Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Ryan Radcliff threw three touchdown passes,
including the eventual game-winning toss to Cody Wilson late in the fourth
quarter to give Central Michigan a 24-21 victory over Western Kentucky in the
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. Central Michigan (7-6) needed to win its final
three games of the regular season to even become bowl eligible and on
Wednesday justified their selection by capturing the program's first
postseason victory since its last bowl appearance in 2009. Radcliff
completed 19-of-29 passes for 253 yards and tossed two touchdown passes
to Andrew Flory, who logged 105 yards on just three catches. Wilson caught
a game-high 10 passes for 101 yards. The loss came in the Hilltoppers' (7-6)
first-ever bowl game, only three years after they suffered through an 0-12
season in their first year in the Sun Belt Conference. The success led to head
coach Willie Taggart departing the program for South Florida earlier this
month, and Lance Guidry served as interim coach on Wednesday with the newly-
hired Bobby Petrino waiting to take over. Kawaun Jakes, the starting
quarterback on the winless 2009 squad, threw a TD pass and ran for another
score, but threw an incomplete pass on 4th-and-2 deep inside Central Michigan
territory with under a minute remaining to seal the outcome. Antonio Andrews
totaled 184 all-purpose yards in the loss, falling 90 yards short of breaking
Barry Sanders' all-time NCAA record.
The Sports Network