Utah St. hammers Toledo in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

BOISE – Kerwynn Williams ran for 235 yards and three touchdowns and No. 18 Utah State won a bowl game for the first time in nearly 20 years, beating Toledo 41-15 on Saturday in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

The victory capped the best season in Utah State history. The Aggies finished 11-2, won the Western Athletic Conference title outright and had their first bowl victory since 1993.

Chuckie Keeton scored on a 62-yard run to put Utah State up 7-3, and Williams, the game’s MVP, sparked a 28-point fourth quarter for Utah State when he broke through the defense and raced 63 yards for a TD to put the Aggies up 20-9. Williams, who had 18 carries, followed that with TD runs of 5 and 25 yards. Keeton ran for 92 yards and was 21-of-31 passing for 229 yards.

Toledo (9-4) made five trips inside the red zone. But penalties and miscues forced the Rockets to settle for Jeremiah Detmer’s three field goals.

The Rockets’ only TD came when Bernard Reedy returned a fourth-quarter kickoff 87 yards.

Toledo quarterback Austin Dantin, who started in place of the injured Terrence Owens, was 12-of-21 passing for 132 yards. Dantin threw an interception in the third quarter to end a promising scoring drive and was replaced by Owens in the fourth quarter.

Toledo played without two top players. Linebacker Dan Molls, the nation’s leading tackler, had a concussion on the opening kickoff and didn’t return. Minutes later, running back David Fluellen, the nation’s eighth-leading rusher, went down with an ankle injury.