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2023 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game
9th AAC Championship Game
SMU Mustangs Tulane Green Wave
(10–2) (11–1)
26 14
Head coach: 
Rhett Lashlee		 Head coach: 
Willie Fritz
AP Coaches CFP
2524NR
AP Coaches CFP
171822
1234 Total
SMU 7739 26
Tulane 7070 14
DateDecember 2, 2023
Season 2023
Stadium Yulman Stadium
Location New Orleans, LA
MVPIsaiah Nwokobia, S, SMU
FavoriteTulane by 2.5
RefereeLuke Richmond
Attendance25,206
United States TV coverage
Network ABC
AnnouncersRoy Philpott (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst) and Taylor McGregor (sideline reporter)
American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game
 < 2022  2024 > 
2023 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 22 SMU y$   8 – 0     11 – 3  
Tulane y   8 – 0     11 – 3  
UTSA   7 – 1     9 – 4  
Memphis   6 – 2     10 – 3  
South Florida   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Rice   4 – 4     6 – 7  
Navy   4 – 4     5 – 7  
North Texas   3 – 5     5 – 7  
UAB   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Florida Atlantic   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Charlotte   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Tulsa   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Temple   1 – 7     3 – 9  
East Carolina   1 – 7     2 – 10  
Championship: SMU 26, Tulane 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 2, 2023, at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans. It was the ninth American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game and determined the champion of the American Athletic Conference (The American) for the 2023 season. The game started at 4:00 p.m. EST and aired on ABC. The game featured the Tulane Green Wave and the SMU Mustangs. SMU defeated Tulane 26–14 for the program's first conference championship since it won a share of the Southwest Conference title in 1984. [1]

Teams

The 2023 American Conference Championship Game featured the Tulane Green Wave as the #1 seed, and the SMU Mustangs as the #2 seed. This was the second consecutive American title game appearance for Tulane and its second overall. The Green Wave won its previous appearance in 2022. This was the first and only American title game appearance for SMU, with the school set to join the Atlantic Coast Conference in July 2024. [2]

Tulane Green Wave

Main article: 2023 Tulane Green Wave football team

Tulane clinched a spot in the game following its win over UTSA on November 24. [3] It enters the game with an 11–1 record, 8–0 in conference play. This was the Green Wave's second-straight appearance in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game, having defeated UCF 45–28 in the 2022 game.

SMU Mustangs

Main article: 2023 SMU Mustangs football team

SMU clinched a spot in the game following its win over Navy on November 25. [4] The Mustangs entered the game with a 10–2 record, 8–0 in conference play. This was the Mustangs' first and only appearance in an American Athletic Conference Championship Game.

Game summary

SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings made his first career start in the championship game. On the first play of the game, Jennings fumbled the ball, allowing Tulane to return it to the 1-yard line and score immediately afterwards. Despite this and two interceptions, SMU led Tulane 14–7 at the end of the first half thanks to its strong defense, which forced Tulane to punt the ball nine times over the course of the game. In the second half, Jennings continued to lead SMU down the field, allowing kicker Collin Rogers to score four field goals. Near the end of the fourth quarter, safety Isaiah Nwokobia intercepted the ball to seal SMU's 26–14 victory over Tulane, winning SMU its first conference championship since 1984. [5] [6] After the game, Nwokobia was awarded the Most Outstanding Player award, becoming the first defensive player to win such an award in an AAC title game. [7]

Scoring summary

2023 American Athletic Conference Championship Game
SMU Mustangs (10–2, 8–0) vs. No. 22 Tulane Green Wave (11–1, 8–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
SMU 7 7 3926
No. 22 Tulane 7 0 7014

at Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA

  • Date: Saturday, December 2, 2023
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Wind: SW at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) • Weather: Rain
  • Game attendance: 25,206
  • Referee: Luke Richmond
  • TV announcers ( ABC): Roy Philpott, Roddy Jones, Taylor McGregor
  • References: [8]
Game information
First Quarter
  • (14:50) TULN – Michael Pratt 1 yard rush, Valentino Ambrosio kick (Drive: 1 play, 1 yard, 0:03; Tulane 7–0)
  • (7:37) SMU – Jaylan Knighton 6 yard rush, Collin Rogers kick (Drive: 5 plays, 50 yards, 1:37; Tied 7–7)
Second Quarter
  • (1:32) SMU – Key'Shawn Smith 17 yard pass from Kevin Jennings, Collin Rogers kick (Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards, 4:18; SMU 14–7)
Third Quarter
  • (8:46) TULN – Yulkeith Brown 42 yard pass from Michael Pratt, Valentino Ambrosio kick (Drive: 5 plays, 63 yards, 2:34; Tied 14–14)
  • (5:35) SMU – Collin Rogers 48 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 41 yards, 3:11; SMU 17–14)
Fourth Quarter
  • (12:38) SMU – Collin Rogers 32 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 52 yards, 5:52; SMU 20–14)
  • (8:58) SMU – Collin Rogers 32 yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 15 yards, 1:47; SMU 23–14)
  • (3:15) SMU – Collin Rogers 45 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 9 yards, 1:13; SMU 26–14)
Statistics SMU TUL
First downs 21 12
Plays–yards 78–396 62–269
Rushes–yards 45–193 26–31
Passing yards 203 238
Passing: comp–att–int 19–33–2 21–36–1
Time of possession 34:07 25:53
Team Category Player Statistics
SMU Passing Kevin Jennings 19/33, 203 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Jaylan Knighton 15 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD
Receiving RJ Maryland 5 receptions, 56 yards
Tulane Passing Michael Pratt 21/36, 238 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Makhi Hughes 11 carries, 44 yards
Receiving Yulkieth Brown 5 receptions, 90 yards, 1 TD

References

  1. ^ Stevenson, Stefan (December 2, 2023). "SMU asserts dominance over Tulane, secures first conference championship win in 39 years". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "The Atlantic Coast Conference Welcomes the University of California, Berkeley, Southern Methodist University and Stanford University as New Members" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  3. ^ Cooper, Sam (November 24, 2023). "No. 23 Tulane beats UTSA 29-16, clinches spot in AAC title game". Yahoo!. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "Tulane To Face SMU In 2023 American Football Championship Game". The American. November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  5. ^ Martel, Brett (December 3, 2023). "Jennings, dominant defense carry No. 25 SMU to AAC title, 26-14 over Tulane". AP News. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  6. ^ Londergan, Joe (December 3, 2023). "SMU Upset Tulane In AAC Championship Game". Sports Illustrated G5 Football Daily News, Analysis and More. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  7. ^ Stevenson, Stefan (December 3, 2023). "SMU asserts dominance over Tulane, secures first conference championship win in 39 years". Dallas News. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  8. ^ Brooks, Amanda. "Cue the Confetti: College Football Conference Championship Weekend Kicks Off Friday with Pac-12 Championship on ABC Presented by Dr Pepper – Seven Championship Showdowns Set for ESPN Platforms, Dec. 1-2". ESPN Press Room. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
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