ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -Matt Ryan and Boston College had a much more enjoyable trip to Florida this time around.
Ryan threw three touchdown passes, two to Rich Gunnell, and the Eagles extended the nation’s longest bowl winning streak to eight with a 24-21 victory over Michigan State in the Champs Sports Bowl on Friday.
Boston College (11-3) won 11 games for the first time since 1940, but it was a season that at times had the promise of being even better.
The Eagles were ranked No. 2 in the country after rallying to beat Virginia Tech in late October. But they ended the regular season losing three of five, including a rematch with the Hokies in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game in Jacksonville, and ended up in the Champs Sports Bowl.
They found plenty of motivation, though, wanting to extend their impressive bowl streak and send Ryan and his fellow seniors out on a high note.
Ryan finished 22-of-47 for 249 yards, but he also had an interception and a costly fumble.
Gunnell had six catches for 138 yards, including TD receptions of 29 and 68 yards. Both catches came against Michigan State freshman Chris Rucker, who was playing for the first time since having three medical procedures in the last two months to correct a detached retina.
BC All-America safety Jamie Silva had two interceptions and was the game’s most valuable player.
The Eagles sealed the win with their fourth interception of the game. Paul Anderson picked off Brian Hoyer’s pass and returned it to the Michigan State 29 with 2:29 remaining.
Hoyer finished with five turnovers – four interceptions and a fumble – for the Spartans (7-6).
Texas Bowl
TCU 20, Houston 13
HOUSTON (AP) – Andy Dalton ran for a touchdown and Justin Watts had the go-ahead score to help TCU to its third bowl victory in the last three years.
The last time Horned Frogs won a bowl in three consecutive season was 1936-39.
CU (8-5) took its first lead of the game when Watts wove through the defense and danced into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown that made it 17-10 early in the fourth quarter.
Watts and Ryan Christian split carries against Houston (8-5) after starter Joseph Turner injured his knee in the first quarter and didn’t return.
Dalton was 21-of-30 for 249 yards with one interception. Watts and Christian combined for 88 yards rushing on 12 carries.
The Cougars had a chance to tie it with less than 30 seconds to play but Case Keenum’s pass sailed just beyond the fingertips of Jeron Harvey in the end zone. He had two more shots at the end zone, but the ball fell short on the first one and Chase Ortiz hit him as he threw the second one to end the game.
Playing without coach Art Briles, who left in late November to coach at Baylor, the Cougars extended their bowl losing streak to eight games. Their last bowl win came in the 1980 Garden State Bowl.
Interim coach Chris Thurmond led a Houston team that often looked confused and shaky against TCU.
Keenum was hurried and harassed by TCU most of the night and was sacked five times. He was 23-of-38 for 335 yards. Donnie Avery had 10 receptions for 120 yards.
Emerald Bowl
Oregon State 21, Maryland 14
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Yvenson Bernard Bernard rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown in his final college game, and Oregon State pounded out a victory.
James Rodgers rushed for 115 yards, caught an early TD pass and recovered Bernard’s fumble for the second half’s only score as the Beavers (9-4) won their fourth consecutive bowl game under coach Mike Riley and snapped Ralph Friedgen’s three-game postseason winning streak at Maryland.
Sean Canfield returned from a three-game absence to pass for 68 yards in relief of injured Lyle Moevao. But Canfield mostly did what Oregon State does best: Hand off to Bernard, who had 38 carries to finish as the second-leading rusher in school history, and Rodgers, the Beavers’ multitalented freshman.
Chris Turner passed for 205 yards and hit Isaiah Williams and Darrius Heyward-Bey with first-quarter TD passes, but the Terrapins (6-7) stalled in the second half of their fifth loss in seven games.
The Beavers’ vaunted rushing defense – ranked second in the nation – was just as good as Maryland feared, holding the Terrapins to 2 yards on the ground in the first three quarters.
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