Bowl games: N.C. State takes to air to beat Vanderbilt
North Carolina State quarterback Ryan Finley has a simple philosophy when it comes to getting do-everything threat Jaylen Samuels involved with the offense.
“Just give him the ball in as many ways as possible,” Finley said.
The method of choice on Monday was by air, and Finley found Samuels for three touchdowns passes in North Carolina State’s 41-17 win over Vanderbilt in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana.
North Carolina State (7-6) won three of its final four games to finish with a winning record. The Wolfpack built a 28-3 lead by midway through the third quarter – largely thanks to Samuels’ touchdown catches of 9, 55 and 17 yards – and then held off a brief Vanderbilt rally.
Samuels was named the game’s Most Valuable Player on offense and his three touchdown catches were an Independence Bowl record. Finley, who completed 19 of 30 passes for 235 yards, hit Samuels six times for 104 yards.
North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren said Samuels’ big night wasn’t necessarily planned, but when Vanderbilt loaded the defense to stop the run, he was the man who was open. The 5-foot-11, 223-pound junior often has had an unorthodox role on the offense and is listed as a tight end and fullback.
“We were just taking what they were giving us,” Doeren said. “And then our receivers did a great job of blocking for him.”
Vanderbilt (6-7) had a lot of momentum going into the game thanks to surprising wins over Mississippi and Tennessee to end the regular season. But the Commodores’ offense – which scored a combined 83 points against the Rebels and Volunteers – struggled for most of the night.
“We looked a little rusty,” coach Derek Mason said. “All the way around – special teams, offense and defense. We just didn’t look like the Vanderbilt team that came out of the regular season.”
Vanderbilt’s Kyle Shurmur completed just 19 of 46 passes for 158 yards and three interceptions.
“There’s a fine line between being aggressive and careless,” Shurmur said. “And I crossed it a few times.”
Even so, the Commodores briefly made things interesting, closing to 28-17 early in the fourth quarter. But that’s when NC State’s Nyheim Hines responded with a 100-yard touchdown on a kickoff return to put the game out of reach.
Quick Lane Bowl
Patrick Towles threw two touchdown passes and caught a pass for a score in the first half, helping Boston College build a big lead in a 36-30 win over Maryland in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.
The Eagles (7-6) led by 16 at halftime, 23 points early in the third quarter and had to force Maryland to turn the ball over on downs late in the game to seal the victory.
The Terrapins (6-7) had the ball at their 35 with 1:48 left, but didn’t gain a yard before Harold Landry helped to finish them off with a possession-ending sack.
Boston College was ahead 29-13 at halftime after Towles threw a 49-yard TD pass to Michael Walker. On a reverse and pass from receiver Jeff Smith, the quarterback scored on a 20-yard TD catch in the second quarter.
The Terrapins made some big plays on offense, but four turnovers, sacks and poor field position proved to be costly. In the first half, Perry Hills threw an interception, lost a fumble and was sacked four times. On the Terrapins’ first snap of the second half, Hills handed off to Ty Johnson and the running back’s fumble was recovered in the end zone by Boston College.
With 4:02 left, the Terrapins got to the Boston College 1 with a chance to cut into their nine-point deficit and Hills lost a fumble after bobbling a snap. They got the ball back less than a minute later when Boston College’s Jon Hilliman fumbled at his 6, and were forced to settle for a field goal.
St. Petersburg Bowl
Nick Fitzgerald rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns and Mississippi State held off Miami (Ohio) 17-16 with help from a blocked field goal in the closing seconds of the St. Petersburg (Florida) Bowl.
Nelson Adams got a hand on Nick Dowd’s potential game-winning 37-yard field goal that would have helped Miami finish a stunning turnaround from a 0-6 start to the season to a winning record.
Instead, both the Bulldogs (6-7) and RedHawks (6-7) finished with losing marks.
Fitzgerald, who led the Southeastern Conference in total offense, scored on runs of 2 and 44 yards on the way to his eighth 100-yard rushing performance of the season. The redshirt sophomore also completed 13 of 26 passes for 126 yards.