Preston Stone throws 3 TDs, Northwestern beats Central Michigan 34-7

DETROIT (AP) — Preston Stone threw three touchdown passes, and Northwestern turned four turnovers into touchdowns and beat Central Michigan 34-7 in the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field on Friday.

The Wildcats (7-6) extended their bowl game winning streak to six. They haven’t lost in the postseason since a 45-6 loss to Pittsburgh in the 2015 Outback Bowl.

Central Michigan (7-6) is 0-3 against the Big Ten in bowl games, with all three losses coming at Ford Field. The Chippewas lost 51-48 to Purdue in the 2007 Motor City Bowl and 21-14 to Minnesota in the 2015 Quick Lane Bowl.

Central Michigan had the first scoring opportunity of the game after stopping Northwestern on 4th-and-1 at the Wildcats 34, but Cade Graham missed a 43-yard field goal attempt.

The game was still scoreless midway through the second quarter, but Braden Turner intercepted Angel Flores’ pass at the Central Michigan 29. Three plays later, Stone threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Griffin Wilde to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.

RATE BOWL

MINNESOTA 20, NEW MEXICO 17, OT

PHOENIX (AP) — Jalen Smith scored his second touchdown on a diving 12-yard catch in the first overtime and Minnesota extended its postseason winning streak to nine games with a win over New Mexico in the Rate Bowl.

A year after Kansas State beat Rutgers 44-41 in the Rate Bowl, the 2025 version turned defensive in the desert — until a flurry early in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota (8-5) went up 14-6 when Darius Taylor scored on a 5-yard touchdown run, but Damon Bankston returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. New Mexico’s 2-point conversion on a trick play tied the game at 14-all.

The teams returned to trading punts, sending the game to overtime at Chase Field, home of baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks.

New Mexico (9-4) failed to get a first down on the opening possession and Luke Drzewiecki kicked a 36-yard field goal.

The Gophers and their fans then got to celebrate Smith’s spectacular touchdown twice — once live, the other after an official review confirmed the catch.

Minnesota’s bowl winning streak — seven straight under coach P.J. Fleck — matches Southern California and Utah for second-longest all-time, behind Florida State’s 11 in a row from 1985-95.

FIRST RESPONDER BOWL

DALLAS (AP) — Owen McCown threw three touchdown passes, Will Henderson III scored three times, and UTSA defeated Florida International at the First Responder Bowl.

UTSA (7-6) was making its seventh consecutive bowl appearance — eighth overall — and has won three in a row. FIU (7-6) ended a bowl drought dating to 2019.

FIU had an early lead on a touchdown pass by Joe Pesansky and the Panthers made it 14-0 on Maguire Anderson’s 97-yard punt return.

UTSA then scored the next 38 points.

Trailing 14-0, Henderson scored on a 2-yard run then tied the score when he caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from McCown. After a field goal, McCown connected with Devin McCuin on a 23-yard touchdown pass.

A’Marion Peterson capped the first-half scoring with a 10-yard touchdown run and a 31-14 lead for the Roadrunners.

UTSA had a 310-93 advantage in total yards in the first half, with 50 yards of FIU’s total coming on a late second-quarter drive that ended on a fourth-down sack of Pesansky.

In the third quarter, Henderson ran five yards for a touchdown to make it 38-14, then Pesansky connected with Dallas Payne for a 22-yard touchdown pass. However, Pesansky’s two-point conversion pass was intercepted and returned for two points by Ahamad Chapman.

UTSA added a McCown touchdown pass and a TD run by Bryson Donnell in the fourth quarter.

McCown completed 18 of 28 passes for 295 yards.

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