Cougs Win Snowy Sun Bowl

We couldn’t get it going. “We’ve had to adapt and overcome”, D’Onofrio said.

Miami would get the ball back after forcing a three-and-out in great field position when Braxton Berrios returned a punt to Washington State’s 28-yard line. A promising drive ended in a turnover, however, when redshirt sophomore linebacker Peyton Pelluer came away with the interception after Scott couldn’t hang on to the ball in the end zone.

Kaaya was 17 of 30 for 219 yards with one interception.

Play of the game: This would be the second turnover of the fourth quarter for Miami. “One, two or three plays could’ve made a huge difference”.

Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at State of the U for Miami fans and CougCener for Washington State fans.

Remarkably, Washington State is only 1-3 SU in games where it comes out ahead in the turnover battle, yet undefeated (6-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.

Washington State had the blustery wind at its back in the second quarter and capitalized. Washington State took a 20-7 lead into halftime with a 25-yard field goal by Powell. “A stepping stone. This is a program on the rise”.

Might as well throw it with the running back. Kaaya completed passes on third-and-five, fourth-and-three and then finally fourth-and-goal from the four-yard line on the team’s first possession. During that time, opponents have gained an average of only 185.6 passing yards against this scary bunch. They secured a berth in one of the ACC’s Tier One bowl games, one that brought them here to the Texas desert. The Cougars have an unrelenting offense and flashed their potential in a close loss to Stanford and a win over UCLA. The 69-year-old Beamer announced in November he would retire following the season. The one concern for this bowl game is that Leach and Faulk are dealing with injuries to the receiving corps, with the biggest concern being the health of top receiver Gabe Marks (ankle).

This trip to Shreveport was filled with plenty of offense, but had more drama.

The 107 points were the most in Independence Bowl history. He rushed for 939 yards and six touchdowns. D’Angelo Brewer ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns. The Thundering Herd won the Boca Raton Bowl in 2014 and Military Bowl two years ago.

Hurricanes show a record of 8-4, and have posted a corresponding record of 7-5 against the spread.

Oakes then missed a 55-yard potential winning attempt at the end of regulation. Kaaya has thrown for 3,019 yards this season and 15 touchdowns, and Yearby has racked up 1,212 total yards and eight touchdowns.

Washington State (9-4) bounced back from last season’s 3-9 record to reach a bowl game for the second time in four seasons under Leach. Only Bowling Green drew more penalties than the Hurricanes’ 112, a point that was driven home with the block in the back call on a score that could have given Miami the win. “But the Sun Bowl is awesome and it’s a bowl I’ve always wanted to go to”. The Herd has a talented quarterback in Chase Litton, but the fact that he’s a redshirt freshman could play right into the hands of Bob Diaco’s aggressive, stingy defense.