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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Around the nation: Houston clinches trip to Peach or Fiesta

Associated Press

Greg Ward, Jr. ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns and No. 17 Houston got a 24-13 win over 20th-ranked Temple in the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship game on Saturday in Houston.

The victory makes Houston the Group of Five representative, earning the Cougars a trip to either the Peach Bowl or Fiesta Bowl.

Houston (12-1) took a 17-0 lead with the help of two turnovers by Temple (10-3), with one capped by a 47-yard touchdown run by Ward.

Arkansas State 55, Texas State 17: Fredi Knighten threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead the Red Wolves (9-3, 8-0) to the Sun Belt title, defeating the Bobcats (3-9, 2-6) at Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Western Kentucky 45, Southern Mississippi 28: Brandon Doughty threw for 410 yards with three touchdown passes and the Hilltoppers (11-2, 8-0) defeated the Golden Eagles (9-4, 7-1) in the Conference USA championship game at Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Doughty finished with 34 completions in 52 attempts, shaking off a first-half interception that helped put the East Division champion Hilltoppers in a 14-point first-half hole.

Texas 23, (12) Baylor 17: Tyrone Swoopes threw for 151 yards with a touchdown and ran for a score in his first Texas start since the season opener, and the Longhorns (5-7, 4-5 Big 12) held on for a victory over the Bears (9-3, 6-3) in Waco, Texas.

The loss knocked the Bears out of contention for the Sugar Bowl.

Kansas State 24, West Virginia 23: Wide receiver Cody Cook led Kansas State to a pair of touchdowns as the emergency quarterback, Morgan Burns returned a kickoff 97 yards for the go-ahead score and the Wildcats (6-6, 3-5 Big 12) became bowl-eligible by defeating the Mountaineers (7-5, 4-6) at Manhattan, Kansas.

San Diego State 27, Air Force 24: Donny Hageman kicked a 46-yard field goal with 5:10 to go and the Aztecs (10-3) defeated the Falcons (8-5) to win the Mountain West Conference championship, the Aztecs’ first outright title since 1986.