UCF tops UAB to take East Division
BY Associated Press
Sunday, November 25, 2012
11/25/12 at 6:09 AM
Quincy McDuffie ran for three touchdowns and Blake Bortles threw for two scores to lead Central Florida to a 49-24 win over Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday in Orlando, Fla.
With the win, UCF (9-3, 7-1) clinched Conference USA's East Division title and will face Tulsa in the conference championship game next Saturday. McDuffie had scoring runs of 9, 8 and 43 yards in his final home game for Central Florida.
Bortles, who completed 17-of-23 for 225 yards, hit J.J. Worton with scoring passes of 18 and 4 yards. Lyle Dankenbring returned an interception 78 yards for a score as the Knights took advantage of numerous Blazer mistakes to jump out to a 35-10 halftime lead.
"We did what we had to do, took advantage of some opportunities and it was a good day offensively," UCF coach George O'Leary said.
Jonathan Perry threw for 307 yards, two touchdown passes and a rushing score for UAB (3-9, 2-6).
McDuffie, who plays wide receiver, scored all three of his touchdowns on end-around plays. The senior ran six times for 79 yards. Tailback Latavius Murray had 94 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown as the Knights rolled up 229 yards rushing.
"I'm happy for Quincy, he had a great day," O'Leary said. "That last (scoring) play, I don't think they saw him until he was 40 yards down the field. All the plays were well blocked by our offensive line and Quincy's execution was outstanding."
Houston 40, Tulane 17: In Houston, Ryan Jackson rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns, Crawford Jones threw for 368 yards and two more scores, and Houston closed 70-year-old Robertson Stadium in style, beating Tulane in both teams' season finale.
Jones hooked up with Ronnie Williams for touchdowns of 22 and 9 yards in the first quarter, and Jackson scored on a 72-yard run in the third quarter and a 9-yarder in the fourth for the Cougars (5-7, 4-4). Matt Hogan added four field goals.
Ryan Griffin threw for 346 yards, including touchdowns to Xavier Rush and Wilson Van Hooser, for the Green Wave (2-10, 2-6), but also had four interceptions. Tulane had six turnovers in all.
Houston finished 72-44-1 all-time at Robertson. The Cougars will play their 2013 home games at a to-be-determined site before moving into a new stadium, to be built where Robertson is now, in 2014.
Memphis 42, Southern Mississippi 24: In Memphis, Tenn., Brandon Hayes ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns, and Jai Steib added two rushing scores to help Memphis beat winless Southern Mississippi in the season finale for both teams.
Jacob Karam threw for 162 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers (4-8, 4-4 Conference USA). Memphis, which totaled nearly 450 yards on offense, earned its third straight victory for the first time since 2008.
Memphis took a 21-3 lead with 1:08 left in the second quarter on a 13-yard touchdown run by Steib, who finished with 89 yards on 16 carries.
Anthony Alford threw for 110 yards and two touchdowns for Southern Miss (0-12, 0-8).
