ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — North Carolina State took another step forward in its turnaround under Dave Doeren with a strong performance in the Bitcoin Bowl.
Jacoby Brissett threw for 262 yards and one touchdown and Matt Dayes scored on runs of 24 and 15 yards to help the Wolfpack beat Central Florida 34-27 on Friday night.
Brissett tossed a 37-yard TD pass to Johnathan Alston to put the Wolfpack (8-5) ahead for good in the second quarter. Running back Shadrach Thornton got NC State going early with an 18-yard scoring pass to Jaylen Samuels at Tropicana Field.
UCF (9-4) began the night ranked in the top 10 in fewest yards allowed per game, as well as pass efficiency, rushing and scoring defense. But American Athletic Conference co-champions had no answers for Brissett and a supporting cast that amassed 488 yards of total offense — over 200 more than opponents averaged against the Knights during the regular season.
People are also reading…
Brissett was 15 of 26 with no interceptions, completing passes to eight receivers. Thornton rushed for 96 yards on 17 carries and Dayes finished with 78 yards on 13 attempts to key a ground attack that produced 188 yards.
UCF’s Justin Holman threw for 291 yards, including TD passes of 6, 14 and 2 yards to Josh Reese, who had six receptions for 75 yards. Reese’s second touchdown cut it to 34-20 with 11 minutes remaining.
The Knights got the ball back three more times, but couldn’t get any closer until Holman threw his 2-yarder to Reese with 1:44 left. NC State’s Tyler Purvis recovered the ensuing onside kick, and the Wolfpack ran out the clock.
UCF is a year removed from arguably the biggest victory in school history, an upset of Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl that capped the Knights’ first 12-win season.
NC State is in its second season of rebuilding under Doeren, who took over after a highly successful stint at Northern Illinois. The Wolfpack went 0-8 in the ACC and 3-9 overall in 2013, and the four-game improvement in their regular-season record this year matched Mississippi State for the second-biggest in the five power conferences.
The Bitcoin Bowl was a homecoming of sorts for Brissett, who is from West Palm Beach and transferred to NC State from Florida. The 6-foot-4, 231-pound redshirt junior completed 10 of his first 12 passes for 197 yards, including his TD pass to Alston that put the Wolfpack up 14-10 early in the second quarter.
Rutgers 40, North Carolina 21: In Detroit, Josh Hicks ran for 202 yards and a touchdown and Rutgers won the inaugural Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field.
Gary Nova threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns, and Robert Martin ran for 100 yards and two scores to help the Scarlet Knights (8-5) cap their first Big Ten season. Hicks was selected the player of the game.
Owned and operated by the NFL’s Detroit Lions, the bowl replaced the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl, which had been played in Detroit under various names since 1997. The new bowl hoped to make a bigger impact with a Big Ten vs. ACC matchup, but drew an announced crowd of only 23,876.
Rutgers led 40-7 before the Tar Heels (6-7) scored twice in the final 7 minutes. North Carolina also had two second-half touchdown passes taken away because of interference penalties.
North Carolina beat Rutgers in three recent regular-season meetings, but Tar Heels QB Marquise Williams was never able to get going, although he threw for one TD and run for another.
Louisiana Tech 35, Illinois 18: In Dallas, Kenneth Dixon scored one of his two touchdowns on an 80-yard reception and Xavier Woods scored on a 69-yard interception return to help Louisiana Tech win the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
The Bulldogs (9-5) also got touchdown runs of 16 yards from Jarred Craft and 28 yards from Blake Martin on a dark, overcast day at the Cotton Bowl stadium.
Illinois (6-7) struggled early with penalties and missed field goals, but got within three points on David Reisner’s 43-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. But Dixon scored his second TD from one yard out with six minutes left to make it 28-18 and hold off Illinois.
Louisiana Tech’s Houston Bates was chosen the game’s most valuable player, recording 4½ sacks against his former school.
