickoff for a 100-yard touchdown for North Carolina State. North Carolina State (7-6) won three of its final four games to finish with a winning record. The Wolfpack built a 28-3 lead by midway through the third quarter — largely thanks to Samuels’ touchdown catches of 9, 55 and 17 yards — and then held off a brief Vanderbilt rally. Finley completed 19 of 30 passes for 235 yards. Samuels’ three touchdown catches were an Independence Bowl record.

Associated Press