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Michael Conroy Michigan State's Le'Veon Bell goes in to the end zone for a touchdown ahead of Wisconsin's Ethan Hemer during the first half of the Big Ten conference championship NCAA college football game on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) |
Joseph Randle ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns, Richetti Jones returned a fumble for a score and No. 3 Oklahoma State throttled No. 13 Oklahoma 44-10 Saturday night to win the Big 12 championship and make its case to play for a national title.
The Cowboys (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) snapped an eight-game losing streak in the Bedlam rivalry and won their first outright conference title since 1948 in the three-team Missouri Valley.
Oklahoma State’s defense, badmouthed much of the season while giving up big yardage but leading the nation in takeaways, forced the Sooners into five turnovers — four of them by quarterback Landry Jones.
Fans started chanting “L-S-U!” midway through the fourth quarter with the victory well in hand, then stormed the field when it was over.
No. 24 Southern Miss 49, No. 7 Houston 28: Austin Davis threw four touchdown passes and Southern Mississippi ruined Houston’s perfect season and Bowl Championship Series hopes in the Conference USA title game.
Case Keenum completed 41 of 67 passes for 373 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions for Houston (12-1). He became the first quarterback to reach 5,000 yards passing in three seasons, one more record to tack onto his magnificent career.
Tracey Lampley caught two touchdown passes and the Golden Eagles (11-2) became the first team to hold Houston, averaging more than 50 per game, below 35 points this season.
No. 18 TCU 56, UNLV 9: Greg McCoy returned a kickoff 99 yards and Kris Gardner had a 16-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 12-second span for TCU in its Mountain West Conference finale.
TCU (10-2, 7-0 MWC) wrapped up its third consecutive outright Mountain West title, winning its last 24 games in that league before moving to the Big 12 next season.
The consecutive TD returns by McCoy and Gardner just before halftime came about the same time Southern Miss was wrapping up a 49-28 victory at previously undefeated Houston in the Conference USA championship game.
If the Frogs move up two spots into the top 16 of the final Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday, they will be virtually guaranteed to go to their third consecutive BCS game.
UNLV (2-10, 1-6) finished with five consecutive losses.
No. 9 Boise State 45, New Mexico 0: Kellen Moore threw three touchdowns in the final home game of his brilliant career and Doug Martin ran for two more for Boise State.
Moore was 28 of 33 for 313 yards before heading for the sideline midway through the third quarter. His three touchdowns give him 41 for the season, setting a new school single-season record. He also set a new school record for completions in a season with 300.
Martin rushed for 110 yards on 19 carries, and his 40-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the Broncos a 38-0 lead.
The victory gives the Broncos (11-1, 6-1) their second straight season with a single loss and looks to clear the way for another trip to the MAACO Bowl in Las Vegas, where they dismantled No. 20 Utah a year ago 26-3.
New Mexico (1-11, 1-6) managed only 197 total yards on offense and the offense only crossed midfield twice.
No. 16 Kansas State 30, Iowa State 23: John Hubert ran for 120 yards and the go-ahead touchdown, and Kansas State kept alive its chances for a share of the Big 12 championship.
Collin Klein ran for a touchdown and threw for another, and Anthony Cantele was perfect on three field-goal attempts, allowing the Wildcats (10-2, 7-2) to reach 10 wins for the first time since 2003, when they knocked off Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game.
Jeff Woody ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns for the Cyclones (6-6, 3-6), who became bowl eligible for the second time under Paul Rhoads when they knocked off the Cowboys a couple weeks ago.
No. 19 Baylor 48, Texas 24: Robert Griffin III ran for two touchdowns and passed for two more to lead Baylor, which capped its best regular season in 25 years.
Baylor’s defense, ranked among the worst in nation, gave up a 14-0 lead but forced also forced six turnovers, three of them setting up Baylor touchdowns.
Baylor fans will now wonder if Griffin has played his last home game for the Bears (9-3, 6-3 Big 12). Griffin, a fourth-year junior who has already graduated, must decide if he will leave for the NFL.
Griffin also bolstered his Heisman resume with 320 yards passing.
Case McCoy passed for 356 yards and three touchdowns for Texas (7-5, 4-5) but had five turnovers.
Other games
Munchie Legaux threw a career-high three touchdown passes on Saturday, and Cincinnati’s defense got two scores of its own, setting up a 35-27 victory over Connecticut that left the Bearcats one of three teams sharing the Big East title.
The Bearcats (9-3, 5-2) were coming off a four-win season and had defied expectations by taking control of the race before senior quarterback Zach Collaros broke his right ankle. They won their last two games to finish in a three-way tie atop the league.
Although the Bearcats got their third title in four years, they likely will miss out on the league’s BCS bid. No. 22 West Virginia (9-3, 5-2) will get it if, as expected, the Mountaineers are the highest-ranked Big East team in the final BCS standings.
Louisville (7-5, 5-2) also shared the title and would have gotten the bid if the Bearcats had lost on Saturday. The Huskies (5-7, 3-4) didn’t have another upset in them.
Arkansas State 45, Troy 14: Ryan Aplin threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns as Arkansas State rolled to a victory over Troy in a Sun Belt Conference game.
Arkansas State (10-2, 8-0) also had big efforts from its defense and special teams.
Louisiana-Monroe 26, Florida Atlantic 0: Howard Schnellenberger walked off the field as a coach for the final time, talked to his team, met some well-wishers, changed his clothes and then offered the simplest possible assessment of his career.
“It’s been a joy,” he said.
He was speaking of a half-century of coaching. A dismal finale surely could not ruin that.
Jyruss Edwards and Kolton Browning made sure Louisiana-Monroe spoiled Schnellenberger’s coaching finale. Edwards ran for two touchdowns, Browning threw for two others and the Warhawks sent the 77-year-old Schnellenberger into retirement by beating Florida Atlantic.
FCS playoffs
Tirrelle Rennie threw a pair of touchdown passes and fifth-seeded Northern Iowa rallied to beat Wofford 28-21 Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Jared Herring caught both TD passes for the Panthers (10-2), who will face No. 4 Montana on the road Friday or Saturday.
Montana State 26, New Hampshire 25: Steven Bethley tipped an extra point attempt with 6 seconds remaining Saturday to preserve the Bobcats’ wild victory.
North Dakota State 26, James Madison 14: D.J. McNorton rushed for 154 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, and North Dakota State beat James Madison in a second-round FCS playoff game.
Georgia Southern 55, Old Dominion 48: Dominique Swope ran for two touchdowns and 255 yards in a game dominated by both offenses as Georgia Southern held on to beat Old Dominion in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
The Eagles (10-2) gained 477 of their 607 yards on the ground as the two teams totaled 1,167 yards of offense.
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