The Sports Xchange
Dec 29, 2015

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Nevada running back James Butler rushed for 189 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown and the go-ahead score with 1:06 left, as the Wolf Pack beat conference foe Colorado State 28-23 in the inaugural Arizona Bowl on Tuesday night.

The Rams ran out of time when receiver Jordon Vader caught a 9-yard pass to the 12-yard line but could not stretch to get out of bounds to stop the clock. The final several seconds ticked off before CSU, out of timeouts, could snap the ball.

Butler carried 24 times and was named the game's Offensive Most Valuable Player. His second touchdown came on third-and-goal from the 4, breaking a tackle at the line of scrimmage and fighting through two defenders to cross the goal line for the winning score.

Nevada defensive back Elijah Mitchell had a 96-yard kick return for a touchdown in the first half to help boost the Wolf Pack (7-6) past the Rams (7-6), who carried a four-game winning streak into the bowl.

CSU lost despite a 532-345 edge in total yards.

Nevada and CSU are in different divisions of the Mountain West and did not play in the regular season.

Wyatt Bryan kicked a 38-yard field goal with 3:40 left to give Colorado State its first lead at 23-22. But Nevada marched 72 yards on eight plays to retake the lead.

The Rams, with no timeouts, started their final drive at their 12 yard line with 59 seconds left.

Nevada, which led 19-13 at halftime despite only 15 passing yards, extended the lead to 22-13 on the first possession of the second half.

Colorado State cut the lead to 22-20 when running back Jasen Oden scored on a 9-yard run with 3:55 left in third quarter.

Nevada defensive end Ian Seau, who had three tackles for loss, including a sack, and a forced fumble was chosen as the Defensive Most Valuable Player.

Seau, the nephew of late former NFL great Junior Seau, forced a fumble on a sack on the game's first possession, with defensive tackle Rykeem Yates grabbing the ball in mid-air and returning it 9 yards to the Colorado State 41.

After a 10-play drive, the Wolf Pack settled for a 19-yard field goal from Brent Zuzo for a 3-0 lead.

Zuzo put Nevada up 6-0 with a 37-yard field goal with 14:13 to go in the second quarter before the defense came up big again, stuffing running back Izzy Matthews for no gain on fourth-and-inches from the Nevada 4.

The scoring soon came in bunches.

Colorado State wide receiver Rashard Higgins took a slant pass 38 yards inside the 1, and quarterback Nick Stevens snuck in for a touchdown and a 7-6 lead 7:04 before halftime.

Nevada had only 93 total yards when Butler took a handoff on the ensuing possession and burst untouched through the line en route to a 77-yard touchdown.

Higgins, a 2014 consensus All-American, recorded nine catches for 129 yards and set the school career record for receiving yards (3,649).

The announced crowd was 20,425.

NOTES: The Arizona Bowl marked the first postseason game in Tucson since the 1999 Insight.com Bowl, which moved to Phoenix and is now known as the Cactus Bowl. ... The bowl marked the first time two teams from the same conference have played in a non-championship bowl since Nebraska and Oklahoma of the Big Eight met in the 1979 Orange Bowl. ... Nevada assistant head coach/receivers coach Jim Hofher called plays from the press box, filling in as an interim for coordinator Nick Rolovich, who left to become the head coach at Hawaii. ... Colorado State used an interim defensive coordinator (linebackers coach Marty English) to replace Tyson Summers, who became the coach at Georgia Southern. ... Grammy Award-winning rock band Los Lobos performed at halftime.