2020 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game

Annual NCAA football Championship game For the American Athletic Conference men's basketball championship, see 2020 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament.

College football game

6th AAC Championship Game

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Cincinnati Bearcats

(6–1)

(8–0)

Head coach:
Philip Montgomery

Head coach:
Luke Fickell

AP	Coaches	CFP
20	20	23

AP	Coaches	CFP
6	6	9

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tulsa	0	10	7	7	24
Cincinnati	10	7	7	3	27

Date

December 19, 2020

Season

2020

Stadium

Nippert Stadium

Location

Cincinnati, OH

MVP

Desmond Ridder (QB, Cincinnati)

Favorite

Cincinnati by 13.5

Referee

Charles Lamertina

Attendance

5,831

United States TV coverage

Network

ABC

Announcers

Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (color), Holly Rowe (sideline)

American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game
< 2019	2021 >

2020 American Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 Cincinnati y$	6	–	0	9	–	1
Tulsa y	6	–	0	6	–	3
Memphis	5	–	3	8	–	3
UCF	5	–	3	6	–	4
SMU	4	–	3	7	–	3
Houston	3	–	3	3	–	5
Navy	3	–	4	3	–	7
Tulane	3	–	5	6	–	6
East Carolina	3	–	5	3	–	6
Temple	1	–	6	1	–	6
South Florida	0	–	7	1	–	8
Championship: Cincinnati 27, Tulsa 24
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2020 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game presented by CapitalOne was a college football game played on Saturday, December 19, 2020, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 6th American Athletic Conference Championship Game, it determined the 2020 champion of the American Athletic Conference (The American). This was the first 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.

In consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio, attendance at the game was capped at 5,831 spectators by the Cincinnati Health Department, approximately 18% of the full capacity of Nippert Stadium (32,574).

Previous season

The 2019 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game featured East Division winner Cincinnati against West Division co-winner Memphis. Eight days after beating the Bearcats 34–24 at home in the regular-season finale, Memphis rallied for another win. The Tigers beat the Bearcats, 29–24.

Teams

Cincinnati

Main article: 2020 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

The Cincinnati Bearcats clinched a berth in the Championship Game, after the November 28 game against Temple was canceled. This is Cincinnati's second consecutive Championship Game appearance.

Tulsa

Main article: 2020 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane clinched a berth in the Championship Game after defeating Navy on December 5. This is Tulsa's first appearance in the conference championship.

Game summary

2020 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Tulsa	0	10	7	7	24
No. 9 Cincinnati	10	7	7	3	27

at Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Date: December 19, 2020
Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST (7:00 p.m. CST)
Game weather: Rain • Temperature: 41 °F (5 °C) • Wind: SSW 6 mph
Game attendance: 5,831
Referee: Charles Lamertina
TV announcers (ABC): Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (color), Holly Rowe (sideline)

Game information
First quarter (8:56) CIN – Jerome Ford 42 yard rush, Cole Smith kick (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:54; Cincinnati 7–0) (0:05) CIN – Cole Smith 25 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 72 yards, 5:46; Cincinnati 10–0) Second quarter (11:08) TLSA – Zack Long 43 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 46 yards, 3:52; Cincinnati 10–3) (8:36) TLSA – Corey Taylor II 10 yard rush, Zack Long kick (Drive: 5 plays, 28 yards, 1:37; Tied 10–10) (3:17) CIN – Alec Pierce 36 yard pass from Desmond Ridder, Cole Smith kick (Drive: 5 plays, 64 yards, 2:04; Cincinnati 17–10) Third quarter (10:05) TLSA – Deneric Prince 8 yard rush, Zack Long kick (Drive: 3 plays, 55 yards, 0:45; Tied 17–17) (7:14) CIN – Desmond Ridder 10 yard rush, Cole Smith kick (Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 2:46; Cincinnati 24–17) Fourth quarter (3:41) TLSA – JuanCarlos Santana 13 yard pass from Zach Smith, Zack Long kick (Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:46; Tied 24–24) (0:00) CIN – Cole Smith 34 yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 51 yards, 3:34; Cincinnati 27–24)

Game information

First quarter

(8:56) CIN – Jerome Ford 42 yard rush, Cole Smith kick (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:54; Cincinnati 7–0)
(0:05) CIN – Cole Smith 25 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 72 yards, 5:46; Cincinnati 10–0)

Second quarter

(11:08) TLSA – Zack Long 43 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 46 yards, 3:52; Cincinnati 10–3)
(8:36) TLSA – Corey Taylor II 10 yard rush, Zack Long kick (Drive: 5 plays, 28 yards, 1:37; Tied 10–10)
(3:17) CIN – Alec Pierce 36 yard pass from Desmond Ridder, Cole Smith kick (Drive: 5 plays, 64 yards, 2:04; Cincinnati 17–10)

Third quarter

(10:05) TLSA – Deneric Prince 8 yard rush, Zack Long kick (Drive: 3 plays, 55 yards, 0:45; Tied 17–17)
(7:14) CIN – Desmond Ridder 10 yard rush, Cole Smith kick (Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 2:46; Cincinnati 24–17)

Fourth quarter

(3:41) TLSA – JuanCarlos Santana 13 yard pass from Zach Smith, Zack Long kick (Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:46; Tied 24–24)
(0:00) CIN – Cole Smith 34 yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 51 yards, 3:34; Cincinnati 27–24)

Statistics

Statistics	TLSA	CIN
First downs	22	17
Plays–yards	67–332	67–420
Rushes–yards	37–166	38–151
Passing yards	166	269
Passing: comp–att–int	13–30–2	19–29–0
Time of possession	26:03	33:57

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tulsa	Passing	Zach Smith	13/30, 166 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Corey Taylor II	22 carries, 102 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Sam Crawford Jr.	3 receptions, 79 yards
Cincinnati	Passing	Desmond Ridder	19/29, 269 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Desmond Ridder	16 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Alec Pierce	5 receptions, 146 yards, 1 TD

References

"ESPN Game Summary - Tulsa vs. Cincinnati - December 19, 2020". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
"American Athletic Conference Announces Plans for 2020 Fall Sports Seasons". theamerican.org.
Jenkins, Keith (December 15, 2020). "Ohio approves nearly 6,000 fans at Nippert Stadium for Saturday's AAC championship game". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
"Memphis Defeats Cincinnati, 29–24, to win American Football Championship". theamerican.org.
@Williams_Justin (November 25, 2020). "Certainly not preferred circumstances, but with Saturday's game against Temple cancelled due to COVID-19, the #Bearcats have secured a spot in the AAC title game on Dec. 19" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
Staff Reports. "Tulsa clinches spot in AAC championship game with 19–6 win at Navy". Tulsa World.

External links

Game statistics at statbroadcast.com

v t e 2020 NCAA football conference championship games
Division I FBS	ACC American Big 12 Big Ten Conference USA MAC Mountain West Pac-12 SEC Sun Belt
Division I FCS	NEC Patriot SWAC

v t e American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game
Years	2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Venues	TDECU Stadium (2015) Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (2016) Spectrum Stadium (2017–18) Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (2019) Nippert Stadium (2020–21) Yulman Stadium (2022–2023) Michie Stadium (2024)

v t e Cincinnati Bearcats football
Venues	League Park (1893–1900, 1904) Carson Field (1901–1923) Nippert Stadium (1924–1989, 1991–2013, 2015–present) Riverfront Stadium (1982–1986, 1990) Paul Brown Stadium (2010–2011, 2014)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Louisville (The Keg of Nails) Miami (Victory Bell) Memphis UCF West Virginia Xavier
Culture & lore	University of Cincinnati Bearcat Bands
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

v t e Tulsa Golden Hurricane football
Venues	South Main Park (1912–1914) Association Park (1915–1917) McNulty Park (1919–1929) Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium (1930–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Houston Oklahoma State
Culture & lore	Captain Cane "Hurricane Spirit" The Sound of the Golden Hurricane Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

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