San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Michigan emphatic in rout
Harbaugh’s No. 2 team rules Big Ten, could be a tough out in CFP
Hassan Haskins ran for two second-half touchdowns and broke a school record and running back Donavan Edwards threw a 75-yard TD pass to help No. 2 Michigan capture its first Big Ten title in 17 years and a probable playoff berth with a 42-3 rout Saturday over No. 15 Iowa in Indianapolis.
Resurgent Michigan (12-1, No. 2 CFP) has won five straight and if it reaches the playoff, as expected, would need one more win to return to Indianapolis to play for its first national championship since 1997. The Wolverines’ recent results suggest they could be a real contender.
It’s been an improbable run since former Stanford and 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh took a pay cut following a dismal 2020. His seventh season as Wolverines head coach began with Michigan unranked and picked to finish in the middle of the Big Ten East. A transformative victory over Ohio State led to a chance for the Big Ten title, and Saturday night’s game came on an emotional night when Michigan paid tribute to the victims from Tuesday’s school shooting, which resulted in the deaths of four students at Oxford (Mich.) High School.
The Wolverines handed the Hawkeyes (10-3, No. 13) their second straight title game loss and prevented coach Kirk Ferentz from capturing his first conference crown since 2004.
All Michigan needed was an early two-punch scoring flurry. Blake Corum made two cuts to the right and sprinted 67 yards to make it 7-0. On Michigan’s next offensive play, Cade McNamara lateraled to Edwards and the freshman threw a perfect 75-yard TD pass to a wide open Roman Wilson for a 75-yard score and a 14-0 lead. Hawkins broke open the game with a 4-yard TD run midway through the third quarter then sealed the victory by becoming the first Michigan running back to score 20 TDs in a single season on a 1-yard run early in the fourth. Ron Johnson set the previous mark, 19, in 1968.
American Athletic
#3 Cincinnati 35, #16 Houston 20: The Bearcats are poised to make history. After rolling over the visiting Cougars in the conference ttle game, they are in position to become the first non-Power 5 team to qualify for the College Football Playoff. They are the No. 4 team in the latest CFP rankings. Jerome Ford rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns and Desmond Ridder threw three touchdown passes for Cincinnati (13-0).
Head coach Luke Fickell believes the Bearcats have done enough.
“The resounding statement is what we did on that football field,” Fickell said. “Nobody is going to call and ask us what we think. I don’t think these guys can be denied that opportunity. It would be a shame.”
Cincinnati which extended the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 27, scored three TDs in fewer than eight minutes to finish off its second straight AAC crown. The fans rushed the field amid a shower of confetti.
Cougars junior QB Clayton Tune passed for 250 yards with two touchdowns and an interception as Houston (11-2) lost for the first time since dropping its season-opener to Texas Tech on Sept. 4.
OTHER TITLE GAMES
ACC: #17 Pittsburgh 45, #18 Wake
Forest 21: Kenny Pickett accounted for three touchdowns and Erick Hallett II returned one of Pittsburgh’s four interceptions for a touchdown to help the the Panthers (11-2) beat the Demon Deacons (10-3) in Charlotte, N.C. Hallett’s pick-six with 11:42 left came on the heels of A.J. Woods having a 75-yard interception return that fell only 3 yards short of taking it all the way for the score early in the fourth quarter. That was the highlight sequence in a strong defensive performance that locked up the highscoring Demon Deacons after the opening quarter and ultimately carried the Panthers to their first ACC title since leaving the Big East in 2013. Wake Forest was back in the ACC title game for the first time since winning the 2006 championship.
Mountain West: Utah State 46, #19 San Diego State 13: Brandon Bowling caught two touchdown passes from Logan Bonner during the decisive third quarter in Carson (Los Angeles County), and the Aggies (10-3) won their first conference title. Bonner passed for 318 yards and four TDs, while fellow Arkansas State transfer Bowling had eight catches for a career-high 154 yards. The Aggies punctuated their inspiring turnaround under first-year coach Blake Anderson by blowing out the short-handed Aztecs (11-2) for their first win over an AP Top 25 opponent since 2015. Utah State earned a berth in the inaugural LA Bowl on Dec. 18 at SoFi Stadium, likely to face Oregon State. Jordon Brookshire passed for 117 yards before getting replaced by Jalen Mayden for San Diego State, which had its four-game winning streak snapped in the school’s most lopsided loss since a 35-point defeat at Ohio State in September 2013.
Sun Belt: #20 Louisiana-Lafayette
24, Appalachian State 16: Levi Lewis scored on a career-high 56yard run and passed for another touchdown, and the host Ragin’ Cajuns (12-1) capped off soon-to-be Florida coach Billy Napier’s time with a conference title. Emani Baily rushed for 117 yards, highlighted by his 35yard touchdown run on a 3rd-and-9 play to give the Cajuns a two-touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter. Lewis passed for 210 yards without a turnover and finished with 43 net yards rushing as Louisiana-Lafayette lengthened its school-record winning streak to 12 games.
Mid-American: Northern Illinois 41, Kent State 23: In Detroit, quarterback Rocky Lombardi ran for three touchdowns and Jay Ducker ran for 146 yards on 29 carries to power the Huskies’ (9-4) to their sixth MAC title in the last 11 years and first since 2018 when it beat Buffalo. The Golden Flashes (7-6) were shooting for their first conference championship since winning it in 1972.
Southwestern Athletic: Jackson State 27, Prairie View A&M 10:Isaiah Bolden returned a kick-off 91 yards and James Houston IV picked off a pass in the backfield and returned it five yards for a score as the host Tigers (11-1) broke open a tight game in the third quarter to beat the Panthers (7-5) and win their first SWAC title in 13 years — and first for head coach Deion Sanders.