Memphis in title game
Tigers target Cotton Bowl, will host Cincinnati for AAC championship
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The Memphis Tigers marked off their first 11-win season along with the 500th victory in program history all in the same game.
Now those are almost afterthoughts with the Tigers’ sights set on much, much more.
Brady White threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns as No. 17 Memphis beat 18th-ranked Cincinnati 34-24 Friday for the Tigers’ third straight American Athletic Conference West title and the right to host the league championship — and the Bearcats again — next week.
This will be the first time that Memphis (11-1, 7-1, No. 18 CFP) will host a conference title game. And the Tigers will do it with a chance at playing in the Cotton Bowl still possible for a program that doesn’t have many trophies around.
“We do want to celebrate it,” Memphis coach Mike Norvell said of that third straight division title. “But we’re not done.”
Memphis set up the rematch by snapping the East Division champ’s nine-game winning streak.
Cincinnati (10-2, 7-1, No. 19 CFP) hadn’t lost since being routed by Ohio State on Sept. 7, and having to return to the Liberty Bowl to play Memphis in consecutive weeks wasn’t something coach Luke Fickell thought about knowing that would mean a Bearcats’ loss.
“There’s things you got to be able to do differently, there’s things you got to be able to change,” Fickell said. “But just like them, we still got to be who we are.”
Joseph Dorceus and Bryce Huff had two sacks apiece, and Memphis finished with five. The Tigers came up with three turnovers, including an interception by Sanchez with 1:35 left.
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IOWA EDGES NEBRASKA: It was cold and damp, Iowa had the ball at its 26 yard-line with 32 seconds left in regulation in a tie game, and the Hawkeyes’ offense hadn’t done much since the first quarter.
Instead of being content to play for overtime against border rival Nebraska, coach Kirk Ferentz went for the win Friday.
The Hawks got it when Keith Duncan kicked a 48-yard field goal with one second left, giving No. 19 Iowa a 27-24 victory over Nebraska that leaves the Cornhuskers out of the postseason for a third consecutive season.
“We thought we had a chance if we executed,” Ferentz said. “There’s some risk and reward involved there. We thought the reward outweighed the risk. At least we came out the right side this time.”
The Hawkeyes (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) beat the Huskers (5-7, 3-6) for a fifth straight year and second year in a row on a late field goal.
The Huskers are in their longest bowl drought since 1955-61, but coach Scott Frost is encouraged by the progress the second half of the season.
“There’s a lot of things that needed to get fixed, and I think a lot of those have been addressed,” Frost said. “I think when you plant a seed, you don’t necessarily see sprouts right away. There’s a lot going on underneath the ground before you see things shooting out of it. I know a lot of things have gotten better.”
VIRGINIA WINS COASTAL: Even with a nine-point lead and less than a minute on the clock, Bryce Perkins was not ready to celebrate Virginia finally breaking its Commonwealth Cup drought.
It was only a year ago, in his first experience with Virginia’s annual rivalry game against Virginia Tech, Perkins botched a handoff in overtime that allowed the Hokies to extend their dominance in the series after a wild finish.
“I needed to see zeroes because I remembered last year,” Perkins said Friday after Virginia ended a 15-game losing streak to the 23rd-ranked Hokies and earned its first trip to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, with a 39-30 victory.
Perkins was a huge part of why the Cavaliers (9-3, 6-2) won, putting up 475 yards of offense. Brian Delaney kicked a go-ahead 48-yard field with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter and Virginia sealed it with a defensive score, causing fans to spill onto the field in a wild celebration.
“I was the last play that ultimately ended up losing us the game. I had to sit with that all year and it hurt, so this game I really wanted to go out there and be aggressive and just give everything I could for the team and not to let them down again,” Perkins said.
Perkins ran for two long touchdowns and passed for another for the Cavaliers (9-3, 6-2), who became the seventh different winner in as many years to win the Coastal Division. Delaney also kicked a 25-yard field goal for Virginia, and his last kick made up for a missed extra point early.
“How fitting after a missed extra point early that I thought was going to haunt us,” Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall said.
Hendon Hooker ran for one touchdown and threw for another for the Hokies (8-4, 5-3), who came in having won six of seven games to surge into championship contention. A rallying defense and Hooker’s steady play drove the surge, but both came up short against Virginia.