LAS VEGAS - Brett Rypien passed for 362 yards and two touchdowns and Cedrick Wilson caught 10 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown as 25th-ranked Boise State spoiled the Oregon coaching debut of Mario Cristobal with a 38-28 win in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday afternoon at Sam Boyd Stadium.
The Mountain West Conference champion Broncos (11-3) improved to 3-0 all-time against the Ducks (7-6), who turned the ball over four times while falling behind 24-0 in the first half. One of those turnovers was an interception that was returned 53 yards for a touchdown by Kekaula Kaniho.
Boise State finished with 473 total yards and 28 first downs. The Broncos' defense held Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert (26 of 36, 233 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions) in check for most of the game.
Midway through the third quarter, the Ducks, who lost head coach Willie Taggart to Florida State two days after accepting the Las Vegas Bowl bid, had just 77 yards in total offense and as many turnovers (four) as first downs (four).
Marshall 31, Colorado State 28
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Marshall raced out to a 17-point lead in the third quarter before having to hold on for dear life in a New Mexico Bowl win over Colorado State.
The Rams (7-6) had one last chance, getting the ball back at their own 16 with 3:18 left. After an apparent fumble was negated by a defensive holding call on the Thundering Herd (8-5), Colorado State was able to advance on an amazing one-handed catch by Michael Gallup on third-and-10.
Two long passes by Nick Stevens were overthrown and the Rams faced fourth-and-10 on their own 39. An offside call moved it up five yards, but Stevens' final pass was deflected back to him and he was tackled on the 43, giving the ball back to Marshall.
The Herd needed one last first down to finish the game, which they got when Chase Litton connected with Ryan Yurachek for an eight-yard pass. Marshall took a knee and ran out the clock.
Middle Tennessee 35, Arkansas State 30
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Brent Stockstill overcame three interceptions to throw for 232 yards and two touchdowns as Middle Tennessee outlasted Arkansas State to win the highest-scoring Camellia Bowl.
Stockstill's 30-yard touchdown pass to Shane Tucker with 12:08 left gave Middle Tennessee (7-6) a 35-23 lead. The Red Wolves (7-5) drew within five points on a 41-yard scoring strike from Justice Hansen to Christian Booker with 5:03 remaining.
Arkansas State got the ball back at its 9-yard line with 1:27 left and no timeouts. It reached its 47, but Hansen was sacked on the final two plays of the game to clinch the Blue Raiders' first bowl victory since the 2009 New Orleans Bowl.
Stockstill completed 19 of 35 passes and Hansen was 31 of 57 for 337 yards with three scores and an interception. Middle Tennessee's Justin McInnes caught seven passes for 107 yards, including a 20-yard score with 6:19 left in the third quarter.
Troy 50, North Texas 30
NEW ORLEANS -- Brandon Silvers threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score to lift Troy to an R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl victory over North Texas (9-5).
The Sun Belt co-champion Trojans (11-2) turned five turnovers into 29 points. The victory gave Troy its first 11-win season in school history.
Silvers threw touchdown passes of 7 and 10 yards to Damion Willis, 59 yards to Tevaris McCormick and 20 yards to John Johnson. Silvers ended his Troy career accounting for a school-record 87 touchdowns. Silvers was 24 of 31 for 306 yards.
The Trojans led just 22-20 at halftime but broke open the game by scoring three touchdowns on their first four series of the second half. The Troy defense intercepted Mason Fine twice and forced him into three fumbles, two of which the Trojans recovered.
Georgia State 27, Western Kentucky 17
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Conner Manning passed for 276 yards and a touchdown to lead Georgia State to an AutoNation Cure Bowl win over Western Kentucky at Camping World Stadium.
Georgia State (7-5) racked up 419 yards to win the first bowl game in the program's eight-year history.
Manning threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to tight end Roger Carter to give the Panthers a 20-10 lead in the third quarter. The Panthers put the game out of reach with a 16-play, 74-yard drive that took 9:01 off the clock and ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Kyler Neal to make the score 27-10 with 5:50 remaining in the game.
Mike White was 26 of 38 for 351 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for Western Kentucky (6-7).
