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.

New Mexico: 2016 New Mexico Bowl Champions

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Coach Bob Davie waited a long time for this moment. It had been quite a while for his New Mexico Lobos, too.

Davie earned his first career bowl victory when the Lobos, boosted by a pair of short touchdown runs from Richard McQuarley, beat Texas-San Antonio 23-20 Saturday in the New Mexico Bowl.

Davie had been 0-4 in bowls -- three when he coached at Notre Dame, then last year with the Lobos in this event.

"There wasn't a whole of jumping up and down and whole lot of screaming and a whole lot of carrying on afterward in the locker room," Davie said.

"But after the season that we had, it's more feeling. You don't experience this a whole lot of times," he said.

The Lobos' previous postseason win came in the 2007 New Mexico Bowl over Nevada. Before that, it was a victory in the 1961 Aviation Bowl.

In his fifth season at New Mexico, Davie completed the turnaround of a program that won three total games in the three seasons before his arrival.

The Lobos lost last year's New Mexico Bowl to Arizona.

"These players, I've talked to them in depth about enjoying the moment and definitely this afternoon was a great moment that doesn't come along very often," Davie said.

"It's another building block," he said. "That's what a college program is. You keep taking steps and you keep building and building and building. ... So there is no question that winning the last game is big."

Jarveon Williams ran for 125 yards for the Roadrunners (6-7), who lost in their first bowl appearance in the program's six-year history.

Despite the hype around New Mexico's triple-option threat and the Lobos leading the nation in rushing, the Roadrunners ran for more yards than the Lobos.

"We didn't make enough plays today," Williams said after his eighth game of running for at least 100 yards.

New Mexico quarterback Lamar Jordan rushed for 81 yards and threw a 34-yard pass to Dameon Gamblin that set up McQuarley's 1-yard burst for a 23-13 lead with 2:22 left.

Dalton Sturm threw two TD passes for Texas-San Antonio, including a 4-yard toss to JaBryce Taylor with 25 seconds remaining. The Roadrunners failed to recover an onside kick.

Six Lobos combined for 219 yards rushing. New Mexico was able to keep UTSA's big-play receivers mostly in check amid windy conditions.

Although the wind may have played a factor in some passes, Roadrunners coach Frank Wilson said there were other passes receivers dropped that they normally catch.


"We finished second. Period," Wilson said. "The weather didn't determine the outcome of the game."

THE TURNING POINT

The Lobos' fourth-quarter drive to a touchdown took more than seven minutes off the clock in a game that saw few passes.

"We didn't have a lot of offense," Davie said. "But when we needed it there in the fourth quarter after UTSA scored to make it a 3-point game, we had enough offense."

UP NEXT

New Mexico: The Lobos will try to capture their first Mountain West championship next year. Davie said a bowl win was key for Lobos recruiting to the next level. The Lobos open next season against Abilene Christian.

UTSA: Athletic officials from UTSA say they came to win the New Mexico Bowl but felt the bowl appearance would help get on potential recruits' radars, especially in Texas where some powerhouses are currently struggling. The Roadrunners will open next season against Houston.

Kentucky Wildcats: 2015-16 SEC Men's Basketball Champions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Derek Willis's 3-pointer with 1:01 left in overtime put Kentucky ahead to stay, and the 16th-ranked Wildcats beat No. 17 Texas A&M 82-77 in overtime on Sunday for their second straight Southeastern Conference Tournament championship and 29th overall.

These teams split the regular season title after the Aggies edged Kentucky in College Station in overtime on Feb. 20. But SEC Tournament titles are treasured by Kentucky faithful, and the Wildcats (26-8) gave fans yet another to celebrate in a game they have lost only 10 times in the program's storied history.

Tyler Ulis scored a career-high 30 points, including Kentucky's final point on a free throw with 8.7 seconds left. Jamal Murray added 17 points, and Willis, Alex Poythress and Isaiah Briscoe all finished with 10.

Danuel House scored a career-high 32 points for Texas A&M (26-8). Jalen Jones had 15 points, and Alex Caruso added 11.

Georgia Southern: 2015 GoDaddy Bowl Champions

The third quarter did not go Bowling Green's way in Wednesday's GoDaddy Bowl.

The Falcons headed into halftime with a 27-23 lead over Georgia Southern. When the third quarter was over, Georgia Southern had a 44-27 lead on the way to a 58-27 win.

Bowling Green had the ball three times in the quarter. The first, after Georgia Southern took the lead 30-27, ended on a failed fourth down conversion in Eagle territory. On the very next play, GSU quarterback Favian Upshaw sprinted 80 yards for a touchdown.

On the next drive, BGSU quarterback Matt Johnson fumbled as he went to throw. Another Georgia Southern TD made it 44-27. Then, with less than a minute remaining in the third, Johnson dropped the ball again as he faked a handoff.

The fumbles were likely a product of a wet football from the driving rainstorms in Mobile, Alabama, that plagued the game. But it's of no consolation to Johnson, who was one of the most productive quarterbacks in college football in 2015. After racking up nearly 300 yards in the first half, Bowling Green had 70 in the second.

Upshaw, a redshirt junior, didn't start. But he had four touchdowns on 12 carries for 199 yards and his performance sets up an intriguing quarterback competition for 2015. Both he and starter Kevin Ellison will be redshirt seniors. Incoming coach Tyson Summers has said the Eagles will retain the option offense that now-Tulane coach Willie Fritz installed at the school. He could do far worse in looking for a leader for it.

Before the game got out of hand in the third quarter, the first half was all sorts of fun. Bowling Green's first touchdown came when Johnson ad-libbed a broken play on 4th and 1 and found Roger Lewis behind the defense for a 45-yard touchdown. The PAT after the score was blocked and Georgia Southern returned it for a 9-6 lead.

Ellison provided some magic of his own later in the half. He scrambled out of the pocket and to his left on a 4th and 5 play and heaved a 31-yard touchdown pass to Montay Crockett for a 23-20 lead.

The bowl win comes in Georgia Southern's second season at the FBS level and in its first season of bowl eligibility. The Eagles are the second such team to do so this season. Fellow Sun Belt Conference member Appalachian State won the Camellia Bowl in its first bowl game (and second season in FBS) on Saturday.