New Mexico State running back Star Thomas, left, and quarterback Diego Pavia (10) celebrate after Thomas’ pass reception touchdown against Bowling Green in the first half of the Quick Lane Bowl Monday in Detroit. Al Goldis/Associated Press
DETROIT — Diego Pavia threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns, and New Mexico State held off a late rally by Bowling Green to win the Quick Lane Bowl 24-19 on Monday.
The Aggies (7-6) were up 24-7 late in the third quarter, but the Falcons closed the gap in the fourth quarter to make it 24-19 after a field goal, a safety off of a blocked punt and Camden Orth’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Broden with 6:27 left.
From there, New Mexico State kept control of the ball for the rest of the game.
Bowling Green (6-7) lost starting quarterback Matt McDonald early in the first quarter when he was hit late by Aggies safety Dylan Early while going out of bounds on a third-down run. He was replaced by Orth, who twice led the Falcons into field-goal range in the first half but Mason Lawler missed both tries.
The Aggies scored first to make it 7-0 on Pavia’s 15-yard scoring pass to Star Thomas on their first possession of the game. The junior quarterback later added a 2-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to Eric Marsh.
It’s only the second time in the last 20 seasons that New Mexico State has won at least seven games, the first being 2017 when the Aggies beat Utah State in the Arizona Bowl.
OHIO STATE: J.T. Tuimoloau stood in front of the Buckeyes before practice the week after Ohio State’s second straight loss to Michigan.
As the sting of defeat began to set in and the prospect of missing the playoff remained a possibility, the second-year defensive end offered a reminder to his teammates.
Ohio State still has a chance.
“I felt like we just needed to get back on track, and these boys push me to go my hardest and bring out the best in me every day,” Tuimoloau recalled. “I know what we can bring so I just wanted to come and just reiterate that. The job’s not finished.”
That’s the focus for Ohio State’s defense ahead of the College Football Playoff semifinal matchup against No. 1 Georgia (13-0) in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 31: Correct mistakes and limit big plays.
Ohio State (11-1) allowed 530 yards of offense during its loss to the Wolverines on Nov. 26, including five plays of 45 yards or more that went for touchdowns.
Those explosive plays have been on the mind of defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
Knowles said he takes ultimate responsibility for Ohio State’s miscues in its only loss of the season.
“Any call that goes for an explosive, you have to look at, take responsibility for,” Knowles said. “You got to evaluate the call from top to bottom and the game plan.”
Coach Ryan Day said Michigan’s 85- and 75-yard touchdown runs were enough to “ruin the whole day,” but he’s taking the good with the bad when evaluating his defense.
“There was still a lot of good things that happened,” Day said. “It wasn’t like you watch the film and you’re like, `Jeez, we just got completely outmatched.’ It was just a lack of execution and too many big plays.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
POLL: South Carolina maintained its hold on top of The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll, reaching a milestone in the process.
The Gamecocks have held the No. 1 spot for 27 consecutive weeks, which is the fifth-longest run all time. UConn has three of the top four streaks, including the record 51-week run from Feb. 18, 2008-Dec. 10, 2010. Louisiana Tech has the second-longest streak of 36 weeks. The Huskies also had 34-and 30-week runs at No. 1.
South Carolina started last season at No. 1 and hasn’t relinquished the ranking since, including a week a year ago when they lost a game, but remained the top team.
The Gamecocks have now passed Texas’ 26-week run to move into fifth all time. They’ve gone 17-0 against Top 25 teams over the past two years, including a 3-0 mark this season.
The top five teams in the poll remained unchanged as Stanford, Ohio State, Indiana and Notre Dame stayed behind the Gamecocks, who garnered all 28 votes from a national media panel. South Carolina (12-0) hosts Texas A&M on Thursday.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
POLL: Purdue remained atop The Associated Press Top 25 poll for a third straight week, while preseason No. 1 North Carolina returned to the rankings and New Mexico cracked the poll for the first time in eight years.
The Boilermakers earned 40 of 60 first-place votes in the latest poll, while fellow unbeaten Connecticut earned the other 20 to sit at No. 2 in an unchanged top.
Purdue had never been ranked No. 1 before a one-week stay there last December, and was unranked to start the season. But the Boilermakers made a rapid rise from No. 24 to No. 5 in a one-week span in late November, then climbed to No. 1 on Dec. 12.
No. 3 Houston, No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 Arizona held their positions as the top five remained in place for a second straight week.
Texas was next at No. 6, followed by Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Gonzaga – the preseason choice at No. 2 that returned to the top 10 after sliding as low as No. 18 earlier this month.
North Carolina is back in the poll at No. 25 after a tumultuous opening to the season.
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