Playoff bound: Alabama rolls No. 1 Georgia for SEC title
ATLANTA — Bryce Young stunningly carved up the nation’s top-rated defense, giving Nick Saban and Alabama a shot at another national championship.
Young threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide rolled over No. 1 Georgia 41-24 in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday, a result that likely sends both powerhouse programs to the fourteam College Football Playoff.
Young set SEC championship records with 421 yards passing and 461 yards total offense.
Georgia (12-1, No. 1 CFP) cruised through the regular season, barely challenged and 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.
Young made them look like a scout team, surely bolstering his Heisman Trophy chances as well as moving on to an even bigger game on the final day of 2021.
The playoff field will be announced Sunday, with the semifinals set for the Orange and Cotton bowls on Dec. 31.
Alabama (12-1, No. 3 CFP) had six offensive scoring drives — five covering at least 75 yards, the other 62 — and finished with a staggering 536 yards against a team that was giving up just under 231 per game.
BIG 12
ARLINGTON, Texas — Dezmon Jackson came up inches short on a desperate, fourth-down dive with 24 seconds remaining and fifth-ranked Oklahoma State fell to ninth-rated Baylor 21-16 in the Big 12 championship game, knocking the Cowboys out of contention for a playoff spot.
Blake Shapen threw three TDs while completing his first 17 passes as Baylor (11-2, College Football Playoff No. 9) took a 21-3 lead.
The Cowboys (11-2, CFP No. 5) rallied back, then went 89 yards on 17 plays on their final drive. But their Big 12 and national championship hopes wound up just shy.
After having first-and-goal from 2 following a pass interference penalty, Jackson gained a yard and was held for no gain before an incomplete pass by Spencer Sanders.
On fourth down from the 1, Jackson tried to sweep wide left, but with safety Jairon McVea in pursuit, he barely missed while trying to reach the pylon in the front corner of the end zone.
“When I saw the running back with the ball, I thought I’ve got to run this guy down,” McVea said, who wasn’t even sure where the ball was when the tackle was made. “The ref signaled not a touchdown, so when I saw that I was pretty happy.”
“They made a good play. It’s not 27’s fault,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said, referring to Jackson.
AAC
CINCINNATI — Jerome Ford rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns and Desmond Ridder threw three touchdown passes as No. 3 Cincinnati broke open a close game in the third quarter and rolled past No. 16 Houston 35-20 in the American Athletic Conference championship game.
The Bearcats who are ranked No. 4 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, are in position to become the first non-Power 5 team to qualify. The final rankings will be announced Sunday.
Cincinnati (12-0) which extended the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 27, scored three touchdowns in fewer than eight minutes to finish off its second straight AAC crown.
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.
It was a wild first quarter on Saturday with the teams combining for 24 points and 316 yards.
MOUNTAIN WEST
CARSON, Calif. — Brandon Bowling caught two touchdown passes from Logan Bonner during the decisive third quarter, and Utah State won its first Mountain West Conference title with a 46-13 rout of No. 19 San Diego State.
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 (10-3) punctuated their inspiring turnaround under first-year coach Blake Anderson by blowing out the shorthanded 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, the Los Angeles Rams’ multibillion-dollar arena located about 12 miles northwest of the site of this victory at San Diego State’s temporary home. The Aggies are 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.
Utah State’s 46 points were the most allowed in Aztecs coach Brady Hoke’s two stints and four seasons at SDSU.
SUN BELT
LAFAYETTE, La. — Levi Lewis scored on a career-high 56-yard run and passed for another touchdown, and No. 20 Louisiana-Lafayette capped off soon-to-be Florida coach Billy Napier’s time with the Ragin’ Cajuns by defeating Appalachian State 24-16 in the Sun Belt Conference championship game.
Emani Baily rushed for 117 yards, highlighted by his 35-yard
touchdown run on a third-and-9 play to give the Cajuns a twotouchdown lead early in the fourth quarter.
Lewis passed for 210 yards without a turnover and finished with 43 net yards rushing as Louisiana-Lafayette (12-1, 9-0 Sun Belt) lengthened its school-record winning streak to 12 games.
Cameron Peoples ran for a 43-yard touchdown in the first half for Appalachian State (10-3, 7-2), but the Mountaineers’ offense struggled to match its usual production while trying to play catchup from its first possession.
Appalachian State QB Chase Brice, who averaged 241.8 yards passing per game during the regular season, completed just 12 of 30 passes for 119 yards and was sacked four times — twice each by Cajuns defensive lineman Zi’Yon Hill and edge rusher Chauncey Manac.
MAC
DETROIT — Quarterback Rocky Lombardi ran for three touchdowns and Jay Ducker ran for 146 yards on 29 carries to power Northern Illinois to a 41-23 victory over Kent State in the Mid-American Conference title
game .
It is the Huskies’ (9-4) sixth MAC title in the last 11 years and first since 2018 when it beat Buffalo. Kent State (7-6) was shooting for its first conference championship since winning it in 1972.
“This is historic,” said Huskies coach Thomas Hammock whose team was predicted to finish in last place this year after going 0-6 in 2020. “I don’t think any team has gone winless the year before and won a championship.
“When everybody said we would finish last, all I told our team was we are the best team in the MAC until proven otherwise. Obviously, they didn’t prove us otherwise.”
Momentum appeared to be shifting to the Golden Flashes at the start of the second half. Andrew Glass kicked a 41-yard field goal on the opening drive for their first points of the game and the Kent State defense forced Northern Illinois to punt for the first time.
But on the next drive Dustin Crum, the MAC’s most valuable player this season, was intercepted by C.J. Brown who returned it 26 yards for a touchdown as the Huskies went ahead 24-3.