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Author: Dave Riggert

Nebraska holds off Georgia to win Gator Bowl

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NUJACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Facing third-and-14 at the 1, Nebraska had a choice: Sneak the ball in hopes of getting a little extra room to punt or take a shot deep.

The Cornhuskers chose to throw – and boy did they wing it.

Tommy Armstrong Jr. connected with Quincy Enunwa for a 99-yard touchdown strike- the longest play in school history – and Nebraska held on to beat No. 23 Georgia 24-19 in the rain-soaked Gator Bowl on Wednesday.

”I know one thing: There will never be a longer play in the history of college football than that one,” Cornhuskers coach Bo Pelini said. ”That was a big play for us.”

Equally big were Georgia’s failures down the stretch. The Bulldogs (8-5) dropped two fourth-down passes in the closing minutes, helping Nebraska (9-4) close out its first bowl victory since 2009.

Nebraska, playing in its 50th bowl, also ended a four-game losing streak against teams from the Southeastern Conference. The streak included a 45-31 loss to Georgia in the Capital One Bowl last season.

The rematch was much different.

Nebraska did a solid job against running back Todd Gurley, who ran for 125 yards and a touchdown last year. Gurley finished with 86 yards on the ground.

Gurley was more effective in the passing game, catching seven passes for 97 yards. His 25-yard scoring reception to open the fourth quarter cut Nebraska’s lead to 24-19.

The Bulldogs had two really good chances to take the lead, but Rantavious Wooten and Arthur Lynch dropped fourth-down passes in the red zone.

”I think I turned my head at the last second and was thinking end zone,” Lynch said. ”It’s one of those situations. It’s not so much I dropped the pass. It’s that I let my team down. At the end of the day, it’s one of those things that you can never forget, brush off your shoulders.

”It’s a win or a loss, and we lost. But I will never able to forget this one. If I run that play 49 more times, I make the catch.”

The drops capped Georgia’s woes. The Bulldogs moved inside the 21 seven times, but settled for four field goals.

The final two were costly.

Wooten dropped a fourth-and-2 pass around the 10 with 4:42 remaining. Georgia got the ball back with 3:18 to play and marched toward the end zone. But Lynch couldn’t haul in a fourth-and-3 pass that would have moved the chains with about 25 seconds remaining.

”That (stinks),” Gurley said. ”To go all the way down there like that and on fourth down you just give it to them, that’s a bad feeling right there.”

Nebraska ran out the clock from there and then celebrated wildly all over the field.

Enunwa was named the game’s Most Valuable Player – and for good reason.

He recorded the longest play in Nebraska and Gator Bowl history.

After a timeout to discuss options on third and long, Armstrong dropped back and heaved the ball as far as he could to Enunwa, who was streaking wide open down the left sideline. Georgia cornerback Shaq Wiggins let Enunwa go, but got no safety help. Quincy Mauger had a chance to tackle Enunwa, but bounced off him just past midfield.

Enunwa coasted the rest of the way.

”It was kind of just one of those calls where you don’t have too many options out there, stuck on your own 1-yard line,” Enunwa said. ”Luckily our coaches trust in us as playmakers.”

Enunwa finished with four receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a 5-yard TD reception in the second quarter. The second was his 12th scoring catch of the season, breaking the school record of 11 set by Johnny Rodgers in 1971.

Armstrong, filling in for injured starter Taylor Martinez, completed 6 of 14 passes for 163 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception.

Ameer Abdullah ran 27 times for 122 yards and a score. It was his 11th 100-yard game of the season.

Turnovers – along with those dropped passes – were the difference.

Reggie Davis muffed a punt deep in Georgia territory in the second quarter and Nebraska scored two plays later. The Huskers also turned Hutson Mason’s lone interception into a touchdown.

Mason, making his second straight start in place of injured starter Aaron Murray, completed 21 of 39 passes for 320 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.

”I don’t think anybody wants to go out there and slosh around,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. ”But I thought Hutson, as time went on and got used to the elements, did a really good job.”

— Associated Press —

No. 16 Kansas hands Toledo first loss of season

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KULAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Perry Ellis had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Naadir Tharpe added a career-high 20 points and No. 16 Kansas beat Toledo 93-83 on Monday night for the Rockets’ first loss of the season.

Andrew Wiggins also had 20 points and fellow freshman Joel Embiid had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Jayhawks (9-3), who built a 16-point lead early in the second half.

Toledo (12-1) made one final charge, using some hot outside shooting and sloppiness on the part of Kansas to get within 81-73 on a 3-pointer by Julius Brown with 3:23 left in the game.

Tharpe answered moments later with a free throw and then a driving layup off a miss, and Kansas finally put the game away when Frank Mason fed Wiggins on a run-out for an easy dunk that gave the Jayhawks an 88-76 lead with less than 2 minutes remaining.

— Associated Press —

Missouri’s Clarkson earns another SEC Player of the Week honor

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MUMissouri Basketball junior guard Jordan Clarkson was named the Southeastern Conference’s Player of the Week on Monday, earning the weekly honor for the third time this season.

Clarkson has led No. 25 Mizzou to an 11-1 start, including a thrilling, 68-64, road win at North Carolina State on Saturday night. The win was just Missouri’s second ever on the road in ACC country, accompanying an 87-73 win at Maryland on Jan. 24, 1989.

Clarkson scored a team-leading 21 points and dished four assists with just one turnover in the win at PNC Arena. Clarkson was masterful in the final 8:29, scoring 11 of his 21 points to help eliminate a 53-43 deficit and lift the Tigers to the four-point win.

Clarkson banked home a three-pointer to ignite an 11-1 run to tie the game. He then gave Missouri its first lead of the night on a three-point play with 3:50 remaining. His second three-pointer countered a Ralston Turner trey and put Mizzou back up, 60-59, with 2:55 left. The San Antonio native concluded his 11-point surge with two free throws with just 19 seconds left to push Missouri’s lead to 65-62.

Clarkson is the SEC’s first three-time winner of the Player of the Week honor this year. He also won the recognition on Nov. 18 following a 31-point night against Southern Illinois and on Dec. 9 after averaging 23.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in wins against West Virginia and UCLA.

Not to be overlooked was strong play from Jabari Brown, Earnest Ross, Johnathan Williams, III and Ryan Rosburg. Rosburg helped the Tigers win the battle on the boards for the ninth time this year, as did Williams, who had 10 points and seven rebounds. Ross contributed his first double-double of the season with 11 points and a career high-tying 13 rebounds and Brown again showed his mettle late in the ball game, hitting a back-breaking trey to put Mizzou up 63-62 with less than a minute to go. It was the second consecutive game the Oakland native has hit a late-game triple with the Tigers trailing in the final seconds. Brown finished with 17 points and three boards.

Missouri returns to action on Saturday afternoon at 4p.m. against an improving Long Beach State club. The 49ers have won three straight games thanks to the addition of former UCLA guard Tyler Lamb. Lamb is averaging 22.0 points in his three games with LBSU and has helped the club to wins over USC and a road win at Nevada.

— MU Sports Information —

Chiefs rest starters and lose regular season finale in OT at San Diego

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ChiefsSAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Chargers must feel they’re living charmed lives these days.

How else to explain that everything they needed to have happen – and more – fell into place to allow them to sneak into the playoffs for the first time in four years?

”It feels like this season is meant to be special,” Pro Bowl safety Eric Weddle said after another epic, heart-stopping win against the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-24 in overtime on Sunday, gave the Chargers the AFC’s final postseason spot. ”Whether it happens or not, we’ll read that story at the end. But we’re in, and no one really thought that could happen.”

Nick Novak kicked a 36-yard field goal with 5:30 left in overtime to give San Diego its only lead of the day. The Chargers, who trailed by 10 points in the fourth quarter, then held the Chiefs on downs to win it after they got into San Diego territory.

”We didn’t play our best game, but teams that are playoff teams find a way to win when you don’t play your best and that’s what we did today,” quarterback Philip Rivers said after the Chargers (9-7) won their fourth straight and for the fifth time in six games.

They’ll play a wild-card game next Sunday at AFC North champion Cincinnati, the last team to beat them, 17-10 at San Diego on Dec. 1.

The Chargers have needed help from other teams for weeks. Everything worked out for them on Sunday, but not before the Chargers and their fans had to squirm a bit.

Miami and Baltimore both lost, meaning San Diego could clinch the No. 6 seed with a win or tie.

Surprisingly, the Chargers trailed by 10 points in the fourth quarter against a Chiefs team that already had clinched the AFC’s No. 5 seed and rested 20 of 22 starters, including Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles and quarterback Alex Smith.

The Chargers kept getting new chances. After San Diego tied it by scoring 10 points on consecutive possessions, Kansas City’s Ryan Succop was wide right on a potential game-winning, 41-yard field goal try with 4 seconds left in regulation.

”It was just kind of like we got a new life,” Rivers said. ”It was like, all right, we just got a second chance, because it was over. We were maybe going to get a snap offensively.”

The Chiefs called heads during the overtime coin toss, and it came up tails. The Chargers got the ball first and elected to receive. The drive was kept alive by a 2-yard gain by Weddle on a fake punt on fourth-and-2 from the Chargers 28.

”I just felt we could get 2 yards as a punt team with me running the ball and if we are going to go down let’s go down doing what we do best and that is being aggressive and fighting to the end,” Weddle said. ”And we just got enough and I’m glad we got it.”

By having to settle for the field goal, the Chargers gave Kansas City an opportunity.

Chase Daniel, starting for Smith, moved the Chiefs to a first-and-10 on the Chargers 36. But Knile Davis lost 5 yards, Daniel threw three straight incomplete passes and the game was over.

”What a wild ride, all 16 games and it comes down to the last game,” Weddle said. ”A lot of people had us out but we stuck together in the locker room. It’s the best team, morale, togetherness, that I have ever been a part of.

”It didn’t look great at times in that game and now we are in the tournament. We can’t wait to go to Cincinnati.”

The Chiefs (11-5) go into the playoffs having lost five of seven. They play Saturday at AFC South champion Indianapolis, which won 23-7 in Kansas City last week.

”I look at the positive of it,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of resting most of his starters. ”We got a lot of guys in to get practice with the game plan if we do meet up with San Diego again. And the guys came out and played. You get to see, from a depth perspective, that you’ve got some guys who can play and want to compete.”

Said Davis: ”We treated it just like any other game. It all comes down to us going out and doing our jobs. That was our mindset. We’re hungry now.”

San Diego also beat the Chiefs 41-38 at Kansas City on Nov. 24.

With the Chargers on the verge of an embarrassing collapse against a team with nothing to play for, Rivers threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Royal early in the fourth quarter and Novak kicked a 22-yard field goal to tie it with 3:21 left in regulation

The Chiefs led 21-14 at halftime, getting touchdown runs of 17 and 2 yards by Davis and a 2-yard pass from Daniel to Dexter McCluster following an interception by Rivers.

San Diego scored on Rivers’ passes of 22 yards to Ladarius Green and 4 yards to Antonio Gates.

— Associated Press —

City High School Basketball Scores – Friday, Dec. 28

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riggertBasketballBOYS

Neosho Holiday Classic Championship
Sagemont (FL) 76, Lafayette  40

Bishop LeBlond Holiday Tournament Semifinal
East Buchanan  45, Bishop LeBlond 43

GIRLS

Penn Valley Tournament Consolation
Lafayette  39, Hogan Prep  30

State Farm Holiday Hoops Semifinal
Hickman 50, Benton 46

Bishop LeBlond Holiday Tournament Semifinal
Bishop LeBlond 53, East Buchanan  38

K-State rolls past Michigan in Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl

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KSUTEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Jake Waters threw for 271 yards and connected with Tyler Lockett on three touchdowns, leading Kansas State to its first bowl victory in 11 years, 31-14 over Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on Saturday night.

Kansas State (8-5) scored on its first three possessions, all touchdown passes from Waters to Lockett, and its defense dominated Michigan to end a five-game bowl losing streak.

Lockett set a school record with 10 catches for 116 yards and Waters completed 21 of 27 passes, sending the Wildcats to their first bowl victory since the 2002 Holiday Bowl.

Freshman Shane Morris was steady in place of injured starter Devin Gardner, leading Michigan (7-6) on two early scoring drives. The Wolverines settled for field goals on both and did little the rest of the way, finishing with 261 total yards.

Morris threw for 196 yards on 24-of-38 passing with an interception before leading Michigan on a late scoring drive with the game out of reach.

Michigan’s defense also had trouble stopping Kansas State most of the night, giving up 420 total yards

Kansas State finished the season strong after some early difficulties – starting with a home loss to FCS North Dakota State – winning five of its final six games while scoring at least 31 points in each.

Michigan limped to the finish after a 5-0 start, losing five of its final seven games and Gardner along the way. The senior injured his toe in the regular-season finale against Ohio State and didn’t recover in time for the bowl game, leaving the Wolverines in the hands of Morris.

The freshman hasn’t played much over the past year, limited to four games as a high school senior due to mononucleosis and to nine pass attempts as Gardner’s backup this season.

Morris didn’t seem to mind being thrust into the spotlight as the first Michigan quarterback to make his first career start in a bowl game. He was helped by a conservative game plan filled with short throws early and started unleashing his big left arm by Michigan’s second drive, completing 15 of 19 passes for 121 yards in the first half.

The problem for the Wolverines was they couldn’t finish off drives, settling for field goals of 22 and 26 yards by Matt Wile.

That was good for Wile, who made one field goal all season, but not for Michigan since its defense couldn’t seem to stop the Wildcats – particularly the Waters-to-Lockett combination.

Kansas State set the tone on its opening drive, grinding out 75 yards in 15 plays and 7:51 off the clock. Lockett capped it with a 6-yard touchdown catch after the Wildcats’ line gave Waters just enough time to get the throw off against Michigan’s blitz.

Lockett set up the next drive with a 40-yard kickoff return and capped with a 29-yard touchdown catch, set up by Waters’ pump fake that gave him separation behind Michigan’s defense.

Kansas State raced down the field again on its next drive, setting up Lockett’s third touchdown, an 8-yarder from Waters that put the Wildcats up 21-6 at halftime.

The Wildcats bogged down in the second half, but so did the Wolverines.

Michigan had 23 total yards in the third quarter and failed to capitalize on the game’s first turnover – a fumble by Daniel Sams – by going three-and-out.

Kansas State’s Ian Anderson hit a 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, John Hubert scored on a 1-yard run after Morris’ interception and the Wildcats celebrated Bill Snyder’s seventh bowl victory by chasing the 74-year-old coach down the sideline for a water-bucket dump.

— Associated Press —

No. 25 Missouri rallies for road win at North Carolina State

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MURALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Missouri coach Frank Haith learned how his 25th-ranked Tigers would respond both to a loss and to a hostile road environment Saturday night.

Jabari Brown hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 55.1 seconds left to help Missouri beat North Carolina State 68-64, rallying from 10 down in the second half to win in its first true road game of the year.

”We wanted to have a game like this going into (Southeastern Conference) play,” Haith said. ”Obviously we’ve had some high-level games already: UCLA, Illinois and West Virginia. But those were either at neutral sites or home games, so it was important for us to have a game like this as we move into SEC play.”

Things didn’t look promising for Missouri for much of the night. The Tigers seemed unable to stop N.C. State leading scorer T.J. Warren. They played what Haith called probably their worst half of the year in the first half. They twice trailed by 10, the second time coming with 8:56 left.

Yet the Tigers hung around until Brown and Jordan Clarkson made the late plays that put Missouri in control.

”Coach just told us to stay composed and keep playing and just do what you do,” Clarkson said. ”If you knock down 3s, if you rebound, you’ve just got to keep doing that. We knew the shots were going to fall at the end.”

Brown’s 3 over Wolfpack freshman Anthony ”Cat” Barber was the biggest shot in a back-and-forth final 4 minutes that saw the teams trade the lead three times before Brown’s shot made it 63-62.

Brown was 1-for-5 from behind the arc before his big shot.

”I’m comfortable,” Brown said. ”I’ve got confidence in myself. Most of my shots weren’t falling, so I knew I was bound to hit a couple.”

Clarkson scored 21 points to lead the Tigers (11-1), including a three-point play with 3:51 left that gave Missouri its first lead and two free throws with 20.1 seconds left that gave Missouri a 65-62 edge.

Brown finished with 17, while Johnathan Williams hit a free throw with 3.7 seconds left to make it a two-possession game and effectively seal the win.

Missouri was coming off its first setback, a 65-64 loss against Illinois in which the Illini hit two free throws with 4.6 seconds left to spoil the Tigers’ perfect start. Beating the surging Wolfpack (9-3) was a good way to bounce back in the team’s next-to-last nonconference game before opening SEC play against Georgia on Jan. 8.

As for N.C. State, it was a hard one to swallow.

The Wolfpack had won seven straight games, including a win at SEC member Tennessee 10 days earlier. But after leading 53-43 on freshman Kyle Washington’s jumper with 8:56 left, N.C. State just didn’t do enough to keep its hold on to a likely win.

Warren, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top scorer at 23.9 points per game, finished with 24 points on 11-for-23 shooting with 13 rebounds. But Warren didn’t score for the final 12 minutes and didn’t even take a shot in the final 5:50.

”I think we were in control,” N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said. ”You’ve got to give those guys credit. They stepped up and made some big shots. They’re difficult to defend because they’re so good at going to the basket. You’re playing them to drive it because you have to respect their ability to drive the ball to the basket, then they stepped up and made some big-time 3s.”

Desmond Lee added 12 points for N.C. State while Washington scored all 10 of his points after halftime. Ralston Turner also had two key 3-pointers during those final minutes after making just one shot to that point.

The first 3 answered Clarkson’s three-point play to give N.C. State a 59-57 lead. But Clarkson hit one over Tyler Lewis at the 2:55 mark to put Missouri back up 60-59.

Turner followed with another 3 that put the Wolfpack up 62-60 with 1:39 left, only to see Brown respond with the go-ahead shot.

The Wolfpack has plenty to regret after this one. In addition to Warren’s quiet finish, Barber had a chance to put N.C. State back in front moments after Brown’s 3 only to come up short on the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity at the foul line with 26.8 seconds left.

Clarkson followed with his two free throws to push the lead to three, then Tony Criswell added two more that made it 67-62 with 7.4 seconds left.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State beats up on Tulane in Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival

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KSUNEW YORK (AP) — Kansas State is on a seven-game winning streak and the Wildcats have been on the roll because of defense.

”It’s a team defense,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said after the Wildcats cruised to a 72-41 victory over Tulane on Saturday night in the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival at Barclays Center. ”We have a system and the kids have bought into it. Most important the four freshmen have. Usually what they struggle with is defense and they’ve done a good job of helping us become a good team.”

It was a senior who led the way offensively Saturday as New York native Shane Southwell matched his career high with 19 points but the Wildcats (9-3) continued their fine defensive play of late.

In the first six games of the winning streak they held opponents to 52.8 points on 38.0 percent shooting from the field and those numbers improved Saturday.

Tulane (7-7), which had won its last two games, had plenty of trouble with Kansas State, finishing with a season low in points (the previous was 52 in a loss to Texas State) and shooting percentage (28.6 percent on 12 of 42).

”Obviously any win is good and to win by that margin surprises a little bit,” Weber said. ”We challenged our guys to be locked up from the start and control the tempo from the get-go.”

Nigel Johnson, one of the four freshmen, added 13 points for the Wildcats, including seven in a 12-1 run that gave Kansas State a 55-29 lead with 9:50 to play. Southwell was 5 of 9 from 3-point range and the Wildcats finished 12 of 27 from beyond the arc (44.4 percent).

”He’s one of our smartest players and he’s starting to make some shots that’s a real positive,” Weber said. ”If he starts making shots and we play our defense the way we have we can be competitive in our league.”

The Wildcats host George Washington on Tuesday and then open play in the Big 12 at home against No. 7 Oklahoma State.

”I told them, ‘Now it’s for real,” Weber said.

Jonathan Stark had 10 points for Tulane while leading scorer Louis Dabney, who came in averaging 19.9 points per game, finished with nine on 3-of-10 shooting.

”It was physical out there early,” Tulane coach Ed Conroy said. ”We need to find ways to fight through different styles of play so we can execute at a high level. I thought we did get frustrated, not all five guys but one or two at a time. Our communication was poor.”

The Green Wave had a horrendous first half and trailed 28-10 after 20 minutes.

Tulane led 3-0 on a 3-pointer by Jay Hook with 17:50 to play. The Green Wave missed their next 12 shots, finally ending the drought on Dabney’s basket down low with 6:23 left that brought them within 19-5.

”You don’t get too frustrated,” Hook said of the first half. ”We tried to execute. We didn’t get frustrated but we didn’t execute.”

The Wildcats didn’t exactly tear up the building with their shooting on the way to the 18-point halftime lead. They were 11 of 32 from the field (34.4 percent), including making 6 of 16 3-point attempts, but that looked pretty good next to Tulane’s 13.0 percent (3 of 23) and the Green Wave also missed four of six free throws.

This was Kansas State’s first game in the borough of Brooklyn since the Wildcats’ 60-59 loss to LIU on Dec. 2, 1950.

— Associated Press —

KU’s Black earns weekly Big 12 basketball honor

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KUThanks to a team-leading effort to help Kansas down Georgetown Saturday, senior forward Tarik Black was awarded Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Week honors Monday morning.

The award marks the first Big 12 weekly accolade of Black’s career and makes him the fourth different Jayhawk to be recognized by the league this season. He joins freshmen Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, who have also been named Big 12 Newcomers of the Week this season, and sophomore forward Perry Ellis, who was the co-Big 12 Player of the Week last month.

Black finished with 17 points, his most as a Jayhawk, as Kansas won its only game of the week, a convincing 86-64 victory over Georgetown. The Memphis native made all five field goals attempts en route to scoring more points than he had in the previous six games

combined. He was also 7-of-9 (.778) from the charity stripe and added six rebounds, one assist and two blocked shots in 20 minutes. Black needs six points to reach the 1,000-point plateau for his career.

Kansas will take a holiday break, then host Toledo on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. on Jayhawk IMG TV and close out non-conference play when San Diego State comes to Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 5. That game will be televised on CBS and will start at either 12:30 or 3:30 p.m., depending on the NFL playoffs.

— KU Sports Information —

Chiefs get blown out in home finale against Colts

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ChiefsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts had watched the Kansas City Chiefs march downfield for an easy score on the first series of the game, yet nobody on their sideline seemed to be worried.

In fact, it seemed as if their confidence soared.

Andrew Luck answered by calmly picking apart the Chiefs defense, Donald Brown had touchdowns running and receiving, and the Colts didn’t allow another point the rest of the way in a 23-7 victory Sunday that could turn into a preview of an AFC wild-card game.

If Indianapolis ends up as the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and with the Chiefs assured of the fifth seed, the two teams would meet again in two weeks at Lucas Oil Stadium. Kansas City’s chances of winning the AFC West were dashed earlier Sunday when Denver beat Houston.

”There was no panic,” said the Colts’ Jerrell Freeman, who had two interceptions. ”When they got that touchdown we were like, ‘Aww, it’s OK.’ It’s just execution, and us not trying to panic.”

Instead, it was the Chiefs (11-4) who looked as if they panicked.

Alex Smith threw for 153 yards, but he fumbled once and was picked off twice. Knile Davis also fumbled the ball away, and the Chiefs were hit with several key penalties that scuttled any chance of mounting a second-half comeback in the frigid weather at Arrowhead Stadium.

”We’ll see them again,” Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson said. ”They’ve got the upper hand on us right now because in their minds they think they can beat us. If we go down there, it will be a different story. But we’ve got to fight our way back.”

The AFC South-champion Colts (10-5) have beaten the Chiefs in five of their last six games.

Jamaal Charles ran for 106 yards and the game’s opening score, but Kansas City failed to keep him involved as the Colts scored the final 23 points. Luck finished with 241 yards passing, while Brown gashed a decent run defense despite working behind a patchwork offensive line.

Adam Vinatieri also had three field goals for the Colts, who didn’t commit a turnover.

”That’s what coach (Chuck) Pagano has preached since I’ve been with the club,” Luck said. ”Limit turnovers on offense and create turnovers on defense.”

Early on, the Chiefs appeared as if they were going to pick up right where they left off last week, when they hung 56 points on the Raiders. They marched downfield on the opening drive, and Charles took a carry around the right side 31 yards for a touchdown.

The Colts defense stiffened after that, though, and the closest Kansas City came to scoring again in the first half came when Ryan Succop yanked a 47-yard field goal wide left.

”It was a team effort in not a very good way,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. ”You can’t pull your foot off the accelerator when you get out that quick.”

Meanwhile, Indianapolis kept taking advantage of breakdowns in the Kansas City pass defense, the most glaring one coming after running back Knile Davis fumbled in the second quarter.

Brown leaked out of the backfield unnoticed by the Kansas City defense, Luck hit him with a dump-off pass that he took virtually untouched 33 yards for a score.

”I think they busted the coverage,” Brown said, ”so that made my job a lot easier.”

Brown’s job wasn’t a whole lot tougher when the Colts got the ball back in the third quarter off Smith’s interception. He raced through a gaping hole, then tight-rope walked down the sideline 51 yards for a score – a video review showed that he somehow stayed inbounds.

Vinatieri added to the Colts’ cushion with his third field goal, capping a drive kept alive by a defensive hold and a taunting penalty after the Chiefs had already held on third down.

Smith was picked off again by Freeman in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter, and then the quarterback fumbled the ball away with 3:24 left to seal the game.

”The way we opened up, marching down the way we did, it felt like things were going to be the way they’ve been,” Smith said. ”We really didn’t get into a rhythm after that, didn’t execute in any area, and then the turnovers. The turnovers hurt you.”

— Associated Press —

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