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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bowl roundup: Appalachian State edges Toledo in Camellia Bowl

Marcus Cox rushed for 143 yards to lead Appalachian State past Toledo in Saturday’s Camellia Bowl. (Albert Cesare / Associated Press)
Associated Press

Marcus Cox rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown and Michael Rubino kicked the go-ahead 39-yard field goal to lift Appalachian State to a 31-28 victory over Toledo on Saturday night in the Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Mountaineers (10-3) won the game in Alabama’s capital city on a late field goal for the second straight year, this one coming with 5:14 left. They got a couple of fourth-quarter reprieves after failing on a fake field goal.

Cox became the ninth FBS player with four 1,000-yard seasons and the 22nd to top 5,000 in his career. Game MVP Taylor Lamb passed for 119 yards and a touchdown and ran for 126 yards and a score.

Kareem Hunt covered 42 yards on four straight rushes to propel Toledo (9-4) down the field after the field goal. Damion Jones-Moore was stopped on third down.

Toledo (9-4) initially lined up to go for it on fourth-and-2 before calling time out. Jameson Vest pushed his 30-yard field-goal attempt wide right with 1:48 remaining.

Each of the first three Camellia Bowls have gone down to the final minutes, decided by a combined 10 points.

The teams traded a pair of touchdowns each during an 8-minute span of the third quarter, forging a deadlock heading into the fourth.

The Mountaineers converted two fourth-down plays to jump ahead the first time, including Lamb’s 13-yard run. They also got a 94-yard kick return down the right sideline by Darrynton Evans, who skipped away from the grasp of one final diving defender.

Toledo answered with Thompson’s 4-yard touchdown catch and a 1-yard plunge by Hunt. Woodside set up the second score with a 58-yard bomb to Thompson.

On the Mountaineers’ fake, holder Bentlee Critcher’s pass to Collin Reed fell incomplete.

Arkansas State 31, UCF 13: Justice Hansen threw three touchdown passes to Kendall Sanders to help the Red Wolves (8-5) beat the Knights (6-7) in the AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

Hansen and Sanders hooked up for touchdown strikes of 12, 75 and 17 yards, but the biggest plays of the night came from the Red Wolves’ special teams. They scored on a blocked punt and produced two turnovers that were turned into touchdowns.

Hansen completed 12 of 26 passes for 205 yards.

The Red Wolves sealed the victory when they went up 31-13 on Sanders’ 17-yard scoring reception early in the fourth quarter. That touchdown was set up after UCF returner Chris Johnson mishandled a punt and it was recovered by Logan Moragne at the Knights 37.

Southern Mississippi 28, Louisiana-Lafayette 21: Allenzae Staggers set New Orleans Bowl records with 11 catches for 230 yards and also scored a touchdown to help the Golden Eagles (7-6) beat the Rajin’ Cajuns (6-7).

Nick Mullens, the Southern Miss all-time leader in yards passing and passing touchdowns, finished his distinguished career by throwing for 346 yards and two TDs.

One of Mullens’ TD tosses was a 6-yarder to running back Ito Smith, who also rushed for 138 yards and two scores.

However, Mullens’ turnovers helped the Ragin’ Cajuns keep the game competitive despite the Golden Eagles outgaining ULL 481 yards to 252.