Colorado St. Rams Related Links: Team Page Schedule Stats

Boston College Eagles Related Links: Team Page Schedule Stats

SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Derrick Knight capped a stellar four-year career in style for Boston College, while Bradlee Van Pelt struggled in his finale for Colorado State.

Knight rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns for Boston College, which intercepted Van Pelt and backup Justin Holland five times en route to a 35-21 victory over Colorado State in the San Francisco Bowl.

The Eagles (8-5) won a bowl game in each of Knight's four years at the school. He closed his career as the leading rusher in Boston College history, although he fell six yards shy of breaking Mike Cloud's single-season record of 1,726.

"The record's OK as long we get the W," said Knight, who carried 30 times. "That's what we worked all season to do."

Knight scored on runs of five and two yards during a 21-point first quarter that put Boston College ahead for good. He broke down the left side for a 27-yard run 5 1/2 minutes into the fourth quarter to give the Eagles a 35-14 lead.

"I think everybody underestimates Derrick Knight over here," Boston College coach Tom O'Brien said.

Bothered by a right hand injury, Van Pelt threw for one score and passed for another. He helped Colorado State (7-6) climb within 21-14 but was on the bench early in the fourth quarter when Holland was picked off by safety T.J. Stancil, whose return set up a 20-yard scoring strike from Paul Peterson to Larry Lester.

"One touchdown is not gonna beat you," Rams coach Sonny Lubick said. "That last interception Justin threw and their safety runs it back, those things just happen. I thought our offense ran the ball pretty well."

Lester also hauled in a 50-yard TD pass from Peterson, who was 16-of-25 for 224 yards with an interception.

"We came out with a lot of emotion ... and bang, bang, bang, we scored," Peterson said. "We had good tempo."

Van Pelt was 14-of-25 for 163 yards with three interceptions while Holland was 8-of-12 for 79 yards and two interceptions.

"We wanted Bradlee to have as much time as he could," Lubick said. "He still wanted to play, but we could see that there were a few more alls fluttering out there than normal and he just didn't have the grip."

"You're not going to blame anything on your hands," Van Pelt said. "That's just part of football."

Colorado State had 388 total yards, compared to 361 for Boston College. But Stancil had three of the Eagles' five interceptions.

"A lot of people have been getting on me because I haven't had any picks this season, so I wanted to at least have one in this bowl game," Stancil said.