Mike Glennon threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns and David Amerson returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown as North Carolina State defeated Louisville 31-24 in the Belk Bowl. T.J. Graham made the most of his final game at NC State with seven catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns, including a 65-yard score on a nifty catch-and-run, as the Wolfpack (8-5) overcame a series of special teams blunders to hold off a late charge from the Cardinals (7-6). Amerson had two more interceptions to give him 13 for the season, the most in the country, while setting a new Atlantic Coast Conference record. Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater, who threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another, nearly brought the Cardinals back from a 21-point deficit, but his final heave on fourth-and-23 was picked off by Amerson with 41 seconds left. Louisville used a fake punt and recovered an onside kick to get back in the game after falling behind 31-10. Bridgewater threw a pair of 2-yard touchdown passes to close the gap to 31-24 with 3:55 left in the game. The Cardinals had once last chance to send the game into overtime after stopping NC State on fourth-and-two. However, on a third-and-12 Dontae Johnson sacked Bridgewater for an 11-yard loss setting up Amerson's clinching interception. The Wolfpack came into the game leading the nation in interceptions and picked off Bridgewater three times. In Detroit, Western Michigan started strong and closed with a shot to earns its first bowl win in school history. Letting Purdue recover two onside kicks in the first half doomed the Broncos' chances. The Boilermakers made two gambles on special teams pay off in a 37-32 win over Western Michigan in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. “Two onside kicks really hurt us,” Western Michigan coach Bill Cubit said. “We never got a break on defense in the first half.” Purdue's Raheem Mostert returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, third-string running back Reggie Pegram scored the first two TDs of his career and Carson Wiggs made two field goals to give the Boilermakers a 27-15 lead at halftime. Purdue (7-6) had another 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Big Ten team had to hold on for the win against the Mid-American Conference program. The Broncos (7-6) got the ball with a chance to go ahead, but their comeback hopes ended when quarterback Alex Carder fumbled for his fifth turnover with just under two minutes left. Ryan Russell forced the final fumble and Bruce Gaston recovered to seal the win in a game that entertained 46,177 fans inside the home of the Detroit Lions. The Boilermakers played in a bowl for the first time since 2007, when they beat Central Michigan – also in Detroit.
