Results of Last Week's Championship Games to Watch
1. ACC Championship: #1 Clemson Tigers vs. #7 Miami Hurricanes
This was Clemson’s 3rd straight appearance in this championship game and their experience showed. Quarterback Kelly Bryant and the Tigers clawed their way down the field on their first possession, covering 68 yards in 10 plays. Freshman running back Travis Etienne used his senior-level toughness to muscle his way into the endzone on the final play of the drive.
Miami's offense, still trying to shake off the cobwebs from a terrible game against Pittsburgh, was forced to punt on their ensuing drive. However, Clemson punt returner Ray-Ray McCloud fumbled while trying to receive the punt and Miami recovered. The Hurricanes managed to get a single first down, but could not get into the endzone. Forced to kick a field goal, Miami attempted a 46 yard field goal, but kicker Michigan Badgely missed it and the Hurricanes came up empty.
Things would get far worse for Miami as 7 plays later Clemson doubled their lead on a 11 yard TD run by Bryant. The valiant Tigers added another touchdown early in the 2nd quarter after the Hurricanes' offense sputtered like an engine on a jalopey. At the half, Clemson led 21-0 and would put up 17 more unanswered points in the 3rd quarter.
Clemson put in their backup quarterback early in the 4th quarter, proving Head Coach Dabo Swinney and his coaching staff knew they had totally outclassed the opposition. Better luck next year, Miami!
Final Score: Clemson 38, Miami 3
2. #4 Wisconsin Badgers vs. #8 Ohio State Buckeyes
The major storyline coming into this championship game was the health of Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett. He suffered a knee injury in last week's game against Michigan and the injury was severe enough to warrant a minor knee surgery. His status was listed as questionable. But, though a combination of the miracle of modern medicine and sheer willpower, Barrett would start at quarterback.
Even more unexpectedly, Barrett would proceed to light up the scoreboard in the first half. He threw 2 long touchdown passes in the 1st quarter alone, lengthened by excellent yardage after the catch by wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Parris Campbell.
However, Barrett was not mistake-free, as, in between the TD passes, he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.
Ohio State added more points to the scoreboard in the 2nd quarter thanks to the Ohio State offensive line clearing a path for J.K. Dobbins to break off a 77 yard run.
Dobbins was tackled 1 yard short of the goal line and Barrett ran into the endzone on the next play.
Wisconsin's only offensive points came on a field goal late in the 2nd quarter, due to the fact that Ohio State's defense had completely bottled up Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor.
The Badgers made a game of it in the 2nd half, mainly because of the improved play of quarterback Alex Hornibrook. Hornibrook led Wisconsin on a 11 play touchdown drive and threw a good pass on the 2 point conversion attempt to get his team within 3. However, the Buckeyes' defense held firm on 2 pivotal drives in the late stages of the 4th quarter, securing an Ohio State victory.
The Ohio State are back as champions of the Big Ten!
Final Score: Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 21
Most Exciting Championship Game of the Week
American Athletic Championship: #14 UCF Knights vs. #20 Memphis Tigers
With a trip to the Peach Bowl on the line, both teams, or the offenses at any rate, played at an extremely high level. Through almost 3 full quarters, 72 total points had been scored and over 1,100 yards of total offense had been recorded. UCF had a 38-34 lead and possession of the ball starting at their own 15 yard line. Much as they had multiple times before, the Knights began charging down the field again. The first play was a 23 yard dash around the right side of the defense by running back Adrian Killins Jr. UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton followed that up with a 32 yard completion to seldom used receiver Michael Colubiale.
Two plays later, Milton launched a perfect pass to receiver Dredrick Snelson who caught it despite being locked in tight coverage. With how well Milton was throwing the ball, I was not surprised at all that the pass was completed.
Memphis missed a field goal on their next drive and UCF took advantage by going 57 yards in 10 plays before making a field goal. Now trailing by 14, the situation was looking desperate for the Tigers. However, the Memphis offense channeled that negative energy by working to spring running back Tony Pollard on a 66 yard TD run.
UCF's red-hot offense cooled down on their next drive, punting after 7 plays. Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson took the opportunity given to him and started to shred the UCF defense again. Second string running back Patrick Taylor Jr. supplemented Ferguson's passes with 18 yards on 3 carries and the Tigers sauntered their way to the Knights' 10 yard line. Top receiver Anthony Miller ran an excellent fade route on the next play and Ferguson found him for a game-tying touchdown.
The Knights went three-and-out on their ensuing drive, giving Memphis a golden opportunity to go down the field on a game-winning drive. However, thanks to a crucial holding call against the Tigers, Memphis was forced to kick a long field gielf that freshman kicker Riley Patterson was not able to make. Only 28 seconds of regulation remained and the game soon went to overtime.
Memphis got the ball first and overcame 15 yards of penalties to score 7 points on another touchdown from Ferguson to Miller. UCF responded with a 4 play drive that hit paydirt when Milton ran the option and pitched the ball to Adrien Killins who snuck inside the pylon for a touchdown.
Order of possession flipped in the 2nd overtime and the Knights had the next crack at reaching the endzone. A ten yard completion by Milton plus a roughing the passer penalty on Memphis put the ball at the ten yard line. Two plays later, running back Otis Anderson used a 2nd effort push to plunge it for a 1 yard TD.
The pressure was now on Memphis to keep the game going. At first, they were up to the challenge, converting a 4th down to keep their hopes alive. However, two plays later, defensive end Shaquem Griffin, got pressure on the quarterback, forcing Ferguson to throw before he wanted to. The pass was well short of Ferguson's intended target and was intercepted by UCF defensive back Tre Neal, ending the game.
UCF players and coaches ran across the field in wide arcs, the stadium shaking from the cheers of a packed house of fans. The Knights were champions, completing their epic turnaround from winless in 2015 to undefeated Champions of the American Conference just two years later. They are truly worthy of a trip to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl.
Final Score: UCF 62, Memphis 55
Two plays later, Milton launched a perfect pass to receiver Dredrick Snelson who caught it despite being locked in tight coverage. With how well Milton was throwing the ball, I was not surprised at all that the pass was completed.
Memphis missed a field goal on their next drive and UCF took advantage by going 57 yards in 10 plays before making a field goal. Now trailing by 14, the situation was looking desperate for the Tigers. However, the Memphis offense channeled that negative energy by working to spring running back Tony Pollard on a 66 yard TD run.
UCF's red-hot offense cooled down on their next drive, punting after 7 plays. Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson took the opportunity given to him and started to shred the UCF defense again. Second string running back Patrick Taylor Jr. supplemented Ferguson's passes with 18 yards on 3 carries and the Tigers sauntered their way to the Knights' 10 yard line. Top receiver Anthony Miller ran an excellent fade route on the next play and Ferguson found him for a game-tying touchdown.
The Knights went three-and-out on their ensuing drive, giving Memphis a golden opportunity to go down the field on a game-winning drive. However, thanks to a crucial holding call against the Tigers, Memphis was forced to kick a long field gielf that freshman kicker Riley Patterson was not able to make. Only 28 seconds of regulation remained and the game soon went to overtime.
Memphis got the ball first and overcame 15 yards of penalties to score 7 points on another touchdown from Ferguson to Miller. UCF responded with a 4 play drive that hit paydirt when Milton ran the option and pitched the ball to Adrien Killins who snuck inside the pylon for a touchdown.
Order of possession flipped in the 2nd overtime and the Knights had the next crack at reaching the endzone. A ten yard completion by Milton plus a roughing the passer penalty on Memphis put the ball at the ten yard line. Two plays later, running back Otis Anderson used a 2nd effort push to plunge it for a 1 yard TD.
The pressure was now on Memphis to keep the game going. At first, they were up to the challenge, converting a 4th down to keep their hopes alive. However, two plays later, defensive end Shaquem Griffin, got pressure on the quarterback, forcing Ferguson to throw before he wanted to. The pass was well short of Ferguson's intended target and was intercepted by UCF defensive back Tre Neal, ending the game.
UCF players and coaches ran across the field in wide arcs, the stadium shaking from the cheers of a packed house of fans. The Knights were champions, completing their epic turnaround from winless in 2015 to undefeated Champions of the American Conference just two years later. They are truly worthy of a trip to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl.
Final Score: UCF 62, Memphis 55
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