Arkansas State beats Bowling Green 38-31 in the 68 Ventures Bowl

Jaylen Raynor passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns to go with a rushing score, and Zak Wallace had 99 yards rushing and a TD to help Arkansas State to a 38-31 win over Bowling Green in the 68 Ventures Bowl on Thursday night. Wallace scored on a 14-yard run with 3:10 remaining in the fourth quarter for a 38-24 lead. He carried the ball on the final six plays of the drive, gaining 59 yards on the eight-play march and 68 yards. It was his 11th rushing touchdown of the season, nine of them in the last six games. The Arkansas Razorbacks play in the Liberty Bowl on Friday at 6 p.m. on ESPN. Rahkeem Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to give Bowling Green a short field. Five plays later, Smith made a 23-yard catch in the end zone to make it 38-31. Hunter Summers easily recovered the onside kick and Wallace forced his way through the middle of the defense to gain a 19-yard gain and seal the ball. Corey Rucker added 107 yards receiving and two touchdowns for Arkansas State (8-5), which won a bowl game for the first time since 2019 – the same year it last won eight games in a season. Rucker caught a long pass from Raynor and raced for a 79-yard touchdown for a 24-14 lead with 4:13 left in the first half. After a fumble recovery by Noah Collins, Raynor found Rucker for a 6-yard touchdown to make it 31-21 early in the third. Connor Bazelak threw for 390 yards and three touchdowns for Bowling Green (7-6). Harold Fannin Jr. had a career-high 17 catches for 213 yards and a touchdown. Fannin passed for more than 125 yards with a touchdown for the sixth time this season, leading the FBS. Bowling Green’s special teams struggled. Zach Long missed his third field goal attempt of the game (one was blocked) with 10:19 left. The Falcons allowed Courtney Jackson to return a punt for a 60-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and BGSU also had a fake punt in the second half that fell just short of a first down. Record holder Fannin made a catch midway through the first quarter. Become the record holder in a single season for receiving yards by a tight end in the FBS. He entered and needed just 11 yards to surpass Jace Amaro’s record of 1,352 in 2013 at Texas Tech. Fannin finished the season with 1,555 yards.