Junior safety Isaiah Lewis turns back upfield with a ball he intercepted in front of Texas Christian wide receiver Josh Boyce during the first half of the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on Dec. 29, 2012, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
Tempe, Ariz. – The MSU football team pulled out a win against TCU, 17-16, in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., Saturday night.
They took much of the third quarter to get going, but the Spartans finally got on the board with a 14-play, 90-yard drive — their longest of the season.
Redshirt freshman Connor Cook threw his first career touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Aaron Burbridge to bring the Spartans within six at the end of the quarter.
Junior running back Le’Veon Bell completed his first career pass to fullback TyQuan Hammock, who made his first career reception.
As the fourth quarter started, and with prompting from the MSU bench, the MSU fans were at their loudest of the night.
MSU recovered a muffed punt on the TCU 4 yard line and capitalized with a 4-yard touchdown run by Bell.
The Big Ten’s leading rusher carried the load in the second half, and rushed for 145 yards and one touchdown, his eighth 100-yard game of the season.
TCU kicker Jaden Oberkrom then nailed a 53-yard field goal to give the Horned Frogs a 16-14 lead with just under three minutes to play.
Connor Cook came out as the Spartans quarterback on the next drive, and completed two consecutive passes for 16 yards, which led to a field goal by senior Dan Conroy to give the Spartans a 17-16 lead with 1:01 left.
It was the second season in a row that Conroy hit the game winning field goal to win a bowl game for the Spartans.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
