Saturday bowl tracker: Coastal Carolina hangs on to beat San Jose State in Hawaii Bowl

Coastal Carolina jumped out to a 17-0 lead and then held on for a 24-14 win over San Jose State in the Hawaii Bowl.

The Spartans scored 14 straight points in the fourth quarter to cut Coastal’s lead to three with 8:30 to go. But the Chanticleers responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that took 5:47 off the clock. Sam Pinckney made an incredible one-handed grab on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Vasko with 2:43 to go to push the lead back to 10 and end SJSU’s hopes of a comeback.

The throw to Pinckney was Vaskos' third TD throw of the night. He was 20-of-33 passing for 199 yards and also rushed 17 times for 50 yards. Pinckney had eight catches for 123 yards.

Coastal finishes the 2023 season at 8-5 while San Jose State ends it at 7-6. The loss also snapped a six-game win streak for the Spartans. SJSU started the season 1-5 and failed to beat an FBS team over the first half of the season. The Spartans then won six conference games and beat Fresno State and UNLV. However, a loss to Boise State — the game that dropped SJSU to 1-5 — ultimately cost them a shot at the Mountain West title.

Northwestern takes down Utah in Las Vegas Bowl

Northwestern got a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter to secure a 14-7 win over Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Ben Bryant hit Bryce Kirtz on a 19-yard TD with 6:19 to go shortly after returning to the game. Bryant had to be replaced by backup Ryan Hilinski after he was injured while getting tackled earlier in the quarter. Bryant was slammed hard to the turf, but was cleared by Northwestern’s training staff to return to the game.

The TD pass was Bryant’s second of the night and he secured the win with less than two minutes to go with a key run for a first down. Bryant left the game again after that play and appeared to be favoring his right shoulder.

Neither team cracked 300 yards of total offense as Utah (8-5) had just 211 total yards. Utah QB Bryson Barnes was just 8-of-13 passing for 55 yards and threw two interceptions.

The win caps a tumultuous season for Northwestern (8-5) that began with Pat Fitzgerald’s firing over the summer after allegations of hazing within the football program. Former North Dakota State assistant David Braun was installed as the team’s head coach and the Wildcats got three consecutive wins to end the regular season and make a bowl game.

South Alabama blows out Eastern Michigan

Eastern Michigan had a rough night on Saturday.

The Eagles were beaten 59-10 by South Alabama in the 68 Ventures Bowl as the Jaguars set a school record for most points scored in an FBS game. USA led 38-3 at halftime as EMU turned the ball over three times and had just 150 yards of offense.

South Alabama, meanwhile, rolled up over 600 yards as QB Gio Lopez was 14-of-19 for 192 yards and three scores and the team rushed for 299 yards on just 35 carries. Four different Jaguars — including Lopez — rushed for a touchdown. WR Jamaal Pritchett had eight catches for 127 yards and two scores.

QB Cam’Ron McCoy accounted for all but four of Eastern Michigan’s yards of offense. McCoy threw two interceptions and threw for 73 yards while also rushing 13 times for 73 yards. The Eagles rushed for 77 yards as a team.

The win means South Alabama finishes the season at 7-6 while Eastern Michigan ends 2023 at 6-7.

Georgia State beats Utah State in Potato Bowl

Georgia State scored 31 straight points to sprint away from Utah State in the Potato Bowl.

Utah State tied the game 14-14 with less than four minutes to go in the first quarter and GSU took over from there as the Panthers made it 38-14 midway through the third quarter and were up 45-14 at one point in the fourth on the way to a 45-22 win.

Panthers QB Darren Grainger had as many TD passes as incompletions. He was 19-of-22 passing for 257 yards and three TDs while also rushing 24 times for 111 yards and two scores. Georgia State rushed 48 times for 387 yards and averaged over eight yards a carry.

Utah State was 0-of-3 on fourth downs and allowed 643 total yards.

The Panthers finish the season at 7-6 and have won their last three bowl appearances. Georgia State is now 41-44 in Shawn Elliott’s tenure and has gone 32-29 since a 2-10 season in 2019. Elliott got a well-deserved fry bath after the game.

Air Force runs all over James Madison

Air Force gashed James Madison for 353 rushing yards in a 31-21 win over the Dukes in the Armed Forces Bowl.

RB Emmanuel Michel rushed 35 times for 303 yards and four scores as the Falcons averaged nearly six yards a carry. But it was the pass game that put the game out of reach in the second quarter as Zac Larrier found Jared Roznos for a 42-yard TD with less than a minute to go before half.

That TD gave Air Force (9-4) a 21-7 lead and the Falcons went back up two scores with 4:07 to go when Larrier ran for a TD. He threw just five passes all game as Air Force’s triple-option offense thrived.

JMU (11-2) was playing in its first bowl game ever as it concluded its inaugural season at the top level of college football. The Dukes didn’t have coach Curt Cignetti as he’s now the coach at Indiana, though QB Jordan McCloud played Saturday despite being in the transfer portal.

McCloud threw for three TDs and an interception in what could be his last game at James Madison. He has one year of eligibility remaining as a graduate transfer.

Northern Illinois wins Camellia Bowl

Northern Illinois hung on for a 21-19 win in the Camellia Bowl after an offsides penalty denied Arkansas State a chance to complete the comeback.

The Red Wolves recovered an onside kick with 1:14 to go but were ruled to be offsides as the ball was kicked. The call on the field was very close based on the replay angles shown by ESPN — but the play was not reviewable.

Arkansas State (6-7) cut the lead to two with a TD pass from Jaylen Raynor to Corey Rucker. But a pass that would have tied the game on a two-point conversion play sailed out of bounds.

The Huskies (7-6) led 21-13 at halftime after a fun TD in the second quarter. Kicker Kanon Woodill missed two field goals — he hit each upright — but caught a 32-yard TD pass to give NIU a 21-7 lead.

Arkansas State kicked two field goals before halftime but never had a chance to take the lead in the second half.

Duke beats Troy in Birmingham Bowl

Duke took down Troy 17-10 in a Birmingham Bowl contested by schools with interim coaches.

The Blue Devils jumped out to a 17-3 lead before Troy scored in the fourth quarter to give Duke a scare. But Troy didn’t get any closer than that after QB Gunnar Watson was picked off with 1:22 to go.

Duke (8-5) was coached by Trooper Taylor on Saturday as Mike Elko is now the coach at Texas A&M. The Blue Devils led 14-0 at halftime thanks to a TD run by Jaylen Coleman and two field goals.

Troy (11-3) entered the game without coach Jon Sumrall as he’s now Tulane’s new head coach. The Trojans were 0-of-3 on fourth downs and 3-of-12 on third downs.

The victory is the fifth consecutive bowl win for the Blue Devils. Duke hasn’t lost a bowl game since the 2014 Sun Bowl.