Fernando Mendoza passed for 222 yards and a touchdown and the Indiana defense came up with two late stands as the No. 2 Hoosiers defeated No. 1 Ohio State 13-10 in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday.
The Hoosiers (13-0) won their first conference title since 1967 and beat the Buckeyes (12-1) for the first time in the last 31 tries. Mendoza, who was named MVP of the game, completed 15 of 23 passes and threw an interception with Charlie Becker making six catches for 126 yards.
Ohio State’s Julian Sayin completed 21 of 29 passes for 258 yards with a TD and an interception. Jeremiah Smith made eight catches for 144 yards. Mendoza’s 17-yard TD pass to Elijah Sarratt on third down put Indiana ahead 13-10 with 8:02 left in the third quarter.
The Buckeyes then drove from its 25 to the Hoosiers’ 5, but on fourth-and-1, Sayin was stopped for no gain after a video review overturned a gain of 2 yards. Later, Ohio State drove from its 10 to a fourth-and-1 at the 5, but Jayden Fielding missed a 27-yard field goal with 2:48 to play.
No. 3 Georgia 28, No. 9 Alabama 7
Gunner Stockton threw for 156 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a stifling win over the Crimson Tide in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.
Stockton was a surgical 20-of-26 passing (76.9%), earning the Most Valuable Player award. Nate Frazier rushed for 52 yards and a score, while Zachariah Branch had five catches for 53 yards and a touchdown for Georgia (12-1), which won its second straight conference title and clinched a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.
The Bulldogs held Alabama to minus-3 rushing yards, avenging their 24-21 home loss to the Crimson Tide on Sept. 27. Ty Simpson completed 19 of 39 passes for 212 yards, throwing a touchdown and an interception for Alabama (10-3), which awaits its CFP fate on Sunday. The Crimson Tide were previously 4-0 against Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and had won 10 of the last 11 meetings.
No. 4 Texas Tech 34, No. 11 BYU 7
Ben Roberts recorded two interceptions, Butkus Award winner Jacob Rodriguez racked up 13 tackles and the Red Raiders locked up a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff with a convincing victory over the Cougars in the Big 12 championship game at Arlington, Texas.
Texas Tech (12-1) outscored BYU (11-2) 34-0 over the final three quarters, turning four turnovers into 14 points. Behren Morton completed 20 of 33 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns to Coy Eakin to clinch the Red Raiders’ first outright conference title since 1955.
Bear Bachmeier completed 16 of 27 passes for 115 yards and was intercepted twice for the Cougars. LJ Martin rushed for a touchdown for BYU, which had just 200 yards of total offense.
Duke 27, No. 17 Virginia 20 (OT)
Darian Mensah threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns to Jeremiah Hasley to lead the Blue Devils to an upset of the Cavaliers in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game in Charlotte, N.C.
After Mensah found Hasley for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in overtime, Luke Mergott intercepted Chandler Morris on the first play of Virginia’s overtime drive to secure the victory. The win clinched Duke’s (8-5) first outright ACC championship since 1962 and avenged its 34-17 home loss to the Cavaliers 21 days ago.
It also may have cost the ACC a spot in this year’s College Football Playoff, denying what would have been a certain bid for Virginia (10-3).
