Mississippi State: 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl Champions

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Mississippi State's sideline erupted in celebration, relieved to escape with a victory to end a challenging season.

Nick Fitzgerald rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns in another strong performance by the dual-threat quarterback; however, the heavily favored Bulldogs had to block a field goal in the closing seconds to hold off Miami (Ohio) 17-16 in the St. Petersburg Bowl on Monday.

"Great game. Not exactly how we drew it up," coach Dan Mullen said after defensive tackle Nelson Adams got a hand on Nick Dowd's potential game-winning kick 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 the RedHawks (6-7), who won six straight games to become bowl eligible , finished with losing marks.

"You know what, it's been an interesting year. We've battled. Throughout the year we've lost some tough games on the final play of the game," Mullen said. "I told the guys in the locker room afterward, we're here because we didn't give up. We found a way to go make that final play. Even though we missed a lot of opportunities, we made the final play when it mattered."

Fitzgerald, who led the Southeastern Conference in total offense, scored on runs of 2 and 44 yards on the way to his eighth 100-yard rushing performance of the season. The redshirt sophomore also completed 13 of 26 passes for 126 yards.

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.

"We were one play ahead of them for most of the game, if not more than one, but they were one play ahead of us at the end," Miami coach Chuck Martin said. "We had opportunities. When you look at it, it didn't need to come down to that last kick, but it did. They made one more play than us. Tough way to end. That's sports, and that's competition."

The RedHawks drove the ball deep into Bulldogs territory on their next two possessions, turning the ball over on downs at the Mississippi State 32 midway through the fourth quarter and reaching the 17 before Dowd had his kick blocked with 5 seconds left.

James Gardner and Ryan Smith caught TD passes for Miami, which also had an extra-point blocked in the opening half.

"We had noticed on film that the kicker kind of did line drives. All that was going through my head was get your hands up as quick as you can," Adams said. "It's been a tough year for us. The only thing going through my mind was make a play, make something happen, and that's what I did."

TAKEAWAY

While there's a tendency to minimize the importance of games played before New Year's weekend, Mississippi State and Miami both felt fortunate to be in St. Petersburg for Christmas. The Bulldogs had a losing record for the first time since 2009 -- Mullen's first season in Starkville -- but qualified for a postseason berth because of the program's NCAA Academic Progress Rate.

Miami's rebound from a poor start was one of the feel-good stories of the year. Finishing in a bowl game against an SEC opponent attracted additional national attention for the RedHawks and also figures to help in recruiting.

"Like I told the guys a couple of weeks ago, if we invited Mississippi State down to spring practice to scrimmage us for 60 minutes, I don't think they'd come. So a pretty good opportunity for Miami football to play Mississippi State and go against some guys that don't look like the guys we normally go against," Martin said. "I thought our kids definitely took advantage of that and made the most of today."

PERSEVERANCE

Miami became the first team in NCAA history to start 0-6 and finish the regular season 6-6. The senior class that entered school in 2013 had a 5-37 record before the RedHawks began their six-game winning streak in mid-October.

"They should put statues of those guys outside of our stadium," Ragland said.

UP NEXT


Miami: The turnaround following the 0-6 start carried the RedHawks to a share of the MAC East Division title and provides a solid foundation to build on next season with 13 starters returning, including Ragland. Gardner had an outstanding sophomore season as well, finishing with 45 receptions for 750 yards and six TDs.

Mississippi State: Despite finishing with a losing record for only the second time in eight seasons under Mullen, the Bulldogs think they have a promising future with Fitzgerald at quarterback. In addition to throwing for 2,413 yards and 21 touchdowns, the sophomore rushed for 1,385 yards and 16 TDs after beginning his career as a backup behind Dak Prescott.

Marshall Thundering Herd: 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl Champions

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Chase Litton went 23 for 34 for 218 yards and one touchdown as Marshall won its 10th game this season by beating Connecticut 16-10 in the St. Petersburg Bowl on Saturday.

Nick Smith had three field goals for Marshall (10-3), including a 32-yarder with 1:44 to play that was part of a 13-play, 80-yard march that lasted 6:35. The Thundering Herd went 13-1 a year ago and 10-4 in 2013.

Bryant Shirreffs completed 10 of 17 passes for 86 yards and gained 75 yards on 19 carries for UConn (6-7), which came up short in a bid to have a winning record for the first time since 2010.

UConn stopped Marshall on fourth-and-2 at the 17 on the initial drive of the second half after the Thundering Herd opted to skip a field goal try that could have made it 16-7.

The Thundering Herd also failed to increase a 13-7 lead on their next possession when Smith missed a 43-yard field goal attempt with less than 3 minutes left in the third.

The Huskies got within 13-10 on Bobby Puyol's 52-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in the third.

Marshall took a 7-0 lead 7 minutes into the game when Litton, who played in high school in Tampa, threw a 16-yard TD pass to Ryan Yurachek. Deandre Reaves' 26-yard punt return set up Marshall at the UConn 20.

Reaves also had nine receptions for 88 yards.

Connecticut tied it at 7 late in the first on an 8-yard run by Ron Johnson that completed a 13-play, 75-yard drive.

Marshall responded with a 13-play, 65-yard drive that concluded with Smith's 21-yard field goal that gave the Thundering Herd a 10-7 advantage 8 minutes before halftime.

Smith made it 13-7 with a 29-yard field goal on the final play of the first half that finished off a 15-play, 85-yard drive.

Connecticut sophomore cornerback Jamar Summers got his eighth interception of the season, including six in the last five games, early in the fourth.

North Carolina State: 2014 St. Petersburg Bowl Champions

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A turnaround season got a little sweeter for North Carolina State in the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl.

The Wolfpack took another step forward under second-year coach Dave Doeren on Friday night with a 34-27 victory over Central Florida that wasn't as close as the final score.

NC State (8-5) dominated for three quarters before Justin Holman threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes to help UCF pull within seven.

"This is just the beginning," Doeren told cheering Wolfpack fans listening to a postgame interview over the public address system at Tropicana Field. "Go Pack!"

Jacoby Brissett threw for 262 yards and one touchdown and Matt Dayes scored on runs of 24 and 15 yards for NC State, which won just three games in its first season under Doeren.

"I can't wait for next season, there's no telling how far this team can go," Brissett said. "I'm excited in the direction we're going. This is a great program to be at. Everything is set up for us to have success."

Brissett tossed a 37-yard TD pass to Johnathan Alston to put the Wolfpack ahead for good in the second quarter. Running back Shadrach Thornton got NC State going early with an 18-yard scoring pass to Jaylen Samuels.

UCF (9-4) began the night ranked in the top 10 in fewest yards allowed per game, as well as pass efficiency, rushing and scoring defense. But American Athletic Conference co-champions had no answers for Brissett and a supporting cast that amassed 488 yards of total offense -- over 200 more than opponents averaged against the Knights during the regular season.

Brissett was 15 of 26 with no interceptions, completing passes to eight receivers. Thornton rushed for 96 yards on 17 carries and Dayes finished with 78 yards on 13 attempts to key a ground attack that produced 188 yards.

Doeren thanked his players and coaching staff and talked about Brissett's growth in his first season at NC State after transferring from Florida.

"He takes things so personal. He is such a competitor," Doeren said. "He gives all the credit to his teammates. He learned a lot throughout the season, and we love him."

Holman completed 23 of 53 passes for 291 yards for UCF, including TD passes of 6, 14 and 2 yards to Josh Reese, who had six receptions for 75 yards. Reese's second touchdown cut it to 34-20 with 11 minutes remaining.

The Knights got the ball back three more times, but couldn't get any closer until Holman threw his 2-yarder to Reese with 1:44 left. NC State's Tyler Purvis recovered the ensuing onside kick, and the Wolfpack ran out the clock.

"We just let the game get out of a whack a little bit," UCF coach George O'Leary said. "You can't do that."

UCF is a year removed from arguably the biggest victory in school history, an upset of Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl that capped the Knights' first 12-win season.

Going from appearing in a BCS game for the first time to ending the year in St. Petersburg for the second time in three seasons might have been perceived as a letdown except the Knights have continued to prosper after losing star quarterback Blake Bortles to the NFL draft, where he was the third overall selection by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Holman's Hail Mary pass to Breshad Perriman as time expired gave UCF a 32-30 victory over East Carolina and a share of its second straight AAC championship.

NC State is in its second season of rebuilding under Doeren, who took over after a highly successful stint at Northern Illinois. The Wolfpack went 0-8 in the ACC and 3-9 overall in 2013, and the four-game improvement in their regular-season record this year matched Mississippi State for the second-biggest in the five power conferences.

The Bitcoin Bowl was a homecoming of sorts for Brissett, who is from West Palm Beach and transferred to NC State from Florida. The 6-foot-4, 231-pound redshirt junior completed 10 of his first 12 passes for 197 yards, including his TD pass to Alston that put the Wolfpack up 14-10 early in the second quarter.

NC State won a postseason game for the first time since winning the Belk Bowl in 2011, ending UCF's three-game winning streak in bowl appearances.

"This is a good springboard to next season because the year before we lost our bowl game and last year we didn't get to one," Brissett said. "But this shows you the level that we can play at, and UCF is a very good team that won the Fiesta Bowl last year. This is a great victory. It's no telling how far this team can go."