Advertisement

Rashaad Penny starts San Diego State on its way to a 42-7 Hawaii Bowl win

San Diego State running back Dakota Gordon (46) dives into the end zone for a touchdown while getting hit by Cincinnati safety Zach Edwards (4) in the second quarter of the Hawaii Bowl.

San Diego State running back Dakota Gordon (46) dives into the end zone for a touchdown while getting hit by Cincinnati safety Zach Edwards (4) in the second quarter of the Hawaii Bowl.

(Eugene Tanner / Associated Press)
Share

Rashaad Penny returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and San Diego State routed Cincinnati, 42-7, in the Hawaii Bowl on Thursday in Honolulu.

The Aztecs (11-3) won their final 10 games to match the longest winning streak in school history.

Penny had his third kickoff return for a score this season — and second 100-yarder — before a sparse crowd of 14,537 at Aloha Stadium.

Advertisement

San Diego State rushed for 207 yards, topping the 200-yard mark for the 10th consecutive game, and finished with 336 yards of total offense.

Donnell Pumphrey, the Mountain West offensive player of the year, had 99 yards on 25 carries. He threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Dakota Gordon and had a one-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter. Gordon also had a one-yard run and finished with four catches for 58 yards.

Cincinnati finished 7-5.

Redshirt freshman Christian Chapman made his second straight start with starter Maxwell Smith out with a knee injury. Chapman threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Mikah Holder to cap an 85-yard, nine-play drive on San Diego State’s first offensive possession.

Chapman was eight of 11 for 113 yards and did not have an interception.

Pumphrey capped an 11-play, 85-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock early in the fourth quarter to make it 35-0. Defensive lineman Alex Barrett had the third interception of Cincinnati quarterback Hayden Moore minutes later and returned it 43 yards for a score with 9:04 to play.

Moore, a redshirt freshman, made his third career start in place of junior Gunner Kiel, who did not make the trip because of undisclosed personal reasons. Moore was 19 of 30 for 202 yards.

The Bearcats finally got on the board on Mike Boone’s one-yard run with 3:21 remaining.

Western Michigan wins Bahamas Bowl

Jamauri Bogan rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns, powering Western Michigan past Middle Tennessee, 45-31, in the Bahamas Bowl in Nassau for its first bowl victory.

Western Michigan (8-5) had lost its previous six bowl games. The Broncos ended a four-game winning streak for Middle Tennessee (7-6).

Advertisement

Bogan broke a tie with a one-yard touchdown run with 6:12 left, setting up the score with a 61-yard burst. He added another one-yard score with five minutes remaining after Rontavious Atkins’ 29-yard interception return to the Middle Tennessee four-yard line. Bogan also had a 62-yard touchdown and a 46-yard score. He averaged 11.3 yards per carry.

Western Michigan’s Corey Davis finished with eight catches for 183 yards and a touchdown. Daniel Braverman had five receptions for 101 yards and a score.

Richie James had two touchdown catches and one touchdown run for Middle Tennessee. Brent Stockstill threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns to go with his interception.

Murray heading to Oklahoma

Oklahoma announced that former Texas A&M quarterback Kyler Murray signed a financial aid agreement to join the Sooners.

The school said Murray would join the team during the 2016 spring semester. He will have to sit out next season because of transfer rules.

Murray played eight games as a freshman at Texas A&M this season, with three starts. He totaled 1,021 yards of total offense and completed 60% of his passes with five touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Advertisement