SHREVEPORT, La. — Michael Brewer threw for 344 yards, Isaiah Ford had 227 yards receiving and coach Frank Beamer won his final game at Virginia Tech, 55-52 over Tulsa on Saturday night in the Independence Bowl.
SHREVEPORT, La. — Michael Brewer threw for 344 yards, Isaiah Ford had 227 yards receiving and coach Frank Beamer won his final game at Virginia Tech, 55-52 over Tulsa on Saturday night in the Independence Bowl.
The 69-year-old Beamer announced in November he would retire following the season. He finished with a 238-121-2 record at Virginia Tech over 29 seasons.
Virginia Tech (7-6) was playing in a bowl for the 23rd straight season. The first game of that streak also was in the Independence Bowl in 1993, when the Hokies beat Indiana 45-20.
This trip to Shreveport was filled with plenty of offense, but had more drama.
Tulsa (6-7) rallied from a three-touchdown deficit in the second half to pull to 55-52 with 3:47 left. Virginia Tech’s Dadi L’homme Nicolas ended Tulsa’s final drive with a sack of Dane Evans on fourth down.
The 107 points were the most in Independence Bowl history. Ford’s 227 yards receiving on 12 catches set an Independence Bowl record.
Tulsa’s Evans completed 27 of 44 passes for 374 yards and three touchdowns. D’Angelo Brewer ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
PINSTRIPE BOWL
DUKE 44, INDIANA 41, OT
NEW YORK — Ross Martin kicked a 36-yard field goal in overtime, and Duke won a bowl game for the first time in 54 years with a victory over Indiana in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
After Martin made his kick on the first possession of the extra period, the Hoosiers’ Griffin Oakes missed a 38-yard attempt to hand the Blue Devils their first bowl victory since the 1961 Cotton Bowl.
Oakes’ try sailed over the right upright and was ruled wide. Oakes protested that it was good, but the kick could not be reviewed, and Duke’s players poured onto the field to celebrate.
Shaun Wilson had 282 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns for the Blue Devils (8-5), including a 98-yard kickoff return. Quarterback Thomas Sirk accounted for 318 yards and three touchdowns before getting hurt in overtime. His 5-yard TD run tied it with 41 seconds left.
Oakes then missed a 55-yard potential winning attempt at the end of regulation.
Indiana finished the season 6-7.
SUN BOWL
WASHINGTON STATE 20, MIAMI 14
EL PASO, Texas — Luke Falk threw two touchdown passes to lead Washington State past Miami in the snowy Sun Bowl.
Erik Powell added field goals of 30 and 25 yards to help the Cougars (9-4) win a bowl games for the first time since the 2003 Holiday Bowl.
Miami (8-5) lost its sixth consecutive bowl game.
Washington State led 20-7 at the half and looked in total control, limiting Miami to three first downs over the second and third quarters.
The Hurricanes rallied in a blizzard in the fourth. Braxton Berrios’ 60-yard end-around run set up Mark Walton’ 5-yard scoring run that cut it to 20-14 with 13:10 left.
Miami had a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brad Kaaya to Stacy Coley called back on a penalty with 5:14 to play. Two players later, Washington State’s Marcellus Pippins recovered Walton’s fumble at 5. After a Cougars punt, the Hurricanes were at the Washington State 28, but an end-over-end halfback pass from Joe Yearby was easily intercepted by Shalom Lunai with 2:58 to play.
Falk, the game’s MVP, was 29 of 53 for 295 yards and no interceptions. He threw touchdown passes of 31 yards to running back Jamal Morrow and 25 yards to receiver Gabe Marks.
HEART OF DALLAS BOWL
WASHINGTON 41, SOUTHERN MISS 31
DALLAS — Myles Gaskin broke a third-quarter tie with an 86-yard run and had a season-high 181 yards and four touchdowns to help Washington beat Southern Mississippi in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
The Huskies (7-6) won their last two regular-season games by a combined 97-17 over Oregon State and Washington State to become bowl eligible and then delivered Chris Petersen’s first postseason victory in his two seasons at Washington.
Gaskin’s other scores came on 2- and 1-yard runs in the first quarter and a 13-yarder in the fourth. On the 86-yarder, the freshman took a handoff inside, broke to the left sideline and shook off one final defender at the Southern Miss 35.
Nick Mullens threw touchdowns passes of 56 and 27 yards by Michael Thomas for Southern Miss (9-5), and Ito Smith added 1- and 2-yard scoring runs.
ST. PETERSBURG BOWL
MARSHALL 16, UCONN 10
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Chase Litton completed 23 for 34 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown in Marshall’s victory over Connecticut in the St. Petersburg Bowl.
Nick Smith made three field goals for Marshall (10-3), the last a 32-yarder with 1:44 to play that capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 6:35.
Bryant Shirreffs completed 10 of 17 passes for 86 yards and gained 75 yards on 19 carries for UConn (6-7). The Huskies failed in their bid to have a winning record for the first time since 2010.