bowl roundup

bowl roundup

Thursday’s college games

MILITARY BOWL

Navy 49, Virginia 7

ANNAPOLIS, MD.

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 11/2-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. Seeking its first winning season in six years, Virginia instead absorbed its sixth loss in seven games. Senior Kurt Benkert came in with a school-record 3,062 yards passing this season, along with 25 touchdown passes. In this one, he went 15 for 34 for 133 yards and an interception. After Reed went the distance with the opening kickoff, Navy responded with a 69-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard run by Abey. The Midshipmen then forced a three-and-out, and Perry finished an eight-play drive with a 22-yard touchdown run for a 14-7 lead.

CAMPING WORLD BOWL

No. 17 Oklahoma St. 30, No. 22 Virginia Tech 21

ORLANDO, FLA.

Mason Rudolph threw for 351 yards and a pair of touchdowns, James Washington became Oklahoma State’s career receiving yards leader and the 17th-ranked Cowboys beat No. 22 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. Oklahoma State led 13-7 at the half, benefiting from a pair of big missed opportunities by the Hokies. Up 7-3, Virginia Tech started its second drive at its own 9. The Hokies kept the ball for 10 minutes, ran 18 plays, got all the way to the Cowboys’ 1 — and came up empty, fumbling the ball away on a handoff.

Associated Press