No. 17 Utah earns Rose Bowl berth

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

NO. 17 UTAH 38,

NO. 10 OREGON 10

LAS VEGAS — Devin Lloyd returned an interception for a touchdown, Cam Rising threw for another score and No. 17 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 (10-3) jumped out early and won 38-7.

While that game all but ended the playoff hopes for Oregon (10-3), the rematch delivered Coach Kyle Whittingham and the Utes the Rose Bowl prize they had been seeking since joining the Pac12 in 2011.

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 Pac-12 title game in Las Vegas.

C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO 49, WESTERN KENTUCKY 41

SAN ANTONIO — Sincere McCormick rushed for 204 yards and three touchdowns and the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners — led by former University of Arkansas assistant Jeff Traylor — escaped another prolific outing by Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe to beat the Hilltoppers and claim the Conference USA championship on Friday night at the Alamodome.

Traylor and former Arkansas quarterback and assistant coach Barry Lunney, Jr., helped the Roadrunners win their first Conference USA championship. Lunney, a former quarterback at Arkansas in 1992-95, was the Razorbacks’ tight ends coach under Bret Bielema in 2014-17 and Chad Morris in 2018-19. Traylor was at Arkansas in 2018-19 as associate head coach and running backs coach before taking the UTSA job.

Zappe completed 36 of 59 passes for 577 yards and four touchdowns. He set a single-season school record with 5,545 yards passing, surpassing Brandon Doughty.

UTSA had its most inspiring victory less than a week after its most humiliating outing in a 45-23 loss to North Texas last week.

Leading 49-41 with a minute remaining, the Roadrunners stopped the Hilltoppers at their own 6-yard line when Jahmal Sam intercepted a desperation throw by Zappe as time expired.

Roadrunners quarterback Frank Harris completed 19 of 28 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns.