Friday's NCAA Bowl Capsules

(14) BOSTON COLLEGE 24, MICHIGAN ST 21 ----------------------------
Champs Sports Bowl
ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- Matt Ryan finished up his collegiate career in fine fashion. Ryan completed 22-of-47 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns as No. 14 Boston College held off Michigan State, 24-21, in the Champs Sports Bowl on Friday. Rich Gunnell caught six passes for 138 yards and two scores and the defense forced five turnovers for the Eagles (11-3), who have won eight straight bowl games - the longest streak in the nation. Ryan, who was a mid-season favorite for the Heisman Trophy after leading Boston College to an 8-0 start and a No 2 ranking, struggled early in this game before getting in rhythm. The fifth-year senior, who was the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, started 1-of-5 and watched as the Spartans took a 7-0 lead just 97 seconds into the game on a 18-yard touchdown pass from Brian Hoyer to Kellen Davis. The three-play drive was helped by a 79-yard kickoff return by Devin Thomas to open the contest. However, Ryan, on a rollout, hit tight end Jon Loyte with a one-yard TD toss with 36 seconds left in the first period to knot the game at 7-7. Ryan then threw a 29-yard strike to Gunnell midway through the second period to help give the Eagles to a 14-10 halftime lead. After the teams traded a pair of field goals in the third quarter, the Boston College signal caller made his biggest connection of the game in the final period. With the ball on the BC 32, Ryan threw a deep pass to Gunnell, who hauled in the spiral at the Michigan State 30 before racing the rest of the way for the score that provided Boston College a 24-13 lead with 9:21 remaining. The scoring play helped Ryan increase his school single-season record for touchdown passes to 31. Hoyer, who was 13-of-35 for 128 yards, two TD passes and four interceptions, hit Deon Curry from 14 yards out and the Spartans' cut their deficit to 24-21 after a two-point conversion with 6:04 remaining. Hoyer was picked off at his own 31-yard line by safety Paul Anderson with 2:29 left. Michigan State (7-6) outgained Boston College, 303-276, and had a time of possesion advantage of 32:13 to 27:47 but was done in by the turnovers, including two interceptions by senior safety Jamie Silva.

OREGON ST 21, MARYLAND 14 -------------------------
Emerald Bowl
SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) - Yvenson Bernard rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown to lead Oregon State to a 21-14 victory over Maryland in the Emerald Nut Bowl. The senior co-captain, who rushed for 1,037 yards and 12 touchdowns while finishing third in rushing in the Pac-10, missed the regular-season finale against rival Oregon after knee surgery but was stellar in his final college game. Bernard looked tentative early but recaptured his old form en route to setting an Emerald Bowl record for rushing, surpassing the previous mark of 144 yards set by UCLA's Chris Marke last season. The victory marked their fourth straight bowl victory for Oregon State (9-4), which won seven of its last eight games. Maryland (6-7), which dropped four of its last six contests but managed to defeat North Carolina State in the season finale, had their streak of three consecutive postseason wins snapped. With the Beavers trailing, 14-7, late in the first half, Bernard capped off a seven-play, 44-yard drive with a 2-yard plunge into the end zone to even the score at 14-14 with 16 seconds left in the half. The Beavers went ahead for good when Bernard fumbled on the Terrapins' 1-yard line and wide receiver James Rodgers alertly carried the miscue into the end zone for the go-ahead score with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.

TCU 20, HOUSTON 13 ------------------
Texas Bowl
HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Junior tailback Justin Watts scored a fourth-quarter, go-ahead touchdown and TCU's 17th-ranked run defense shut down Houston en route to a 20-13 victory in the Texas Bowl. The Horned Frogs almost surrendered a 10-point lead with just over three minutes to play, but senior defensive end Chase Ortiz capped off a stellar night by leveling Cougars' quarterback Case Keenum with one second to play. It was the third straight bowl win for TCU, while the Cougars lost their eighth consecutive bowl game, dating back to the 1981 Sun Bowl. Trailing, 20-10, with 3:17 left in the game, Houston kicker T.J. Lawrence made it a one-possession game with a 32-yard field goal. But when an onside kick failed and the Horned Frogs downed a punt at the two-yard line with 1:30 remaining, it appeared as if the Cougars had the game in hand. But instead of staying with the four-man rush that had been so effective throughout the game, TCU used a prevent defense on the final drive, allowing Houston to get all the way down to the Horned Frogs' 19-yard-line with time left on the clock. The Cougars took three shots at the end zone, with two passes falling short, before Ortiz ended the game. TCU took the lead for the first time when Watts scored on a 7-yard run with 14:28 left in the game. The touchdown culminated a 13-play, 80-yard drive.