As long as he could hold onto the ball and keep his footing on a slippery day, Kyron Drones found plenty of room to run.

Drones rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown and also threw for two TDs as Virginia Tech withstood a second-half downpour to beat No. 23 Tulane 41-20 in the Military Bowl on Wednesday at Annapolis, Md.

Drones fumbled three times in the wet weather, but the Hokies (7-6) only lost one of them. The sophomore quarterback passed for just 91 yards, but he and Bhayshul Tuten were tough to stop on the ground.

“It was tough conditions. You can’t really simulate it like that,” Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry said. “They had the same weather we did. Both teams had to deal with it.”

Tuten finished with 136 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries to help Virginia Tech snap a four-game losing streak in bowls.

“Any time we’ve had success this year, really, we’ve been able to run the ball,” Pry said. “That’s who we need to be. That’s who we want to be.”

Tulane (11-3) was without star quarterback Michael Pratt. Both Kai Horton and Justin Ibieta played in his place, but Ibieta was carted off in the second quarter with an apparent leg injury. Makhi Hughes rushed for 88 yards.

WEST VIRGINIA 30, NORTH CAROLINA 10 >> Garrett Greene threw for 204 yards and a touchdown, Beanie Bishop Jr. returned a punt 78 yards for a score and West Virginia closed a season in which it exceeded expectations with a victory in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Charlotte, N.C.

Traylon Ray had a 75-yard touchdown reception on the first play from scrimmage for the Mountaineers, who won their final three games to finish 9-4 after being picked to finish last in the Big 12.

Selected the game MVP, Greene completed 11 of 22 passes.

North Carolina (8-5) played without star quarterback Drake Maye and top wide receiver Tez Walker, who opted out of the game to begin preparing for the NFL draft.

No. 14 Arizona faces tough test >> Arizona will be in unfamiliar territory at the Alamo Bowl.

The Wildcats — two seasons removed from winning only one game — face traditional power Oklahoma tonight in San Antonio.

Jedd Fisch, the third-year head coach who has directed Arizona’s turnaround, said just eight of his players have competed in a bowl game, and those are all transfers.

“This is a brand-new experience for a majority of our team,” Fisch said. “It’s a brand new experience for our players. We want to make sure that our players understand it is a privilege to play in a bowl game. It is a celebration of a job well done.”

The 14th-ranked Wildcats (9-3) take a six-game win streak into the matchup with No. 12 Oklahoma (10-2). Four of those victories came against teams that were ranked at the time they played — Washington State, Oregon State, UCLA and Utah.

“There’s nobody in college football right now that’s playing better football the last half of the season than the University of Arizona,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said.

WHO’S IN, WHO’S OUT >> Two-time AP All-America receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is with Ohio State as the seventh-ranked Buckeyes prepare for the Cotton Bowl, though there are no indications that he will play Friday night against Missouri. ... Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton has opted out to prepare for the 2024 NFL draft, leaving freshman Nico Iamaleava to make his first career start for the Volunteers in Monday’s Citrus Bowl.