2022 Conference USA Football Championship Game

The 2022 Conference USA Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 2, 2022, at the Alamodome in San Antonio. It was the 18th edition of the Conference USA Football Championship Game and determined the champion of Conference USA (C–USA) for the 2022 season. The game began at 7:00 pm and aired on CBS Sports Network. The contest saw the host UTSA Roadrunners defeat the North Texas Mean Green 48–27 to claim the conference title for the second straight season. Sponsored by tax services and consulting firm Ryan LLC, the game was officially known as the Ryan Conference USA Football Championship Game.

2022 Ryan Conference USA Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
The Alamodome during the 2022 Conference USA Championship Game
North Texas Mean Green UTSA Roadrunners
(7–5) (10–2)
27 48
Head coach: 
Seth Littrell		 Head coach: 
Jeff Traylor
APCoaches
2324
1234 Total
North Texas 73107 27
UTSA 7171014 48
DateDecember 2, 2022
Season2022
StadiumAlamodome
LocationSan Antonio, Texas[1]
MVPFrank Harris, QB, UTSA
FavoriteUTSA by 8.5
RefereeRory Bernard
Attendance41,412
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBSSN
AnnouncersRich Waltz, Aaron Taylor and Sherree Burruss
2022 Conference USA football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
UTSA y$  8 –0   11 –3  
North Texas y  6 –2   7 –7  
Western Kentucky  6 –2   9 –5  
Middle Tennessee  4 –4   8 –5  
UAB  4 –4   7 –6  
Florida Atlantic  4 –4   5 –7  
Rice  3 –5   5 –8  
UTEP  3 –5   5 –7  
FIU  2 –6   4 –8  
Charlotte  2 –6   3 –9  
Louisiana Tech  2 –6   3 –9  
Championship: UTSA 48, North Texas 27
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

This was the final C-USA game for both teams, which joined the American Athletic Conference in July 2023.[2]

Previous season
Main article: 2021 Conference USA Football Championship Game

The 2021 Conference USA Football Championship Game featured UTSA against Western Kentucky. UTSA won 49–41.[3]

Teams

North Texas and UTSA previously met in the regular season, also hosted at the Alamodome, with the Roadrunners defeating the Mean Green 31–27.

North Texas
Main article: 2022 North Texas Mean Green football team

North Texas finished the regular season with an overall record of 7–5, going 6–2 in C-USA play to finish tied for second in the conference with Western Kentucky. The Mean Green were selected for the championship game over the Hilltoppers due to tiebreakers as North Texas defeated Western Kentucky 40–13 in the regular season. This was the Mean Green's second appearance in the C-USA championship game, losing 17–41 to Florida Atlantic in the 2017 championship game.

The Mean Green were led by seventh-year head coach Seth Littrell in what would be his last game as the program's head coach.[4]

UTSA
Main article: 2022 UTSA Roadrunners football team

The Roadrunners finished the regular season with an overall record of 10–2, going 8–0 in C-USA play to finish first in the conference. UTSA's only losses of the regular season were against no. 24 Houston, 35–37 in triple overtime, and 20–41 against no. 21 Texas. This was the Roadrunners' second appearance in the C-USA Championship game, having defeated Western Kentucky 49–41 in the previous year's championship game.

The Roadrunners were led by third-year head coach Jeff Traylor.

Game summary
2022 Ryan Conference USA Football Championship Game
Period 1 2 34Total
North Texas 7 3 10727
No. 23 UTSA 7 17 101448

at Alamodome • San Antonio, Texas

  • Date: December 2, 2021
  • Game time: 6:30 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: n/a (game played indoors)
  • Game attendance: 41,412
  • Referee: Rory Bernard
  • TV announcers (CBSSN): Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (analyst), and Sherree Burruss (sidelines)
  • Pregame line: UTSA –8.5
Game information
1st quarter
  • (12:04) UTSA – Kevorian Barnes 27 yard rush, Jared Sackett kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:56; UTSA 7–0)
  • (8:09) UNT – Ikaika Ragsdale 2 yard rush, Ethan Mooney kick (Drive: 11 plays, 70 yards, 3:55; Tied 7–7)
2nd quarter
  • (10:34) UNT – Ethan Mooney 22 yard field goal (Drive: 14 plays, 93 yards, 5:10; North Texas 10–7)
  • (8:25) UTSA – Frank Harris 11 yard rush, Jared Sackett kick (Drive: 2 plays, 15 yards, 0:35; UTSA 14–10)
  • (1:12) UTSA – Jared Sackett 42 yard field goal (Drive: 14 plays, 65 yards, 5:40; UTSA 17–10)
  • (0:11) UTSA – Zakhari Franklin 32 yard pass from Frank Harris, Jared Sackett kick (Drive: 3 plays, 62 yards, 0:26; UTSA 24–10)
3rd quarter
  • (12:26) UNT – Ethan Mooney 24 yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, 2:34; UTSA 24–13)
  • (10:33) UTSA – Zakhari Franklin 14 yard pass from Frank Harris, Jared Sackett kick (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:53; UTSA 31–13)
  • (8:42) UNT – Jyaire Shorter 36 yard pass from Austin Aune, Ethan Mooney kick (Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 1:51; UTSA 31–20)
  • (1:47) UTSA – Jared Sackett 43 yard field goal (Drive: 14 plays, 49 yards, 6:55; UTSA 34–20)
4th quarter
  • (13:34) UNT – Isaiah Johnson 1 yard rush, Ethan Mooney kick (Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards, 3:13; UTSA 34–27)
  • (11:09) UTSA – Zakhari Franklin 39 yard pass from Frank Harris, Jared Sackett kick (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:25; UTSA 41–27)
  • (4:07) UTSA – Oscar Cardenas 16 yard pass from Frank Harris, Jared Sackett kick (Drive: 3 plays, 21 yards, 0:22; UTSA 48–27)
StatisticsNorth TexasUTSA
First downs1932
plays–yards65–36685–571
Rushes/yards35–17247–227
Passing yards194344
Passing: Comp–Att–Int14–30–233–38–0
Time of possession22:1737:43
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
North TexasPassingAustin Aune14/29, 194 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
RushingIkaika Ragsdale17 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingKaylon Horton3 receptions, 58 yards
UTSAPassingFrank Harris32/37, 341 yards, 4 TDs
RushingKevorian Barnes28 carries, 175 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingZakhari Franklin10 receptions, 144 yards, 3 TDs

References
  1. "UTSA crushes Rice 41-7, will host Conference USA title game for second straight season". ksat.com. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  2. "American Announces Entrance Agreements With Incoming Members for 2023-24 Season" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  3. "UTSA wins Conference USA championship 49-41 over Western Kent". ESPN. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  4. Cruz, Alex (December 4, 2022). "North Texas fires football coach Seth Littrell after seven seasons". WFAA. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
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