BOISE — Against a brilliant blue backdrop, Zevi Eckhaus looked like a sous chef. He raised his right arm and pinched his fingers together, holding the follow-through on one of the best throws of his career at Washington State, which was cruising right along in Monday’s Idaho Potato Bowl.
BOISE, Idaho -- — Freshman wide receiver George Dimopoulos threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dane Pardridge on the first play of double overtime and Jordan Hansen ended the game on a fourth-down sack to give Northern Illinois a 28-20 victory over Fresno State on Monday in the Idaho Potato Bowl.
Dimopoulos, who played quarterback in high school, also converted the two-point conversion when he passed it to quarterback Josh Holst for his second completion of the season.
Holst, a freshman walk-on, was making just his third start at quarterback as NIU was without starter Ethan Hampton, who entered with 1,600 yards and 12 touchdowns to go with six interceptions. Holst completed 18 of 30 passes for 182 and two touchdowns for Northern Illinois (8-5). He was also intercepted on the first play of the game.
Both teams missed a 35-yard field goal in the final three minutes of regulation, including Dylan Lynch's third miss of the game on the final play to send it to overtime.
Fresno State started overtime with a touchdown when Bryson Donelson was left wide open out of the backfield to haul in a 9-yard touchdown pass. NIU needed five plays, and a defensive holding penalty, to score as Holst found Grayson Barnes for a 3-yard touchdown.
Donelson finished with 15 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown for Fresno State (6-7). He added three catches for 28 yards and another score. Dual-threat quarterback Joshua Wood was 16 of 23 for 180 yards and a touchdown. Mac Dalena made six catches for 118 yards to help go over 1,000 yards for the season.
Fresno State was without 14 players, including starting quarterback Mikey Keene after he transferred to Michigan. Two top-three receivers, Jalen Moss and Raylen Sharpe, also did not play as the Bulldogs were forced to use five new starters.
NEW ORLEANS — Georgia State scored 31-consecutive points and held Utah State scoreless for nearly three quarters in a 45-22 rout in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
The Panthers, who were one of an FBS-leading 12 Sun Belt football programs to compete in Bowl Season, improved to 4-2 in six all-time bowl appearances—including three-straight bowl wins.
Redshirt senior quarterback Darren Grainger accounted for five touchdowns on the day, tying his own career high and program record. Grainger rushed for the first two Georgia State touchdowns—then added three through the air as part of the 31-point outburst that turned a 14-14 game at the 3:41 mark of the first quarter into a 45-14 rout at the 9:18 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Aggies halted the Panthers streak with a final touchdown strike at the 4:48 mark of the fourth quarter, ending nearly three quarters of dominance by Georgia State.
Senior running back Freddie Brock rushed for a Georgia State single-game program record 276 yards and the lone touchdown not accounted for by Grainger. Brock had rushed for just 31 yards in three appearances on the season for the Panthers prior to the record-setting bowl performance.
Redshirt senior wide receiver Cadarrius Thompson caught five passes for a game-high 117 yards and two scores, while redshirt junior wide receiver Tailique Williams had the other touchdown reception for the Panthers.
Four different Georgia State defenders accumulated five-or-more tackles.
With the win, Georgia State improves to 7-6 on the season.
BOISE, Idaho (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team is officially bringing home a championship trophy after defeating the San Jose State University football team, 41-27, in the 26th Annual Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, played today, Dec. 20, inside Albertsons Stadium in Boise Idaho.
Down 13-0 to begin the game, Eastern (9-4, 5-3 MAC) scored an incredible 33 unanswered points between the mid-first and early third quarter to take control of the game and earn its ninth win of the season and first bowl game win since 1987.
Quarterback Taylor Powell (Fayetteville, Ark.-Fayetteville-Troy) earned the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl's Most Valuable Player honor after going 18-for-30 for 298 yards, accounting for two touchdowns in the victory.
Senior running back Samson Evans (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge-Iowa) totaled 82 rushing yards on 25 carries, notching two touchdowns for the Green and White. Fellow back Jaylon Jackson (Burleson, Texas-Centennial-Lamar) totaled 54 rushing yards including a 31-yard touchdown run to help push Eastern past SJSU.
On the outside, junior Darius Lassiter (Chandler, Ariz.- Lawrence Free State (Kan.)-Butler) hauled in six passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns to lead the receiving corps. He is just the 16th player to go for more than 100 yards through the air in the bowl game's history.
Defensively, defensive back Joshua Scott (Antioch, Calif.-Deer Valley- City College of San Francisco) totaled four pass break ups, the second most in EMU single-game history, and an interception for the Eagles. Furthermore, senior Russell Vaden IV (Louisville, Ky.-Moore) grabbed an interception to seal the game for the Eagles while senior linebacker Luke Cameron (Kokomo, Ind.-Kokomo) added an interception for the Green and White defense.
How it Happened
Down 13-2, the Eagles engineered four touchdown drives before intermission, including a bowl-record 96-yard drive that spanned 13 plays and concluded with a one-yard touchdown pass from Powell to Lassiter.
Two of Eastern Michigan's scoring series began courtesy of an interception, one each Cameron and Scott. Evans punched in a pair of touchdowns on the ground in the opening half.
San Jose State marched 59 yards in just over a minute to score the game's first points. Junior quarterback Chevan Cordeiro found the end zone on a 27-yard scamper to cap the three-play opening possession.
The Spartans outscored the Eagles 14-11 in the second half, as Cordeiro tossed a pair of 17-yard touchdowns to senior wide receivers Nick Nash and Isaiah Hamilton. Cordeiro finished 26-for-44 for 366 yards and four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing).
Game Notes
» Down 13-0 with just over seven minutes on the clock, EMU's special teams came up big. Junior Sterling Miles (West Bloomfield, Mich.-West Bloomfield-Cincinnati) busted through to block his third PAT attempt of the season, his and the team's first since it blocked a point-after at Ball State, Oct. 22. He has the only three PAT blocks for the team this season, and three of the four during the Chris Creighton era (2014-Pres.).
» Miles' blocked kick was returned 97 yards for a touchdown by Junior Tristin Hines (Milan, Mich.-Milan). It was the first PAT returned for a score for Eastern Michigan since Ryan Downard also ran a blocked PAT back for a 97-yard score against the University of Michigan, Oct. 6, 2007.
» The Eastern Michigan offense used the momentum from the special teams unit to pull itself back in the game during its third offensive possession of the game. The Eagles used a seven-play, 74-yard drive capped by a one-yard Evans touchdown to find the pay dirt. The touchdown was Evans' career-best 14th of the season.
» The EMU scoring unit put together another scoring drive in its first touch of the ball in the second quarter. The Eagles used 13 plays to march 96 yards to find the end zone yet again. That score, the longest of the season for Eastern Michigan in terms of yards, gave EMU its first lead of the game, 15-13.
» EMU's 96-yard scoring drive was capped by a one-yard Lassiter touchdown reception. The catch was Lassiter's third touchdown of the season, and capped a four-reception drive for the first-year Eagle. The four receptions tied for the second-best single-game total for Lassiter this season.
» The Eastern Michigan defense came up big in numerous spots in the first half. After a critical fourth-down stop to begin the second quarter, it was Cameron that hauled in his first career interception. Just one possession later, Scott added his third interception of the season. The three interceptions give EMU multiple picks in a game for the fourth time this season, the most four any Chris Creighton-led team (2014-Pres.). The trio of picks ties a season-high for the Eagles (3 - Akron, Nov. 8; 3 - Central Michigan, Nov. 25).
» Evans added another rushing score with just under five minutes remaining in the second quarter. The touchdown was his second of the game, giving him his career-best fifth multiple-score game of the season.
» Lassiter added his second score of the game, a 28-yard grab, with just 55 seconds on the clock in the second quarter. Coming into the game, Lassiter had never recorded a multiple-score game, and had just two total touchdowns.
» EMU totaled 21 points in the second quarter of today's game. Eastern scored 21 points in a single frame just one other time this season, against Western Michigan, Oct. 8.
» Eastern scored 33 unanswered points between the first and third quarters of today's game. That number is the most for the team in any game this season.
» EMU scored its first points of the third quarter when sophomore kicker Jesús Gómez (Puebla, Mexico-Prepa Tec Puebla) drilled a 51-yard field goal with 8:23 on the clock. The kick was his second-longest of the season, just four yards behind his EMU-record 55-yard kick at Ball State. Gómez is 2-of-3 from 50+ yards this season.
» Jackson used a 31-yard touchdown run to help give EMU a 41-20 lead in the third quarter. It was Jackson's second rushing score of the season and his third total (kick return touchdown vs. University of Buffalo, Sept. 24). Jackson finished with 54 yards on the ground on seven totes.
» Vaden IV sealed Eastern's victory with his first interception of the 2022 campaign. The pick is his fourth in his collegiate career, as he earned three in the 2021 season.
» Coming into the game, San Jose State had committed just six turnovers the entire season. Tonight, Eastern Michigan forced them into three. It was the fourth game this season, and second consecutive, in which EMU has forced three turnovers.
Historical Notes
» With today's victory, Eastern Michigan has earned its second postseason win. EMU's first bowl game victory game against the same San Jose State Spartans in the 1987 California Raisin Bowl.
» Eastern Michigan finished with exactly nine victories in a season for the first time ever in 2022, and officially finished with the school's second-best win total in the 131-year history of the program. Eastern's best season came in 1987, when the team won 10 games.
» With the victory over San Jose State, EMU defeated its eighth Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent during the 2022 campaign. That number is the second-most in a single season in program history (FBS officially established in 1978); only the 1987 team took down the same amount with eight FBS wins during its nine-win regular season.
» Miles' blocked PAT marks just the second blocked kick in a bowl game for Eastern Michigan. The first was a blocked punt against Georgia Southern University, Dec. 15, 2018. Additionally, the returned PAT for a score by Hines is the first such play in EMU postseason history.
» Eastern's 96-yard scoring drive is officially the longest in the 26-year history of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The previous record was a 92-yard scoring drive by Western Michigan University, which they completed against the Air Force Academy during the 2014 edition of the bowl game.
» Eastern Michigan's 30 points in the first half is a Famous Idaho Potato Bowl record. Three previous participants (San Diego State University, 2013; University of Maryland, 2008; University of Idaho, 1998) had held the previous record of 28.
» Evans' score in the second quarter was historical in numerous aspects. His second rushing touchdown of the game tied the Eastern Michigan postseason record. Prior to the score, no EMU player had rushed for multiple scores in a postseason bowl since Bob Foster scored a pair in the 1987 California Bowl. Additionally, the score was the 29th of Evans' career, moving him into second place on the all-time total touchdowns list at Eastern. He sits just two behind Gary Patton (1984-87) for the all-time record.
» Eastern Michigan added another to its list of "firsts" under Creighton. With its appearance in today's Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Eastern officially made four consecutive bowl appearances (excluding COVID-shortened 2020 season) for the first time in program history.
» Lassiter etched his name in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl record book in today's contest. With his 108 yards on six receptions, he became the 16th player to record 100+ yards receiving in the bowl's 26-year history.
» Gómez's 51-yard field goal make in the third quarter ties the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl record. Two other players, Brandon Talton (University of Nevada, 2019), and Michael Cklamovski (Northern Illinois University, 2010), have also hit from the same distance.
» Scott finished the game with four pass break ups in today's game. That is tied for the second most in a single game in EMU history (record kept since 1998). The record, five, was recorded by Andrae Brooks, against Southeast Missouri State University, Sept. 1, 2001. Four pass break ups has only occurred once prior to today's game.
BOISE, Idaho – Craig Bohl couldn’t have scripted a better super senior sendoff.
Trey Smith, a seventh-year senior who had nine carries for 14 yards during the regular season, put the exclamation point on Wyoming’s 52-38 victory over Kent State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Tuesday at Albertsons Stadium.
Smith finished with five carries for 73 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, as part of UW’s Potato Bowl-record 337 yards rushing.
Defensive end Garrett Crall had 1.5 sacks as the Pokes defensive front, which was without longtime assistant Pete Kaligis who left for Washington State, finished with a season-high 4.0 sacks of Kent State quarterback Dustin Crum.
And Chad Muma, who is headed for the NFL draft, capped off his brilliant collegiate career with a team-high 13 tackles and a half sack.
“Chad and Garrett are fulltime players. To see Trey go in and score and then the team just celebrate … he’s been one of the ultimate team players as well,” UW head coach Craig Bohl said. “That’s one of the reasons why I think this football team persevered through some ups and downs. They believed in one another.”
UW’s offensive line, which is led by some key seniors that Bohl expects to ride off into the sunset, dominated the second half.
That allowed quarterback Levi Williams to set Potato Bowl records with 200 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns, and Xazavian Valladay to get over 1,000 yards for the second time in his career.
“We knew we had to face adversity and we did,” Williams said. “Kudos to the seniors and all the guys who responded.”
Valladay, the 2019 Arizona Bowl most valuable player, is second on UW’s all-time rushing list (3,274 yards) behind Brian Hill (4,287 yards, 2014-16) after rushing for 79 yards and a touchdown in the Potato Bowl.
Hill, Ryan Christopherson and Dabby Dawson are the only other Cowboys to post two 1,000-yard seasons during their careers.
“We have shown times where we’re really explosive on offense,” Bohl said. “To be able to compose a game plan, the players buy in, then to get the yards that we did, generated a lot by the offensive line, is really heartwarming.
“A lot of those guys will be gone, but I think there’s going to be a good heart and soul to return to give us a great foundation.”
The Cowboys played seven bowl teams during the regular season, going 3-4 with wins over Northern Illinois, Ball State and Utah State, and losses to Air Force, Fresno State, Boise State and Hawaii.
UW also opened the season with a 19-16 win over Montana State, which will play North Dakota State in the FCS national championship game on Jan. 8. …
Offensive lineman Eric Abojei, defensive end Solomon Byrd and defensive tackle Ravontae Holt made the trip but did not suit up due to injuries.
Quotable
“I don’t think the emotions have really hit yet,” Muma said of playing his final game for the Cowboys. “It feels like we have film on Monday and we’re still rolling. I’ve still kind of got that feeling, but I’m just happy to come out of here with such a great team win.”
Boise, Idaho – The Famous Idaho® Potato Bowl (FIPB) has become one of the most anticipated college football games of the season. From helping to launch the careers of NFL great like Josh Allen and BYU’s Zack Wilson who threw 18 for 18 in 2018 beginning his historic rise as a must watch quarterback, to the French Fry bath tradition that has been recognized by Yahoo! Sports “as one of the best traditions in all of sports,” the FIPB is exciting, unpredictable and entertaining.
Just seconds before the Nevada Wolf Pack defeated the Tulane Green Wave (38-27) at the 24th Annual Famous Idaho® Potato Bowl, the pumped-up players doused head coach Jay Norvell with Idaho® potato fries and Gatorade. However, when the fries landed on the playing surface the Wolf Pack were penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Green Wave took advantage and ran for a 65-yard touchdown. It wasn’t enough to change the outcome of the game but it surely generated headlines. And, it’s 2020 so nothing surprises us.
“With so many changes and cancellations surrounding college sports, we are more than grateful the Famous Idaho® Potato Bowl could be played this year on the blue turf in Albertsons stadium. Even though fans weren’t allowed, millions of folks around the country who tuned into ESPN radio and/or television were treated to an exciting game between two very talented teams,” explained Frank Muir, President & CEO, Idaho Potato Commission (IPC). “Both the Wolf Pack and Green Wave should be extremely proud of themselves. Playing football at this high level is a huge accomplishment especially during this very unpredictable time of our lives.”
The IPC’s sponsorship rate was reduced since fans were not allowed in the stadium and all the pre-game festivities were cancelled. Despite a restrictive environment due to COVID-19, it was still clear to the game’s 2+ million ESPN viewers and ESPN radio listeners who the naming sponsor was. The IPC logo, the “Grown in Idaho®” seal and a cut-out of Spuddy Buddy, the IPC’s mascot, were visible throughout most of the game. Additionally, the IPC received nine ESPN television and radio ads and multiple mentions by the sportscasters.
Those who watched the commercials were treated to the debut of a social media video starring BYU alum, pro-football player and Idaho native, Taysom Hill proudly promoting Idaho® potatoes.
About the Idaho Potato Commission
Established in 1937, the Idaho Potato Commission is a state agency that is responsible for promoting and protecting the famous “Grown in Idaho®” seal, a federally registered trademark that assures consumers they are purchasing genuine, top-quality Idaho® potatoes. Idaho’s growing season of warm days and cool nights, ample mountain-fed irrigation and rich volcanic soil, give Idaho® potatoes their unique texture, taste and dependable performance. These ideal growing conditions are what differentiate Idaho® potatoes from potatoes grown in other states. For more information, visit www.idahopotato.com.
