Huskies let lead slip away in season finale
It was a tale of two halves for Northern Illinois.
The Huskies’ defense dominated the first half for a 17- point lead before host Central Michigan scored 24 consecutive points in the second half en route to a 31- 24 victory Friday in the regular- season finale for both teams.
“I think the start to the second half was the key to the game,” NIU coach Rod Carey said. “We came out with a short run and two drops to go out, and that gave them life. Then defensively we had some mental errors. That sequence set the tone for the second half.”
On nine possessions in the first half, NIU forced five three- andouts, eight punts, scored on Jawaun Johnson’s interception return and allowed just four first downs.
“The first half was a good job by the defense,” Carey said. “The offense didn’t capitalize as well as we should have. The 17 points should have been 24 or 28. Our run game was OK at best today.”
Central Michigan ( 8- 4, 6- 2 MidAmerican Conference) was able to capitalize on a series of big plays to tie the score in the third quarter.
The Huskies ( 8- 4, 6- 2) tied it with 3: 03 to play on Tre Harbison’s 12- yard run. Facing fourth- and- four from the NIU 29- yard line going into the wind, Chippewas quarterback Shane Morris connected with CoreyWillis behind the defense for the go- ahead score.
Pittsburgh 24, No. 2 Miami 14
Freshman Kenny Pickett ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, and the host Panthers ended the Hurricanes’ nation- best winning streak at 15 games.
Pickett bulled over from six yards in the first half, flipped a fiveyard shovel pass to Qadree Ollison in the third quarter to put the Panthers up 10 and gave Pitt ( 5- 7, 3- 5 Atlantic Coast Conference) all the cushion it would need with a 22yard fourth- down sprint to the end zone with 2: 54 left.
Pickett was 18- for- 29 for 193 yards and the one score. He also added 60 yards rushing in his first career start as Pitt finished a disappointing season.
Malik Rosier went 15- for- 34 for 187 yards and two scores butwas ineffective for most of the game, even briefly getting replaced by backup Evan Schirreffs in the fourth quarter. The Hurricanes ( 10- 1, 7- 1) were held to a season- low 229 yards.
No. 15UCF 49, South Florida 42
Mike Hughes returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown with 1: 28 left, and the host Knights completed their first unbeaten regular season to wrap up the American Athletic Conference’s East Division title. Central Florida ( 11- 0, 8- 0) will host Memphis in the conference title game Dec. 2.
The Bulls ( 9- 2, 6- 2) tied it at 42 when Quinton Flowers connected with Darnel Salomon for an 83- yard touchdown strike, and then found D’Ernest Johnson for the two- point conversion. On the ensuing kickoff, Hughes found an opening on the right side and scored.
UCF’s McKenzie Milton was 29for- 44 for 373 yards and four touchdowns.
Arkansasfires Bielema
Moments after a season- ending 48- 45 loss to visiting Missouri, Arkansas fired coach Bret Bielema after five disappointing seasons. The loss left Arkansas with a 4- 8 record, capping only the second losing season of Bielema’s 12- year career. It also left him with a 29- 34 record in his five seasons with theRazorbacks, including 11- 29 in the SEC.
It was a shockingly poor performance from a coach who led Wisconsin to three Rose Bowls before being hired at Arkansas after the 2012 season.