Wyoming quarterback Levi Williams (15) finds a seam to drop off a touchdown throw against Georgia State during the first quarter of the Arizona Bowl, Arizona Stadium, December 31, 2019.

 Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

Levi Williams kept getting better.

The more reps the freshman quarterback received in practice, the more he impressed his Wyoming coaches and teammates. As the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl approached, Cowboys coach Craig Bohl made the call: Williams would make his first career start.

That decision proved to be a wise one. Williams accounted for four touchdowns as Wyoming defeated Georgia State 38-17 in the fifth Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

Williams passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for 53 yards and a score. Redshirt-sophomore tailback Xazavian Valladay had 295 scrimmage yards, including 204 on the ground, and two TDs and was named the game's offensive MVP.

Williams, who’s from Canyon Lake, Texas, originally committed to Houston but changed his mind late in the 2019 recruiting cycle after the Cougars changed coaches. Williams signed with Wyoming and spent most of the season on the scout team.

Redshirt freshman Sean Chambers started the first eight games before suffering a season-ending knee injury Oct. 26 vs. Nevada. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Vander Waal took over but couldn’t lock down the job; the Cowboys lost three of their final four games.

Earlier this month, Vander Waal put his name in the NCAA transfer portal. He dressed as Williams’ backup Tuesday. Bohl said the decision to start Williams was more about Williams’ improvement than Vander Waal’s possible departure.

Williams completed only 11 of 26 passes but made timely throws and kept critical mistakes to a minimum.

"He made a lot of big plays," Bohl said. "He had a couple of things that we wish we could have had back. For a freshman ... I thought he played with great poise and composure.

"Some people may think it was a bold step, playing a freshman quarterback. It really wasn't. I thought it was the right move. It was great experience for him, and we're glad that he's here."

Georgia State running back Destin Coates (17) gets hit from all sides, but not before picking up a first down during the first quarter of the Arizona Bowl, Arizona Stadium, December 31, 2019.

Williams passed for three touchdowns in the first half, giving the Cowboys a 24-10 lead at the break. They expanded the advantage about halfway through the third quarter. Williams connected with Valladay on a blitz-beating slant pass. The running back gained 63 yards, falling a yard short of the end zone. He scored on the next play to make it 31-10 with 8:12 left in the period.

After a quick counterstrike by Georgia State to make it 31-17, Valladay and Williams teamed up again. Valladay broke loose for a 62-yard run to the GSU 4. Williams finished the drive with a rush to the right pylon from the 6.

Wyoming gave the ball away twice in the second half, giving Georgia State a glimmer of hope. But the Panthers turned the ball over on downs each time in Cowboys territory, and Wyoming became the fourth Mountain West Conference team to hoist the Arizona Bowl trophy. The Cowboys celebrated in front of thousands of their fans, who bathed the Zona Zoo section in brown and gold.

The victory boosted Wyoming to 8-5. Georgia State ended the season at 7-6.

"This team that we have this year has been a resilient team," Bohl said. "They've payed together. There have been big plays all year long. I couldn't be more proud."

Georgia State wide receiver Cornelius McCoy (83) sits on the bench as the clocks ticks down late in the fourth quarter and down to Wyoming in the Arizona Bowl, Arizona Stadium, December 31, 2019.

Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott felt the same way about his squad, even though the Panthers fell short of achieving the first eight-win season in program history.

"We had ... what I thought was a program-changing season," Elliott said. "I know a lot of you will say, 'You finished 7-6, how can the program have changed?' I saw a lot of grit and toughness and tremendous fight. I saw great leadership. I saw the program really starting to ... blossom."

GSU kept battling, led by its courageous senior quarterback, Dan Ellington. Ellington suffered a torn ACL in his right knee against Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 9. He elected to play through the injury. The way he performed early Tuesday, you’d never have known he was hurt.

Georgia State got the ball first, and the Panthers immediately went to work. They needed just six plays and barely over two minutes to drive 75 yards for the game’s first touchdown.

Ellington accounted for 68 of those yards, including 45 on the ground. He finished the drive with a 4-yard run. Ellington kept the ball on an option to the right and knifed through two defenders at the goal line.

Ellington personified the traits Elliott saw in his team.

"You can talk about courage," Elliott said. "You talk about leadership. You talk about heart and effort and enthusiasm. You talk about putting a program on your back."

Ellington accounted for 226 total yards, including a team-high 70 on the ground. He rushed for one touchdown and threw for another.

"He's a tough son of a gun," said Wyoming safety Alijah Halliburton, who was named defensive MVP after recording a game-high 11 tackles and an interception. "I didn't know that you could run on a torn ACL. He was making a lot of great plays, especially at the beginning of the game.

"We were hitting him a lot. And he just kept getting back up and trying to figure out a way."

Down 7-3 in the first quarter, the Cowboys took advantage of a pair of Panthers miscues.

Elliott elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the GSU 38. But Tra Barnett bobbled and dropped a shovel pass from Ellington, turning the ball over on downs. Three plays later, Williams connected with Austin Conway for an 18-yard touchdown to give Wyoming a 10-7 lead. It was the first TD pass of Williams’ career.

His second came less than two minutes later. Halliburton intercepted Ellington on the first play from scrimmage after Conway’s touchdown. Halliburton returned the ball 23 yards to the GSU 11. Three plays later, Williams hit Valladay for an 8-yard score.

Wyoming linebacker Cassh Maluia (46) carries the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl trophy to Wyoming fans after Wyoming's 38-17 win over Georgia State at Arizona Stadium.

Williams displayed running ability and a strong arm but also at times looked like a freshman making his third career collegiate appearance. With the score 17-10, Wyoming advanced to the GSU 27. But on first-and-10, an under-pressure Williams threw the ball up for grabs. Cornerback Quavian White intercepted it at the 5.

On the ensuing possession, Ellington appeared to bang up his heavily braced and wrapped right leg. He limped to the sideline, sat out one play and returned to throw an incomplete pass on third-and-10.

Williams redeemed himself with a spectacular touchdown pass just before halftime. Flushed to his right and driven out of bounds by linebacker Jordan Veneziale, Williams somehow got the ball to receiver Ayden Eberhardt. Eberhardt snagged it at the GSU 31, spun and dodged multiple Panthers en route to a 51-yard score.

A roughing-the-punter penalty kept that drive alive. Without it, Georgia State might have gone into halftime with a deficit of only a touchdown.

"You look at it from a momentum standpoint, you're in a seven-point ballgame," Elliott said. "You are feeling good. We're in striking distance. We feel like we can move the ball and put some points on the board, and then that happened."

GSU never drew closer than 14 points in the second half. The Panthers combined to go 4 of 17 on third and fourth downs. The Cowboys were 11 of 17 on third down. Wyoming outgained Georgia State 319-192 after halftime.

"Last year at this time we were bowl-eligible and didn't get selected," Bohl said. "That was a real point of emphasis. It was important for us to finish the year off strong. We had some great wins this year but ... you always remember your last win."

Check out photos from the Arizona Bowl here: 

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Contact sports reporter Michael Lev at 573-4148 or mlev@tucson.com. On Twitter @michaeljlev