AAC CHAMPIONSHIP
MEMPHIS 29, CINCINNATI 24
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Antonio Gibson caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Brady White with 1:14 left and No. 17 Memphis defeated No. 20 Cincinnati 29-24 in the American Athletic Conference championship game on Saturday.
The victory marked the first time Memphis (12-1) has won the AAC title in its third straight conference championship game. The Tigers now wait for an invitation to the Cotton Bowl as the highest-ranked Group of Five team.
Eight days after beating the Bearcats 34-24 at home in the regular-season finale, Memphis rallied for another win.
Along with scoring the go-ahead touchdown, Gibson ran for 130 yards, including a 65-yard TD dash.
Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder, who did not play last week against Memphis, passed for 233 yards and ran for 113 more.
The game became a back-and-forth battle in the fourth quarter. Sam Crosa’s 33-yard field goal with 4:23 left gave the Bearcats (10-3) a 24-23 lead.
On the Tigers’ next drive, Gibson caught two passes and ran five times, setting Memphis up at the Cincinnati 6. On the scoring play, Gibson was split right and caught White’s pass.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC 49 ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM 6
Facing fourth-and-goal very early in a scoreless game, Lane Kiffin did not even hesitate in his call to leave his Florida Atlantic offense on the field.
What a rebel.
No, really. He’s off to Mississippi — to coach the Rebels.
FAU turned that decision into a touchdown and kept rolling from there, going on to a surprisingly easy 49-6 win over Alabama-Birmingham in the Conference USA championship game at Boca Raton, Fla.
Chris Robison threw for 267 yards and four touchdowns, BJ Emmons ran for a pair of scores and the Owls — in Kiffin’s finale — sent their coach off with his second league title in three years.
Kiffin resigned shortly after the game, and Mississippi announced his hire minutes later. Defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer is the Owls’ interim coach.
“Coach Kiffin deserves our thanks and a great deal of credit for continuing to build our football program to high levels of success,” FAU athletic director Brian White said.
Malcolm Davidson rushed for 128 yards and Deangelo Antoine had five catches for 112 yards and a score for the Owls (10-3), who led 35-6 at halftime and had no trouble with the league’s top-ranked defense. UAB (9-4) allowed a season-high in points and yards (585).
APPALACHIAN ST. 45 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 38
Darrynton Evans scored three touchdowns and the 20th-ranked Mountaineers won their fourth straight Sun Belt championship overall with a victory at Boone, N.C. Evans was named the game’s MVP for the second season in a row.
Zac Thomas threw for 149 yards and two touchdowns and Daetrich Harrington and Marcus Williams added touchdown runs. The Mountaineers racked up 416 yards on offense, including 267 on the ground.
The Mountaineers (12-1, 8-1 Sun Belt) accomplished something North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina State and Wake Forest never have — becoming the first FBS team from North Carolina to win 12 games in a season.
Levi Lewis threw for a Sun Belt championship game-record 354 yards and four touchdowns for Lafayette (10-3, 8-2). But the lefthander turned the ball over twice, including an interception that returned 16 yards for a score by linebacker Josh Thomas that gave the Mountaineers a 42-17 lead.
MIAMI, OHIO 26 CENTRAL MICHIGAN 21
Brett Gabbert threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jack Sorenson early in the third quarter, and the RedHawks held off the Chippewas in the MidAmerican Conference title game at Detroit for their record 16th MAC Championship.
Trailing 14-10 after two quarters, Miami took the lead on Gabbert’s screen pass to Sorenson, and the RedHawks (8-5) held off CMU (8-5) the rest of the way to win their first conference title since 2010.
BOISE ST. 31, HAWAII 10
Jaylon Henderson threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score to lead the No. 19 Broncos over the Rainbow Warriors in the Mountain West championship game at Boise, Idaho.
Boise State (12-1) won its second conference title in three years. Hawaii (9-5) was making its first appearance in the title game.
MINNESOTA ST. 42
TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE 21
Nate Gunn rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns and the top-seeded Mavericks won the NCAA Division II quarterfinal at Mankato, Minn.
WISC.-WHITEWATER 26 MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR 7
Jarrod Ware rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns as the Warhawks won the NCAA Division III quarterfinal game at Belton.
The Warhawks (12-1) advance to the national semifinals.
Mary Hardin-Baylor (12-1) was held to minus three yards rushing.