Army: 2018 Armed Forces Bowl Champions

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. initially ran right before cutting back the other way and eluding a tackler. He sent two other defenders sliding to the ground when he switched directions again and took off toward the end zone.

That nifty 77-yard run was one of his Armed Forces Bowl-record five rushing touchdowns as the No. 22 Black Knights overwhelmed Houston 70-14 on Saturday to reach 11 wins for the first time in program history.

"Just trying to get back to the line of scrimmage," Hopkins said. "There was this huge convoy of guys right there when I was running in. ... I just felt like people were on me. I thought it was Houston, and I realized it was gray jerseys. It was a really good team win."

The Black Knights' (11-2) 56-point win tied the FBS record for largest margin of victory in a bowl game, set by Tulsa in its 63-7 win over Bowling Green in the 2008 GMAC Bowl.

Army scored 70 points in a game for the first time since 1955, when it scored 81 against Furman, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The win was its ninth straight since an overtime loss at playoff team Oklahoma exactly three months earlier.

"Great, great finish to a terrific season," coach Jeff Monken said.

Houston (8-5) lost for the fourth time in five games since starting 7-1 and getting into the AP Top 25 poll for one week in late October. The injury-plagued Cougars suffered their most-lopsided loss in their 27 bowl games, and their biggest loss overall since a 66-10 loss at UCLA during the 1997 regular season.

"That's the hardest part to swallow, you're 7-1," second-year coach Major Applewhite said. "I'm proud of the way our kids fought. I'm not proud of losing the games at the end of the season the way we lost them."

Hopkins ran 11 times for 170 yards before coming out of the game midway through the third quarter when it was 49-7. He also completed the first 1,000-yard passing season for Army since 2007. He was 3-of-3 passing for 70 yards, including a 54-yarder that set up one of his three 1-yard TD plunges. He also had a 2-yard TD run.

Army got 507 of its 592 total yards on the ground in its highest-scoring game this season -- and the most points in the program's nine bowl appearances. The Black Knights won a bowl for the third consecutive year, including last year's Armed Force Bowl over San Diego State.

On the first play of the second quarter, on Houston's first snap after Hopkins' long TD run, Cameron Jones had a 23-yard fumble return for a score after James Nachtigal forced the turnover when he sacked Clayton Tune.

While Hopkins had his left arm in a sling after the game, he said he was "a little banged up" and that it was just a precaution. The junior quarterback's 77-yarder on the last play of the first quarter made it 14-0.

"He did a really good job of finding an initial opening because it was almost a busted play," Monken said. "It was not designed to go back that direction and he kind of skipped out of the way of a guy."

Tune, the true freshman filling in for injured playmaker D'Eriq King, was 21-of-32 passing for 230 yards and was sacked 10 times. He was responsible for both Houston TDs, a 3-yard pass to Romello Brooker in the second quarter and a 6-yard run with 6 1/2 minutes left.

THE TAKEAWAY

Houston: The Cougars didn't have King or NFL-bound defensive tackle Ed Oliver. King, who will be back next season, was responsible for 50 touchdowns in 11 games before knee surgery. Oliver missed four games because of a bruised right knee, then skipped the bowl game to focus on preparing for the NFL draft.

"I love Ed to death, but there were more issues than missing Ed," Applewhite said. "Give credit to Army."

Army: After a 10-loss season as freshmen, the Black Knights senior class won 29 games the past three seasons. They finished with back-to-back seasons of at least 10 wins. Army is an AP Top 25 team for the first time since 1996, the academy's only other 10-win season.

"I knew we had something special going on in our program," Monken said.

UP NEXT

Houston plays its 2019 season opener Aug. 31 at Oklahoma.

Army opens the 2019 season at home against Rice on Aug. 30.

Idaho: 2016 Potato Bowl Champions

BOISE, Idaho -- Idaho quarterback Matt Linehan made a strong statement with his play on the field Thursday night in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. He was just getting started.

Moments after earning MVP honors in the Vandals' 61-50 victory over Colorado State, Linehan explained what the victory meant to him and the program after the school made the controversial decision to move down to FCS starting in 2018. In April, the Sun Belt informed the school it was dropping Idaho after the 2017 season.

"We belong in FBS -- period!" Linehan said in a radio interview with ESPN. "That's what I believe. That's what everyone believes. We know we can compete. We belong here. No matter what anyone thinks, even our tone-deaf president. Maybe he doesn't think we belong here, but I think we belong here."

Linehan's emotional words matched his play. He was 21 of 31 for 381 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Linehan, whose father Scott Linehan is the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, also ran for another score in the third-highest scoring game in bowl history.

The bowl record for points is 125 in Marshall's 64-61, double-overtime victory over East Carolina in the 2001 GMAC Bowl. Idaho and Colorado State broke the Potato Bowl scoring record set in 2009 in Idaho's 43-42 victory over Bowling Green.

Linehan, who toned down his comments and apologized to university President Chuck Staben in the postgame press conference, still reveled in the season-ending win.

"No matter what was said to begin the year, I think all these guys believed we could get to this point," Linehan said. "We spent so much time dealing with adversity and tough losses. I think we were just tired of losing."

Idaho (9-4) matched its highest victory total since moving to FBS in 1996.

"I couldn't be more proud of our players," coach Paul Petrino said. "They were focused on winning the football game and that helped them come out and play well early. They were told there were a bunch of things they weren't supposed to be able to do, but they did it anyway."

Petrino shied away from wading in on the school's decision, but that didn't stop him from politicking.

"You'd hope we made a statement," he said. "We were 2-0 against Mountain West teams year. We'd look pretty good in that conference. But I can only control what I can control, and that's to be as good of a coach as I can be."

Colorado State (7-6) finished with a bowl loss for the second straight year.

"We tried some different things this year in preparation," Colorado coach Mike Bobo said. "You want to finish up strong. That onus falls on me. That's the position I'm in as the head coach."

After a scoreless first quarter, it appeared that both teams had dug in for a defensive battle. But that quickly dissipated as the teams started rolling up points.

The 84 points in the second half are the most combined in a half in any bowl game, breaking the record of 76 set by Tulsa and Virginia Tech last year in the first half of the Independence Bowl.

Isaiah Saunders led the Vandals on the ground with 147 yards and set another bowl record in the process with 33 carries.

Colorado State wasted a bowl record-setting performance from Stevens. He tied two records -- touchdowns accounted for with five, touchdown passes with 5 -- and set the passing yards records with 445. He finished 21 of 36 with two interceptions.

Sophomore Olabisi Johnson paced the Rams' receiving corps with 265 yards -- also a bowl record -- on seven catches with a pair of touchdowns. Dalyn Dawkins ran for 118 yards and a touchdown.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNES

Coming into the game, Bobo said a major factor for his team's defensive success was limiting the big plays. But the Rams were dismal against Idaho, yielding nine plays of 25 yards or more.

The Rams also staked much of their success this season on winning the turnover battle.

However, Idaho, which entered the game 13th in the country in turnover margin, won that category as well. The Rams turned the ball over three times, while the Vandals were turnover free.

UP NEXT

Colorado State: One of the biggest storylines heading into the 2017 season will be the quarterback position.

Freshman Collin Hill won the starting job but suffered a torn ACL in his left knee midway through the season. However, Nick Stevens' return sparked the Rams. With Hill likely unable to practice in the spring and Steven returning for his senior year, competition for the starting job promises to be fierce again in fall camp.

Idaho: The Vandals will look to exit FBS with a bang and claim only their second conference title since moving up in 1996. Idaho's last conference championship came in 1998 in the Big West.