Linebacker Mike Tyler returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown with 8:23 remaining, and No. 20 Air Force rallied to beat Rice 22-16 on Saturday and claim a berth in the Western Athletic Conference championship game.
The Falcons clinched the WAC's Mountain Division title and will meet Pacific champion Brigham Young for the league title on Dec. 5 in Las Vegas. BYU downed Utah 26-24.Just minutes after the game, the Falcons accepted an invitation to play in either the Aloha Bowl or Oahu Bowl, back-to-back games which will be played in Honolulu on Dec. 25. The Falcons will face a Pac-10 opponent.
The second game will match another Pac-10 team and an at-large team. Bowl executive Lenny Klompus said it would not be determined which bowl Air Force will play in until both Pac-10 schools have been decided.
Air Force, which erased a 10-0 first-half deficit, fell behind 16-14 early in the final quarter on freshman Derek Crabtree's third field goal of the game.
A subsequent Air Force possession led to a punt. But two plays later Tyler, who had left the game late in the third quarter after aggravating an injury to his right knee, picked off a pass from Chad Richardson and returned it down the left sideline for the clinching score.
Air Force lost quarterback Blane Morgan with a severely sprained right ankle with four minutes left in the opening period, but backup Cale Bonds played capably.
Rice scored on its first two possessions of the game and led 10-7 at intermission.
The Owls, who could have captured the division title with a win over Air Force, took the opening kickoff and marched 76 yards in 16 plays for a touchdown. The drive consumed 9:15, the longest in coach Ken Hatfield's five seasons at Rice.
Richardson completed 14- and 16-yard passes to Jason Blackwell, and Jamie Tyler ran the final yard with 5:45 left in the opening period.
Four plays later, Morgan departed.
On Rice's next series, Blackwell got open deep and hauled in Richardson's 52-yard pass, setting up a 27-yard field goal by Crabtree on the second play of the second quarter for a 10-0 lead.
SAN DIEGO ST. 34, TEXAS-EL PASO 29: At San Diego, Brian Russell passed for a season-high 267 yards and two touchdowns as San Diego State beat Texas-El Paso to earn a share of the Pacific Division title in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Aztecs (7-4, 7-1) tied Brigham Young for first place in the division. However, they came into the game without a chance to appear in the WAC championship game since BYU clinched the division berth earlier in the day with a 26-24 victory over Utah.
BYU advanced in the tiebreaker with its 13-0 victory over the Aztecs.
TULSA 35, WYOMING 0: At Tulsa, Okla., John Mosley rushed for 201 yards and a touchdown Saturday as Tulsa upset Wyoming and knocked the Cowboys out of the title chase in the Western Athletic Conference.
Tulsa ended its season with a victory for the first time since 1991, also the last season the Golden Hurricane got a shutout. Wyoming, whose earlier losses this year were to nationally ranked Georgia and Air Force, had been hoping to gain a bowl bid by beating Tulsa.
The Golden Hurricane defense mangled the Cowboys, allowing 213 total yards compared to 464 by Tulsa. Wyoming quarterbacks were sacked six times and intercepted four times.
TEXAS CHRISTIAN 41, UNLV 18: At Las Vegas, Patrick Batteaux rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead Texas Christian to a victory over UNLV, giving the Horned Frogs their first winning season since 1995.
Basil Mitchell rushed for 220 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries for TCU, which finished 6-5.
UNLV finished 0-11 in coach Jeff Horton's final game. He was 13-44 in five years, including a 16-game losing streak - the longest in school history.
FRESNO ST. 24, SAN JOSE ST. 21: At Fresno, Calif., Jamie Kimbrough rushed for 212 yards and returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, leading Fresno State to victory.
CENTRAL FLORIDA 38, NEW MEXICO 6: At Orlando, Fla., Daunte Culpepper completed 23 of 32 passes to set a major-college record for the highest single-season completion percentage as Central Florida beat New Mexico.
Culpepper has completed 296 of 402 passes for a .736 percentage this season, bettering the mark of .713 set by Steve Young at BYU in 1983.
Culpepper also became just the third player in NCAA history to pass for 10,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in a career. He has 11,412 yards passing and 1,020 rushing. Steve McNair (Alcorn State) and Doug Nussmeier (Idaho) are the only other players who have done it.
SMU 24, NAVY 11: At Annapolis, Md., Rodnick Phillips ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns as SMU posted a season-ending victory over Navy.
Kelsey Adams had 137 yards on 18 carries for the Mustangs (5-7). The loss left the Midshipmen at 3-7 with the traditional game vs. Army remaining.