LAS VEGAS — Eathyn Manumaleuna blocked a field goal as time expired to give No. 19 BYU a 17-16 victory over UCLA on Saturday night in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Kai Forbath made field goals of 52 and 50 yards to keep the Bruins close. UCLA drove almost the length of the field in the final two minutes to line up Forbath for the 28-yard game winner. But Manumaleuna and Brett Denney led a surge by the defensive line for the block, and the Cougars got their first win over the Bruins since Steve Young was the quarterback.
Max Hall threw for two touchdowns and the Cougars (11-2) closed the season with their 10th straight win despite getting shut out in the second half and having their lowest offensive output of the year.
BYU managed just 265 yards against the Bruins (6-7), who were playing for interim coach and defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker.
Walk-on fourth-string quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson drove the Bruins from their own 2 in the final two minutes, completing a 36-yard pass to Logan Paulsen on a third-and-8 play with 30 seconds left to give UCLA a chance at finishing with a winning record.
BYU improved to 2-7 against UCLA, beating the Bruins for the first time since 1983 when Young passed for 270 yards and two touchdowns. The Cougars also avenged a 27-17 loss to UCLA in the second week of the season, one of just two losses this year for BYU.
Papajohns.com Bowl
No. 20 Cincinnati 31, Southern Miss 21
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Ben Mauk passed for 334 yards and four touchdowns, and DeAngelo Smith intercepted three passes to give Cincinnati (10-3) its second 10-win season and first since 1951, while virtually assuring a spot in the final rankings for the first time.
“It’s kind of finishing off what’s been a really important season in UC football,” first-year coach Brian Kelly said.
Mauk, the game’s most valuable player, completed 30-of-52 passes and overcame three interceptions to become only the third Bearcats player to have a 3,000-yard passing season.
It was the final game for outgoing Golden Eagles coach Jeff Bower after 17 seasons at his alma mater.
New Mexico Bowl
New Mexico 23, Nevada 0
ALBUQUERQUE — Paul Baker ran for 167 yards in his first start, and Donovan Porterie threw for career-high 354 yards and two touchdowns to help New Mexico end a 46-year skid without a postseason victory.
The Lobos (9-4) also gave 10th-year coach Rocky Long his first bowl win in five tries. It was New Mexico’s first bowl victory since beating Western Michigan 28-12 in the 1961 Aviation Bowl at Dayton, Ohio. The Lobos also notched a nine-win season for just the fourth time in school history.
New Mexico’s defense delivered just the second shutout loss for Nevada’s Hall of Fame coach, Chris Ault. The Wolf Pack (6-7) hadn’t gone scoreless since losing 10-0 to Weber State on Sept. 27, 1980, a span of 329 games — the longest current streak in college football and the second-longest in history.
