Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
W. Kentucky heading to bowl No. 3 after victory
BOWLING GREEN, Ky.
— Anthony Wales rushed for 209 yards and four touchdowns, Mike White threw for 421 and three more scores and Western Kentucky defeated Louisiana Tech 58-44 on Saturday in the Conference USA championship game.
The Hilltoppers (10-3) and Bulldogs (8-5), who won the regular-season matchup 55-52 on Oct. 6, combined for 1,163 yards of total offense in the highest scoring championship game in C-USA history. It is the second straight title for Western Kentucky, which is headed to its third bowl in a row and fourth in five years.
Following a 1-yard run by Kam McKnight that gave the Bulldogs their only lead of the second half at 38-34, Western Kentucky would take control in outscoring the Bulldogs 24-6 over the final 24 minutes.
Wales would score twice on runs of 15 and 13 yards, with the last proving to be the backbreaker and provided the final margin.
Wales also had a receiving touchdown with five catches for 53 yards. Ryan Higgins threw for 502 yards and three touchdowns for the Bulldogs.
Temple 34, No. 20 Navy 10
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Phillip Walker threw two touchdown passes, Temple’s defense stuffed Navy’s running game and the Owls claimed their first American Athletic Conference title with a 34-10 victory Saturday.
After Temple (10-3) scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, protecting the 21-0 lead became substantially easier when No. 20 Navy (9-3, No. 19 CFP) lost standout quarterback Will Worth to a second-quarter ankle injury.
Although the defeat took Navy out of the running for the Cotton Bowl, the Midshipmen are expected to play in the Armed Forces Bowl after facing Army next Saturday.
The Owls extended their winning streak to seven and earned their first league title since finishing atop the Middle American Conference in 1967. Temple lost to Houston in last year’s AAC Championship game.
This time, the Owls dominated from the outset. Not only did Temple open with TD drives of 75, 59 and 70 yards, but the defense quashed a Navy attack that was averaging 61 points over its previous three games.
The Midshipmen had scored on 34 of 38 drives — including 33 touchdowns — before being denied on their first three possessions by Temple. Worth was injured at the end of the third drive and did not return.
That spelled doom for an offense that produced more than 500 yards in each of its last three games. Navy finished with 306 yards, 168 on the ground.
Backup quarterback Zach Abey went 7 for 13 for 104 yards and two interceptions. He ran for 70 yards. He was operating without running backs Toneo Gulley and Darryl Bonner both of whom left with first-half injuries.
The result was the end of Navy’s 15-game home winning streak.
Walker went 16 for 25 for 199 yards, and middle linebacker Jarred Alwan led the Owls defense with 13 tackles.
Temple took the suspense out of the game with an early show of offensive firepower. After Walker completed a 13-yard pass for Keith Kirkwood on fourth-and-7 from the Navy 28, Jahad Thomas ran for a 15-yard score.
After falling behind 24-3 at halftime, the Midshipmen got a 47-yard run that ended with a score from the Temple 1.
A 42-yard field goal by with 10:17 left ended any hope of a Navy comeback.