Kent State defeats Utah State for 1st-ever bowl victory

FRISCO, Texas (AP) Dustin Crum passed for 289 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 147 yards and the clinching score to help Kent State beat Utah State 51-41 on Friday night in the Frisco Bowl for the Golden Flashes’ first bowl victory.

Kent State (7-6) closed with four straight wins to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2012.

Matthew Trickett kicked five field goals to set a Kent State game record.

Crum threw a 78-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah McKoy down the right sideline on Kent State’s third play from scrimmage. Crum flipped a 1-yard scoring pass to Antwan Dixon with 9:36 to play to put the Golden Flashes ahead for good, then scored with 1:56 left on a fourth-and-1 run from the 4.

Jordan Love passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Siaosi Mariner, in his final game for Utah State (7-6). The junior announced last week that he’ll bypass his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

Deven Thompkins scored on a 57-yard run and a 17-yard reception for the Aggies.

THE TAKEAWAY

Utah State: The first season of Gary Andersen’s second stint as head coach resulted in the program’s eighth bowl game in nine seasons and the sixth winning season of the decade, the most since the 1970s (seven).

Kent State: The Golden Flashes’ previous bowl appearances were losses in the 1952 Refrigerator Bowl, the 1972 Tangerine Bowl and the 2012 team falling in the 2013 GoDaddy.com Bowl. Last season, they finished 2-10.

UP NEXT

Utah State: The Aggies lose the No. 2 passer in program history in Love, top rusher Gerold Bright and leading receiver Siaosi Mariner.

Kent State: The Golden Flashes could again spend the conference season trying to recover from a rugged non-league schedule (visits to Penn State, Kentucky and Alabama).

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