Baylor holds on for Big 12 title; Cincinnati wins the AAC
Dezmon Jackson came up inches short on a desperate, fourth-down dive in the final seconds for Oklahoma State, knocking the fifth-ranked Cowboys out of contention for a spot in the four-team playoff.
“Just heartbreak,” Cowboys guard Josh Sills said.
Baylor safety Jairon McVea knocked Jackson out of bounds without letting him reach the pylon with 24 seconds remaining in the Big 12 championship game Saturday at Arlington, Texas, preserving a 21-16 victory for ninthranked Baylor.
The Bears’ win came a year after they went 2-7 in coach Dave Aranda’s debut last season.
“This moment is something they can never take away,” Bears linebacker Terrel Bernard said.
Aranda recalled Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy telling him “that winning is hard” before an earlier meeting between the teams. The title game was a sure example of that.
Blake Shapen, starting again for injured Gerry Bohanon (right hamstring) threw three TDs while completing his first 17 passes as Baylor (11-2, College Football Playoff No. 9) took a 21-3 lead in the first half.
But the Cowboys (11-2, CFP No. 5) rallied back, then went 89 yards on 17 plays on that final drive before their Big 12 and national championship hopes wound up just shy.
After having first-andgoal from the 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 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,” Gundy said, referring to Jackson.
Sanders threw four interceptions, one by McVea, and the Cowboys were without leading rusher Jaylen Warren because of his lingering ankle and shoulder issues.
There would need to be some chaos, in the form of an upset or two in other conference title games later in the day, for thirdtime Big 12 champion Baylor to have a chance to be in the final four for the first time when the CFP rankings come out Sunday.
Aranda passed on politicking for the playoff. Baylor’s 11 wins match a school record and came after the 2-7 record last year, when the pandemic wiped out spring drills when he was coming off a national championship as LSU defensive coordinator.
“I’m sure it will work out the way it’s supposed to,” he said.
Baylor won with 242 total yards of offense, only 36 after halftime. Shapen finished 23 of 28 for 180 yards passing overall.
Oklahoma State had a 3-0 lead on Tanner Brown’s 23-yard field goal set up after all-purpose Baylor back Trestan Ebner fumbled on the opening drive of the game. Sanders threw picks on the next two drives, setting up Baylor with short fields for three-play TD drives — a 2-yard TD pass to wide-open tight open Ben Sims and Drew Estrada’s 4-yard scoring catch.
Baylor’s 21-3 lead, and the Cowboys’ largest deficit this season, came after an incredible 13-yard diving catch by Tyquan Thornton with a defender on his back with 5 1⁄2 minutes left in the first half.
The Cowboys got within 21-16 on Brown’s 20-yard field goal with 8:17 left. That was set up after Ebner muffed a punt recovered by Korie Black, who had ended the first half by deflecting a field goal attempt that came up woefully short.
McVea had his interception early in the second half, but Baylor failed to get a first down. Instead of punting from their own 36, the Bears went for it on fourth down and Shapen had to just throw the ball away without an open receiver. Eight plays later, Dominic Richardson scored on a 4-yard run for the Cowboys.
American Athletic Conference — No. 3 Cincinnati 35, No. 16 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 game in the third quarter and rolled past the Cougars (11-2). The Bearcats (12-0), 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.
Mountain West —
Utah State 46, No. 19 San Diego State 13: Brandon Bowling caught two touchdown passes from Logan Bonner during the decisive third quarter, and the Aggies
AA(10-3) won their first Mountain West Conference title with a rout of the shorthanded Aztecs (11-2) at Carson, California.
Sun Belt — No. 20 Louisiana-Lafayette 24, Appalachian State 16: Levi Lewis scored on a careerhigh 56-yard run and passed for another touchdown, and Louisiana-Lafayette capped off soon-to-be Florida coach Billy Napier’s time with the host Ragin’ Cajuns (12-1,
9-0 Sun Belt) by defeating the Mountaineers (10-3, 7-2) in the Sun Belt Conference championship game.
Mid-American Conference — Northern Illinois 41, Kent State 23: 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 past 11 years and first since 2018 with a convincing win over the Golden Flashes (7-6) for the MAC championship.
AALATE FRIDAY
Pac-12 — No. 14 Utah 38, No. 10 Oregon 10: Devin Lloyd returned an interception for a touchdown, Cam Rising threw for another score and the Utes (10-3, No. 17 CFP) clinched the first Rose Bowl berth in school history with a rout of the Ducks (10-3, No. 10) in Las Vegas.
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