Fenway Bowl: Boston College 23, No. 24 SMU 14

Thomas Castellanos rushed for two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Eagles rallied past the Mustangs in Boston.

Castellanos ran for 156 yards on 21 carries and logged 96 of his 102 passing yards in the second half to lead Boston College (7-6), which lost its last three regular-season games.

SMU (11-3), which had a nine-game winning streak snapped, was shut out 13-0 in the second half and gained just three first downs in the fourth quarter.

Pop-Tarts Bowl: No. 25 Kansas State 28, No. 18 NC State 19

Avery Johnson found Jayce Brown for an 11-yard touchdown to cap the clinching drive in the fourth quarter as No. 25 Kansas State defeated No. 18 North Carolina State 28-19 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Thursday in Orlando.

The Wildcats took the ball with 10:12 left in the fourth quarter and kept it for 7:24 on the decisive march, which lasted 15 plays and covered 72 yards.

Kansas State (9-4) had only one quarterback on the roster Thursday, limiting the Wildcats’ use of Johnson in the running game. He still finished with 71 yards on seven carries to go with 14-of-31 passing for 178 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

North Carolina State (9-4) was seeking its second 10-win season in program history (2002). Brennan Armstrong was 14 of 28 for 164 yards and one interception. He led the Wolfpack with 121 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground but ran for only 7 yards in the second half.

Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers 31, Miami 24

Kyle Monangai rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown, Gavin Wimsatt added two short scoring runs and the Scarlet Knights rallied in the second half to top the Hurricanes in New York.

Wimsatt completed 7 of 15 passes for 84 yards for Rutgers (7-6), which beat Miami for the first time in 12 meetings. It marked Rutgers’ first bowl victory since 2014.

Jacurri Brown was 20 of 31 for 181 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his first start for the Hurricanes (7-6). He also ran for two touchdowns.

–Field Level Media

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – No. 24 SMU aims for its 10th consecutive win when it treks north to meet future Atlantic Coast Conference foe Boston College in the second-ever Fenway Bowl on Thursday at Boston’s beloved Fenway Park.

The Mustangs are 11-2, beating Tulane 26-14 to win the American Athletic Conference championship — their first crown since 1984 in the Southwest Conference — following an 8-0 record in league play.

SMU has outscored opponents by more than 23 points per game and has logged 466.2 yards of offense per game. The Mustangs’ only two losses came at then-No. 18 Oklahoma and TCU, which played for the national championship last January.

Despite the success, SMU was not selected for a New Year’s Six game.

“The bottom line is we’re still celebrating (a conference championship) and we’re not going to let things that maybe we don’t agree with overshadow that,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said of the bowl announcement.

After star sophomore quarterback Preston Stone broke his leg in the regular-season finale against Navy, SMU turned to Kevin Jennings for his first career start in the AAC title game. The redshirt freshman threw for 203 yards and a touchdown.

The Mustangs’ balanced offense has accounted for 32 passing and 28 rushing touchdowns. SMU has eight 300-yard receivers, led by RJ Maryland’s 518 with seven touchdowns. Jaylan Knighton has 720 rushing yards and seven scores.

SMU ranks second nationally in sacks with 47, behind Elijah Roberts’ 10. The Mustangs are sixth in scoring offense at 40.6 points per game.

Lashlee, who was UConn’s offensive coordinator for a 2017 game against Boston College at Fenway Park, knows the significance of finishing the season on a high note.

“We haven’t won a bowl game here (since 2012), we need to try to accomplish that,” Lashlee said. “Getting (win) No. 12 to tie the school record would be big time. Whether or not we win or lose, that game’s not going to really validate or diminish this team’s accomplishment, I think it’s pretty cemented.”

The Eagles (6-6) look to the bowl invitation as a fresh start after losing to Virginia Tech, Pitt and Miami consecutively to end the regular season, following a five-game win streak that was their longest since 2010.

Thomas Castellanos ranks third in the country for rushing yards by a quarterback with 957. The UCF transfer threw for 15 touchdowns – including seven to Lewis Bond – and ran for 11 during the regular year.

Coach Jeff Hafley feels that Castellanos is throwing the ball as well as he has as an Eagle.

“He’s got a chance to be special,” Hafley said. “I think we’re only seeing the very surface of it.”

The bowl will offer a glimpse of Boston College’s future. Team-leading linebacker and captain Vinny DePalma (87 total tackles) is one of only three graduate students listed as a definite starter on the depth chart.

“That’s rare around college football right now,” Hafley said. “The guys that are gonna play in this game, maybe less than five are leaving. I think it’s really important to keep building.”

The Eagles have been bowl eligible four times since 2018, but only the 2020 Birmingham Bowl was actually played due to weather or COVID-19 protocols during that stretch.

Louisville beat Cincinnati 24-7 in the inaugural Fenway Bowl in 2022.

–Field Level Media

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BOSTON – The (Wasabi) Fenway Bowl, which was scheduled to feature Virginia and SMU, was cancelled and the Boston College Eagles will have “no contest” declared for the second time since 2018 as the 2021 Military Bowl was scrapped for the second year in a row because of concerns of COVID-19. It is the second straight year the Fenway Bowl game, which has never been played, has been canceled because of the virus.

Boston College was forced to decline participation of its matchup against East Carolina, scheduled for Monday, due to a combination of COVID-19 cases and injuries while the Fenway Bowl, featuring SMU and Virginia, was canceled Sunday after positive COVID-19 test results on its roster. The game was set to be the final one for coach Bronco Mendenhall at Virginia after he resigned from the program earlier this month. SMU had already traveled to Boston for the game.

The bowls are the second and third outright cancellations of the 2021-22 College Football bowl season, joining Hawaii pulling out of the Hawaii Bowl against Memphis on Christmas Eve. Additionally, Texas A&M was forced to pull out of the Gator Bowl due to COVID issues, but Rutgers stepped up to take the Aggies’ place as a 5-7 squad. Last season, 18 bowls were canceled by the pandemic.

The matchup is the second straight bowl game canceled for SMU, though the Mustangs would have been without a bulk of the coaching staff after former coach Sonny Dykes left for TCU. The Virginia Cavaliers were in pursuit of their third winning season in the last four years under Mendenhall before new coach Tony Elliott takes over the program.

For East Carolina, the cancellation is especially disappointing. The Pirates have not played in a bowl game since 2014 but earned a 7-5 record in Coach Mike Houston’s third season. Boston College has not won a bowl game since 2016.

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The SMU Mustangs and University of Virginia Cavaliers will play each other in the inaugural Wasabi Fenway Bowl at Fenway Park on Wednesday, December 29 at 11 a.m. ET, announced by ESPN this afternoon. The inaugural Wasabi Fenway Bowl, jointly produced by Fenway Sports Management and ESPN Events, will be nationally televised on ESPN. It will mark the first college football bowl game to be played at the historic home of the Boston Red Sox, and the first Division 1 bowl game to be held in New England.

“The Wasabi Fenway Bowl will be a new landmark sporting tradition New England can be proud of, and we could not be more excited to have these two outstanding teams participating in the inaugural game at historic Fenway Park on December 29,” said Michael Welts, CMO of Wasabi Technologies.

“Beyond the field, we are also honored to further the game’s philanthropic mission through the Honor Roll program, which recognizes the incredible efforts of educators to help students reach their full potential in and out of the classroom, while supporting access to quality education in our region. Not only will the Wasabi Fenway Bowl ignite a new passion for college sports in New England, it’s a tremendous opportunity to give back to our local community,” he said.

SMU will be playing its 19th bowl game in program history, after ending the season with an 8-4 record overall, going 4-4 in AAC play. The Mustangs were ranked in the top 25 for five weeks in 2021, reaching as high as No. 16, and feature one of the nation’s top offenses, led by record-setting quarterback Tanner Mordecai.

“Our student-athletes worked hard this season to reach our goal of making the post-season and this will provide a truly unique and first-of-its kind student-athlete experience in playing at Fenway Park against an ACC team,” said SMU Director of Athletics Rick Hart.

Virginia enters the 2021 Bowl Season with a record of 6-6 (4-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference). The 2021 Wasabi Fenway Bowl will be UVA’s 22nd bowl game appearance in program history. The matchup marks the first-ever meeting between SMU and Virginia. The Cavaliers will play their first game in the city of Boston since 2010 when they visited Boston College.

“We are pleased to be the Atlantic Coast Conference’s representative for the inaugural Wasabi Fenway Bowl,” said Virginia athletics director Carla Williams. “Playing at such a historic venue will be a special opportunity for our football program and a great experience for our fans. I am grateful for everything that Bronco Mendenhall has done to elevate our football program over the past six years and excited to see him be able to coach this team one more time. It will be a very special moment for everyone associated with Virginia football.”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to coach my team one more time and it will be a remarkable experience to play a bowl game at Fenway Park,” “There are a handful of sporting arenas in the country that are as unique, historic and beloved as Fenway Park. So, the idea of coaching my last game at Virginia at a place like Fenway Park, I really like that,” said Virginia head football coach Bronco Mendenhall.

“At the beginning of the year, we set winning a bowl championship as one of our goals. We are going to plan a great experience for our team, enjoy our time in one of the most historic cities in our country and prepare really hard for the final time we will compete together,” he said.

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