Quarterback Jake Retzlaff rushed for two touchdowns to help put No. 20 Tulane on the doorstep of earning a College Football Playoff berth with a 34-21 victory over No. 24 North Texas in the American Conference championship game on Friday at New Orleans.
Jamauri McClure rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown for the host Green Wave (11-2), who are in prime position to land a CFP berth as one of the top five conference champions.
Tulane's Chris Rodgers returned an interception for a touchdown, Jack Tchienchou was involved in three big plays and Retzlaff completed 13 of 22 passes for 145 yards and added 49 yards on the ground.
"We knew we were one of the best teams in the country -- G5 or whatever it is -- we knew we were going to win the conference and we'll be in," said Retzlaff, who transferred from BYU to Tulane in the summer.
Tchienchou was selected the game's Most Outstanding Player.
Drew Mestemaker connected on 21 of 34 passes for 294 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions for North Texas (11-2). Tre Williams III and Miles Coleman caught scoring passes and Ashton Gray ran for a touchdown for the Mean Green.
North Texas star running back Caleb Hawkins left early in the second quarter due to a left arm injury. Hawkins is the national leader in both rushing touchdowns (23) and total touchdowns (26). He had 20 yards on seven carries before exiting.
Both coaches were guiding their teams despite landing other jobs. Tulane's Jon Sumrall will become the coach of Florida, and North Texas' Eric Morris is taking over at Oklahoma State.
Sumrall said, "I'm so proud of our players. They finished the job. Conference championship. It's a player-driven team. It's all about the players. ...
"We're going to finish the job. Players, coaches, we're all going to finish the job."
Tchienchou forced a fumble with the blow that caused Hawkins to leave the game. LJ Green returned it 34 yards to the North Texas 37-yard line.
Two plays later, McClure scored on a 7-yard run to give the Green Wave a 14-7 lead with 12:29 left in the half. The lead grew to 10 when Patrick Durkin booted a 30-yard field goal with 5:46 remaining.
Late in the half, Alec Clark's punt hit North Texas' Baron Tipton in the leg and Tchienchou recovered at the Mean Green 13 with 50 seconds left. Tulane cashed in when Retzlaff scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1 as time expired for a 24-7 halftime lead.
Morris said of the muffed punt, "I thought that was a catastrophic play for our football program."
Midway through the third quarter, a deflection off the hands of North Texas' Wyatt Young was plucked by Rogers, who ran 35 yards for a score to give the Green Wave a 24-point lead.
North Texas then drove to a first-and-goal at the Tulane 2. Mestemaker threw the ball to a wide-open Young, and the pass went off his hand and directly to Tchienchou for an interception with 3:58 left in the third.
With 16 seconds remaining in the quarter, Mestemaker hit Coleman on a 59-yard score.
North Texas crept within 31-21 on Gray's 9-yard scoring run followed by his two-point conversion run with 9:26 remaining in the game.
Durkin kicked a 30-yard field goal to boost the Tulane lead to 13 with 2:51 remaining.
Tulane's Jahiem Johnson intercepted Mestemaker in the end zone with one minute left to seal the victory.
In the first quarter, Mestemaker tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Williams, and Tulane responded with Retzlaff's 2-yard scoring run.
"I am so proud of these kids and what they were able to accomplish this year," Morris said postgame. "... To watch these guys battle and grow together. I told them in the locker room they need to be proud of themselves. We still have a bowl game to play. We need to find a way to go win that game."
--Field Level Media
