Bowl Game Day 1
BYU vs UTEP
One drive after another, BYU just seemed to be eating up yardage and clock, and they would finish drives with touchdown. On the UTEP side, that fate came, but not until they trailed 31-3.
The end result? A victory and a nice piece of artwork for the Cougars.
The Cougars took a 28 point lead early and never looked back as they beat UTEP 52-24 in the New Mexico Bowl, kicking off the bowl season with some nice offense. The reward for the W was Native American Artwork shaped into a trophy, a nice early Christmas present for BYU.
UTEP QB Trevor Vittatoe had injured his ankle, and BYU wanted to take advantage of it. They loaded the box and blitzed corners and safeties to pressure Vittatoe. He didn't get used to it until BYU led 31-3.
UTEP got sacked and was forced to punt early, and after a good punt return the Cougs had the momentum. They took advantage, as Cody Hoffman caught a 28 yard slant pass to set up Bryan Kariya's TD. And on their next possession UTEP ended with the same result, while BYU ended with a TD pass from Jake Heaos to Luke Ashworth on a curl.
But the Miners didn't give up, returning the kickoff to the 22. However, UTEP lost 13 yards on a sack and a negative play, and they were forced to try a field goal. Dakota Warren drilled the kick, but the Miners still trailed 14-3.
The Cougars added a field goal and a deep touchdown pass from Heaps to Hoffman, and then Hoffman caught a slant pass for a touchdown. UTEP responded with a 77 yard play action TD pass to Kris Adams, but they failed to convert on a fourth down late in the first half, having a lob pass knocked down. BYU led 31-10 at the half.
The Cougars continued their domination in the third, scoring on a JJ De Luigi TD run and another deep touchdown catch from Hoffman that he barely held on to. However, Adams caught his second of 3 touchdowns of the day, which was everything he could give to a team getting dominated on both sides of the ball.
Jonathan Quezada got into the mix with a touchdown run in the fourth, but that was all for BYU. However, it was enough for a 52-24 win and a 7-6 record, ending a tough season on a good note for Brigham Young.
Northern Illinois vs Fresno State
Not many people get the trend of Fresno State. In bowl games under coach Pat Hill, they are 0-6 vs non-AQ teams and 4-1 vs AQ teams. And Northern Illinois didn't feel like being rude and ending the streak.
No, they just kept it going.
Chandler Harnish and Chad Spann combined for 4 touchdown runs as the Huskies dominated Fresno State 40-17 to win the uDrove Humanitarian Bowl. Tom Matecuwizc, the interim coach for NIU, leaves the school with a perfect 1-0 head coaching record.
Northern Illinois got to the 32 yard line but went for it and missed on fourth down. Fresno State responded by getting into the red zone, where Jamal Hanler caught a curl pass for a touchdown to give Fresno State the quick 7-0 lead.
But NIU responded by getting to the Bulldogs 7, where the OC called for a QB Draw. Chandler Harnish faked a pass and got a split second ahead of the defense, all the time he needed to score. However, NIU missed the extra point, making it 7-6 Fresno State after 1 quarter.
The Huskies responded to the miss by dodging a kick return to the 37 and using the blitz package to stop Fresno State from taking a 14 or 10-6 lead. They sacked QB Ryan Colburn twice, and that prevented any points.
Northern Illinois got the ball and drove to the Fresno State 28, where the coach called for another QB draw. Harnish ran down the middle, juked a defender and ran untouched into the end zone for a 28 yards. After a long field goal, the score was 16-7.
Kevin Goessling drilled a field goal for Fresno State, but Northern Illinois responded with another touchdown. This time, the NIU fullback got into the tight end slot and ran a post route for a TD. Goessling was wide right from 43 yards to end the half.
Fresno State started the second half with the ball, but failed to score. Northern Illinois got the ball back, and after a long run by Chad Spann, their kicker drilled a 51 yard field goal, making it 26-10.
The Bulldogs got to the 15 yard line of Northern Illinois, but while trying to scramble, Ryan Colburn fumbled the ball. Chad Spann and the Huskies responded with an 18 yard TD run from Spann, who found a hole to the right, made a juke and scored.
Again, Fresno State couldn't score and NIU got back into the red zone up 33-10. Chad Spann ran 8 yards to the end zone untouched, and the Huskies led 40-10. The final score was 40-17, and Northern Illinois had their first 11 win, bowl-winning season.
Winning Strategy Presented by Bessemer Venture Partners: The Huskies passed and mixed in QB Draws early on and had the lead at half-time, so Fresno State was expecting them to pass all game. That's when they got Chad Spann involved to seal the game. Great job, Huskies.
Plus, on the defensive side of the ball they blitzed and loaded the box, focusing on star RB Ronnie Rouse of Fresno State. They shut him down and blitzed Colburn all game, forcing a miserable second half from Colburn. Again, congratulations Northern Illinois.
One drive after another, BYU just seemed to be eating up yardage and clock, and they would finish drives with touchdown. On the UTEP side, that fate came, but not until they trailed 31-3.
The end result? A victory and a nice piece of artwork for the Cougars.
The Cougars took a 28 point lead early and never looked back as they beat UTEP 52-24 in the New Mexico Bowl, kicking off the bowl season with some nice offense. The reward for the W was Native American Artwork shaped into a trophy, a nice early Christmas present for BYU.
UTEP QB Trevor Vittatoe had injured his ankle, and BYU wanted to take advantage of it. They loaded the box and blitzed corners and safeties to pressure Vittatoe. He didn't get used to it until BYU led 31-3.
UTEP got sacked and was forced to punt early, and after a good punt return the Cougs had the momentum. They took advantage, as Cody Hoffman caught a 28 yard slant pass to set up Bryan Kariya's TD. And on their next possession UTEP ended with the same result, while BYU ended with a TD pass from Jake Heaos to Luke Ashworth on a curl.
But the Miners didn't give up, returning the kickoff to the 22. However, UTEP lost 13 yards on a sack and a negative play, and they were forced to try a field goal. Dakota Warren drilled the kick, but the Miners still trailed 14-3.
The Cougars added a field goal and a deep touchdown pass from Heaps to Hoffman, and then Hoffman caught a slant pass for a touchdown. UTEP responded with a 77 yard play action TD pass to Kris Adams, but they failed to convert on a fourth down late in the first half, having a lob pass knocked down. BYU led 31-10 at the half.
The Cougars continued their domination in the third, scoring on a JJ De Luigi TD run and another deep touchdown catch from Hoffman that he barely held on to. However, Adams caught his second of 3 touchdowns of the day, which was everything he could give to a team getting dominated on both sides of the ball.
Jonathan Quezada got into the mix with a touchdown run in the fourth, but that was all for BYU. However, it was enough for a 52-24 win and a 7-6 record, ending a tough season on a good note for Brigham Young.
Northern Illinois vs Fresno State
Not many people get the trend of Fresno State. In bowl games under coach Pat Hill, they are 0-6 vs non-AQ teams and 4-1 vs AQ teams. And Northern Illinois didn't feel like being rude and ending the streak.
No, they just kept it going.
Chandler Harnish and Chad Spann combined for 4 touchdown runs as the Huskies dominated Fresno State 40-17 to win the uDrove Humanitarian Bowl. Tom Matecuwizc, the interim coach for NIU, leaves the school with a perfect 1-0 head coaching record.
Northern Illinois got to the 32 yard line but went for it and missed on fourth down. Fresno State responded by getting into the red zone, where Jamal Hanler caught a curl pass for a touchdown to give Fresno State the quick 7-0 lead.
But NIU responded by getting to the Bulldogs 7, where the OC called for a QB Draw. Chandler Harnish faked a pass and got a split second ahead of the defense, all the time he needed to score. However, NIU missed the extra point, making it 7-6 Fresno State after 1 quarter.
The Huskies responded to the miss by dodging a kick return to the 37 and using the blitz package to stop Fresno State from taking a 14 or 10-6 lead. They sacked QB Ryan Colburn twice, and that prevented any points.
Northern Illinois got the ball and drove to the Fresno State 28, where the coach called for another QB draw. Harnish ran down the middle, juked a defender and ran untouched into the end zone for a 28 yards. After a long field goal, the score was 16-7.
Kevin Goessling drilled a field goal for Fresno State, but Northern Illinois responded with another touchdown. This time, the NIU fullback got into the tight end slot and ran a post route for a TD. Goessling was wide right from 43 yards to end the half.
Fresno State started the second half with the ball, but failed to score. Northern Illinois got the ball back, and after a long run by Chad Spann, their kicker drilled a 51 yard field goal, making it 26-10.
The Bulldogs got to the 15 yard line of Northern Illinois, but while trying to scramble, Ryan Colburn fumbled the ball. Chad Spann and the Huskies responded with an 18 yard TD run from Spann, who found a hole to the right, made a juke and scored.
Again, Fresno State couldn't score and NIU got back into the red zone up 33-10. Chad Spann ran 8 yards to the end zone untouched, and the Huskies led 40-10. The final score was 40-17, and Northern Illinois had their first 11 win, bowl-winning season.
Winning Strategy Presented by Bessemer Venture Partners: The Huskies passed and mixed in QB Draws early on and had the lead at half-time, so Fresno State was expecting them to pass all game. That's when they got Chad Spann involved to seal the game. Great job, Huskies.
Plus, on the defensive side of the ball they blitzed and loaded the box, focusing on star RB Ronnie Rouse of Fresno State. They shut him down and blitzed Colburn all game, forcing a miserable second half from Colburn. Again, congratulations Northern Illinois.
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