INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Fernando Mendoza's 17-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Surratt gave No. 2 Indiana the lead midway through the third quarter, and the Hoosiers' stingy defense stopped No. 1 Ohio State the rest of the way in a 13-10 victory Saturday night for their first Big Ten championship since 1967.
Indiana likely clinched the top seed in the College Football Playoff while improving its best record in school history to 13-0. The Hoosiers are now poised to claim the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time.
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They did this by breaking a 30-game losing streak against the Buckeyes that lasted into 1988. Indiana also ended the longest winning streak in major college football at 16 games, sealing the win with 33-yard pass from Mendoza to Charlie Becker in third, a play that brought the clock down to a 2-minute timeout.
Ohio State fell to 12-1 overall, although its quest to win back-to-back national championships will likely begin with a No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.
NO. 3 GEORGIA 28, NO. 10 ALABAMA 7
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ATLANTA (AP) — Gunner Stockton has thrown three touchdown passes as Georgia solidified its position with a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff and beat Alabama for the first time in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Georgia (12-1, No. 3 CFP) the score was 0-4 against Alabama. in the SEC title game and went 1-7 against the Crimson Tide under coach Kirby Smart. Playing in their fifth straight league championship game, the Bulldogs captured their fourth Smart title and 16th overall.
The lopsided loss has Alabama (10-3, No. 9 CFP) worried about its position on the College Football Playoff selection committee. The Crimson Tide were thought to be in a good position when they moved up one spot in the CFP rankings last week, but the loss to the Bulldogs provides new cause for concern that the Crimson Tide could miss the playoffs for the second straight season under coach Kalen DeBoer.
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NO. 4 TEXAS TECH 34, BYU 7
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Cameron Dickey scored immediately on the first of two second-half interceptions by linebacker Ben Roberts as No. 5 Texas Tech won the Big 12 championship game and almost certainly clinched the first round of the College Football Playoff with a victory over 11th-ranked BYU.
After investing millions of dollars in the transfer portalThe Red Raiders (12-1, No. 4 CFP) won their first Big 12 title, one of only six schools to compete in all 30 Big 12 seasons. They will also be heading to the CFP for the first time, although their victory likely prevented the Big 12 from getting a second team in the playoffs.
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Beren Morton, who did not play in Tech's lone loss at Arizona State, threw two touchdown passes to Cody Eakin and Stone Harrington kicked four field goals for the Red Raiders.
DUKE 27, NO. 17 VIRGINIA 20, FROM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Duke won its first Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1962 and threw the College Football Playoff into chaos Saturday night when Darian Mensah connected with Jeremiah Hasley for a 1-yard touchdown on fourth down in overtime and the unranked Blue Devils held on to beat Virginia.
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The Blue Devils (8-5) are unlikely to make the playoffs, which opens the door for a second Power 5 team, most likely James Madison.
Duke last won a share of the ACC regular-season title in 1989, sharing it with Virginia in Steve Spurrier's final season as coach of the Blue Devils. The conference championship game was created in 2005, and Duke got there this year thanks to a tiebreaker between five teams.
Virginia (10-3), the ACC regular-season champion, would have advanced to the CFP with a win for the first time in school history but fell short when Chandler Morris was intercepted by Luke Murgott on the Cavaliers' first offensive play of overtime.
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Associated Press
