SHREVEPORT, La. — Michael Brewer threw for 344 yards, Isaiah Ford had 227 yards receiving and Coach Frank Beamer won his final game at Virginia Tech, 55-52 over Tulsa on Saturday night in the Independence Bowl.
Beamer, 69, announced in November he would retire following the season. He finished with a 238-121-2 record at Virginia Tech over 29 seasons.
Virginia Tech (7-6) was playing in a bowl for the 23rd straight season. The first game of that streak also was in the Independence Bowl in 1993, when the Hokies beat Indiana, 45-20.
This trip to Shreveport was filled with plenty of offense but had more drama.
Tulsa (6-7) rallied from a three-touchdown deficit in the second half to pull to 55-52 with 3:47 left. Dadi L’homme Nicolas of Virginia Tech ended Tulsa’s final drive with a sack of Dane Evans on fourth down.
The 107 points were the most in Independence Bowl history.
Ford’s 227 yards receiving on 12 catches set an Independence Bowl record.
Evans completed 27 of 44 passes for 374 yards and three touchdowns for Tulsa.
D’Angelo Brewer ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
A relaxed Beamer strolled onto the field about an hour before the game, smiling and waving to fans as the Hokies went through warmups.
Much of the coach’s success with the Hokies was due to great defense and special teams, but his finale was mostly about offense.
Tulsa jumped out to a 14-7 lead, but Virginia Tech responded with 38 points over the next 19 minutes for the 45-21 advantage.
The Hokies’ final touchdown during that stunning run came on a 67-yard punt return by Greg Stroman – which was fitting considering the phrase ‘Beamer Ball’ became common during the coach’s long tenure because of Virginia Tech’s reputation for game-changing special teams plays.
Tulsa’s had a tough time on defense all season, giving up 38.6 points per game, including 66 in a loss to Memphis on Oct. 23.
ST. PETERSBURG BOWL
MARSHALL 16, CONNECTICUT 10: Freshman Chase Litton completed 23 of 34 passes for 218 yards and one touchdown as Marshall (10-3) beat Connecticut (6-7) in Florida.
Nick Smith had three field goals for Marshall, including a 32-yarder with 1:44 left that was part of a 13-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 6:35. The Thundering Herd went 13-1 a year ago and 10-4 in 2013.
Marshall is 4-0 in bowl games under Coach Doc Holliday, including a 20-10 victory over Florida International in the 2011 St. Petersburg Bowl. The Thundering Herd won the Boca Raton Bowl in 2014 and Military Bowl two years ago.
Holliday is 50-28 at Marshall.
SUN BOWL
WASHINGTON STATE 20, MIAMI 14: Luke Falk threw two touchdown passes to lead Washington State (9-4) over Miami (8-5) in a snowy game at El Paso, Texas.
Erik Powell added field goals of 30 and 25 yards to help the Cougars win a bowl game for the first time since the 2003 Holiday Bowl.
Miami lost its sixth consecutive bowl game.
Washington State led 20-7 at the half and looked in total control, limiting Miami to three first downs over the second and third quarters.
HEART OF DALLAS BOWL
WASHINGTON 44, SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 31: Myles Gaskin broke a third-quarter tie with an 86-yard run, and finished with a season-high 181 yards and four touchdowns to help Washington (7-6) beat Southern Mississippi (9-5).
The Huskies won their last two regular-season games by a combined 97-17 over Oregon State and Washington State to become bowl eligible, then delivered Chris Petersen’s first postseason victory in his two seasons at Washington.
Gaskin’s other scores came on 2- and 1-yard runs in the first quarter, and a 13-yarder in the fourth. On the 86-yarder, the freshman took a handoff inside, broke to the left sideline and shook off one final defender at the Southern Miss 35.
Gaskin, the game’s most valuable player, gained 170 yards in the second half on 17 carries after being held to 11 yards on nine rushes in the first half. His previous high was 155 yards against Oregon.
PINSTRIPE BOWL
DUKE 44, INDIANA 41: Ross Martin kicked a 36-yard field goal in overtime, and Duke (8-5) won a bowl game for the first time in 54 years, beating Indiana (6-7) at New York.
After Martin made his kick on the first possession of overtime, Griffin Oakes of the Hoosiers missed a 38-yard attempt to hand the Blue Devils their first bowl victory since the 1961 Cotton Bowl.
Oakes’ try sailed over the right upright and was ruled wide. Oakes protested that it was good, but the kick could not be reviewed and Duke’s players poured onto the field to celebrate.
Shaun Wilson had 282 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns for the Blue Devils, including a 98-yard kickoff return. Quarterback Thomas Sirk accounted for 318 yards and three touchdowns before getting hurt in overtime.
His 5-yard TD run tied the score with 41 seconds left.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
(12) KENTUCKY 75, (16) LOUISVILLE 73: Tyler Ulis scored 21 points, and Kentucky (10-2) held off a rally by Louisville (11-2) at Kexington, Kentucky, to give John Calipari his 200th victory as the Wildcats’ coach.
Damion Lee, who led the Cardinals with 27 points, was well off on a potential winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Kentucky led by 16 points early in the second half before Louisville came almost all the way back. The Cardinals had a chance to tie or take the lead with less than a minute left but Trey Lewis was called for traveling.
The Wildcats then committed a shot-clock violation to give Louisville one more chance.
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