SAN DIEGO — Northern Illinois won the coin toss and deferred, giving Boise State the ball first.
SAN DIEGO — Northern Illinois won the coin toss and deferred, giving Boise State the ball first.
The Poinsettia Bowl was just beginning, yet it was essentially over.
Jeremy McNichols scored three touchdowns, the first one 58 seconds into the game, and finished with 189 total yards as Boise State embarrassed Northern Illinois 55-7 Wednesday.
The Broncos (9-4) took the opening kickoff and moved 75 yards in three plays for the fastest TD in the school’s bowl history. After completions of 7 and 39 yards by Brett Rypien, McNichols ran 29 yards for a touchdown just 58 seconds in.
“It was huge. We always start fast,” McNichols said. “Even in practice, we come out fast and run a paced offense. That first touchdown, we practiced it all week and we hit it exactly like we were supposed to.”
McNichols and the Broncos kept piling on as the running back from Long Beach scored on each of the next two possessions, on a 4-yard pass from Brett Rypien and on a 1-yard run.
“It’s fun for all of us,” McNichols said. “When we score points, we get to throw deep, we run different formations, different shifts. It’s hard for defenses to prepare for our offense. It’s a great job by the coaches.”
McNichols ran 19 times for 93 yards and caught five passes for 96 yards. The sophomore came in tied with Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry of Alabama for the national lead with 23 TDs.
Rypien, a freshman, was 29 of 40 for 377 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.
“He did an amazing job,” McNichols said. “He took control of the offense for us. He prepared in the film room and gave us everything he had. He did great.”
The Broncos outgained the Huskies (8-6) 654 yards to 33.
The Huskies added to their misery by losing three fumbles in the first half. Tyler Gray recovered two of them.
“Sometimes the ball just rolls your way, and that helped me today to be in the right place a couple of times,” Gray said. “I think tonight you saw how well we really can play. We played great all season, but tonight showed how good we can be.”
The Huskies were left disappointed in falling to 0-3 in the Poinsettia Bowl.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 58, BOWLING GREEN 27
MOBILE, Ala. — Favian Upshaw ran for 199 yards and four touchdowns to help Georgia Southern beat Bowling Green in the GoDaddy Bowl.
Georgia Southern (9-4) won the first bowl game in school history in the first year it was eligible to go to the postseason. The program transitioned to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2014.
The Eagles won thanks to their trademark running game. They had 452 yards rushing to top their nation-best season average of 355.6 yards.
Bowling Green (10-4) led 27-23 at halftime, but Georgia Southern scored the final 35 points.
Bowling Green was undone by a brutal stretch in the third quarter that included two fumbles by quarterback Matt Johnson deep in the Falcons’ own territory. It helped Georgia Southern score three touchdowns — including two by Upshaw — in three minutes and turned a 30-27 game into a blowout.