Washington State comeback fall short as Central Michigan wins Sun Bowl

EL PASO, Texas — Central Michigan came to the desert southwest to play in one bowl game and ended up in another.

The Chippewas still found a way to end their five-game bowl losing streak.

Lew Nichols III ran for 130 yards and a touchdown, leading late replacement Central Michigan to a 24-21 victory over Washington State in the Sun Bowl on Friday.

When Boise State opted out of the Arizona Bowl because of COVID-19 issues, Central Michigan switched about 300 miles east from Tucson, Arizona, to the Texas border city of El Paso.

Miami skipped the Sun Bowl for COVID-19 reasons as well. Central Michigan stayed in Arizona before bussing to El Paso the day before the game.

The Chippewas (9-4) won their fifth consecutive game this season in their first bowl victory since beating Western Kentucky in the 2012 Little Caesars Bowl.

“They played their tails off,” Central Michigan coach Jim McElwain said of a defense that held the Cougars to 53 yards before halftime to help the Chippewas to a 21-0 lead. “They might have been missing some guys, but let me tell you something else, we were missing guys. And you know what? We didn’t care. We just went out and played.”

The Cougars (7-6) were without starting tackles Liam Ryan and Abe Lucas for coach Jake Dickert’s first game on the sideline since having the interim tagged removed. Running backs Max Borghi and Deon McIntosh also opted out.

“Their edge rushers were the biggest ones that kind of gave us some issues,” Dickert said. “They chose their spots. They were aggressive. They blitzed. They were high up the field and they used their speed on our two new tackles.”

Washington State, which dropped to 8-9 all-time in bowls, rallied in the second half behind backup quarterback Victor Gabalis, scoring three times to make it close. Gabalis was 12 of 23 passing for 180 yards and two TDs.

“I just always prepared myself to be ready,” Gabalis said. “I’ve got a great group of guys, group of men behind me that trust in me, and they give me faith in myself and coach Dickert gave us a great speech coming out of halftime.

“I just really felt the guys had my back and they gave me a lot of confidence.”

After a 13-yard scoring toss to Union High School grad Lincoln Victor pulled the Cougars within three points with 3:13 remaining, they had another chance starting at their 14-yard line with 2:41 remaining. Central Michigan stopped Joey Hobert a yard short on a catch on fourth-and-5.

Victor, a junior wide receiver in his first season at WSU after transferring from Hawai’i, said he was grateful for his teammates helping him get better each day.

“All hard work pays off, never goes unnoticed,” Victor said. “I feel like I was ready for the spotlight, ready for this moment … coming back next year, I’m looking forward to it. I have a lot of work to do. This is just a sample of what I can do.”

Victor had a team-high five catches for 88 yards and the touchdown.

Marshall Meeder kicked three field goals for Central Michigan, including a 52-yarder for a 6-0 lead and a 43-yarder for a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

Nichols, who entered the game leading the nation in rushing and finished the season with xx yards, scored the first touchdown on a 1-yard plunge for a 13-0 lead late in the first quarter.

“We came together as a team today,” Nichols said. “We pounded up front and came up with the win.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Central Michigan: It was the first victory in a bowl against a Power Five opponent for the Mid-American Conference team. The Chippewas were seven-point underdogs.

Washington State: The Cougars were facing the 117th-ranked pass defense nationally with freshman quarterback Jayden de Laura averaging 250 yards per game coming in. But de Laura didn’t play after halftime because of an undisclosed lower-body injury. He was under heavy pressure in the first half.

KEY PERFORMER

Gabalis wasn’t even listed as the backup on the Cougars’ depth chart. He had seen spot duty in a few games before giving the Cougars a chance to win late.

BOWL NUMBERS

Central Michigan was playing in the Sun Bowl for the first time, while Washington State made its third appearance, losing for the first time. Washington State beat Purdue in 2001 and Miami in 2015.

UP NEXT

Washington State will return eight starters on offense and eight on defense. They open the 2022 season on Sept. 3 at home against Idaho.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN 24, WASHINGTON STATE 21

Washington St. 0 0 14 7—21

Cent. Michigan 13 8 0 3—24

First Quarter

CMU—FG Meeder 49, 6:51.

CMU—FG Meeder 52, 2:18.

CMU—Nichols 1 run (Meeder kick), :57.

Second Quarter

CMU—Jo.Wilson 15 pass from Richardson (Pimpleton pass from Richardson), 1:48.

Third Quarter

WSU—Harris 5 run (Janikowski kick), 4:02.

WSU—Stribling 5 pass from Gabalis (Janikowski kick), 2:24.

Fourth Quarter

CMU—FG Meeder 43, 9:11.

WSU—Victor 16 pass from Gabalis (Janikowski kick), 3:13.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Washington St., N.Watson 17-62, Harris 1-5, Gabalis 4-(minus 8), Haberer 1-(minus 12), de Laura 3-(minus 34). Cent. Michigan, Nichols 29-137, Bracy 4-10, Pimpleton 1-6, Wilson 1-0, (Team) 4-(minus 6).

PASSING—Washington St., Gabalis 12-23-0-180, de Laura 7-17-0-47. Cent. Michigan, Richardson 17-33-1-208.

RECEIVING—Washington St., Victor 5-88, Ollie 4-72, Ca.Jackson 3-32, Harris 3-13, Stribling 2-13, Hobert 2-9. Cent. Michigan, Sullivan 7-83, Wilson 3-41, Pimpleton 3-30, Nichols 2-38, Buczkowski 1-11, Dixon 1-5.

MISSED FIELD GOALS—Cent. Michigan, Meeder 44, 25.