SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) – Ka’Deem Carey had another vintage performance in Arizona’s decisive 42-19 victory over Boston College in the Advocare V100 Bowl on Tuesday.
Whether it’s his final one in a Wildcats’ uniform remains to be seen.
The 5-foot-10, 207-pound junior showed his ample power and speed with 169 yards rushing and two touchdowns against Boston College. The highlight of the afternoon was a long run in the fourth quarter that ended with him bowling over defenders – and even a teammate – on the way to a 27-yard gain.
Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez had plenty of praise for Carey before sneaking in a plug to campaign for a senior season.
“He’s the hardest runner in the country and I think he’s the best running back in the country,” Rodriguez said before breaking into a grin. “And he’s still got some things to learn. So another year and he’d be just right.”
Carey said now that his season is finished, his NFL decision begins in earnest. He’s had at least 100 yards rushing in 16 straight games.
“I’m thinking about it right now,” Carey said. “Once that clock hit zero, I started to think.”
The game was billed as a matchup between two of the nation’s top running backs – Arizona’s Carey and Boston College’s Andre Williams. But the duel between AP All-America first team selections was one-sided.
Williams, who won the Doak Walker Award over Carey, was held to 75 yards rushing and a touchdown. Boston College (7-6) didn’t score a touchdown until Williams’ 4-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
Arizona’s six touchdowns tied an Advocare V100 Bowl record. Carey had plenty of help, especially during the first half when running room was scarce. B.J. Denker threw for 275 touchdowns and two touchdowns and the Wildcats had an easy time in a 42-19 victory over the Eagles in the Advocare V100 Bowl on Tuesday.
Arizona (8-5) had 529 total yards and scored 35 straight points to turn a tight 7-6 game in the second quarter into a 42-6 blowout by early in the fourth.
Denker completed 17 of 24 passes while Nate Phillips caught nine passes for 193 yards. Redshirt freshman Trey Griffey – the son of former baseball star Ken Griffey Jr. – caught two touchdown passes, including a 26-yarder just before halftime that gave the Wildcats a 21-6 lead.
Rodriguez said the offense – and particularly Denker- played at a high level for most of the day
“I know when a quarterback gets it like B.J,” Rodriguez said. “He’s seeing everything – good and bad. He was really sharp mentally and obviously, he showed his athletic ability on some of those runs.”
Boston College’s remarkable turnaround season came to a disappointing conclusion. First-year coach Steve Addazio took a team that finished with a 2-10 record in 2012 back to the postseason, but the Eagles couldn’t do much of anything right Tuesday.
“I thought Arizona did an unbelievable great job of taking advantage of opportunities to gain momentum,” Addazio said. “And then they really put the pedal down.”
Williams, who came into the game with 2,102 rushing yards, looked ordinary against Arizona’s active defensive line. The senior never had much of a chance, usually meeting a pile of defenders right at the line of scrimmage.
“We had to execute at a high level and we failed to do that at certain points.” Williams said.
The Eagles’ secondary struggled to contain Arizona’s receivers, who repeatedly found space in the defense. Boston College’s Alex Amidon caught 10 passes for 129 yards and Nate Freese made field goals from 32 and 41 yards to cap a 20-for-20 season.
Both teams took to the air early. Denker completed 8 of 12 passes for 145 yards in the first half. Griffey’s two touchdowns were the first of his career.
Boston College looked much less comfortable throwing. Chase Rettig tossed two first-half interceptions, including one that William Parks returned 69 yards for a touchdown.
Denker was selected game’s Most Valuable Player on offense, and Parks took defensive honors.
Carey had 116 of his 169 yards rushing in the second half. The Wildcats pushed ahead 28-6 early in the third quarter after a long drive ended with Carey’s second touchdown – a 5-yard run up the middle.
“(Denker) started making unbelievable plays downfield and with his feet, and then everything came open for me,” Carey said.