NEW ORLEANS — Jake Retzlaff threw two short touchdowns, Jamauri McClure ran for 121 yards and a score and Tulane beat North Texas 34-21 in the American Conference championship game Friday night, a win that likely clinched a College Football Playoff bid.
Chris Rogers returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown to Tulane (11-2), which intercepted three passes and recovered two fumbles that are expected to keep the coach busy. John Sumrall's departure to work in Florida he accepted Sunday.
He said if the Green Wave qualified for the 12-team CFP, he would follow through.
The loss marked the end of the career of North Texas coach Eric Morris, who, like Sumrall, had already been hired after leading the Mean Greens to their first 11-win regular season. Morris moves to Oklahoma State.
Tulane safety Jack Chienchow intercepted a pass in the end zone as North Texas (11-2) scored first on a 2-and-goal play in the third quarter — one of several highlights that included his forced fumble, which Tulane recovered, and his muffed punt return.
North Texas trailed 31-7 after Rodgers' interception return came very close to being ruled a touchback because he lost the ball just as he crossed the goal line. The touchdown call was upheld, but North Texas did not give up, launching a comeback attempt with consecutive touchdowns that combined to take just 3:57 off the clock.
Drew Mestemaker led the way with a 59-yard pass to Myles Coleman. Ashton Gray's 9-yard touchdown run followed by the two-point conversion put North Texas up 31-21 with 9:26 left in the game.
But Tulane helped secure the victory with a 13-play drive that burned 6:29 and ended with Patrick Durkin's 30-yard field goal.
North Texas, one of the nation's most prolific offensive teams, led 7-0 after the first drive of a 15-play drive that ended with Mestemaker's 10-yard scoring pass to tight end Tre Williams.
Tulane responded with a 16-play drive that included two fourth-down conversions, the second of which came when Retzlaff ran a 2-yard touchdown run around the right end.
On the next trip to North Texas, the Mean Green's top running back Caleb Hawkins fumbled and appeared to injure his right shoulder on a hard hit from Chinchou after a short reception. Tulane's LJ Green intercepted the ball at the Tulane 29 and returned it to the North Texas 37.
McClure ran 30 yards on the next play, moving the stack the final 10 yards before finally going down. He later scored one game.
Chienchow recovered his muffed punt late in the second quarter when the ball came off North Texas' Baron Tipton at the UNT 11.
That led to Retzlaff's second-and-goal on fourth down—this time he slid for 1 yard with tight end Justin Reed pushing him forward through the pile—to make it 24-7 at halftime.
Takeaway
North Texas: The Mean Green entered the game ranked first in the nation in scoring (46.8 ppg) and total offense (511.8 ppg) and second in passing yards (325.7 ppg). Mestemaker entered with a national-leading 3,835 yards passing and 29 touchdowns. Matching their usual production proved difficult in the cold rain on the road against a play-making Green Wave defense that was giving up an average of just 15 points per game at home.
Tulane: Holding high-scoring North Texas to just one touchdown for most of the first three quarters and producing four turnovers, the Green Wave defense was instrumental in the victory. Meanwhile, Retzlaff, who extended his Tulane record for rushing touchdowns in a season to 16, has now led BYU and the Green Wave to 11-win campaigns in his final two seasons in college football.
Next
- North Texas: Preparing what should be an attractive bowl bid while also trying to quickly complete the coaching search.
- Tulane: Awaiting what is expected to be the Green Wave's first CFP bid and hoping to complete the search for Sumrall's replacement.
