Washington State football's furious comeback attempt in the 2021 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl came up just short, as Central Michigan earned a hard fought 24-21 victory on Friday, December 31st in El Paso. Central Michigan jumped out to a 21-0 first half lead but backup quarterback Victor Gabalis, subbing in for an injured Jayden de Laura, mounted a second half surge to make it a nail-biter. Gabalis finished with 177 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions and Ron Stone Jr. had a clutch blocked field goal to keep the Cougars alive late.