Spuds up for Ohio in Boise

FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL

Tyler Tettleton's late heroics helped Ohio erase decades of misery in the postseason.

The sophomore calmly led a 61-yard drive in the final 2:02 and scored on a 1-yard keeper with 13 seconds left to give Ohio (10-4) its first bowl victory, 24-23 over Utah State on Saturday in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl at Boise.

Ohio had been winless in five bowl appearances, including setbacks the last two seasons.

But Tettleton changed all that, going 3 of 4 passing in the final drive, including a 14-yard completion to LaVon Brazill on fourth down to give Ohio a first down inside the 1 with 37 seconds left.

After getting stuffed on his first attempt to punch the ball in, Tettleton rolled right on the next play and outran two defenders to cap the comeback and set a new course for Ohio's postseason future.

"There's been a lot of great wins here, and I appreciate every one," Ohio coach Frank Solich said. "This one obviously is kind of an answer to what these guys wanted to get done at the beginning of the year, and what we all wanted in terms of winning a bowl game. To accomplish that and get the first win in the history of Ohio football was meaningful to me, these players and this staff."

The victory also gave Ohio its first 10-win season since 1968 and helped blunt the bitterness of letting Northern Illinois rally from a 20-point deficit in the Mid-American Conference title game two weeks ago.

Tettleton, the son of former major league catcher Mickey Tettleton, was effective throughout the game and kept the Bobcats close enough with his legs and arm.

Tettleton was 19 of 26 passing for 220 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 16 times for 31 yards. He was only sacked twice and spread his completions around to seven receivers and the Bobcats had 345 total yards on offense.

For Utah State, the loss was a heartbreaker.

The Aggies dominated the first half and extended their lead to 23-10 in the third quarter behind a bruising rushing attack that kept Tettleton off the field and rolled up 345 yards. The Aggies came into the game with the nation's sixth-best rushing attack, averaging 277 yards per game.

Michael Smith rushed for a career-best 157 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, including a 63-yard scoring run early in the third quarter that put Utah State up 16-10. Smith scored later in the third on an 11-yard run up the middle, giving the Aggies (7-6) a 13-point lead.

Robert Turbin added for 101 yards on 20 carries, and Kerwynn Williams had 69 yards on nine carries.

But Utah State, which finished second in the Western Athletic Conference and was making its first bowl appearance since 1997, failed to close the deal and paid a price for missing two scoring chances early in the game.

NEW MEXICO BOWL

Temple 37, Wyoming 15: At Albuquerque, N.M., Bernard Pierce ran for two early touchdowns and Chris Coyer threw for 169 yards and a touchdown to help Temple beat Wyoming (8-5) in the New Mexico Bowl.

The Owls (9-4) had three interceptions - tying a New Mexico Bowl record - en route to the second bowl victory in school history.

The New Mexico Bowl was Temple's second bowl game in three years, but that 2009 game - a 30-21 loss to UCLA in the EagleBank Bowl in Washington - was the Owls' first bowl in 30 years. The Mid-American Conference East runner-up did not get a bowl invite last year despite going 8-4.

NEW ORLEANS BOWL

Louisiana-Lafayette 32, San Diego State 30: At New Orleans, Brett Baer kicked a 50-yard field goal as time ran out, lifting Louisiana-Lafayette (9-4) to victory over San Diego State (8-5) in the New Orleans Bowl.

Playing in their first bowl game as a Division I FBS team, the Ragin Cajuns led most of the way but fell behind, 30-29, when Aztecs quarterback Ryan Lindley connected with Colin Lockett on a 12-yard touchdown strike with 35 seconds to go.

Louisiana-Lafayette was able to drive to the Aztecs 38 to set up what was initially a 55-yard attempt, but a pre-snap penalty moved the winning kick 5 yards closer.