No. 14 Utah is Rose Bowl-bound
Utes thrash Oregon for Pac-12 crown
LAS VEGAS — Devin Lloyd returned an interception for a touchdown, Cam Rising threw for another score and No. 14 Utah clinched the first Rose Bowl berth in school history with a 38-10 victory over No. 10 Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game Friday night.
This game was a near carbon copy of the one in Salt Lake City two weeks ago when the Utes (103, No. 17 CFP) jumped out early and won 38-7.
While that game all but ended the playoff hopes for Oregon (103, No. 10), the rematch delivered coach Kyle Whittingham and the Utes the Rose Bowl prize they had been seeking since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.
It capped an emotional last 12 months for the Utes program that has dealt with the deaths of two players.
Utah had lost its first two trips to the conference title game, including two years ago to Oregon, but left little doubt this time.
Rising engineered a TD drive on the opening possession after converting a sneak on fourth down near midfield. Tavon Thomas capped it with a 2-yard run.
Lloyd then returned an interception 34 yards for a score later in the first quarter and Utah put the game away by scoring twice in the final 27 seconds of the first half.
Rising hit Dalton Kincaid on an 11-yard pass with 27 seconds left. Then Malone Mataele intercepted an ill-advised pass from Anthony Brown to set up Jadon Redding’s 50-yard field goal on the final play of the half to make it 23-0.
Thomas and T.J. Pledger added TD runs in the second half for the Utes to the delight of the huge contingent of Utah fans among the 56,511 in attendance for the first title game in Las Vegas.
CONFERENCE USA: In San Antonio, Texas, Sincere McCormick rushed for 204 yards and three touchdowns and the UTSA Roadrunners escaped another prolific outing by Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe to beat the Hilltoppers 49-41 and claim their first C-USA championship.
Zappe completed 36 of 59 passes for 577 yards and four touchdowns. He set a single-season school record with 5,545 yards passing.
UTSA had its most inspiring win less than a week after its most humiliating outing in a 45-23 loss to North Texas.
MWC: No. 19 San Diego State has to make one more trip to the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, this time to host the conference title championship game Saturday against Utah State in their temporary home at a soccer pitch, 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park.
Win and the Aztecs (11-1, 7-1) will gladly make a final drive up interstates 5/405 this year, because the MWC title includes a berth in the inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl at $5 billion SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Dec. 18.
SDSU, which is 6-1 at Carson this year and 9-2 in two seasons, is trying for its first MWC championship since winning consecutive titles in 2015-16 under former coach and current New Mexico assistant Rocky Long. Utah State (9-3, 6-2) lost to Fresno State in its only championship game appearance, in 2013.
OHIO STATE: Quarterback Quinn Ewers is set to enter the transfer portal and leave Columbus. ESPN reported Friday.
NEW MEXICO STATE: Running back Juwaun Price was the latest player from the Aggies’ recently concluded 2-10 season to enter the transfer portal. He rushed for 692 yards (5.1 yards per carry) with 10 rushing touchdowns and 26 receptions for 181 yards as a redshirt freshman. As new coach Jerry Kill replaces Doug Martin, NMSU quarterback Jonah Johnson, five of the top six receivers from 2021 and arguably the best defensive player, linebacker Chris Ojoh, are among Aggies in the portal.
MONTANA STATE: Starting quarterback Matthew McKay entered the NCAA transfer portal just two days before the eighthseeded Bobcats (9-2) were to host UT Martin (9-2) in Saturday’s second round of the FCS playoffs. An MSU spokesperson said the team would announce its starting quarterback on Saturday.
UCONN: Before hiring Jim Mora as head coach, the university acknowledged that it was aware of four lawsuits filed against Mora, his coaching staff and UCLA during his tenure as Bruins head coach from 2012-17.
Said UConn said in a statement, “We have confirmed that the plaintiff(s) has dropped Coach Mora’s name as a defendant from this case [in November].”
Three former UCLA players, John Lopez, Poasi Moala and Zach Bateman, filed lawsuits in on May 28, 2019, against the Regents of the University of California, the NCAA, UCLA assistant coach Adrian Klemm, associate trainer Anthony Venute and Mora.
The players were each seeking in excess of $15 million in damages. The Bruins players alleged that the coaching staff mishandled their injuries during their time at the university.