2021 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game
7th AAC Championship Game
Houston Cougars Cincinnati Bearcats
(11–1) (12–0)
20 35
Head coach: 
Dana Holgorsen		 Head coach: 
Luke Fickell
APCoachesCFP
161621
APCoachesCFP
344
1234 Total
Houston 10307 20
Cincinnati 140210 35
DateDecember 4, 2021
Season2021
StadiumNippert Stadium
LocationCincinnati, Ohio
MVPJerome Ford, RB, Cincinnati
FavoriteCincinnati by 10.5
RefereeHank Johns[1]
Attendance37,978
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersJoe Tessitore (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst), and Katie George (sideline)
2021 American Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 4 Cincinnati y$^  8 –0   13 –1  
No. 17 Houston y  8 –0   12 –2  
UCF  5 –3   9 –4  
East Carolina  5 –3   7 –5  
Tulsa  5 –3   7 –6  
SMU  4 –4   8 –4  
Memphis  3 –5   6 –6  
Navy  3 –5   4 –8  
Tulane  1 –7   2 –10  
South Florida  1 –7   2 –10  
Temple  1 –7   3 –9  
Championship: Cincinnati 35, Houston 20
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2021 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 4, 2021, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the seventh American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game and determined the champion of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) for the 2021 season. The game began at 4:00 p.m. EST and aired on ABC. The game featured the regular season champions, the Cincinnati Bearcats, and the regular season runners-up, the Houston Cougars. Sponsored by RoofClaim.com, a roofing services company, the game was officially known as the 2021 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game presented by RoofClaim.com.[2]

Teams

This was the second year of the current division-less format of the game; instead of representatives from two divisions, the two teams with the best conference records earned a spot in the game.[3]

Houston

Houston clinched a berth in the championship game following its win over Temple on November 13.[4] This was the Cougars' second appearance in the American Championship Game, having won the inaugural contest 24–13 over Temple in 2015.

Cincinnati

Cincinnati clinched a berth in the championship game following its win over SMU on November 20.[5] The Bearcats secured home-field advantage for the championship game on November 26, defeating East Carolina 35–13 to complete an undefeated regular season.[6] This was the Bearcats' third straight championship game appearance, having lost to Memphis 29–24 in 2019 and defeating Tulsa 27–24 in 2020. Entering the game, the fourth-ranked Bearcats held the highest College Football Playoff ranking of any team to play in the American Championship Game.

Game summary

Taking the opening kickoff, the Cougars marched right down the field mixing runs and passes to get into Cincinnati territory. The Bearcats defense stiffened and forced the Cougars to settle for a 37-yard field goal by Dalton Witherspoon to take an early 3–0 lead. The Bearcats responded with a crisp 5-play, 82-yard drive with QB Desmond Ridder completing passes to four different receivers. Ridder found WR Tyler Scott on a 25-yard post pattern pass in the end zone to give the Bearcats a 7–3 lead. The Cougars responded with a solid touchdown drive of their own, going 74 yards in 10 plays, capped by a QB Clayton Tune pass to WR Tank Dell. That lead was short lived as on the Bearcat first play from scrimmage following the kickoff Jerome Ford took the handoff, slipped through the right side and dashed untouched 79 yards for a touchdown. It was Ford's 4th touchdown run of 75 yards or more of the season. The Bearcats were back in front 14–10 and the sellout crowd of 37,978 buckled in for what was shaping up to be a high scoring shootout. The Cougars strung together another time-consuming drive but once again the Bearcats defense stopped Houston inside the 30. Witherspoon connected on a 46-yard field goal to narrow the Cincinnati lead to 14–13. The Bearcats could not extend their lead after a fine kickoff return by Tre Tucker set the Bearcats up in Houston territory. The Bearcats got inside the 10 but the drive stalled and Christian Lowery missed a 23-yard field goal. The Bearcats took a 14–13 lead into halftime.

Taking the second half kickoff, the Bearcats went 75 yards on 6 plays, highlighted by a 44-yard pass from Ridder to WR Alec Pierce who made a spectacular diving catch on a seemingly overthrown ball. The Bearcats took advantage of a 4th down pass interference call on Houston and scored on an 8-yard swing pass from Ridder to TE Leonard Taylor. With the score now 21–13, the Cougars next drive ended after one play as LB Joel Dublanko intercepted a Tune pass and returned it to the Houston 23 yard line. Two plays later, Pierce out jumped Houston CB Marcus Jones in the end zone and the Bearcats now held a 28–13 lead less than 5 minutes into the 2nd half. The Cougars went three-and-out on their next series and punted. Three plays later, Ford broke over the left side finding a wide-open seam and sprinted 42 yards for a touchdown, the third of the 3rd quarter in less than 8 minutes of game time. The 3rd quarter continued to be a struggle for the Cougars as the Bearcats defense continued to stifle them at every turn. The Cougars were held to −6 yards offense in the 3rd quarter, gaining one first down, and no points. The Cougars did manage to score a touchdown midway through the 4th quarter to close the gap to 35–20, but that would be as close as they would get. At game's end, much of the sellout crowd stormed the field in celebration as the Bearcats clinched their second straight American Athletic Football Championship with the win. Jerome Ford was named the Most Outstanding Player with 187 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Desmond Ridder only completed 11 passes on 17 attempts for 190 yards. His passes were judicious and sparingly needed as the Bearcat running game rang up 210 yards. The Bearcat defense registered 8 sacks, with Joel Dublanko notching a pair to go along with 7 tackles and the games lone turnover on the 3rd quarter interception. The Bearcats won despite only having the ball 19 minutes on offense. The Bearcats ended the evening as the nation's only unbeaten team in the 2021 season and with the final results of the College Football Playoff poll the next day would be chosen as one of the final teams that would play for the national championship.

2021 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game
Period 1 2 34Total
No. 21 Houston 10 3 0720
No. 4 Cincinnati 14 0 21035

at Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH

  • Date: December 4, 2021
  • Game time: 4:08 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C) • Sunny • Wind: 6 mph (9.7 km/h) north
  • Game attendance: 37,978
  • Referee: Hank Johns
  • TV announcers (ABC): Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst), and Katie George (sideline)
  • Box score
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Houston Cincinnati
1 11:55 7 50 2:57 Houston 37-yard field goal by Dalton Witherspoon 3 0
1 9:38 5 82 2:11 Cincinnati Tyler Scott 25-yard touchdown reception from Desmond Ridder, Christian Lowery kick good 3 7
1 4:23 10 74 5:07 Houston Tank Dell 16-yard touchdown reception from Clayton Tune, Dalton Witherspoon kick good 10 7
1 4:06 1 79 0:11 Cincinnati Jerome Ford 79-yard touchdown run, Christian Lowery kick good 10 14
2 11:40 13 44 7:21 Houston 46-yard field goal by Dalton Witherspoon 13 14
3 12:02 6 75 2:58 Cincinnati Leonard Taylor 8-yard touchdown reception from Desmond Ridder, Christian Lowery kick good 13 21
3 11:04 2 23 0:41 Cincinnati Alec Pierce 21-yard touchdown reception from Desmond Ridder, Christian Lowery kick good 13 28
3 7:38 3 62 1:18 Cincinnati Jerome Ford 42-yard touchdown run, Christian Lowery kick good 13 35
4 6:06 13 90 7:28 Houston Jake Herslow 7-yard touchdown reception from Clayton Tune, Dalton Witherspoon kick good 20 35
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.

Statistics

Statistics HOU CIN
First downs2214
Plays–yards73–33645–400
Rushes–yards47–8628–210
Passing yards250190
Passing: comp–att–int17–26–111–17–0
Time of possession40:1919:41
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Houston PassingClayton Tune17/26, 250 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
RushingAlton McCaskill13 carries, 39 yards
ReceivingTank Dell9 receptions, 152 yards, 1 TD
Cincinnati PassingDesmond Ridder11/17, 190 yards, 3 TD
RushingJerome Ford18 carries, 187 yards, 2 TD
ReceivingAlec Pierce2 receptions, 65 yards, 1 TD

References

  1. ↑ "Officiating crews for the 2021 college football conference championship games". footballzebras.com. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  2. ↑ "RoofClaim.com Named as Presenting Partner of the 2021 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game". theamerican.org (Press release). November 17, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  3. ↑ "American Athletic Conference Announces Plans for 2020 Fall Sports Seasons". theamerican.org.
  4. ↑ Duarte, Joseph (November 13, 2021). "Houston routs Temple, clinches berth in AAC championship game". Texas Sports Nation. Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Ridder Leads Cincinnati to 48-14 Win over SMU on Senior Day". GoBearcats.com. University of Cincinnati Athletics Department. November 21, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  6. ↑ "No. 4 Cincinnati stays unbeaten, beats East Carolina 35-13". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
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