Mack shines as No. 7 UCF topples Memphis in AAC
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Darriel Mack shrugged off two early turnovers to rush for three second-half touchdowns and rally No. 7 UCF to a 56-41 victory over Memphis in the American Athletic Conference championship game Saturday.
With the red-shirt freshman filling in for injured quarterback McKenzie Milton, the Knights (12-0, No. 8 CFP) won their second straight league title and extended the nation's longest winning streak to 25 games.
Mack also threw for 348 yards and two TDs without an interceptions to keep UCF, the only FBS team to finish undefeated a year ago, in the conversation about who's deserving of consideration for berths in the College Football Playoff.
Greg McCrae rushed for 206 yards and one TD for the Knights, who beat the Tigers 62-55 in the 2017 AAC title game and rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to win 31-30 at Memphis during the regular season.
This time, UCF trailed 38-21 at halftime before scoring touchdowns on five straight possessions in the second half.
Darrell Henderson scored on runs of 62, 12 and 82 yards and also throw a 4-yard TD pass to help Memphis (8-5) build its big halftime lead.
But the nation's second-leading rusher only gained 3 yards on six carries in the second half, finishing with 210 yards on 16 carries.
Mack lost two first-quarter fumbles, setting up Henderson's second touchdown and a field goal. The red-shirt freshman also fumbled into the end zone from inside the Memphis 1, however teammate Michael Colubiale recovered for a UCF touchdown in the second quarter.
Milton was injured at South Florida in the Knights' regular- season finale. He has been released from a Tampa hospital and returned home to Orlando, where he was expected to watch Saturday night's game on television with his parents.
THE TAKEAWAY
Memphis: The Tigers scored on their first five possessions to build a 31-14 lead but once again couldn't to finish the job against the Knights, who've beaten them four times in two seasons. Brady White was effective throwing the ball until UCF finally stopped Henderson and Patrick Taylor, who scored on a 70-yard run and finished with 118 rushing, from running wild.
UCF: The defense's inability to stop the run set the tone early, and Mack's early mistakes dug the Knights into an even deeper hole. Despite the early turnovers, Mack remained poised and the Knights finally got into a rhythm offensively in the third quarter.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Despite moving up one spot in the latest CFP rankings to No. 8, the Knights remain a long shot to leapfrog teams ahead of them to get into the playoff. A New Year's Six bowl bid is an almost certainty, though.
UAB 27, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 25.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Spencer Brown ran for 156 yards and a touchdown, Nick Vogel put UAB ahead with a field goal with 3:23 remaining and the Blazers, who reinstated their program last season after a two-year hiatus, beat Middle Tennessee 27-25 in Saturday's Conference USA championship game.
The Blue Raiders, who beat UAB in Murfreesboro 27-3 last weekend in a regular-season finale, were set to get a final chance with 1:21 to play but were flagged for having 12 men on the field as the Blazers prepared to punt, and UAB took a knee twice to run out the clock.
The victory gave UAB (10-3) its first 10-win season and its first Conference USA championship. The program was shut down after the 2014 season before being reinstated and taking two years off.
Brown's 30-yard run from the 50 was the key play in setting up Vogel's winning kick. Brown went 1,000 yards rushing for the second year in a row.
Trailing 13-3 after the first quarter, the Blazers scored 21 straight points in the second quarter on a 2-yard run by Brown, Tyler Johnston III's 40-yard pass to Andrew Wilson and Johnston's 3-yard run that came after Chris Woolbright intercepted Brent Stockstill's pass giving the ball to UAB at the Middle Tennessee 35.
The Blue Raiders cut into the lead on Crews Holt's field goal as time ran out at halftime then scored on Stockstill's 46-yard pass to Zack Dobson in the third quarter and took the lead at 25-24 with 10:08 left in the game on a Holt field goal.
Middle Tennessee (9-4) came in 5-0 at home this season.