DETROIT — Diego Pavia threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns, and New Mexico State held off a late rally by Bowling Green to win the Quick Lane Bowl, 24-19, on Monday.
The Aggies (7-6) were up 24-7 late in the third quarter, but the Falcons closed the gap in the fourth quarter to make it 24-19 after a field goal, a safety off of a blocked punt and Camden Orth’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Broden with 6 minutes, 27 seconds left.
From there, New Mexico State kept control of the ball for the rest of the game.
Bowling Green (6-7) lost starting quarterback Matt McDonald early in the first quarter when he was hit late by Aggies safety Dylan Early while going out of bounds on a third-down run. He was replaced by Orth, who twice led the Falcons into field-goal range in the first half, but Mason Lawler missed both tries.
The Aggies scored first to make it 7-0 on Pavia’s 15-yard scoring pass to Star Thomas on their first possession of the game. The junior quarterback later added a 2-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to Eric Marsh.
