College football game
The
2016 Conference USA Championship Game
was played on Saturday, December 3, 2016, at
Houchens Industries?L. T. Smith Stadium
in
Bowling Green, Kentucky
, and determined the
2016
football
champion of
Conference USA
(C-USA). The game featured the West Division champion
Louisiana Tech
visiting the East Division champion
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
(WKU), with the Hilltoppers winning 58?44. The game was broadcast nationally by
ESPN
for the 5th consecutive year.
[2]
The title sponsor was
Dynacraft BSC
.
[3]
If winner of the C-USA Championship Game is one of highest ranked in the
rankings
of the
"Group of Five" conferences
, the team could be placed in the
playoffs
if not then the
Cotton Bowl
. The conference champion if not selected would then pick a bowl game of their choosing to attend that has ties to the conference.
The 2016 championship game was the 12th game in the championship series. In the
2015
championship game, also hosted by WKU,
the Hilltoppers
defeated
Southern Miss
, 45?28.
The game proved to be the last for
Jeff Brohm
as WKU's head coach; two days later, he was hired to fill the head coaching vacancy at
Purdue
.
[4]
Teams
[
edit
]
Louisiana Tech
[
edit
]
The Bulldogs got off to a rough start at 1?2 before going into conference play with a close 21?20 loss to
Arkansas
. Louisiana Tech lost its first conference game against
Middle Tennessee
in which the Bulldogs lost the game in the last quarter when the Blue Raiders scored 21 points to win 38?34. The Bulldogs then went undefeated in conference play before losing their regular-season finale 39?24 to
Southern Miss
on November 26. They had already clinched the West Division title on November 12 by defeating
UTSA
, winning the division title for the second time in school history.
[5]
[6]
The previous time the Bulldogs won the West Division was back in
2014
, which resulted in the Bulldogs
losing by 3 points
to
Marshall
.
[7]
Western Kentucky
[
edit
]
WKU opened the season with a conference win over
Rice
, and then went 2?2 in its nonconference schedule, with both losses to
Southeastern Conference
teams. WKU then resumed its conference schedule at Louisiana Tech, losing 55?52, before winning its final six regular-season games, finishing C-USA play as East Division co-champions along with
Old Dominion
. Both teams finished 7?1 in C-USA play, with WKU holding the tiebreaker with a 59?24 win over Old Dominion on October 22. Entering the final weekend of conference play, the Hilltoppers could have been beaten out for hosting rights by Louisiana Tech, which entered that weekend 6?1 in the conference and held the head-to-head tiebreaker with its win over WKU. However, the Bulldogs lost on November 26 to Southern Miss, leaving them at 6?2 in C-USA play. WKU hosted the championship for the second consecutive season, making it the first C-USA school to ever do so.
Game summary
[
edit
]
WKU hosted the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech at
Houchens Industries?L. T. Smith Stadium
in
Bowling Green, Kentucky
at noon
Eastern Time
on December 3, 2016, and was broadcast on
ESPN
. Louisiana Tech held the overall series record over the Hilltoppers 4?2 before the matchup. The Bulldogs defeated the Hilltoppers in the last meeting back in the beginning of the season on October 6, 55?52.
Scoring summary
[
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]
Scoring summary
|
Quarter
|
Time
|
Drive
|
Team
|
Scoring information
|
Score
|
Plays
|
Yards
|
TOP
|
LATECH
|
WKU
|
1
|
11:56
|
8
|
54
|
3:04
|
WKU
|
32-yard field goal by Skyler Simcox
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
10:18
|
5
|
76
|
1:38
|
LATECH
|
25-yard field goal by Jonathan Barnes
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
7:40
|
7
|
70
|
2:38
|
WKU
|
Anthony Wales 15-yard touchdown run, Skyler Simcox kick good
|
3
|
10
|
1
|
5:43
|
|
|
|
LATECH
|
Interception returned 48 yards for touchdown by
L'Jarius Sneed
, Jonathan Barnes kick good
|
10
|
10
|
1
|
3:38
|
6
|
75
|
2:05
|
WKU
|
Anthony Wales 26-yard touchdown run, Skyler Simcox kick good
|
10
|
17
|
1
|
1:34
|
7
|
63
|
2:04
|
LATECH
|
Carlos Henderson
6-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Higgins, Jonathan Barnes kick good
|
17
|
17
|
1
|
0:00
|
3
|
63
|
1:34
|
WKU
|
Anthony Wales 10-yard touchdown reception from
Mike White
, Skyler Simcox kick good
|
17
|
24
|
2
|
11:06
|
8
|
79
|
3:54
|
LATECH
|
Jarred Craft 5-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Higgins, Jonathan Barnes kick good
|
24
|
24
|
2
|
10:17
|
2
|
72
|
0:49
|
WKU
|
Taywan Taylor
45-yard touchdown reception from Mike White, Skyler Simcox kick good
|
24
|
31
|
2
|
8:26
|
7
|
72
|
1:51
|
LATECH
|
36-yard field goal by Jonathan Barnes
|
27
|
31
|
2
|
5:05
|
7
|
23
|
3:21
|
WKU
|
Taywan Taylor 4-yard touchdown reception from Mike White, Skyler Simcox kick good
|
27
|
38
|
3
|
13:15
|
5
|
65
|
1:45
|
LATECH
|
Kameron McKnight 53-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Higgins, Jonathan Barnes kick good
|
34
|
38
|
3
|
10:17
|
7
|
29
|
2:58
|
LATECH
|
Kameron McKnight 1-yard touchdown run, Jonathan Barnes kick good
|
41
|
38
|
3
|
4:05
|
10
|
55
|
4:32
|
WKU
|
28-yard field goal by Skyler Simcox
|
41
|
41
|
3
|
4:05
|
2
|
40
|
0:48
|
WKU
|
Anthony Wales 15-yard touchdown run, Skyler Simcox kick good
|
41
|
48
|
4
|
14:08
|
15
|
72
|
4:57
|
LATECH
|
24-yard field goal by Jonathan Barnes
|
44
|
48
|
4
|
7:19
|
9
|
63
|
4:57
|
WKU
|
34-yard field goal by Skyler Simcox
|
44
|
51
|
4
|
0:58
|
9
|
83
|
4:57
|
WKU
|
Anthony Wales 13-yard touchdown run, Skyler Simcox kick good
|
44
|
58
|
"TOP" =
time of possession
. For other American football terms, see
Glossary of American football
.
|
44
|
58
|
|
Source:
[1]
Statistics
[
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]
Statistics
[1]
|
LA Tech
|
WKU
|
First downs
|
26
|
31
|
Plays?yards
|
79?507
|
72?656
|
Rushes?yards
|
22?5
|
41?235
|
Passing yards
|
421
|
502
|
Passing: Comp?Att?Int
|
35?57?1
|
21?31?1
|
Time of possession
|
28:24
|
31:36
|
References
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Division I FBS
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Division I FCS
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National championship seasons in bold
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Bowls & rivalries
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Culture & lore
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National championship seasons in bold
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