Pitt beats Wake Forest for first ACC crown
Kenny Pickett accounted for three touchdowns and Erick Hallett II returned one of Pittsburgh’s four interceptions for a touchdown to help the Panthers beat Wake Forest 45-21 Saturday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Pitt freshman Rodney Hammond, from Booker T. Washington High in Norfolk, had three catches for 30 yards, including a first-quarter touchdown, plus 22 yards on six rushes.
Pitt climbed three spots to 12th in the CFP rankings to end the regular season, while Wake fell one place to 17th.
Hallett, selected the game’s MVP, had a pick-six with 11:42 left that came on the heels of A.J. Woods’ 75-yard interception return to the 3-yard line early in the fourth quarter. That was the highlight sequence in a strong defensive performance that locked up the high-scoring Demon Deacons after the opening quarter and carried the Panthers to their first ACC title since leaving the Big East in 2013.
After surrendering touchdowns on three first-quarter possessions, Pittsburgh (11-2) held Wake (10-3) scoreless for its last 13 drives while getting after Sam Hartman for five sacks to stymie the Demon Deacons’ tempo-controlling flow.
The Deacons finished with 295 total yards, with only 109 coming after the opening quarter. Hartman threw for two scores and ran for another in the opening period. He went 21 for 46 and threw for 213 yards in a four-interception performance.
Alabama 41, Georgia 24: Bryce Young threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in Atlanta, establishing himself as the Heisman Trophy favorite, as the Crimson Tide won the Southeastern Conference championship game, knocked the Bulldogs (12-1) from the No. 1 spot and secured the top seed in the College Football Playoff.
Young set SEC championship records with 421 yards passing and 461 yards of total offense.
Georgia was a unanimous choice as the nation’s No. 1 team for the past two months. The Bulldogs boasted a fearsome defensive unit that had allowed only 6.9 points a game, but Young made it look like a scout team. The Bulldogs fell to No. 3.
Michigan 42, Iowa 3: Hassan Haskins ran for two second-half touchdowns in Indianapolis and broke a school record, while running back Donavan Edwards threw a 75-yard TD pass to help Michigan capture its first Big Ten title in 17 years and secure a playoff berth.
Resurgent Michigan (12-1) has won five straight and needs to beat Georgia to return to Indianapolis to play for its first national championship since 1997. Iowa dropped two spots to 15th in the CFP rankings.
Michigan handed the Hawkeyes (10-3) their second straight titlegame loss and prevented coach Kirk Ferentz from capturing his first conference crown since 2004. Both quarterbacks, Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla, struggled against the Wolverines.
Haskins became 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.
Cincinnati 35, Houston 20: Jerome Ford rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns and Desmond Ridder threw three touchdown passes as the host Bearcats broke open a close contest in the third quarter of the American Athletic Conference championship game. They stayed at No. 4 in the CFP rankings and were rewarded with becoming the first school other than Power Five programs and Notre Dame to reach a four-team CFP. Houston climbed a place to No. 20 despite the defeat.
Ridder completed 11 of 17 passes for 190 yards for Cincinnati (12-0), which extended the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 27, and scored three touchdowns in les than eight minutes to finish off its second straight AAC crown.
Cougars junior 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.
Louisiana-Lafayette 24, Appalachian State 16: Levi Lewis scored on a career-high 56-yard run and passed for another touchdown, and host Louisiana-Lafayette capped off soon-to-be Florida coach Billy Napier’s time with the Ragin’ Cajuns (12-1) by winning the Sun Belt Conference over the Mountaineers (10-3).
The Cajuns’ only loss was to Texas in their opener. They rose one spot to No. 23 on the CFP list.