LAS VEGAS (AP) -Eathyn Manumaleuna blocked a field goal as time expired to give No. 19 BYU a 17-16 victory over UCLA on Saturday night in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Kai Forbath made field goals of 52 and 50 yards to keep the Bruins in it and UCLA drove almost the length of the field in the final 2 minutes to line up Forbath for the potential winner. But Manumaleuna got his hand on the kick and the Cougars got their first win over the Bruins since Steve Young was the quarterback.
Max Hall threw for two touchdowns and the Cougars (11-2) closed the season with their 10th straight win despite getting shut out in the second half and having their lowest offensive output of the year.
BYU managed just 265 yards against the Bruins (6-7), who were playing for interim coach and defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker. If it was Walker’s only game as UCLA’s coach, it was a memorable one.
The Bruins forced two turnovers, pressured Hall all game and nearly pulled off the upset with their fourth-string quarterback.
Walk-on McLeod Bethel-Thompson drove the Bruins from their own 2 in the final 2 minutes, completing an 36-yard pass to Logan Paulsen on a third-and-8 play with 30 seconds left to give UCLA a chance at finishing with a winning record.
It didn’t quite happen. Forbath’s kick was low enough for Manumaleuna to get a piece of it and keep the ball from getting through the uprights. Forbath had three field goals.
Papajohns.com Bowl
No. 20 Cincinnati 31, Southern Miss 21
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – Ben Mauk passed for 334 yards and four touchdowns, and DeAngelo Smith intercepted three passes, leading Cincinnati past Southern Miss and outgoing coach Jeff Bower in the Papajohns.com Bowl.
The victory gave Cincinnati (10-3) its second 10-win season and first since 1951, while virtually assuring a spot in the final rankings for the first time.
Mauk completed 30 of 52 passes and overcame three interceptions to become only the third Bearcats player to have a 3,000-yard passing season. It was a nice finish for the former Wake Forest starter and for first-year Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly, but a difficult one for Southern Miss (7-6) and coach Jeff Bower.
It was the final game for Bower after 17 seasons at his alma mater, a stay that ranks behind only that of Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden and Frank Beamer among current coaches. Bower was forced to resign after a disappointing regular season, leading to the hiring of Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Larry Fedora.
Damion Fletcher provided most of the offense for Southern Miss. He ran 29 times for 155 yards against a defense that came in allowing just 106 yards on the ground. He also caught seven passes for 50 yards.
New Mexico Bowl
New Mexico 23, Nevada 0
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – Paul Baker ran for 167 yards in his first start, and Donovan Porterie threw for career-high 354 yards and two touchdowns to help New Mexico end a 46-year skid without a postseason victory.
The Lobos (9-4) also gave 10th-year coach Rocky Long his first bowl win in five tries. It was New Mexico’s first bowl victory since beating Western Michigan 28-12 in the 1961 Aviation Bowl at Dayton, Ohio. The Lobos also notched a nine-win season for just the fourth time in school history.
New Mexico’s defense also delivered just the second shutout loss for Nevada’s Hall of Fame coach, Chris Ault. The Wolf Pack (6-7) hadn’t gone scoreless since losing 10-0 to Weber State on Sept. 27, 1980, a span of 329 games – the longest current streak in college football and the second longest in history.
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