Late TD propels Nevada to Arizona Bowl win
Nevada is the first Arizona Bowl champion.
Running back James Butler scored a touchdown with 1:06 left to provide the winning points in a 28-23 win over fellow Mountain West team Colorado State.
Butler’s touchdown came immediately after Colorado State, 7-6, kicked a field goal to take a 23-22 lead. The field goal was the first time Colorado State had the lead since a 7-6 advantage early in the first quarter.
The Rams had a chance to take back the lead after the two-point conversion following Butler’s touchdown failed. Colorado State, which had no timeouts, quickly moved into Nevada territory. However, the drive and the game ended on this play when Colorado State’s Jordon Vaden cut up field for more yards and failed to get a first down that would stop the clock.
When your team has no timeouts, get the heck out of bounds. pic.twitter.com/NsYJtFKmkR
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) December 30, 2015
Butler finished the game with 24 carries for 189 yards and two touchdowns. The Wolfpack, 7-6, were outgained by Colorado State by more than 180 yards but got some help from a key special teams play.
After Colorado State cut the lead to 13-10 in the second quarter, Elijah Mitchell returned the kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. It was the first TD on a kickoff return for Nevada in a long time.
ELIJAH MITCHELL COULD GO ALL THE WAY! TOUCHDOWN! OH MY! That’s our first kickoff return for a TD since 1998.
— Nevada Football (@NevadaFootball) December 30, 2015
The game was the first since the 1979 Orange Bowl to pit teams from the same conference against each other. Nevada and Colorado State did not play each other in the regular season.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
