ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Matt Scott watched helplessly as Nevada kicked a field goal to pad its lead. The Arizona quarterback had already thrown two interceptions, and now needed two quick scores and some luck — in a hurry, too — to somehow win the New Mexico Bowl.
Scott even admitted he didn’t have “positive” thoughts before returning to the field.
But in the final 46 seconds, Scott threw two short touchdown passes and college football’s postseason started with a wild one as Arizona rallied past Nevada 49-48 Saturday.
Overcoming a slow start and three big turnovers, Arizona (8-5) recovered an onside kick in the last minute, setting up Scott’s 2-yard toss to Tyler Slavin with 19 seconds left for the winning score.
“It’s not easy to come back from that situation,” Scott said. “You’re not necessarily going to think the most positive thing at the time, but we went out there and took care of business. It was just a big drive. I still can’t believe it.”
Arizona trailed 21-0 in the first quarter and was down 45-28 entering the final period. Scott threw for 382 yards and marched his team back into the game despite those two earlier interceptions.
“I mean, it’s improbable,” first-year Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said.
The nation’s rushing leader, KaDeem Carey, gained 172 yards for the Wildcats and but fell short of becoming only the 16th running back in NCAA history to reach 2,000 yards in a season.
Arizona receiver Austin Hill caught eight passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. The teams combined for 1,237 total yards.
Cody Fajardo threw for three touchdowns and ran for another score to lead the Wolf Pack (7-6). He had 256 yards passing and 140 yards rushing and controlled most of the game, completing 22 of 32 throws.
Stefphon Jefferson, the nation’s second-leading rusher, ran for 180 yards for Nevada and also seemed unstoppable as the Wolf Pack took a big lead and held on to it for most of the game.
But after forcing Nevada to kick a field goal with 1:48 left that made it 48-35, Scott drove the Wildcats down 75 yards in about a minute. Arizona then recovered an onside kick, and Scott marched his team into the end zone after three plays and 51 yards.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Utah State 41, Toledo 15
BOISE, Idaho — Kerwynn Williams ran for 235 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 18 Utah State won a bowl game for the first time in nearly 20 years.
The victory capped the best season in Utah State history. The Aggies finished 11-2, won the Western Athletic Conference title outright and had their first bowl victory since 1993.
Chuckie Keeton scored on a 62-yard run to put Utah State up 7-3, and Williams, the game’s MVP, sparked a 28-point fourth quarter for Utah State when he broke through the defense and raced 63 yards for a touchdown to put the Aggies up 20-9. Williams, who had 18 carries, followed that with TD runs of 5 and 25 yards. Keeton ran for 92 yards and was 21-of-31 passing for 229 yards.
Toledo (9-4) was able to move the ball and made five trips inside the red zone. But penalties and miscues forced the Rockets to settle for Jeremiah Detmer’s three field goals.
The Rockets’ only touchdown came when Bernard Reedy returned a fourth-quarter kickoff 87 yards. Reedy was the only big producer on a Toledo offense held to 315 total yards. Reedy had 51 yards rushing and caught six passes for 62 yards.
Toledo quarterback Austin Dantin, who started in place of the injured Terrence Owens, was 12 of 21 passing for 132 yards. Dantin threw an interception in the third quarter to end a promising scoring drive and was replaced by Owens in the fourth quarter.
Owens moved the Rockets on his first possession, but another red-zone opportunity was squelched when the Aggies snuffed Owens for no gain on a fourth-and-1 play from the 9.
Toledo played without two top players. Linebacker Dan Molls, the nation’s leading tackler, had a concussion on the opening kickoff and didn’t return. Minutes later, running back David Fluellen, the nation’s eighth-leading rusher, went down with an ankle injury.
