Tulane 27, Cincinnati 24
(AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
By GARY SCHATZ
Associated Press
CINCINNATI - Michael Pratt found Shae Wyatt with a 30-yard touchdown pass with 5 minutes left to lead No. 19 Tulane to a 27-24 win over No. 24 Cincinnati, making the Green Wave the hosts for the upcoming American Conference Championship game.
Tyjae Spears rushed for two touchdowns and had 181 yards to contribute to the cause for Tulane (10-2, 7-1 AAC), which beat Cincinnati (9-3, 6-2) for the first time in five tries. Tulane also snapped the Bearcats' 32-game home streak.
Pratt went 13-for-22 passing for 162 yards and the winning touchdown. He also rushed for 30 yards on nine carries.
Redshirt sophomore Evan Prater started at quarterback for Cincinnati in place of Ben Bryant, who suffered a foot injury in the win over Temple. Overall, Prater was 10-for-26 for 102 yards and rushed for 83 yards on 18 carries.
But he was intercepted by Dorian Williams on a tipped pass to Devean Deal midway through the third quarter. Bryon Threats was flagged for pass interference on a fourth-and-3 pass attempt to set up Spears' go-ahead two-yard run.
Tulane had a 13-10 lead at halftime as Valentino Ambrosio kicked a 47-yard field goal with 21 seconds left. The kick followed a 28-yard pass from Pratt to Lawrence Keys III, which was ruled a touchdown on the field as Keys appeared to roll over Arquon Bush for a 58-yard score but overturned when replays showed Keys' knee touched the turf.
THE TAKEAWAY
Tulane: Has something special in Spears, who passed the 1,000-yard mark for the season with 103 yards in the first half. He leads the AAC in touchdowns with 16.
Cincinnati: Missed its bid to win three consecutive AAC regular-season championships in its final three years of membership. There's still a possibility the Bearcats will make it into the AAC title game, though it depends on how UCF does on Saturday night. The Bearcats move to the Big 12 Conference next season.
November 25, 2022
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
Tulane | Cin |
| Tulane |
FG |
5:17 |
Valentino Ambrosio 34 yd FG |
3 |
0 |
| Second Quarter |
Tulane | Cin |
| Cin |
FG |
14:57 |
Ryan Coe 28 yd FG |
3 |
3 |
| Tulane |
TD |
4:58 |
Tyjae Spears 11 yd run (Valentino Ambrosio kick) |
10 |
3 |
| Cin |
TD |
2:41 |
Charles McClelland 35 yd run (Ryan Coe kick) |
10 |
10 |
| Tulane |
FG |
0:16 |
Valentino Ambrosio 47 yd FG |
13 |
10 |
| Third Quarter |
Tulane | Cin |
| Tulane |
TD |
6:59 |
Tyjae Spears 2 yd run (Valentino Ambrosio kick) |
20 |
10 |
| Cin |
TD |
0:42 |
Ryan Montgomery 8 yd run (Ryan Coe kick) |
20 |
17 |
| Fourth Quarter |
Tulane | Cin |
| Cin |
TD |
6:27 |
Ryan Montgomery 15 yd run (Ryan Coe kick) |
20 |
24 |
| Tulane |
TD |
5:10 |
Duece Watts 30 yd pass from Michael Pratt (Valentino Ambrosio kick) |
27 |
24 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Tulane |
Cincinnati |
| First downs |
22 |
19 |
| Rushing |
15 |
12 |
| Passing |
5 |
7 |
| Penalty |
2 |
0 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
4-13, 31% |
5-15, 33% |
| 4th down efficiency |
0-1, 0% |
3-4, 75% |
| Rushes-Yards |
48-221 |
43-235 |
| Passing Yards |
162 |
102 |
| Return Yards |
55 |
32 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
13-22-0 |
10-26-1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
1--5 |
1--5 |
| Punts |
4 |
4 |
| Punts-Average |
39.5 |
45 |
| Fumbles Lost |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
2-10 |
4-29 |
| Time of Possession |
33:59 |
26:01 |
| Tulane Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| M. Pratt |
13 |
22 |
162 |
1 |
0 |
| Cincinnati Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| E. Prater |
10 |
26 |
102 |
0 |
1 |
| Tulane Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| T. Spears |
35 |
181 |
5.2 |
2 |
| M. Pratt |
9 |
30 |
3.3 |
0 |
| L. Keys III |
2 |
14 |
7.0 |
0 |
| Cincinnati Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| R. Montgomery |
17 |
95 |
5.6 |
2 |
| E. Prater |
18 |
83 |
4.6 |
0 |
| C. McClelland |
8 |
57 |
7.1 |
1 |
| Tulane Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| S. Wyatt |
3 |
62 |
20.7 |
0 |
| L. Keys III |
5 |
55 |
11.0 |
0 |
| D. Watts |
1 |
30 |
30.0 |
1 |
| T. Spears |
1 |
17 |
17.0 |
0 |
| B. Bohanon |
1 |
5 |
5.0 |
0 |
| T. James |
1 |
-1 |
-1.0 |
0 |
| J. Jackson |
1 |
-6 |
-6.0 |
0 |
| Cincinnati Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| W. Pauling |
2 |
41 |
20.5 |
0 |
| J. Thompson |
5 |
27 |
5.4 |
0 |
| N. Mardner |
1 |
13 |
13.0 |
0 |
| T. Scott |
1 |
11 |
11.0 |
0 |
| L. Taylor |
1 |
10 |
10.0 |
0 |
| Tulane Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| D. Williams |
1 |
0 |
| Cincinnati Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Tulane Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| C. Glover |
4 |
158 |
39.5 |
| Cincinnati Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| M. Fletcher |
4 |
180 |
45.0 |
| Tulane Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| J. Jackson |
2 |
-3 |
-1.5 |
| L. Keys III |
1 |
14 |
14.0 |
| Cincinnati Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Tulane Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| L. Keys III |
2 |
44 |
22.0 |
| Cincinnati Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| T. Tucker |
1 |
21 |
21.0 |
| R. Montgomery |
1 |
11 |
11.0 |
| Tulane Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Cincinnati Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
