Reserve quarterback Luke Weaver came off the sideline and threw a 22-yard scoring pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left to deliver the Hawaii football team a 35-31 victory over California in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Wednesday.
Showing posts with label hawaii bowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hawaii bowl. Show all posts
South Florida: 2024 Hawaii Bowl Champions
In the absence of NFL, NBA, NHL, and college basketball, the 2024 Hawaii Bowl was thrust into the thick of the sports spotlight on Christmas Eve. Not only did the matchup between South Florida and San Jose State revel in that spotlight — it did so in historic fashion.
South Florida and San Jose State strung together the longest bowl game in college football history by sheer number of periods needed to decide a winner. It took five overtimes before the Bulls prevailed 41-39 over the Spartans in Honolulu to earn the right to be called the 2024 Hawaii Bowl champions.
Overtime would have never happened in the first place if not for a fortuitous bounce off the goalpost where South Florida kicker John Cannon doinked in a 41-yard field goal attempt with two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. That set up a war of attrition where neither team could gain an edge over the other until several rounds of a 2-point shootout passed. South Florida struck with a touchdown in first overtime, and San Jose State matched to keep it at 34 apiece. In second overtime, both teams nailed short field goals to extend the game into the 2-point shootout.
Third overtime is when the chaos was fully unleashed. After South Florida made its 2-point attempt, San Jose State answered but its successful conversion was nullified by a holding penalty to move back to the 13-yard line. However, the Bulls regifted the Spartans advantageous field position thanks to a pass interference penalty, and San Jose State capitalized with a conversion from the 2-yard line.
San Jose State and South Florida failed their attempts in fourth overtime, extending the game into a fifth overtime — becoming just the fourth game since the overtime rules changed in 2019 to tack on five extra periods (2019 Virginia Tech-North Carolina, 2021 Illinois-Penn State, and 2024 Georgia-Georgia Tech). In that fifth and final period, South Florida quarterback Bryce Archie connected with Keshaun Singleton to hand the Bulls a 41-39 advantage. San Jose State looked to respond as quarterback Walker Eget backpedaled while targeting wide receiver Justin Lockhart. Thanks to South Florida’s backfield pressure, the throw landed short and middle linebacker Mac Harris broke it up to usher in a thrilling victory.
The path from regulation to a quintuple overtime affair was anything but linear. South Florida took full command of the first half, opening its lead to as large as 21-7. One instrumental first quarter play that set the tone was a San Jose State fumble on the 1-yard line which was originally ruled a touchdown, but overturned to a touchback in favor of the Bulls. South Florida capitalized with an 80-yard drive, finishing in the end zone with Nay’Quan Wright to strike first in Honolulu.
An interception by Tavin Ward returned to the San Jose State 16-yard line perfectly positioned the Bulls for a 14-0 advantage. Five plays after the critical takeaway, South Florida sixth-year senior running back Kelley Joiner cashed in for his 16th and final rushing touchdown of a lengthy career in Tampa.
San Jose State dug its way out of the 14-0 hole with a Floyd Chalk Jr. rushing touchdown, but the Bulls instantly responded as Ta’Ron Keith raced 93 yards to the end zone on the ensuing kickoff. The tide didn’t begin to turn in San Jose State’s favor until a pair of Kyler Halvorsen field goals cut the deficit to 21-13 by the mid-third quarter.
The Spartans inched within one point on a Walker Eget passing touchdown and then rewrote the score to 27-24 lead with 11 minutes remaining on a Lamar Radcliffe rushing touchdown, assisted by an interception credited to inside linebacker Noah McNeal-Franklin.
South Florida watched its 14-point cushion dwindle into a deficit mainly due to offensive futility. The Bulls gained a collective nine yards on their first four drives of the fourth quarter, with none of those four series lasting more than four plays. They were subject to five three-and-outs overall, but remained in the game due to consistent stops generated by the defense. The most essentially stop transpired after the 2-minute timeout when Michael Williams II stuffed a Chalk run on 3rd and 1. San Jose State opted to punt rather than risk a 4th and 1 from its own 14, where converting would have sealed the victory.
A stellar return from super senior wide receiver Sean Atkins (11 receptions, 104 yards on the night) brought the ball to midfield and Archie did the rest, guiding the Bulls down to the Spartan 23 with six seconds remaining. Then on his 41-yard attempt, Cannon received an early Christmas present from the goalpost just a few hours early on Dec. 24, as the ball ricocheted off the right crossbar and through the uprights to force overtime, where South Florida prevailed after five periods.
San Jose State dropped to 7-6, while South Florida improved to 7-6 after securing its fifth win in its last seven contests in the historic Hawaii Bowl. The Bulls clinched back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2017 and 2018 and consecutive bowl wins for the first time since 2016 and 2017. Some bowl games are more memorable than others though, and this 5-overtime barnburner was a piece of history to all who participated and to all who watched.
Coastal Carolina: 2023 Hawaii Bowl Champions
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Freshman quarterback Ethan Vasko threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns Saturday night as Coastal Carolina beat San Jose State 24-14 to win the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu.
Vasko completed 20 of 33 passes, wrapping up the win with 2:43 remaining when he found Sam Pinckney for an 8-yard scoring strike. The play capped an eight-catch, 123-yard performance for Pinckney in his last college game.
The Chanticleers (8-5) possessed the ball for more than 37 minutes, converting 8 of 15 third downs. They were outgained 374-336, but their defense came up with two key fumble recoveries to halt third-quarter drives.
Spartans quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, who was born in Honolulu and playing the final game of his college career, hit 16 of 30 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown. He led two fourth-quarter scoring drives that got San Jose State (7-6) within three points, first finding Sam Olson on a 35-yard strike at the 12:27 mark.
Quali Conley added a 12-yard touchdown run with 8:30 remaining, but the Spartans couldn't get the stop they needed. They had a chance to get within seven points with 1:09 left but kicker Kyler Halvorsen missed a 32-yard field-goal attempt, ending their hopes of a dramatic comeback.
San Jose State entered the game as a clear favorite. The Spartans came in with a six-game winning streak, and Coastal Carolina's star player, quarterback Grayson McCall, departed for NC State via the transfer portal.
But Vasko orchestrated a patient attack that hogged the ball for nearly 18 1/2 minutes in the first half. It was Vasko who broke the scoring seal with 3:16 left in the first quarter, flipping a 2-yard touchdown pass to Matt Alaimo to cap an 80-yard drive that lasted nearly 5 1/2 minutes.
Meanwhile, San Jose State couldn't get going against a Chanticleers defense that was lit up frequently down the stretch. They limited the Spartans to 24 plays, 127 yards and six first downs in the half.
--Field Level Media
Middle Tennessee State: 2022 Hawaii Bowl Champions
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Zeke Rankin's fourth field goal of the game, a 37-yarder with 2:05 left, lifted Middle Tennessee to a 25-23 win over San Diego State on Saturday in the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu.
Rankin's kick capped a 55-yard drive that enabled the Blue Raiders (8-5) to win their fourth straight game after trailing by two touchdowns before the first quarter ended. Middle Tennessee's defense clinched the win by forcing their fifth turnover of the game on a botched hook-and-lateral play at the Aztecs' 43 with 55 seconds left.
Chase Cunningham completed 26 of 43 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns with an interception for the Blue Raiders. He survived a pass rush that sacked him seven times for 76 yards. Middle Tennessee won despite rushing for negative 66 yards and gaining only 170 total yards.
Jalen Mayden was 19 of 43 for 309 yards with two touchdowns and three picks for San Diego State. The Aztecs managed just three field goals after the first quarter but led 23-22 after Jack Browning connected from 52 yards out with 5:43 remaining in the game.
Jaylin Lane caught 10 passes for 111 yards and a score for the Blue Raiders.
San Diego State dominated the first quarter, using a passing game that improved dramatically over the season's second half after Mayden was installed at quarterback.
He hit Mark Redman with a 9-yard touchdown pass at the 7:18 mark, then found Kenan Christon with a short pass that became a 73-yard scoring strike just over 2 1/2 minutes later and gave the Aztecs a 14-0 lead.
But Middle Tennessee then found traction on both sides of the ball, even though it couldn't protect Cunningham from San Diego State's rush line. It hit the board on a 44-yard field goal by Rankin just over three minutes into the second quarter.
Cunningham cut it to 14-10 on an 8-yard touchdown pass to defensive end Jordan Ferguson with 3:14 left and Rankin connected from 49 with 22 seconds remaining, slicing the Blue Raiders' deficit to a point at halftime.
2019 Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs. Brigham Young
Anytime, anywhere. Since 1909. By the grace of His Majesty King Kamehameha the Great, the plantation in Halawa and the Pride Rock must be protected to a man at all costs. And so those brave young men of the gridiron who, of their own volition, take up the Green, Black and White of the University of Hawaii do strive, by day, and by night, to Live Aloha and Play Warrior.
So begins a lifelong commitment that goes beyond the completion of their playing days and their richly-deserved degrees and the memories shared with the world.
Thus is the century-plus legacy of Hawaii Rainbow Warrior Football. The state's team. Polynesia's team. The Pride of the Pacific. The Spirit of Aloha.
It's a sport. A sport. A SPORT!
Go Bows.
Warriors.
We are the Warriors that built this town from dust.
Hawaii Rainbow Warrior Football.
It's a sport.
#GoBows.
Hawaii: 2019 Hawaii Bowl Champions
Perhaps playing in a Hawaii uniform for his final time, junior quarterback Cole McDonald completed a heart-stopping comeback with a 24-yard touchdown pass to freshman Nick Mardner as the Warriors secured a 38-34 victory over Brigham Young University to win the Hawaii Bowl.
The Cougars had a chance to win it, taking over at their own 22 with 1:12 left in the game, but the Warriors defense held as BYU quarterback Zach Smith’s final pass was intercepted by Khoury Bethley with 25 seconds left at the UH 38 to seal the deal before an ecstatic Aloha Stadium crowd of 19,539. It was his second pick of the game.
McDonald hit 28 of 46 passes for 493 yards and four touchdowns. His top two targets were JoJo Ward, who caught seven for 159 yards, and Jared Smart, who pulled down another seven for 142 to lead an offensive attack that scored 31 points in the first half and only seven in the second.
But as well as those two proven products played, it was two completions on the final drive to the little-used Mardner that made the difference. The first went for 38 yards to convert a huge third-down play and the second for 24 to win the game. His two catches for 62 yards won’t crack the top receivers for the night, but his were the two that mattered most.
BYU, in danger of being run out of town in the first half, rallied for a 34-31 lead in the second it just couldn’t hold, even with the defense forcing four consecutive three-and-outs in the second half. The Cougars finished the season 7-6, with the Warriors coming in with a 10-5 record.
Down 34-31 early in the fourth quarter, Hawaii finally got a first down in the second half on a 46-yard completion from McDonald to Ward to give UH the ball at BYU’s 26. Three snaps later, out came UH field-goal kicker Ryan Meskell, who missed a 40-yarder wide right to keep BYU up by three.
BYU place-kicker Jake Oldroyd had a chance to make that lead six for the Cougars, who drove into field-goal range on the ensuing series, but the kick was wide right, keeping the score at 34-31 with 9:03 remaining.
Hawaii put together a nice drive on the ensuing series, but faced a critical fourth-and-3 at the 46 that the Warriors converted into a first down on a 20-yard completion from McDonald to Jason-Matthew Sharsh. But BYU held, forcing a punt.
Louisiana Tech: 2018 Hawaii Bowl Champions
HONOLULU -- Skip Holtz felt the need to refocus his players after they spent the better part of a week in paradise.
The sixth-year Louisiana Tech coach dressed down his team one night before the bowl game and it certainly appeared to pay off.
J'Mar Smith threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score in a big third quarter to lead Louisiana Tech to a 31-14 win over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl on Saturday night.
The Bulldogs (8-5) rallied from a 7-3 halftime deficit to secure their fifth bowl victory in as many seasons, a program first.
"I got a little bit upset (Friday) night, got a little emotional last night because I felt like we were here for vacation and the bowl game, not for the win, and I was wrong. These guys flipped the switch, they went out there and they played their tails off," Holtz said.
Defensive end Jaylon Ferguson, who had 2 1/2 sacks to become the NCAA's career leader, said Holtz's fiery talk ignited the Bulldogs.
"We thought it was just a typical meeting but he turned it up on us. He turned it all the way around on us," Ferguson said. "Being in Hawaii and waking up to the ocean view is relaxing, to be honest, and it felt like everybody was a little too relaxed. But after last night we were all dialed up. Me and my roommate, we stayed up and talked about it all night. We all knew Coach was upset. We know we came here to win. We know he wants to win, and everything that was said wasn't negative at all, it was to encourage us."
Smith threw for 285 yards on 19-of-31 passing with an interception. He tossed a 58-yard touchdown to Jaqwis Dancy and scored on a 4-yard run that was part of a 21-point third quarter.
Louisiana Tech took the lead for good on Israel Tucker's 5-yard TD run with 10:27 left in the third.
"In the first half I thought our defense played their tails off. Our offense had three turnovers, we shot ourselves in the foot, we had a number of foolish penalties, we just kept kind of shooting ourselves in the foot. But we came out in the second half, we kept banging that rock and the defense played 60 minutes. I'm proud of these guys, the way they came in, the way they competed," Holtz said.
Ferguson set the sacks record when he dropped Hawaii quarterback Chevan Cordeiro for a 2-yard loss late in the third quarter.
"The play that it happened on wasn't by me, but created by the effort on the back end," said Ferguson, who finished the season with 17 1/2 sacks.
His 45 career sacks broke the previous mark set by Arizona State's Terrell Suggs.
"Coming into the game, that wasn't my goal. The goal was to win the game in Hawaii. I could have had zero sacks tonight as long as we won the game," said Ferguson, selected MVP of the game along with Hawaii defensive end Kendall Hune.
Hawaii played without wide receiver John Ursua, who leads the nation with 16 touchdown catches. Ursua, sidelined with an undisclosed injury, was ruled out just minutes before the start of the game.
The Bulldogs had a Hawaii Bowl-record nine sacks, four by Willie Baker. Amik Robertson had two of their three interceptions.
It was the most sacks allowed in a game by Hawaii.
"They're really good," Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich said of Louisiana Tech's defensive line. "I think that's the best defensive front we've seen. They can get home with three (pass rushers), they can get home with four, they're an extremely talented group and I think they were motivated today."
The Rainbow Warriors (8-6) were just 2 of 14 on third down and got penalized 12 times for 140 yards.
Hawaii is 6-6 in bowl games and 4-4 in the Hawaii Bowl. The Rainbow Warriors lead the series against Louisiana Tech 8-3.
THE TAKEAWAY
Louisiana Tech: The Bulldogs entered with the 28th-best pass defense in the country, allowing just 193.6 yards per game. They held Hawaii's ninth-ranked passing offense to 168 yards, well below its average of 321.2 yards. Three of four starters in the secondary will be back for Louisiana Tech next season.
Hawaii: While the Rainbow Warriors were denied their second Hawaii Bowl victory in three seasons, they still improved by five wins from last year's 3-9 record and finished with the program's first winning season since 2010. All but three of 22 starters are expected to return next year.
"I think eight wins is a very encouraging step for this program, but we don't feel very good right now," Rolovich said. "When you take a step back and think about what this team has done, I think that there's a lot of positives."
A HAPPY RETURN
While it was the Bulldogs' first appearance in the Hawaii Bowl, it was Holtz's second win in two trips to the postseason game. He previously coached East Carolina to a 41-38 victory over Boise State in the 2007 Hawaii Bowl.
"I had the opportunity to bring one other team out here and I said to these players that this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip and we have the opportunity to make this trip and it will be a lifetime of memories," Holtz said.
UP NEXT
Louisiana Tech, which will have to replace three of its four starting defensive linemen and five of its 11 defensive starters next year, kicks off at Texas on Aug. 31.
Hawaii opens against Arizona on Aug. 24, its first of three consecutive Pac-12 opponents to begin the 2019 season. It will host Oregon State the following week before visiting Washington.
Hawaii Rainbow Warrior Football and the Hawaii Bowl
The Hawaii Rainbow Warrior football team represents not only represents the University of Hawaii at Manoa, but the entire University of Hawaii system, the city and county of Honolulu, and the State of Hawaii and the island kingdom it succeeded. The Rainbow Warriors have had a rich tradition of participating in the postseason. Being in a bowl game is a source of pride from a school's perspective and civic perspective. There is a sense of community and bonding and shared memories from seeing your favorite college team make a bowl game and, if they are good enough, win it.
In the state of Hawaii, there is a bowl game called the Hawaii Bowl. Formally sponsored by ConAgra Foods and Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, the bowl game was the product of the 2001 Hawaii Rainbow Warrior Football season, where the team had a 9-3 record but was not invited to a bowl game despite having the caliber and quality to be in one and win it. There have been 12 different winners of the Hawaii Bowl. The most high-profile winner? Notre Dame, who beat Hawaii in 2008. That team is now in the College Football Playoff for this year.
To ensure the viability of the bowl game and to incentivize fans from across O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands to converge on Hawaii's de facto national stadium, the Aloha Stadium, and partake in the gridiron festivities, the organizers of the Hawaii Bowl inserted a clause in which the Rainbow Warriors are guaranteed entry to the contest given that they reach the prerequisite amount of wins. In Hawaii's case, that would be seven.
This year, in 2018, they reached eight, but they were very close to being left out of the postseason due to a four-game losing streak that was snapped on Senior Night against UNLV which was followed by an overtime thriller over San Diego State. A number of other victories were also won the hard way, including a road overtime arm-wrestle against San Jose State and a grinder at home to Wyoming, a team that, despite being 6-6, could be without an invitation due to a surplus of bowl-eligible teams and a number of metrics (i.e. conference head-to-head) working against Craig Bohl's Cowboys.
Nonetheless, this is Hawaii's eighth appearance in the show, and they run this game the same way USC runs the Rose Bowl. Ironically, USC finished this season 5-7 and are not going to a bowl game, a truly regressive year. There have been four times Hawaii have been named champions of the Hawaii Bowl. Only one other team has had multiple Hawaii Bowl wins, and that team is SMU, who also finished with a 5-7 season and is bowl-ineligible.
Hawaii's first appearance in the Hawaii Bowl was in the inaugural edition, a game in which the Warriors lost to Tulane 36-28. To date, that is the last-ever bowl win for the Green Wave, despite a 2013 appearance in the New Orleans Bowl. Like Wyoming, Tulane are in an unenviable position of being a team without an invitation. They finished the regular season 6-6 and with a share of the American West Division title but lose on head-to-head and are at the mercy of UCF winning the conference championship to allow the Green Wave to have a case. The Knights are favored against Memphis but with upsets being a commonality, Tulane stand to be on the outside looking in.
Hawaii's first Hawaii Bowl win came the season after, and in typical Warrior fashion, it was a shootout against the mainland UH, the Houston Cougars. Hawaii won 54-48 in a match that went three overtimes, a game that saw Timmy Chang win game MVP. It was June Jones's second-ever bowl game win as Hawaii head coach. Jones would go on to be the winningest head coach in modern Hawaii football history and one of the players he coached, Nick Rolovich, is now coaching at the school with the same offensive system Jones ran, the run-and-shoot, especially after realizing that running the spread is in violation the identity of success at the program. Interesting to note, the head coach of Houston at the time was Art Briles, and this was before a move to Baylor, one that would see the downfall of his legacy coaching the game, a downfall that has been well-publicized (and consequentially, celebrated) by local and national media.
Hawaii's next bowl victory came in 2004, when Hawaii faced the UAB Blazers and their now star receiver in the pros, Roddy White. Watson Brown was the coach back then for UAB, who lost, 59-40 in an offensive shootout. UAB would fold its program several years later but it would only be temporary as pressure was brought on to bring college football back to Birmingham.
The Blazers' return to the big time was celebrated with a Bahamas Bowl appearance, one they would go on to lose. UAB, this season, have won the Conference USA East Division title and stand to be placed in a far better bowl, although taking care of some unfinished business wouldn't be so bad. Chad Owens was the MVP for the Bows, and Owens went on to a successful CFL career to go with at least one Grey Cup. It should be noted that a young Rob Stone was a sideline reporter for ESPN's broadcast. He is now known for his presentations on MLS and all things soccer for FS1 and Fox Sports, alongside a certain Alexi Lalas.
Notre Dame's lone victory over Hawaii was in 2008, a 49-21 rout. This was before the current golden period under Brian Kelly, 10 years ago. Greg McMackin was the coach at the time and it was not going to be easy for Hawaii to pick up the pieces after Jones left for SMU. (He is now with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats). McMackin again would fall short as they were stunned in 2010 by the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, 62-35. The coach at the time for Tulsa was a man by the name of Todd Graham. The 9-3 season was enough to see Graham take the job at Pittsburgh but he only lasted one year before a lengthy stint at Arizona State. Currently, as of this post, Graham remains unemployed. A season later, McMackin also would be sacked as coach of the Warriors.
McMackin's replacement was Norm Chow, and this was akin to the Philadelphia Eagles hiring Rich Kotite. The Warriors never made a bowl game under Chow's tenure with every season being a losing season and unsurprisingly, it would be his last-ever collegiate coaching gig, despite a cameo coaching at prep level in Southern California.
After Chow was fired as Warriors head coach and Chris Naeole fininished 2015 as interim coach, Nick Rolovich finally took over the program and in his first year, thanks to a petition, Hawaii played in the Hawaii Bowl for the first time since 2010. The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders were the opponents. The coach of that team? Rick Stockstill, who is still the coach to this day and who players are taking part the Conference USA Championship on their own home turf. 52-35 was the final score, with Dru Brown winning game MVP honors. Ironically, he would transfer to Oklahoma State after the following year in which the Rainbow Warriors regressed.
Which brings us to this season. Hawaii started the year 6-1, their lone loss during that stretch against another bowl-eligible team, the Army Black Knights, who stand to win the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy after finally turning the tide against Navy after a length period of domination by the fleet. All Hawaii needed was one victory. But losses to BYU, Nevada, Fresno State and Utah State threatened to derail the Warriors' chances of the postseason. They were made to suffer against UNLV but were able to rally through the understudy to Cole McDonald, a freshman state champion from St. Louis High School, Chevan Cordeiro. St. Louis is also the alma mater of Timmy Chang. In the end, Hawaii were able to pull off some thrilling wins over the Rebels and San Diego State in San Diego, their first in three decades, and an overtime victory highlight by routine pass defense times two.
Some sources have Hawaii facing the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles are no strangers to the show, having participated in 2011. Jay Hopson is the head coach of the Golden Eagles for this season and comes from a successful run coaching Alcorn State and sticking it to established sides in the SWAC such as Grambling (who have regressed this season). An invitation to the Hawaii Bowl will be an excellent opportunity for Southern Miss to be a sleeper side for next season. The coach for the Golden Eagles at the time? Larry Fedora, who was fired at North Carolina. (Hey, they ARE a basketball school, first and foremost. Like Duke.)
Another source has Hawaii facing Louisiana Tech, a former conference rival back in the old Western Athletic Conference. Skip Holtz is the coach at La Tech, and he also is no stranger to the Hawaii Bowl having seen the experience firsthand as head coach at East Carolina. The Pirates were the beneficiary of Hawaii's perfect regular season in 2007 and pulled off an upset rin holding off the Boise State Broncos 41-38. Chris Petersen, at the time, was the coach. He is now at Washington getting ready to lead the Huskies to a possible Rose Bowl invite.
Still another source suggests that the school of Byron Leftwich and Randy Moss, the Marshall Thundering Herd, the sons (and daughters) of the great John Marshall, will be facing UH on Dec. 22. Now Marshall are already bowl eligible and will not gain much from their make-up game with Virginia Tech this week. However, the Herd have never been to the Hawaii Bowl and it would be understandable if the Hawaii Bowl Committee goes in a new direction and offers the other team from West Virginia a literal holiday vacation.
And yet, another source suggests that Middle Tennessee will get a crack at payback against Hawaii. MTSU were 8-4 heading into their most recent with the Warriors and finished third in their conference division. This season sees them far more improved and a return visit to Honolulu will be a great incentive to even the score and possibly spark a new rivalry for the Warriors.
Watch this space, because here at the Bedlam on Baltic Avenue (who have a stake in the fortunes of Rainbow Warrior Football), we believe that it will be the Herd that face Hawaii on Dec. 22. Watch this space because there will be an update to see if this is confirmed or another opponent is selected for the Green and White in their eighth Hawaii Bowl appearance.
EDIT: We have an opponent. To our modest surprise, the aforementioned Louisiana Tech has been named the Hawaii Bowl opponent for the Warriors.
Fresno State: 2017 Hawaii Bowl Champions
HONOLULU -- Marcus McMaryion could not have envisioned this success when he joined Fresno State four months ago.
McMaryion threw for a career-best 342 yards and Jimmy Camacho made four field goals to help Fresno State beat Houston 33-27 on Sunday in the Hawaii Bowl.
The Oregon State-transfer completed 33 of 48 passes to tie the Hawaii bowl record for completions set by Hawaii's Colt Brennan against Arizona State in 2006 and also matched by Fresno State's Derek Carr against SMU in 2012.
"I definitely came to just kind of help out and change the program, but I would be lying if I told you that I thought I'd be standing in this position right now, but I'm just glad that I was able to experience it with these guys," said McMaryion, who joined the team in early August as a junior.
"I think I fell into a really good situation. When I got here the guys had the attitude and the work ethic and someone else said that I was just the cherry on top of it. The work ethic and everything was instilled that coach (Jeff) Tedford brought here, so it was just a great year overall and it's great to finish with a `W," McMaryion said.
The Bulldogs (10-4) had their first 10-win season in five years and completed the biggest turnaround in FBS this season. They went 1-11 last year and became just the second team in FBS history to go from double-digit losses one season to double-digit wins the next.
"It's a great way to end the season here in Hawaii after a great week with win number 10, but it's all about these kids," Tedford said.
The Cougars (7-5) were seeking their fifth consecutive season of eight or more wins.
Camacho was busy in his final game for Fresno State. He attempted six field goals, with makes of 27, 38, 26 and 33 yards, but missed a 56-yarder in the second quarter -- which would have been a career long -- and had a 24-yard try blocked and returned for a touchdown in the third quarter. Camacho broke the Hawaii Bowl record for field goals.
Fresno State finished with 480 yards of total offense to Houston's 341.
Defensive tackle Ed Oliver, the first underclassman to win the Outland Trophy, had his first career carry -- a 1-yard touchdown run -- to cap Houston's first scoring drive in the first quarter.
Camacho lined up a 24-yard field goal attempt late in the third quarter, but it was blocked by Houston's Jeremy Winchester and returned 94 yards for a touchdown by Alexander Myres.
The Bulldogs took the lead for good on Camacho's 26-yard field goal with 13:57 left to play and stretched the lead to 26-20 with his 33-yarder with six minutes remaining.
Jaron Bryant's 44-yard interception return for a TD off a deflection with 3:49 wrapped up the win. D'Eriq King's pass was batted up in the air by defensive end Robert Stanley and fell into the hands of Bryant, who maneuvered his way along the left sideline for the score.
KeeSean Johnson caught eight passes for 95 yards for Fresno State and went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
Steven Dunbar, one of two senior receivers for the Cougars, had seven receptions for 168 yards.
McMaryion and Dunbar were selected as the game's most valuable players for each team.
THE TAKEAWAY
Houston: The Cougars brought the second-best completion percentage in the country at 70.1 percent. King completed 23 of his 43 pass attempts (53.5 percent) for 269 yards with an interception
Fresno State: The Bulldogs entered allowing 116.6 rushing yards per game, the fifth-best mark in FBS. They held the Cougars to 72 rush yards -- well below their per-game average of 175.5 -- on 30 carries, an average of just 2.4 yards per attempt.
UP NEXT
Houston, which must replace five starters on each side of the ball, will open its 2018 campaign on the road, but not far from home, when it visits Rice on Sept. 1.
Fresno State will lose a total of five starters from this year's squad. It will start off Tedford's sophomore season at his alma mater at home against Idaho on Sept. 1.
Hawaii: 2016 Hawaii Bowl Champions
HONOLULU -- Dru Brown threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns and Hawaii overcame an early deficit to beat Middle Tennessee 52-35 in the Hawaii Bowl on Saturday night.
The Rainbow Warriors (7-7) amassed 500 yards of total offense and their highest-scoring output this season to end the year on a three-game winning streak.
Brown completed 20 of 30 passes without an interception. He had a 2-yard touchdown run and was sacked just once.
Tight end Metuisela Unga caught two of Brown's scoring strikes, an 18-yarder in the first quarter for Hawaii's first score and a 12-yarder late in the third.
Diocemy Saint Juste ran for 170 yards on 25 carries.
Hawaii turned three Middle Tennessee turnovers into 21 points. It fell behind 14-0 just over 5 minutes into the game, but scored the next 28 points and never relinquished the lead.
Brent Stockstill started at quarterback for the Blue Raiders (8-5) after missing the last three games with a broken collarbone. He finished 30 of 51 passing for 432 yards. Stockstill threw four touchdown passes -- two to Richie James -- and was intercepted twice.
James caught nine passes for 175 yards. It was his 14th game of 100 or more receiving yards in his career. Middle Tennessee posted 542 yards of total offense.
Hawaii took a 35-21 lead into halftime.
THE TAKEAWAY
Middle Tennessee: The Blue Raiders have now lost their last four bowl games. It was their 10th appearance in a bowl game in program history and the sixth in the FBS era. Their last postseason win came in the 2009 New Orleans Bowl, when they defeated Southern Miss 42-32.
Hawaii: The Rainbow Warriors improved to 6-5 overall in bowl games and 4-3 in the Hawaii Bowl in their first postseason appearance since losing to Tulsa 62-35 in the 2010 Hawaii Bowl. It is their first bowl win since beating Arizona State 41-24 in the 2006 edition of the Hawaii Bowl.
UP NEXT
Middle Tennessee will face yet another rigorous nonconference schedule, opening against Vanderbilt on Sept. 2 before road games at Syracuse and Minnesota.
Hawaii will start year No. 2 under coach Nick Rolovich at home against Western Carolina on Sept. 2, before visiting UCLA the following week.
San Diego State Aztecs: 2015 Hawaii Bowl Champions
Quick quiz: There are currently two FBS teams with double-digit winning streaks, with top-ranked Clemson, at 16 in a row, one of them; who’s the other? If you answered San Diego State, collect your fake monopoly money and move on.
After jumping out to a larger-than-it-looked 21-0 lead at the half, SDSU eventually doubled that lead over the final 30 minutes before settling for a 42-7 pasting of Cincinnati in the Hawaii Bowl. The win is the Aztecs’ 10th in a row, one more than College Football Playoff semifinalist Alabama’s nine.
It’s also SDSU’s 11th win on the season, tying the school record set back in 1969 under the legendary Don Coryell. This year’s squad, the Mountain West Conference champions, had already become the fifth team in school history to reach double digits in wins and the first to do so since 1977.
From the opening kickoff — literally — there was little doubt that Rocky Long‘s crew would add to its historic season, with Rashaad Penny racing 100 yards in the first 15 seconds to give the Aztecs a lead they would never relinquish. SDSU’s defense, which came into the game 10th nationally in points allowed (17 points per game), bookended the special teams touchdown on Alex Barrett‘s interception return for a touchdown to extend the lead to 42-0 with 9:04 remaining.
In between, running back Donnel Pumphrey, who may or may not have played his final game in an Aztec uniform, ran and passed for a touchdown, the latter being the first of his career. Pumphrey’s backfield mate, former walk-on fullback Dakota Gordon, rushed for and caught a touchdown, the latter coming off the arm of Pumphrey.
SDSU’s defense, in addition to pitching a shutout for the first 56½ minutes, forced three turnovers, with all three being interceptions thrown by Hayden Moore. In just his third career start, the freshman Moore, pressed onto the field because of personal issues involving starter Gunner Kiel, passed for 202 yards. The Bearcats’ lone touchdown came on Mike Boone‘s one-yard touchdown run.
UC finishes the year 7-6, its first time winning nine or fewer games since 2010.
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