SHREVEPORT — Louisiana-Monroe had the better story line and what amounted to a home-field advantage.

What the Warhawks didn’t have was an answer for Ohio’s Tyler Tettleton or Beau Blankenship.

Ohio jumped out to a big early lead and cruised to a 45-14 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Friday in the Independence Bowl, putting a damper on the Warhawks’ first trip to college football’s postseason since moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 1994.

In his post game analysis, Louisiana-Monroe Coach Todd Berry said he saw plenty of effort. The problem was his guys might have tried a little too hard.

“Guys were trying to make something happen and everybody was trying to make a play instead of playing their responsibilities,” Berry said. “There were a lot of busts, not in terms of not knowing how to do something, but in terms of turning a guy loose and obviously that showed.”

Tettleton completed his first 5 passes for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns to stake the Bobcats to a 14-0 lead. Louisiana-Monroe was never able to regain its footing.

“Right out the gate they jumped on us and it seemed like we were kind of shell shocked,” Louisiana-Monroe linebacker R.J. Young said.

Ohio broke several Independence Bowl records, including the 31-point margin of victory and 556 total yards.

“It was probably as complete of ballgame as we’ve played in some time,” Ohio Coach Frank Solich said. “I think our guys played with great intensity and a great deal of heart. We showed we can play a great game against a really good team like Louisiana-Monroe.”

Tettleton finished 14 of 22 passing for 331 yards and 2 touchdowns and threw an interception.

Chase Cochran caught three passes for 162 yards while Tyler Futrell had five receptions for 133 yards.With Tettleton softening the Louisiana-Monroe defense early, Blankenship provided the power offense to seal the game, rushing for 104 yards and an Independence Bowl record four touchdowns.

Tettleton completed 9 of 14 passes for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half as Ohio built a 24-7 lead.

Louisiana-Monroe (8-5) struggled in its first bowl game after 19 seasons in the FBS. Kolton Browning completed 21 of 39 passes for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns, but also threw 3 first-half interceptions.

Ohio lost four of five games to end the regular season - including the last three - but looked crisp in a complete performance against the Warhawks.

Tettleton’s 2012 season had been a slight disappointment considering the huge numbers he put up the year before as a sophomore, but his performance against Louisiana-Monroe was a reminder of how good he can be. He averaged more than 23 yards per completion.

Blankenship finished with a school-record 1,604 yards rushing yards this season and topped the 100-yard mark for the 10th time. All four of his touchdown runs came from 2 yards out or less.

Coming into Friday’s game, it appeared Louisiana-Monroe had most of the momentum. The Warhawks were playing in their first bowl game after joining college football’s highest level in 1994 and secured a bid in Shreveport, which is only about 100 miles from their campus.

But that emotional lift didn’t help Louisiana-Monroe’s defense, which couldn’t handle Tettleton’s deep ball accuracy early and Blankenship’s hard running late.

Tettleton needed just three passes to lead Ohio to its first touchdown. He hit Futrell on a 26-yard gain and Cochran on a 51-yard pass before finding Donte Foster for the 3-yard scoring pass.

A few minutes later, Tettleton hit Cochran in stride for a 68-yard scoring pass that gave the Bobcats a 14-0 lead.

Louisiana-Monroe briefly showed some life early in the second quarter when Browning’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Tavarese Maye cut the margin to 14-7.

Russell Athletic Bowl VIRGINIA TECH 13, RUTGERS 10

ORLANDO, Fla. - Cody Journell kicked a 22-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime to help Virginia Tech beat Rutgers.

Virginia Tech (7-6) won its third consecutive game to avoid its first losing season since 1992.

Rutgers (9-4) had a chance to tie it in overtime, but Nick Borgese missed a 42-yard field-goal attempt to the right.

Virginia Tech trailed 10-0 at halftime, then rallied in the final 30 minutes thanks to some timely turnovers and offense. Quarterback Logan Thomas struggled in the first half and finished with two interceptions, but also had 192 passing yards and the game’s only passing touchdown.

The victory also was the Hokies’ 12th consecutive victory over their former Big East Conference rival.

Virginia Tech cornerback Antone Exum, selected the MVP of the game, picked off Gary Nova’s pass early in the fourth quarter to set up the tying score.

Rutgers seemed to be in command until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, when turnovers and a sudden surge from the Hokies’ offense quickly turned the momentum.

Down 10-0, Virginia Tech took over after Rutgers missed field goal and moved into Scarlet Knights’ territory for the first time in the game on a 32-yard pass from Thomas to Dyrell Roberts.

Thomas then found Corey Fuller for a 25-yard pass on the next play, before the drive stalled on the 8. It forced the Hokies to settle for Journell’s 25-yard field goal.

Exum intercepted Nova’s pass on the ensuing drive, giving the Hokies a first down on the Rutgers 21.

The Hokies scored three plays later on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Thomas to Fuller with 10:56 left as steady rain began to fall.

Meineke Car Care Bowl TEXAS TECH 34, MINNESOTA 31

HOUSTON - D.J. Johnson returned an interception 39 yards and Ryan Bustin made a 28-yard field goal as time expired to give Texas Tech a comeback victory over Minnesota.

Seth Doege found Eric Ward on a short pass, and he outran a defender for a 35-yard scoring play to tie it at 31-31 with just more than a minute remaining.

Michael Carter intercepted two of Doege’s passes in the fourth quarter before the tying score, but Minnesota couldn’t convert either of the turnovers into points.

The Red Raiders (8-5) got their third consecutive bowl victory to wrap up a month that began with Coach Tommy Tuberville’s abrupt departure for the job at Cincinnati. Texas Tech has hired Kliff Kingsbury to replace him, but interim coach Chris Thomsen led the team against Minnesota (6-7). Kingsbury was at the game, watching from a suite.

Sports, Pages 23 on 12/29/2012