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Kelvin Hopkins Jr. has five touchdowns, No. 22 Army routs Houston 70-14

Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. prepares to hand off the ball against Houston during the first half of the Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. (Jim Cowsert / AP)
Associated Press
Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. prepares to hand off the ball against Houston during the first half of the Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. (Jim Cowsert / AP)

FORT WORTH, Texas – Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. ran for 170 yards and an Armed Forces Bowl-record five touchdowns and the No. 22 Black Knights overwhelmed Houston 70-14 on Saturday to reach 11 wins for the first time in program history.

The Black Knights (11-2) won their ninth consecutive game since an overtime loss at playoff team Oklahoma exactly three months earlier.

Hopkins had a nifty 77-yard TD run on the last play of the first quarter for a 14-0 lead. The junior quarterback initially ran right before cutting back the other way and alluding one tackler. He sent two other defenders sliding to the ground when he switched directions again back toward the middle of the field.

Houston (8-5) lost for the fourth time in five games since starting 7-1 and getting into the AP Top 25 poll for one week in late October. The Cougars suffered their most-lopsided loss in their 27 bowl games, and their biggest loss overall since a 66-10 loss at UCLA during the 1997 regular season.

Along with his 11 rushing attempts before coming out of the game midway through the third quarter when it was 49-7, Hopkins completed the first 1,000-yard passing season for Army since 2007. He was 3-of-3 passing for 70 yards, including a 54-yarder that set up one of his three 1-yard TD plunges. He also had a 2-yard TD run.

On the first play of the second quarter, Cameron Jones had a 23-yard fumble return for an Army touchdown after James Nachtigal forced the turnover when he sacked Clayton Tune.

Army got 507 of its 592 total yards on the ground in its highest-scoring game this season – and the most points in the program’s nine bowl appearances. The Black Knights won a bowl for the third consecutive year, including last year’s Armed Force Bowl over San Diego State.

Tune, the true freshman filling in for injured playmaker D’Eriq King, was 21-of-32 passing for 230 yards and was sacked 10 times. He was responsible for both Houston TDs, a 3-yard pass to Romello Brooker in the second quarter and a 6-yard run with 6 1/2 minutes left.