Conference championship games - Week of December 2

[Mojave Gator]

All times Eastern.

Friday, December 1

Conference USA - Lynchburg, VA 7:00 PM

Liberty 49, New Mexico State 35 - Amazing that this game was as close as it was through three quarters, since the Flames had 712 yards of total offense. The Aggies rallied from 35-21 down to tie the game at the end of three quarters.


Pacific 12 - Las Vegas, NV 8:00 PM

Washington 34, Oregon 31 - A game of momentum swings. The Huskies led 20-3 in the second quarter and 20-10 at the half. The Ducks took their only lead of the game at 24-20 with 1:51 remaining in the third quarter. Washington scored twice to lead 34-24 with 2:44 remaining. It took Oregon only two plays to go 75 yards for a score, but they could not recover the onside kick.


Saturday, December 2

Big 12 - Arlington, TX 12:00 PM

Texas 49, Oklahoma State 21 - This was a total beatdown. The Longhorns led 35-14 at the half. Texas had 464 yards passing and 662 yards total offense, outgaining the Cowboys by almost 400 yards. It was already 21-7 after one quarter, and Texas scored again early in the second quarter.


Mid American - Detroit, MI 12:00 PM

Miami (OH) 23, Toledo 14 - The Redhawks jumped out to a 10-0 first quarter lead. The Rockets led 14-13 after three quarters, but were shut out 10-0 in the fourth. Toledo had two turnovers, which may have been the difference. Toledo had not lost since a season opening two point loss to Illinois.


Mountain West - Las Vegas, NV 3:00 PM

Boise State 44, UNLV 20 - Three turnovers and an inability to stop the run doomed the Rebels in their quest for their first conference title.


Southeastern - Atlanta, GA 4:00 PM

Alabama 27, Georgia 24 - The Tide led 17-7 at the half. After Georgia closed to within 20-17, Alabama drove the field for a touchdown with less than six minutes remaining to lead 27-17. Georgia scored to cut the lead to three with 2:52 remaining, but Alabama was able to run out the clock. A Georgia field goal attempt that bounced off the upright was the difference.


American Athletic - New Orleans, LA 4:00 PM

Southern Methodist 26, Tulane 14 - The Mustangs overcame three turnovers in their last AAC game before joining the ACC. SMU's first conference championship since 1984 in the Southwest Conference. Tulane's first loss since a 37-20 loss to Ole Miss in the second week of the season.


Sun Belt - Troy, AL 4:00 PM

Troy 49, Appalachian State 26 - A 28 point fourth quarter by the Trojans blew the game open.


Atlantic Coast - Charlotte, NC 8:00 PM

Florida State 16, Louisville 6 - The Cardinals threw an interception in the end zone after tackling the FSU punter inside the 15.


Big Ten - Indianapolis, IN 8:00 PM

Michigan 26, Iowa 0 - This just in: Iowa's offense sucks. Seven first downs and three turnovers. Their defense prevented it from being 50-0.

[Mojave Gator]

Oddities and trivia:

This is the last game in the history of the Pacific 12 as we know it.

This is the last time that we must watch a rout in the Big Ten title game because the league's three best teams are all in the same division. Next year the Big Ten is eliminating divisions and going to rotational scheduling with protected matchups.

Boise State is playing for the Mountain West championship. The Broncos fired head coach Andy Avalos on November 12. Boise has won the conference championship four times, with three of those coming after the conference initiated a championship game in 2013 (their overall record in those games is 3-3). UNLV has never played for or won a MWC title.

Texas is playing their final Big 12 game before beginning play in the SEC in 2024.

This is Alabama's 15th appearance in the SEC title game. They are 10-4 in previous games. This is Georgia's 11th appearance in the game. Their record is 4-6.

[Rock Gator]

Here's a little history for y'all. Note how many time Florida shows up in the 90s and 2000s. And how many times they show up in that left column (CHAMPION). Ahh, the good old days!


SEASON CHAMPION RUNNER-UP SCORE MVP
1992 Alabama Florida 28-21 CB Antonio Langham, Alabama
1993 Florida Alabama 28-13 QB Terry Dean, Florida
1994 Florida Alabama 24-23 DT Ellis Johnson, Florida
1995 Florida Arkansas 24-3 QB Danny Wuerffel, Florida
1996 Florida Alabama 45-30 QB Danny Wuerffel, Florida
1997 Tennessee Auburn 30-29 QB Peyton Manning, Tennessee
1998 Tennessee Mississippi State 24-14 WR Peerless Price, Tennessee
1999 Alabama Florida 34-7 WR Freddie Milons, Alabama
2000 Florida Auburn 28-6 QB Rex Grossman, Florida
2001 LSU Tennessee 31-20 QB Matt Mauck, LSU
2002 Georgia Arkansas 30-3 QB David Greene, Georgia
2003 LSU Georgia 34-13 RB Justin Vincent, LSU
2004 Auburn Tennessee 38-28 QB Jason Campbell, Auburn
2005 Georgia LSU 34-14 QB D.J. Shockley, Georgia
2006 Florida Arkansas 38-28 WR Percy Harvin, Florida
2007 LSU Tennessee 21-14 QB Ryan Perrilloux, LSU
2008 Florida Alabama 31-20 QB Tim Tebow, Florida
2009 Alabama Florida 32-13 QB Greg McElroy, Alabama
2010 Auburn South Carolina 56-17 QB Cam Newton, Auburn
2011 LSU Georgia 42-10 CB Tyrann Mathieu, LSU
2012 Alabama Georgia 32-28 RB Eddie Lacy, Alabama
2013 Auburn Missouri 59-42 RB Tre Mason, Auburnn
2014 Alabama Missouri 42-13 QB Blake Sims, Alabama
2015 Alabama Florida 29-15 RB Derrick Henry, Alabama
2016 Alabama Florida 54-16 LB Reuben Foster, Alabama
2017 Georgia Auburn 28-7 LB Roquan Smith, Georgia
2018 Alabama Georgia 35-28 RB Josh Jacobs, Alabama
2019 LSU Georgia 37-10 QB Joe Burrow, LSU
2020 Alabama Florida 52-46 RB Najee Harris, Alabama
2021 Alabama Georgia 41-24 QB Bryce Young, Alabama
2022 Georgia LSU 50-30 QB Stetson Bennett, Georgia

[Mojave Gator]

And now we have lost five straight games three times in the past 11 years. If you want an illustration of just how bad our coaching hires have been, there you go.

[tapsgator]

I'll be there rooting for the Tide, so Georgia will inevitably win, but for now can we appreciate how absurd it is that based on the current rankings if Bama pulls an upset as a 5.5-6.5 point underdog the SEC who has won 13 of the last 17 national championships would be shut out of the play-offs?

[Mojave Gator]

Roll Tide, 17-7 at the half.

[Rock Gator]

"A Georgia field goal attempt that bounced off the upright was the difference." And it was affected by a procedure penalty that pushed them back 5 yards - so Gator like! As Maxwell Smart used to say, "Missed it by that much".

[Rock Gator]

Dec 1, 2023 12:36:59 GMT -5 tapsgator said:

I'll be there rooting for the Tide, so Georgia will inevitably win, but for now can we appreciate how absurd it is that based on the current rankings if Bama pulls an upset as a 5.5-6.5 point underdog the SEC who has won 13 of the last 17 national championships would be shut out of the play-offs?

There was a lot of talk of this. Then I heard people saying Bama still wouldn't make it. Then I heard Georgia fans basically conceding it. Then someone said both should be in (probably should have been, but they would riot in Tallahassee). My only real takeaway was that it was a very good weekend when both FSU and UG were denied the playoff.

Go Gators
RG