College football bowl roundup: Kylil Carter powers North Carolina A&T past Alcorn State

Kylil Carter passed for six touchdowns and North Carolina A&T racked up enormous offensive totals to beat Alcorn State 64-44 in the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta on Saturday for the Aggies’ third consecutive HBCU national championship title.

Carter completed 18 of 30 passes for 364 yards, and added 96 on the ground. Korey Banks and Elijah Bell each caught a pair of scoring passes for NCA&T, which has beaten Alcorn State in three of the five Celebration Bowls – including two straight.

Alcorn State quarterback Felix Harper passed for 341 yards and three scores, but the Braves trailed 24-10 at halftime and NCA&T steadily stacked points from there.

San Diego State 48, Central Michigan 11: Ryan Agnew passed for 287 yards and three touchdowns, Jesse Matthews caught three passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns and the Aztecs (10-3) won a bowl game for the first time since 2016, beating the Chippewas (8-6) in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Jordan Byrd ran for a career-high 139 yards and a touchdown to help the Aztecs cap their 10th straight bowl appearance with a victory.

San Diego State prevented Central Michigan from sustaining consistent, with quarterback Quinten Dormady under pressure and forced to throw into tight coverage. He passed for 164 and threw three interception.

Liberty 23, Georgia Southern 16: Frankie Hickson picked up 120 yards rushing on 22 carries, Stephen Calvert went 16-of-35 passing for 270 yards and two touchdowns, and the Flames (8-5) beat the Eagles (7-6) in the Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

Flames coach Hugh Freeze got his 50th career win.

Liberty joined Georgia Southern and Appalachian State as the only teams to move from FCS to FBS and win a bowl game in its first season of eligibility.

Florida Atlantic 52, SMU 28: Chris Robison passed for 305 yards and two touchdowns and the Owls (11-3) scored two touchdowns in a 24-second span late in the first half to take control on the way to beating the Mustangs (10-3) in the Boca Raton Bowl in Boca Raton, Florida.

James Charles ran for two touchdowns for FAU, which tied a school record for wins in a season and improved to 4-0 in bowl games. The first of Charles’ scores came with a minute left in the first half to break a 14-all tie, Robison found Brandon Robinson for another touchdown 24 seconds later after an SMU interception and the Owls were off and running.

Arkansas State 34, Florida International 26: Layne Hatcher passed for 393 yards and four touchdowns, including a late 13-yarder to Jonathan Adams, and the Red Wolves (8-5) held to beat the Panthers (6-7) in the Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Red Wolves came back to life offensively for a final big drive, highlighted by All-American and game MVP Omar Bayless’s 52-yard catch down to the 12. Then they had two interceptions in the final minutes.

Appalachian State 31, UAB 17: The Mountaineers (13-1) scooped up two fumbles, including one of their own, and scored touchdowns in the third quarter as part of a remarkable comeback victory over the Blazers (9-5) in the New Orleans Bowl.

UAB led 14-10 at halftime, but the lead quickly unraveled. Darrynton Evans picked up a fumble dropped by quarterback Zac Thomas and raced 31 yards for a touchdown to give the Mountaineers a 17-14 lead.

Appalachian State’s Trey Cobb broke a 17-all tie when he picked up a Tyler Johnston III’s fumble and returned it 24 yards for a 24-17 lead. Thomas and receiver Thomas Hennigan provided the final margin with a 27-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.