Arkansas Online

Green Wave leave Bearcats blue

CINCINNATI — Michael Pratt found Shae Wyatt with a 30-yard touchdown pass with 5 minutes left to lead No. 19 Tulane to a 27-24 win over No. 24 Cincinnati on Friday, making the Green Wave the hosts for the upcoming American Conference Championship game.

Tyjae Spears rushed for two touchdowns and had 181 yards to contribute to the cause for Tulane (10-2, 7-1), which beat Cincinnati (9-3, 6-2) for the first time in five tries.

Tulane also snapped a 32-game home streak for the Bearcats, who now must wait for the outcome of today’s UCF game to know whether they’ll be in the conference championship, too.

“I told Tyjae we were going to ride him and we did,” Tulane Coach Willie Fritz said. “I’m proud of the guys and the adversity we went through against one of the best defenses in the country.”

Pratt went 13-for-22 passing for 162 yards and the winning touchdown. He also rushed for 30 yards on nine carries. Fritz said Pratt was “really sharp” on the final drive, and noted that Pratt had played all last season with with an injury he sustained in the first game of that 2-10 campaign.

Redshirt sophomore Evan Prater started at quarterback for Cincinnati in place of Ben Bryant, who suffered a foot injury in the win over Temple. Overall, Prater was 10-for-26 for 102 yards and rushed for 83 yards on 18 carries.

But he was intercepted by Dorian Williams on a tipped pass to Devean Deal midway through the third quarter. Bryon Threats was flagged for pass interference on a fourth-and-3 pass attempt to set up Spears’ go-ahead two-yard run.

“I thought Evan did a great job,” Cincinnati Coach Luke Fickell said. “I didn’t look at the stats just yet. I know he’s heartbroken. He’s crushed. … we talk about taking care of each other but putting him in a situation with a minute-30, a minute-40 and no timeouts is not taking care of him. He played with poise. He played with a lot of confidence.”

Tulane had a 13-10 lead at halftime after Valentino Ambrosio kicked a 47-yard field goal with 21 seconds left. The kick followed a 28-yard pass from Pratt to Lawrence Keys III, which was ruled a touchdown on the field as Keys appeared to roll over Arquon Bush for a 58-yard score but overturned when replays showed Keys’ knee touched the turf.

“This is a tough one to swallow,” Fickell said. “It wasn’t from lack of preparation but we didn’t get it done today. We wanted to send our seniors out the right way. Tulane is similar to us. They grind it out they’re aggressive. They did a better job than we did of not giving up the big play.” N.C. STATE 30,

NO. 17 N. CAROLINA 27, 2 OT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Ben Finley threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start, and North Carolina State held on to beat Drake Maye and No. 17 North Carolina when Noah Burnette duck-hooked a 35-yard field goal try in the second overtime.

Maye connected with Antoine Green from 4 yards out on the final play of regulation to tie the game at 24-all, but N.C. State (8-4, 4-4) kept the ACC Coastal Division champion Tar Heels (9-3, 6-2) out of the end zone in the first overtime.

Burnette — who also missed from 27 yards in the fourth quarter — made a 26-yarder in the first OT and the Wolfpack tied it on Christopher Dunn’s 31-yarder. Dunn was good from 21 yards in the second overtime and N.C. State, which never trailed, held on to hand North Carolina its second consecutive loss.

Devin Carter had six receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown for the Wolfpack, who snapped a two-game skid and pulled out a thrilling victory over their in-state rival for the second consecutive year.

Carter caught Finley’s back-shoulder pass just outside the end zone and backed in for a 26-yard touchdown with 3:54 remaining in regulation for the Wolfpack’s first points of the second half.

Finley became N.C. State’s fourth starting quarterback in a seven-game span. He completed 27 of 40 passes for 271 yards.

NO. 24 TEXAS 38, BAYLOR 27

AUSTIN, Texas — Bijan Robinson rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns and Jaylan Ford made his fourth interception of the season in Texas’ win over Baylor.

The Longhorns (8-4, 6-3) kept alive their chances of making the conference title game. If Kansas can beat No. 15 Kansas State today, Texas will face No. 4 TCU for the Big 12 championship.

Robinson, who carried 29 times, gained 65 of Texas’ 75 yards on its goahead drive, scoring from the 1 to give the Longhorns a 31-27 lead with 8:25 remaining.

Baylor (6-6, 4-5) sacked Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers five times. He completed 12 of 16 passes for 194 yards.

Baylor quarterback Blake Shapen went 18 of 36 for 179 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception.

College Football

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2022-11-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-11-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

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