South
Central Florida 36, UTEP 20: At Orlando, Fla., running back Kevin Smith rushed for 219 yards and a TD on 46 carries and quarterback Kyle Israel threw three TD passes to lead the Golden Knights over the Miners.
Central Florida (9-3, 7-1 C-USA) — winners of six straight since losing to South Florida on Oct. 13 — secured the Conference USA East title and will host the league championship game Dec 1.
After trailing 17-0, UTEP (4-8, 2-6 C-USA) took a brief 17-16 lead in the third when quarterback Trevor Vittatoe threw a 19-yard TD pass to receiver Fred Rouse and kicker Jose Martinez kicked a 48-yard field goal. Free safety Quentin Demps then intercepted Israel in the end zone and returned it 100 yards for a score. Demps leads NCAA Division I players with 17 career interceptions. It was the second time this season Demps has retuned a pick for 100 yards.
Memphis 55, SMU 52 (3 OT): At Memphis, Tenn., Matt Reagan connected on a 32-yard field goal in the third overtime to lift the Tigers (7-5, 6-2 C-USA) over the Mustangs (1-11, 0-8), who lost their 10th straight. Following the game, Memphis accepted a bid to the New Orleans Bowl where it will play the Sun Belt Conference champion.
Wake Forest 31, Vanderbilt 17: At Nashville, Tenn., Alphonso Smith had two interceptions for the Demon Deacons (8-4), whose defense forced five turnovers and helped shatter any chance the Commodores (5-7) had to make their first bowl game in 25 years. Vanderbilt’s season began with high expectations, but ended with the same result: bitter disappointment. The Commodores needed only one victory in its final four games to be bowl eligible for the first time since going to the 1982 Hall of Fame Bowl.
Southern U. 22, Grambling St. 13: At New Orleans, Darren Coates scored a rushing TD and caught a TD pass as the Jaguars (8-3, 6-3 SWAC) upset the Tigers (8-3, 8-1) in the 34th Bayou Classic. Despite the loss, Grambling plays Jackson State in the SWAC Championship on Dec. 15.
East
North Carolina 20, Duke 14 (OT): At Chapel Hill, N.C., Greg Little ran for a career-high 154 yards and the go-ahead 25-yard score in overtime to lead the Tar Heels (4-8, 3-5 ACC). over the Blue Devils (1-11, 0-8). The converted wide receiver also had a leaping 7-yard TD to tie the score midway through the fourth quarter for the Tar Heels. The question now is whether the loss will be the final setback for Duke coach Ted Roof, whose future has been a constant source of speculation in recent weeks. Roof fell to 6-45 as coach here since taking over for the fired Carl Franks midway through the 2003 season. Saturday’s loss came in typical painful fashion for the Blue Devils, who took a 14-7 lead early in the fourth quarter and had a solid defensive performance most of the way before seeing it come undone in the deciding minutes.
South Florida 48, Pittsburgh 37: At Pittsburgh, Matt Grothe ran 80 yards for a TD on the first play of the second half and the Bulls (9-3, 4-3 Big East) shook off a sluggish start, turning three interceptions into TDs to beat the Panthers (4-7, 2-4). South Florida won its third in a row following a midseason three-game losing streak that dropped them out of the Top 25. They may be headed to the Sun Bowl.
Maryland 37, N.C. State 0: At Raleigh, N.C., Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore rushed for two TDs apiece as the Terrapins (6-6, 3-5 ACC) routed the Wolfpack (5-7, 3-5) and posted their first shutout since 2004 and became bowl eligible for the second consecutive year.
Midwest
Western Michigan 16, Temple 3: At Kalamazoo, Mich., Tim Hiller threw for 276 yards and one TD, becoming the first sophomore in Western Michigan history to surpass 3,000 passing yards in one season, as the Broncos (5-7, 3-4 Mid-American) beat the Owls (4-8, 4-4). Hiller finished the season with 3,021 passing yards.
Southwest
Tulsa 48, Rice 43: At Houston, Paul Smith threw for 441 yards and five TDs and ran for another score to lead the Golden Hurricane (9-3, 6-2) over the Owls (3-8, 3-5) and to the Conference USA West Division title. Tusla won despite giving up 700 yards of total offense to Rice. Tulsa had 592 yards and finished the regular season with five straight wins.
West
New Mexico 27, UNLV 6: At Albuquerque, N.M., Marcus Smith caught a 63-yard TD pass from Donovan Porterie and Rodney Ferguson had 117 yards rushing as the Lobos (8-4, 5-3 Mountain West) beat the Rebels (2-10, 1-7). New Mexico reached the 8-win mark for just the fourth time since 1965. It’s the ninth 8-win season in the program’s 109-year history.
Utah St. 24, Idaho 19: At Moscow, Idaho, Leon Jackson rushed for two TDs and passed for another as the Aggies (2-9, 2-6) beat the Vandals (1-11, 0-8) in a battle of last-place teams in the Western Athletic Conference.
San Jose St. 27, Nevada 24: At San Jose, Calif., Adam Tafralis passed for 342 yards and two TDs to rally the Spartans (5-7, 4-4 WAC) over the Wolfpack (5-6, 3-4).
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