ts certainly worked out well for the Buckeyes, who impro

ATLANTA -- Grambling State seized the opportunity when North Carolina Centrals Quentin Atkinson celebrated too much in the Celebration Bowl.Grambling State blocked an extra-point kick set back 15 yards by Atkinsons excessive celebration with just over two minutes left, holding off North Carolina Central 10-9 on Saturday in the bowl that decides bragging rights for historically black colleges and universities.Joseph McWilliams surged in and swatted Brandon McLarens 35-yard try with 2:14 remaining to preserve the Tigers edge.Down 10-3, the Eagles had a chance to pull even after Atkinson shook loose and caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from scrambling Malcolm Bell. But Atkinson took off his helmet while reveling with the crowd, drawing a personal foul penalty.I kind of felt fault for that, Atkinson said. I do want to apologize to my team for that because that was a selfish act. Im not selfish, but it was the heat of the moment and I was excited to bring the team back with an outstanding play.Bell called Atkinsons mistake kind of a bonehead play but said the team also was hurt by other mistakes in the game.North Carolina Central coach Jerry Mack said the longer extra point still should have been made if not for a missed block on McWilliams.Martez Carters 32-yard touchdown run to open the second half gave Grambling State (11-1) its first lead. The Tigers earned the bowl bid by winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.The Eagles (9-3) won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in Macks third year.Trailing 3-0 at halftime, Grambling State opened the third quarter with a run-first plan. Following five power runs by 240-pound running back Jestin Kelly, the 175-pound Carter looked extra-quick on his sharp cuts through the line on his touchdown run.Jestin Kelly, hes a ground-and-pound type guy, Carter said. He wore those guys down. Im just a home-run hitter, man. He wore them down and then they put me in. What else are you going to do? You take those blows from him and then try to take me.Carter had 109 yards rushing, two catches for 23 yards and a combined 71 yards on four punt and kickoff returns. He was named offensive MVP. Kelly added 65 yards rushing.The Tigers threw only one play-action pass for a short gain on the touchdown drive.Grambling States defense later set up more points. Arkez Cooper sacked Bell, forcing a fumble recovered by Malcolm Williams at the Eagles 25. The turnover set up a 26-yard field goal by Jonathan Wallace.McLarens 23-yard field goal provided the only points of the first half.THE TAKEAWAYGrambling State: The Tigers placed a cap on their continued strong progress made in three years under coach Broderick Fobbs, who won seven and nine games, respectively, in his first two years. Fobbs, who played for former coach Eddie Robinson, showed on the national stage the program has returned to prominence as a force among historically black colleges.North Carolina Central: Despite being a two-touchdown underdog, the Eagles played even with Grambling State, posting a shutout in the first half.QB NUMBERSBell completed 18 of 32 passes for 240 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He had several passes dropped, including a would-be touchdown catch by Atkinson in the first half. Devante Kincade completed 15 of 31 passes for 149 yards with an interception for Grambling State.HERE TO STAYBoth coaches praised the second-year Celebration Bowl as the more attractive alternative to a possible spot in the FCS playoffs.It exceeded all expectations, Fobbs said. This deal is here to stay.Added Mack: The way weve been treated ... I would rather come back to this game next year.UP NEXTGrambling State: The Tigers will return a good talent base, including Kincade, as they try to defend their SWAC championship. Theyll need to replace six starters on offense and 10 overall. Key losses from the defense include noseguard Blain Winston and leading tacklers Guy Stallworth and Cooper.North Carolina Central: The Eagles must replace nine senior starters, including six on offense, as they look to defend their MEAC championship. Freshman Naiil Ramadan was listed as the top backup to Bell at quarterback. The Eagles also lose four of their five starting offensive linemen, with only left tackle Nick Leverett returning. The Eagles have not released their 2017 schedule.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Air Max 90 Essential Sale .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Nike Air Max 90 Premium Sale . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. http://www.wholesale90airmax.com/ .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. Nike Air Max 90 Ultra 2.0 Essential Cheap . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Air Max 90 Off White Cheap . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. ATLANTA -- Chris Petersen chatted up Nick Saban while they waited to pose with the championship trophy, looking for any bit of insight that might help the College Football Playoffs rookie coach.No such luck.You know, Petersen said, breaking into a grin, hes pretty tight-lipped.The four playoff coaches were all together Thursday for a nationally televised awards show at the College Football Hall of Fame, not far from the stadium where Petersens Washington Huskies will face Sabans defending national champions, the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, in the Peach Bowl semifinal game on New Years Eve.The other semifinal matches Ohio State, coached by Urban Meyer, against Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl.Petersen couldnt help but notice he was only one on the stage who hasnt been to the playoff. Alabama will be appearing for the third straight year, having beaten Clemson last season in a thrilling title game . Two seasons ago, Meyers Buckeyes won the championship after knocking off Alabama in the semifinals.Im the rookie up here, Petersen said. Ive just got my eyes wide open and trying to echo what they say and do.If he learned anything from Saban, it was not to say much of anything.The Alabama coach was asked a couple of questions about offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, who is reportedly in line to become the next head coach at Houston.I dont think anything has been decided about that officially, Saban said, with that last word effectively turning it into a non-denial denial. Im sure the University of Houston will make an announcement about who their coach is when theyre ready to do that.When pressed on whether Kiffin would remain at Alabama through the playoff, which culminates with the Jan. 10 title game in Tampa, Saban turned testy.We will make that decision when we have something to make a decision about, Saban said. Well do whats in the best interest of Lane, our program, our players, but I would think that he would want to finish the season with us. I cant speak to that right now. ... Im not going to answer any more questions about hypothetical situations.Petersen guided the Huskies to a Pac-12 title and a pplayoff spot in just his third year on the job.dddddddddddd. He previously coached at Boise State, where his reputation for a gambling style and major upsets was established in his very first season with a 43-42 victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.The Broncos sent the game to overtime with a 50-yard hook-and-lateral touchdown in the closing seconds of regulation, and then won it in overtime with another trick play on a 2-point conversion.Petersen might need some similar tactics to knock off the mighty Crimson Tide, which will be playing close to home after going 13-0 during the regular season, capped off by a 54-16 rout of Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game.I know about their offense and I know about their defense, he said. Then I put on their special teams, and I got more depressed. Theyve got really good players and they dont give you anything.Meyer said he was very skeptical about the playoff system in the beginning, but hes now a big fan. Its certainly worked out well for the Buckeyes, who improbably won it all two years ago with a third-string quarterback and got in again this year without even winning their division in the Big Ten .Like most everyone else, I just listened to the people who thought they knew, and I didnt find out until the announcement, Meyer said.He watched it from a maternity ward, where his grandson was born a few hours before selection committee announced its decision.It was a great day, Meter said. That was a day you put in the win column.Despite a stunning home loss to Pittsburgh, Swinneys team is getting another shot at the title. The Tigers came up just short a season ago, falling to Alabama 45-40.We lost to a great football team, Swinney said. A great experience for our guys, and Im glad that were getting an opportunity to go compete again.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---For more AP college football coverage: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '