Appalachian State rolls past Middle Tenn. in New Orleans Bowl

NEW ORLEANS — Appalachian State receiver Malik Williams passed for two touchdowns on trick plays, quarterback Zac Thomas caught a scoring pass and threw for three more, and the Mountaineers routed Middle Tennessee 45-13 in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday.

Camerun Peoples had a 63-yard touchdown run for the Mountaineers (11-2), which gave Appalachian State alum and former player Mark Ivey a victory in what might have been his only chance to coach his alma mater. Ivey took over on an interim basis after Scott Satterfield left for Louisville.

Middle Tennessee finished 8-6.

CELEBRATION BOWL

NORTH CAROLINA A&T 24, ALCORN STATE 22

ATLANTA — Lamar Raynard passed for 292 yards and two touchdowns and Malik Wilson returned a kickoff for the game-sealing touchdown for North Carolina A&T in the Celebration Bowl.

The Mid-Eastern Athletic conference champion Aggies (10-2) won ther second straight HBCU national championship and third in four years. Alcorn State finished 9-4.

LAS VEGAS BOWL

NO. 19 FRESNO STATE 31, ARIZONA STATE 20

LAS VEGAS — Ronnie Rivers rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns, Anthoula "Tank" Kelly had a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown and No. 19 Fresno State beat Arizona State.

Marcus McMaryion rushed for a touchdown and was 15-of-29 passing for 176 yards to help the Bulldogs (12-2) set a school record for wins in a season. He also threw two interceptions.

Eno Benjamin rushed for 118 yards a one touchdown for the Sun Devils (7-6) in their third straight bowl loss. Manny Wilkins threw for 129 yards, with a 3-yard scoring pass to Kyle Williams and two interceptions.

Rivers put Fresno State back in front 24-20 with a 68-yard touchdown run up the middle in the third quarter and had a 5-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter to seal Fresno State's second win over a Pac-12 opponent this season.

Wilkins sustained an apparent knee injury on the final pass of his college career, which was intercepted by Juju Hughes.

NEW MEXICO BOWL

UTAH STATE 52, NORTH TEXAS 13

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Jordan Love threw for 359 yards and four touchdowns and Jalen Greene had six catches for 151 yards and a score to help Utah State rout North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl.

Interim coach Frank Maile directed the Aggies (11-2) after Matt Wells left to take the Texas Tech job.

Love completed 21 of 43 passes with one interception. D.J. William had two interceptions, helping Utah State ground high-flying North Texas (9-4).

Aaren Vaughns caught two passes for 109 yards and two scores for the Aggies, Gerold Bright ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, and Darwin Thompson added 93 yards on 21 carries.

North Texas quarterback Mason Fine was injured in the first quarter, and the Mean Green ended up using four quarterbacks. Jalen Guyton had four catches for 103 yards a score.

CURE BOWL

TULANE 41, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 24

ORLANDO, Fla. — Darius Bradwell rushed for a career-best 150 yards and two touchdowns to lead Tulane to its first postseason victory in 16 years, a 41-24 win over intrastate rival Louisiana-Lafayette in the Cure Bowl.

Justin McMillan improved to 5-1 as the Green Wave's starting quarterback, tossing a first-quarter TD pass to Terren Encalade and running for a late score while accounting for 217 yards total offense — 145 passing and 72 rushing.

Bradwell scored on runs of 15 and 4 yards while setting bowl records for rushing attempts (35) and yards for Tulane (7-6), which won a bowl game for the first time since the 2002 Hawaii Bowl.

The Green Wave also got a rushing TD from Amare Jones and outgained the Ragin' Cajuns 337 yards to 84 on the ground.

Lousiana-Lafayette (7-7) rallied from a 24-7 deficit to pull within three points on Jarrod Jackson's 15-yard TD reception with just over 10 minutes remaining.

McMillan put the game away, leading a 75-yard drive Bradwell finished with his second TD and later scoring himself on a 16-yard run that put Tulane up 41-24.