NCAAF

Arkansas State Red Wolves at Bowling Green Falcons

Dec 27, 2024, 2:10 AM · 68 Ventures Bowl
Final
38 - 31

Raynor and Wallace lead Arkansas State past Bowling Green 38-31 in the 68 Ventures Bowl

Wallace scored on a 14-yard run with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter for a 38-24 lead. He carried the ball on the last six plays of the drive, gaining 59 yards on the eight-play, 68-yard march. It was his 11th rushing touchdown of the season, nine coming in the last six games.

Rahkeem Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to give Bowling Green a short field. Five plays later, Smith made a 23-yard catch in the end zone to get within 38-31.

Hunter Summers easily recovered the onside kick and Wallace powered through the middle of the defense for a 19-yard gain to seal it.

Corey Rucker added 107 yards receiving and two touchdowns for Arkansas State (8-5), which won a bowl game for the first time since 2019 — the same year it last won eight games in a season.

Rucker caught a long pass from Raynor and raced for a 79-yard touchdown for a 24-14 lead with 4:13 left in the first half. Following a fumble recovery by Noah Collins, Raynor found Rucker for a 6-yard TD to make it 31-21 early in the third.

Connor Bazelak threw for 390 yards and three touchdowns for Bowling Green (7-6). Harold Fannin Jr. had 17 catches for a career-high 213 yards and a touchdown.

Fannin reached 125-plus yards with a touchdown for the sixth time this season, which leads the FBS.

Bowling Green's special teams struggled. Zach Long missed his third field goal attempt of the game (one was blocked) with 10:19 left. The Falcons allowed Courtney Jackson to return a punt for a 60-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and BGSU also had a fake punt come up short of a first down in the second half.

Record Holder Fannin made a catch midway through the first quarter to become the single-season record holder for receiving yards by a tight end in the FBS. He entered needing just 11 yards to surpass Jace Amaro’s record of 1,352 in 2013 at Texas Tech. Fannin finished the season with 1,555 yards.

How To Watch

How can I watch Arkansas State Red Wolves vs. Bowling Green Falcons?
  • TV Channel: Red Wolves at Falcons 2021 College Football, week 1, is broadcasted on ESPN.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Falcons: 68.4%
Red Wolves: 31.6%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

FG 1st Period 9:57 Clune Van Andel 46 Yd Field Goal
TD 1st Period 8:02 Courtney Jackson 60 Yd Punt Return (Clune Van Andel Kick)
TD 1st Period 4:04 Malcolm Johnson Jr. 43 Yd pass from Baron May (Zach Long Kick)
TD 1st Period 1:39 Jaylen Raynor 5 Yd Run (Clune Van Andel Kick)
TD 2nd Period 6:46 Jaison Patterson 8 Yd pass from Connor Bazelak (Zach Long Kick)
TD 2nd Period 4:13 Corey Rucker 79 Yd pass from Jaylen Raynor (Clune Van Andel Kick)
TD 2nd Period 1:36 Harold Fannin Jr. 4 Yd pass from Connor Bazelak (Zach Long Kick)
TD 3rd Period 11:21 Corey Rucker 6 Yd pass from Jaylen Raynor (Clune Van Andel Kick)
FG 3rd Period 6:14 Zach Long 38 Yd Field Goal
TD 4th Period 3:10 Zak Wallace 14 Yd Run (Clune Van Andel Kick)
TD 4th Period 1:42 Rahkeem Smith 23 Yd pass from Connor Bazelak (Zach Long Kick)

Statistics

ARST BGSU
20 1st Downs 22
6-12 3rd down efficiency 8-17
0-0 4th down efficiency 3-4
360 Total Yards 479
232 Passing 433
19/31 Comp/Att 33/50
7.5 Yards per pass 8.7
128 Rushing 46
32 Rushing Attempts 24
4.0 Yards per rush 1.9
7-50 Penalties 6-56
1 Turnovers 1
0 Fumbles lost 1
1 Interceptions thrown 0
27:25 Possession 32:35

Game Information

Hancock Whitney Stadium
2:10 AM, Fri, Dec 27, 2024
Location: Mobile, AL
Attendance: 19,582 · Capacity:

Sun Belt - East

TEAM OVR CONF
Marshall 10-3 7-1
Georgia Southern 8-5 6-2
James Madison 9-4 4-4
Old Dominion 5-7 4-4
Coastal Carolina 6-7 3-5
App State 5-6 3-5
Georgia State 3-9 1-7

Sun Belt - West

TEAM OVER CONF
Louisiana 10-4 7-1
Texas State 8-5 5-3
Arkansas State 8-5 5-3
South Alabama 7-6 5-3
UL Monroe 5-7 3-5
Troy 4-8 3-5
Southern Miss 1-11 0-8
Full Standings

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