No. 23 Tulane topples UTSA
NEW ORLEANS — Makhi Hughes rushed for a career-high 166 yards and a touchdown, Tulane’s defense produced five turnovers and a fourth-down stop on its own 10, and the No. 23 Green Wave defeated UTSA 29-16 on Friday to secure the right to host the American Athletic Conference title game for a second straight season.
Chris Brazzell caught five passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns to prop up a Green Wave passing game missing leading receivers Lawrence Keys and Jha’Quan Jackson.
Tulane (11-1, 8-0 AAC) has won 10 straight, with its only loss coming in Week 2 against No. 12 Mississippi — a game Green Wave starting quarterback Michael Pratt missed with a leg injury.
AAC newcomer UTSA (8-4, 7-1) came up one victory short of advancing to the league championship game after winning the Conference USA title the previous two seasons. SMU (9-2, 7-0) can clinch a spot in New Orleans on Dec. 2 by beating Navy on Saturday.
NO. 17 IOWA 13 NEBRASKA 10
Backup kicker Marshall Meeder barely cleared the crossbar with a 38-yard field goal as time ran out after Ethan Hurkett’s interception gave the Hawkeyes a final possession with 15 seconds left in Lincoln, Neb.
Iowa (10-2, 7-2), which clinched the Big Ten West championship last week, earned a 10th victory for the fourth time since 2015 and eighth under 25thyear coach Kirk Ferentz.
The Cornhuskers (5-7, 3-6) lost four straight to end Matt Rhule’s first season as coach. Their bowl drought will stretch to seven years, the longest among Power Five schools.
NO. 6 OREGON 31 NO. 16 OREGON STATE 7
Bo Nix threw for two touchdowns and ran for another for the Ducks (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) in the final scheduled matchup between the in-state rivals.
The Ducks will face No. 4 Washington next Friday in Las Vegas, the last conference championship before 10 of the league's teams bolt next season. The winner has a chance at landing a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff.
NO. 9 MISSOURI 48 ARKANSAS 14
Cody Schrader ran for 217 yards and a touchdown and the visiting Tigers limited the Razorbacks to 87 yards in the first three quarters in Fayetteville, Ark.
Missouri (10-2, 6-2 SEC) had it best regularseason record since 2014 to likely secure a berth in one of the New Year’s Six bowl games.
Schrader ran for 194 yards and a touchdown in the first half as the Tigers built a 20-0 lead against the overmatched Razorbacks (4-8, 1-7). Brady Cook had a 6-yard run in the half and threw two touchdown passes.
NO. 11 PENN STATE 42 MICHIGAN STATE 0
In Detroit, Drew Allar threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns and Kaytron Allen ran for a career-high 137 yards as the Nittany Lions (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) had 586 yards of offense in a game they controlled from the start.
The Spartans (4-8, 2-7) closed a tumultuous season that was stunted by Mel Tucker getting suspended and fired. It also hurt that a slew of injuries left them with about 50 scholarship players healthy enough to play in the finale at Ford Field.