The Sports Xchange
Dec 23, 2017
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Kell Walker ran a two-point conversion after Darnell Woolfolk's 1-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds left to lead Army to a scintillating 42-35 victory over San Diego State in the Armed Forces Bowl Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Raashad Penny's 4-yard scoring run with 5:47 to play gave San Diego State a 35-28 lead but the Black Knights (10-3) responded with a 72-yard, 15-play drive and a 1-yard TD blast by Woolfolk.
Army eschewed an extra-point attempt and chose to pitch the ball to Walker, who ran untouched around right end for the winning conversion.
Army's Elijah Riley snagged a pitch during a desperation play by the Aztecs as time expired and returned it 29 yards for the game's final points.
Penny, the nation's leading rusher, ran for 221 yards and four touchdowns on just 14 carries to lead San Diego State (10-3).
Bradshaw amassed 180 yards rushing on 32 carries and scored on rushes of 19 and 27 yards for Army. He became the all-time leading rusher among the three service academies (including Navy and Air Force), breaking the mark set in 2015 by Keenan Reynolds of Navy.
Woolfolk had a 7-yard TD run and Andy Davidson rumbled into the end zone from four yards out for the Black Knights. Army threw just four passes in the game (none of them in the first half) for a total of six yards and an interception but rushed for 440 yards and owned a 46 minutes to 14 minutes advantage in time of possession.
Penny ran 81 yards for a touchdown on the first possession of the game. He added a 32-yard TD in the second quarter, 49-yard scoring run --on one of just five offensive snaps in the third quarter for San Diego State -- and his late score.
The Aztecs also got a 78-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the next-to-last play of the second quarter from Juwan Washington.
It was the fifth straight 200-plus-yard rushing game for Penny, which ties an FBS mark. Penny's production in the game garnered him the school's single-season rushing record, propelling him past former Aztecs standout Donnel Pumphrey, the NCAA's all-time leading rusher.
NOTES: This was Army's first time playing in bowls in back-to-back seasons since 1984-85 when it went to the Cherry and Peach bowls. ... San Diego State's appearance in this bowl extended its school-record bowl streak to eight consecutive seasons, allowing the Aztecs to join Stanford as the only football teams in the state of California -- college or professional --- to play in the postseason each of the last eight years. ... Army's 49 rushing touchdowns set a program record for TDs on the ground in a season, supplanting the 46 scored rushing in 1946 by the Black Knights' team that won the national championship. ... San Diego State RG Antonio Rosales was ejected from the game in the first quarter after picking up two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on the same play.