NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jake Retzlaff ran for two short touchdowns, Jamauri McClure rushed for 121 yards and a score and No. 21 Tulane beat No. 20 North Texas 34-21 in the Conference USA championship game on Friday night — a win that likely secures a bid to the College Football Playoff.
Chris Rogers threw an interception 35 yards for a touchdown for Tulane (11-2), which intercepted three passes and recovered two fumbles and is expected to delay coach Jon Sumrall’s departure from the Florida State job he accepted last Sunday.
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He said he would stay the course if the Green Wave qualified for the CFP 12-team tournament.
The loss marked the end for North Texas head coach Eric Morris, who, like Samrall, was hired after leading the Mean Green to its first 11-win regular season. Morris transferred to Oklahoma State University.
North Texas trailed 31-7 after Rogers’ interception return — Rogers lost the ball as it crossed the goal line and was nearly called a touchdown. The touchdown call was sustained, but North Texas refused to give up and fought back with back-to-back touchdowns that totaled just 3 minutes, 57 seconds off game time.
Drew Mestemaker threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Miles Coleman for the first score. Ashton Gray’s 9-yard touchdown run and subsequent 2-point conversion pulled North Texas within 31-21 with 9:26 left in the game.
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But Tulane’s offense helped seal the victory with a 13-play drive that ended with Patrick Durkin’s 30-yard field goal with 6:29 remaining.
No. 19 James Madison 31, Troy 14
HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — Wayne Knight rushed for a career-high 212 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown, and James Madison beat Troy in the Sun Belt Conference championship game to set up a College Football Playoff berth.
Duke (12-1) will now back Duke to a win over Virginia in Saturday night’s Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, a result that could make them one of two five-school conferences competing in a 12-team playoff.
On a cold night that saw fans repeatedly berated for throwing snowballs onto the field, James Madison’s defense recorded eight sacks, a tackle for a touchdown and shut out an opponent for the sixth time this season in the second half. Defensive end Sahir West had three sacks and 10 tackles for loss.
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Quarterback Alonza Barnett III, who ran a 26-yard touchdown run with 4:11 left to win Duke’s final home game, will reportedly head to UCLA to coach Bob Chesney. Barnett rushed for 85 yards and threw for 93 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
