COLLEGE FOOTBALL roundup

No. 23 South Florida 27, Tulsa 20

TAMPA, FLA.

Quinton Flowers threw two touchdown passes and No. 23 South Florida held off Tulsa to remain in contention for a berth in the American Athletic Conference championship game. Flowers, one of the nation’s top dual-threat quarterbacks, ran for 119 yards while also throwing for 142 to send the Bulls (9-1, 6-1) into next week’s regular-season finale against No. 14 UCF with the AAC’s East Division title on the line. Flowers and USF’s high-powered offense weren’t as sharp as usual, however first-quarter TD throws of 25 yards to Tyre McCants and 35 yards to Darnell Salomon helped USF to an early 21-7 lead. Luke Skipper scored on runs on first-half runs of 12 and 9 yards for Tulsa (2-9, 1-6), which blocked a punt to set up a 38-yard field goal that trimmed a 10-point deficit to 27-20 with 4:18 remaining. The Golden Hurricane got the ball one more time, with backup quarterback Chad President leading a drive from his own 25 to the USF 30 before turning the ball over on downs. D’Angelo Brewer ran for 163 yards for Tulsa, becoming the Golden Hurricane’s all-time rushing leader with 3,662 yards. The senior also broke the AAC career mark of 3,609 set by former USF running back Marlon Mack.

Buffalo 40, Ball State 24

MUNCIE, IND.

Tyree Jackson connected with Anthony Johnson for four touchdowns, including three in the first half, and Buffalo breezed to a victory over Ball State. A 33-yard field goal by Adam Mitcheson and Jackson’s first hook-up with Johnson — a 21-yarder — gave the Bulls (5-6, 3-4 Mid-American Conference) a 10-0 first-quarter lead. Jackson found Johnson for a 14-yard score to stretch the lead to 17-0 at 11:27 in the second quarter. Morgan Hagee got the Cardinals (2-9, 0-7) on the scoreboard with a 21-yard field goal, but Jackson found Johnson for the third time — from 11 yards out — to make it 23-3. Jack Milas hit Nolan Givan for an 11-yard score with 49 seconds left to pull the Cardinals within 23-10 at halftime. The Bulls sandwiched a K.J. Osborn 16-yard TD run and Jackson’s last scoring toss to Johnson — a 56-yarder — around a 50-yard TD run by Ball State’s Malik Dunner to lead 37-17 after three quarters. Jackson finished with 350 yards passing and became the first Bull to throw for 300-plus yards in three straight games. Johnson totaled 153 yards on seven catches. Buffalo won at Ball State for the first time in five tries. The Cardinals lead the series 9-2. Milas passed for 127 yards and two scores for Ball State, while Caleb Huntley totaled 141 yards on 26 carries.

Jacksonville State 36, Tennessee State 6

JACKSONVILLE, ALA.

Bryant Horn rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown and Roc Thomas 105 yards and a score to lead Jacksonville State to a win over Tennessee State. Horn also threw for 115 yards and another score, a 45-yard pass to Austin Cummins, for a 10-0 halftime lead. Thomas ran 50 yards for a touchdown and Horn added a 44-yarder for a 24-0 lead in the third quarter.

Associated Press