Middle Tennessee rallies past San Diego State at Hawaii Bowl

On the night before Christmas, Zeke Rankin delivered the game-winning field goal.

Rankin’s 37-yarder with 2:05 to play boosted Middle Tennessee to a 25-23 victory over San Diego State in the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl at the Ching Complex.

“This is definitely the biggest present Santa is going to take home to the family,” Rankin gushed in the on-field celebration. “I’ve never been in a situation like that. In high school (in Georgia), the games weren’t even close, and we never got in that situation.”

On the Aztecs’ ensuing — and final — possession, quarterback Jalen Mayden was stopped for a 2-yard loss on a keeper, sacked, and then had his short pass broken up by nickel-corner Teldrick Ross. On fourth-and-forever, Mayden completed a 12-yard pass to wideout Tyrell Shavers, who tried to lateral to receiver Jesse Matthews. But the ball hit the ground, and Ross raced over for the recovery with 55 seconds to play. The Blue Raiders took two knees until time expired.

“I tried to secure (the ball) so we could secure the win,” Ross said. “I knew if we got the ball back in the offense’s hands, the game would be over. And we did. That’s all I wanted for Christmas. I don’t care if I get nothing else. Coming to Hawaii and enjoying the experience and getting the win, you can’t beat it.”

The Blue Raiders had struggled to establish an offensive rhythm against the Aztecs, who amassed 12 backfield tackles, including seven sacks. Defensive end Keshawn Banks cashed in back-to-back sacks of quarterback Chase Cunningham. Factoring the sacks, the Raiders were credited with 30 rushes for minus-66 yards.

The Aztecs found points from speedy Kenan Christon and kicker Jack Browning. Christon, who can run 100 meters in 10.3 seconds, turned a 5-yard screen from Mayden into a 73-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 in the opening quarter.

It appeared Browning was on his way to being the game’s MVP when he connected on a 53-yard field goal to put the Aztecs ahead 23-22 with 5:43 to play.

“It was a good hit,” Browning said of the kick that set a personal and Hawaii Bowl record for distance. “Thanks to the line, I got a good swing at it. It just went through the pipes. … But the person I am, I go back to the first half, the first miss, because that’s points on the board, that’s momentum going.”

On that play, trying to counter the crosswinds, he ended up pulling a 43-yard attempt wide left.

The Blue Raiders came back with 16 unanswered points, including a 9-yard scoring pass to an improbable target. Defensive end Jordan Ferguson lined up as right-side tight end. On a play known as “diesel,” Ferguson ran a crossing pattern to catch Cunningham’s scoring pass.

“We practice that every week,” said Ferguson, who also made an interception on a deflected pass. Ferguson was named the MVP.

In a game in which each team was trying to get a leg up, the Raiders had the edge on special teams. Kyle Ulbrich averaged 54.7 yards on seven punts, placing three inside the 20.

“It’s the island air,” Ulbrich said. “A good week of practice, good punts, just happy to go out on the best game of my career.”

Ulbrich, who moonlights as a holder, also was an effective kicker whisperer. “Me and Zeke are great buddies,” Ulbrich said of Rankin. “We always talk on and off the field. On the (go-ahead) drive, I reminded him to follow the ball, but don’t get too invested in the game. You don’t want your heart racing too much.”

Rankin said: “You can’t get too emotionally involved in it. You start thinking about everything, you’ll overthink things. It would be better if we could put a blindfold on, earphones on, until it’s time to go out and kick. I don’t think about anything except putting a brown ball through the yellow posts. Don’t think a lot, don’t overthink it.”