CHARLOTTE, n.c. — North Carolina State coach Tom O’Brien took a lot of heat when he decided to part ways with star quarterback Russell Wilson and go with unproven junior Mike Glennon as his starter.
It all worked out Tuesday night in the Belk Bowl, with Glennon throwing for 264 yards and three touchdowns to lead N.C. State (8-5) over Louisville 31-24 — and earn MVP honors.
Glennon threw two of his touchdown passes to senior receiver T.J. Graham, who made the most of his final game at N.C. State with seven catches for 116 yards, including a 65-yard score on a nifty catch-and-run.
He threw another to Tobais Palmer, who made what Glennon called “the best catch I’ve seen all year” when Palmer turned his body around in midair and managed to catch it and keep running to the end zone for a 35-yard TD.
Glennon finished the season with 31 TD passes.
David Amerson, the nation’s individual leader in interceptions, had two of the Wolfpack’s three picks on Louisville freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. He finished the season with 13 interceptions, a Atlantic Coast Conference record.
Purdue 37, Western Michigan 32 •DETROIT — Purdue QB Caleb TerBush took the final snap, sprinted to the sideline and handed the football to coach Danny Hope.
“It’s a moment that we’ve been waiting for the last three years,” Hope said.
Hope made the gutsy decision to go for two onside kicks in the first half and both gambles paid off for the Boilermakers (7-6) in a win over Western Michigan (7-6) in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.
“We were going to do a third one, but they changed the way they lined up,” Hope said.
Raheem Mostert returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, third-string running back Reggie Pegram scored the first two TDs of his career and Carson Wiggs made two field goals to give Purdue a 27-15 lead at halftime.
Wiggs also recovered one of his onside kicks, both of which he tapped toward a sideline after running at full speed as if he was trying to boot the ball deep.
“Two onside kicks really hurt us,” Western Michigan coach Bill Cubit said. “We never got a break on defense in the first half. The Associated Press
