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Author: Dave Riggert

Nebraska jumps into AP Top 25

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Lincoln – On the heels of a 7-1 start, the Nebraska men’s basketball team is ranked 24th in the Associated Press poll released Monday. It marks the first time that the Huskers are nationally ranked by the AP since Nov. 17, 2014.

The Huskers, whose 7-1 start is the program’s best since the 2003-04 season, are one of seven Big Ten teams ranked this week. NU is joined by Michigan (5), Michigan State (10), Wisconsin (12), Iowa (18), Ohio State (19) and Maryland (23). In addition, Purdue and Indiana are also receiving votes in Monday’s poll. It marks the second straight week that seven Big Ten teams are ranked. Prior to last week, that had not happened since Feb. 9, 1999.

Nebraska is coming off a 2-0 week with a 68-66 win at Clemson, which is receiving votes in Monday’s poll and a 75-60 home win over Illinois. The Huskers are in action twice this week, traveling to Minnesota on Wednesday before hosting Creighton, which is also receiving votes this week, on Saturday.

— NU Athletics —

Mahomes throws 4 TDs as Chiefs hang on at Oakland 40-33

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OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs still had plenty of firepower on offense even without star running back Kareem Hunt.

Mahomes threw four touchdown passes Sunday to join Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the only QBs to reach the 40 TD mark through 12 games, sending the Chiefs to a 40-33 victory over the Oakland Raiders in the first game since releasing Hunt.

“The mindset of this team is whenever you get your opportunity, you make the most of it,” Mahomes said. “I think every single game someone else steps up. We kept our mind on that and just playing football, a game we love.”

The Chiefs (10-2) cut ties with Hunt after a months-old video surfaced on TMZ on Friday, showing him shoving and kicking a woman. No charges have been filed in the case from February, but the Chiefs let Hunt go because he misled them about the incident .

Spencer Ware replaced Hunt as starter and scored on a direct snap on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in the third quarter.

“That’s my brother,” Ware said about Hunt. “It’s a tough situation. But like I said, the men in this circle, the men in our locker room, the organization, Chiefs kingdom — we got one goal to win the Super Bowl. We got to stay distraction free. I don’t have anything else to say about that.”

Mahomes did most of the rest of the damage against the Raiders (2-10) with his arm.

He connected on two short touchdown passes to Travis Kelce in the first half, then found another tight end, Demetrius Harris, on a 13-yard pass late in the third quarter one play after an apparent TD to Kelce was called off by a replay review.

“Man, he ticked me off today,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “It’s a credit to the guy. He made a third-and-15 play that was right on our sideline. I was outside myself I was so upset some of the plays he made today.”

Mahomes finished 23 for 38 for 295 yards and engineered a late TD drive capped by a 2-yard pass to Chris Conley after Oakland cut the deficit to three.

Oakland added a late field goal, but the Chiefs recovered the onside kick to seal the win.

Mahomes has 41 TD passes on the season, joining Manning (44 in 2004, 41 in `13) and Brady (41 in 2007) as the only QBs with at least 40 in the first 12 games of a season.

Kelce had 12 catches for 168 yards, topping the 1,000-yard mark for the third straight season.

Derek Carr threw three TD passes for the Raiders, but Oakland lost three fumbles that led to three scores for the Chiefs and reached double-digit losses for the 12th time in 16 seasons.

“It’s disappointing,” said running back Doug Martin, who lost one of the fumbles. “I don’t think it should have been that close. We should have been on top. The turnovers really, really hurt us.”

QUICK STRIKE

The Raiders got on the board on Martin’s 1-yard run to cut Kansas City’s lead to 13-7. But Mahomes needed just 57 yards to drive the length of the field. Demarcus Robinson had a 38-yard catch and raced across the entire width of the field to get out of bounds with 12 seconds left and the Chiefs having no timeouts.

Mahomes then found Kelce for his second TD of the game on the next play. Arden Key blocked the extra point to keep the score 19-7.

SCUFFLE

Oakland’s Jared Cook and Kansas City’s Eric Murray got into a scuffle late in the first half when they were jostling near the sideline well after the play. Both players were called for unsportsmanlike conduct on the play.

GIVE IT AWAY

The Chiefs got off to a rough start when Kelce lost a fumble on the opening play from scrimmage. It didn’t hurt the Chiefs, who got the ball back when the Raiders were unable to get a first down and punted after Rodney Hudson was called for a hold on a fourth-down run.

Martin and DeAndre Washington then lost fumbles for Oakland in the first half, leading to field goals for Harrison Butker. Oakland’s other halfback, Jalen Richard, lost a fumble in the third quarter that led to a TD for the Chiefs.

UP NEXT

Chiefs: Host Ravens next Sunday.

Raiders: Host Steelers next Sunday.

— Associated Press —

Geist leads Mizzou to overtime win over UCF

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri senior point guard Jordan Geist has never been afraid of big moments. Last year, he took the blame when late-game passes and shots went awry. On Sunday, Geist played the hero as he led the Tigers to a 64-62 overtime victory over UCF.

Geist scored a team-high 18 points, including a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

“It feels good to finally get one to fall,” said Geist, who missed last-second shots against Arkansas and Mississippi and had a late pass intercepted against Florida as a junior. “Last year, I took a couple of them that rattled out. To get one to fall, especially a shot like that, I love it.”

Javon Pickett added 13 points and Jeremiah Tilmon had 10 for Missouri (4-3). Tilmon’s up-and-under layup around UCF’s 7-foot-6, 310-pound Tacko Fall with 1:32 left in OT provided the winning margin.

The Knights (6-2) had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Collin Smith’s desperation shot from just inside the halfcourt line hit the backboard and rimmed out.

Aubrey Dawkins made 5 of 8 shots from 3-point range and led UCF with 22 points.

“He was good,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said of his son. “He gave us a chance to win, made some good plays for us.”

B.J. Taylor scored 12 and Smith added 11 for the Knights.

The Tigers had the ball with a chance to take the lead with 15 seconds left in regulation, but Pickett couldn’t inbound the ball within five seconds. That gave the ball back to UCF. When Dawkins hit two free throws, Missouri trailed 57-54. The Tigers had one more chance, and Geist made it count.

“I would rather have the ball in his hands, because he embraces those challenges,” Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said. “He can deal with whatever goes with it — if it goes in or it doesn’t go in.”

The tying play didn’t go as planned. Martin didn’t divulge how the play was supposed to work.

“Hopefully you’ll see it again and you’ll see it clearly,” Martin said. “I think guys kind of got boggled up.”

TO FOUL OR NOT?

At the end of regulation, Johnny Dawkins faced the eternal coaching question of whether to foul in the final seconds with a three-point lead. UCF didn’t, and Geist made the Knights pay.

“We talked about fouling if the opportunity presented itself, and the young man on the ball didn’t think the opportunity was really there,” Dawkins said. “So he just stayed locked in on him. And you give (Geist) credit, he made a tough, tough 3 — leaning, fading.”

TAKING ON TACKO

Fall wasn’t much of an offensive factor, scoring six points, but he was a game-changer defensively, blocking six shots. He got into Missouri players’ heads, especially in the first half, when the Tigers scored just 21 points on 23 percent shooting.

“He’s a giant,” Missouri sophomore forward Mitchell Smith said. “I’m 6-10, and when I walked by him, I was looking up.”

BIG PICTURE

UCF: The Knights saw their five-game winning streak end, but they continue to play suffocating defense. UCF has held its last six opponents to an average of 58.7 points. The Knights apply heavy pressure on the perimeter and have Fall inside to protect the rim.

Missouri: The Tigers got an unexpected boost from Mitchell Smith, who entered the game averaging just 3.2 points. Smith scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds. He played 23 minutes before fouling out with 2:16 left in regulation. Smith started the second half in place of senior Kevin Puryear, who went scoreless, and stretched the UCF defense by making both of shots from 3-point range.

“Mitchell is one of our better flashers in the lane, and he can shoot the 3-point shot,” Martin said. “It’s a different element, and he presented some different matchups for us in a positive way on defense.”

UP NEXT

UCF: The Knights return to Orlando for five straight home games, beginning with Saturday’s game against Grambling.

Missouri: The Tigers will play UT Arlington on Tuesday at Mizzou Arena.

— Associated Press —

Palmer scores 23, Nebraska beats Illinois in Big Ten opener

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — James Palmer Jr. only made four field goals Sunday, but the Nebraska guard hit 12 of his 14 free throws to lead the Huskers to a 75-60 win over Illinois.

That’s exactly what Fighting Illini coach Brad Underwood didn’t want to see in the Big Ten conference opener for both teams.

“I thought we might try to set a Nebraska record and see how many free throws we’d let Palmer shoot tonight,” Underwood said. “It’s really funny, you spend a couple days and most of our talk was about not fouling. The one thing Palmer does is he puts a lot of fouls on people. We want him to shoot the ball. That was frustrating. But he’s an awfully good player. That showed today.”

Palmer finished with 23 points, Isaac Copeland scored 16 and Glynn Watson Jr. added 14 for Nebraska.

Nebraska (7-1) made 25 of its 30 free-throw attempts as an aggressive Illinois (2-6) defense committed 23 fouls, playing right into the Huskers’ hands, Palmer said.

“As a team we definitely wanted to get to the free-throw line; we knew they extended their defense and pressured,” he said. “We just wanted to get to the basket.”

Nebraska came out hot, hitting its first three field goals and all six of its free throws to go up 13-2 just 2 1/2 minutes into the game.

Illinois trimmed its deficit to four points midway through the first half but Nebraska closed on a 10-2 run to take a 39-23 halftime lead.

The Illini cut the Husker lead to 10 early in the second half and came within nine three times in the final 17 minutes, the last time at 60-51 on Da’Monte Williams’ jumper with 6:26 left. But a 7-0 Nebraska flurry capped by a breakaway Isaiah Roby dunk put Nebraska up 70-53 with 3:40 left.

“It was really important with these guys, to get on top of them and then keep them at arm’s length,” said Nebraska coach Tim Miles. “That’s been hard for a lot of teams to do. Gonzaga hasn’t done it. Notre Dame didn’t do it. We were able to. I think getting to the foul line for us was important and the fact we made some 3s tonight helped too.” Nebraska hit 6 of 14 3-pointers Sunday .

Underwood agreed that the early lead — and Nebraska’s smothering defense — were critical to the outcome.

“That’s a veteran basketball team who jumped on us early,” Underwood said. “It was uphill from the get-go. We never really got anything established for long periods of time at either end

“Give Nebraska credit, they’re top five in every defensive category. They contest everything. When we don’t shoot the ball and turn it over as much as we did it’s going to be tough night for us.”

Giorgi Bezhanishvili led Illinois with 14 points. Kipper Nichols scored 12 and Ayu Dosunmu added 10 for the Illini.

QUOTABLE

Nebraska radio play-by-play announcer Kent Pavelka called his 1,000th Husker game Sunday.

“Kent Pavelka is an icon in my eyes,” Miles said. “First of all, not many people get to 1,000 games. He’s great with the call and he’s truly a homer, he is with us, he travels with us. He’s part of the team. I hope college athletics never loses that, that’s still a cool part of life, those radio calls. I’m really happy we got a W on his 1000th game.”

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: The Huskers have now won 16 straight home games. It’s their longest home winning streak since winning 16 in a row in 1981-82 and 1982-83 season. It was Nebraska’s 10th straight Big Ten home win, dating to the start of last season.

Illinois: The Fighting Illini entered the game ranked 18th in 3-pointers, making an average of 10.9 per game on 40 percent shooting. Illinois was 6 of 15 from 3-point range Sunday, shooting exactly 40 percent.

UP NEXT

Nebraska travels to Minnesota Wednesday

Illinois hosts No. 16 Ohio State Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

Missouri to play in AutoZone Liberty Bowl against Oklahoma State

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri has accepted an invitation for its football team to play in the 2018 AutoZone Liberty Bowl, as announced today. The 60th playing of the Liberty Bowl will pit the 8-4 and 23rd-ranked (College Football Playoff) Tigers against the Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-6) in a December 31, matchup in Memphis, Tenn. Kickoff is set for 2:45 p.m. (central time) with the game broadcast on ESPN.

Mizzou, under the direction of third-year Head Coach Barry Odom, comes into bowl season as one of the hottest teams in the country, as it won four straight games, and five of its last six, to close the 2018 regular season. The Tigers have one of the top road wins in the country this season, when they claimed a 38-17 victory at CFP #10 Florida on Nov. 3rd. Mizzou has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation, according to numerous computer ranking models, and has two losses on the last play of the game – including to CFP #14 Kentucky and at 7-5 South Carolina (ranked 28th in the FPI rankings). This will mark the second-straight bowl game appearance under Odom, as his 2017 Tigers closed last season in the Texas Bowl.

Mizzou has a history with the Liberty Bowl, which began in 1959 and is the seventh-oldest college bowl game. The Tigers played twice in the Liberty Bowl during a three-year period, defeating LSU (20-15) in the 1978 classic, and falling to Purdue (28-25) in 1980. The 1978 Mizzou team celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this season in Columbia.

The Tigers boast numerous ties to the Memphis community, as well, starting with Head Coach Barry Odom, who served as defensive coordinator at the University of Memphis for three seasons (2012-14). Mizzou defensive coordinator Ryan Walters also spent the 2014 season with Odom at Memphis as the team’s cornerbacks coach, and director of athletic performance Rohrk Cutchlow is a Memphis graduate who led athletic performance operations there for four years (2012-15) before being recruited to Mizzou by Odom prior to the 2016 season.

Additionally, Mizzou has a strong roster presence from Memphis and the state of Tennessee. Junior WR Johnathon Johnson, who leads the Tigers with 50 receptions in 2018 (552 yards, four touchdowns) and true freshman RB Tyler Badie, who amassed 735 all-purpose yards this season (including 407 rushing yards and two touchdowns) both hail from Memphis, as does sophomore reserve LB Aubrey Miller, Jr. Johnson attended Melrose High School, while Badie attended Briarcrest Christian and Miller went to Whitehaven. In all, seven current Tigers are Tennessee natives.

The Tigers and Cowboys last met in the 2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl, when Mizzou claimed a 41-31 win to wrap up a 12-2 season. Mizzou leads the alltime series between the two former conference mates, 29-23 overall.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Miles adds Chevis Jackson to Kansas football staff

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas football head coach Les Miles began to shape his staff as he announced the hiring of Chevis Jackson to coach the KU defensive backs on Sunday. Jackson, who played an instrumental role on Miles’ 2007 LSU team that took home a National Championship, spent the previous three seasons mentoring the defensive backs at Ball State.

“Chevis is one of the top young coaches in the game,” said Miles. “He works hard to make a positive impact both on and off the field with the student-athletes he works with. He knows what it takes to be successful on the greatest stage in college football and will help instill that mindset to our program.”

Named the 2017 Mid-American Conference Recruiter of the Year by 247Sports.com, Jackson served as a lead recruiter for the Cardinals, in addition to coaching the defensive backs during his time at BSU.

Prior to his stint at Ball State, Jackson spent the 2015 season as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, LSU, working on Miles’ staff that guided the Tigers to a 9-3 mark and a final national ranking of No. 16.

During the 2013-14 seasons, Jackson worked as a defensive graduate assistant at South Alabama, where he helped the Jaguars earn a bowl bid for the first time in program history, a bid to the 2014 Camellia Bowl. South Alabama’s defense ranked second in the Sun Belt in both scoring defense and total defense in 2013.

Jackson was a four-year letter winner and a three-year starter at cornerback for Miles at LSU. During his time with the program, the Tigers made two SEC Championship game appearances, winning the title in 2007. Jackson recorded two tackles and returned an interception 34 yards in helping lead LSU to a 38-24 win over Ohio State in the 2008 BCS National Championship game.

An All-SEC First Team honoree in 2007, Jackson was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played in the NFL for four seasons with five different teams – Atlanta, Jacksonville, New England, Denver and Carolina.

— KU Athletics —

Smith leads Missouri women to road win at West Virginia

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MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball dominated the No. 21-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers on the road, 68-51, on Sunday afternoon in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Mizzou was led by a career performance from junior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.), who set career highs in points (28) and rebounds (13) while recording her fourth double-double of the season.

After entering Sunday’s contest averaging 85.8 points, the Mountaineers were held to a season-low 51 points. The Tigers were able to hold West Virginia to season-low shooting numbers from the field and three-point range, as the Mountaineers shot 27.9 percent from the field (17-for-61) and 27.8 percent from three (5-for-18). West Virginia’s previous season-lows were 78 points, 42.9 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from three.

Mizzou’s has held its opponents to 52.8 points in its six victories this season.

TURNING POINT

Mizzou’s defense was stellar throughout the entirety of the game, and especially the second quarter, as the Tigers held the Mountaineers to six points in the second frame. West Virginia shot a mere 12.5 percent from the field in the quarter, as the Tigers were able to take a 34-23 lead heading into the locker room. Smith led the way for Mizzou on the defensive end in the first half, as four of her six rebounds in the half came on the defensive glass, while all three of her game-high three blocks came in the first frame. Redshirt junior forward Hannah Schuchts (Tallahassee, Fla.) was also effective on the defensive glass, as she pulled down five defensive rebounds and six boards total in the first half while also recording one block.

TOP TIGERS

  • Smith reached 20 points for the fifth time in her career with a career-high 28 points, and recorded her fourth double-double of the season with a career-high 13 rebounds. Smith also set a career-high in field goals made as she shot 10-for-15 from the field while recording a game-high three blocks.
  • Redshirt freshman guard Haley Troup (Gadsden, Ala.) played the best game of her young career, as she set career highs in points (14), rebounds (six), field goals made (five) and three-pointers made (three). Troup shot 5-for-9 from the field and 3-for-5 from three in 18 minutes off the bench.
  • Making her third consecutive start, junior guard Jordan Chavis (Lexington, N.C.) scored 11 points while grabbing a season-high five rebounds.

NOTES

  • Mizzou’s defense held West Virginia to 34.8 points below its season average as the Mountaineers scored 51 points on Sunday. The Tigers were also able to hold West Virginia to season lows in field goal percentage (27.9 percent), three-point percentage (27.8 percent), field goals (17) and three-pointers (five).
  • In Mizzou’s six victories this season, the Tigers have held their opponents to 52.8 points. Mizzou has held its opponent to 65 points or less in seven of eight games this season.
  • Smith recorded her fourth double-double of the season and the sixth of her career with 28 points and 13 rebounds. The double-double performance moved her into a tie for second for the most double-doubles in the SEC this season, trailing only Mississippi State’s Tearia McCowan and LSU’s Ayana Mitchell with five.

UP NEXT

Mizzou returns home to Mizzou Arena to face UMKC on Thursday, Dec. 6. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Griffons defeat Southern Arkansas 30-25 to win Live United Bowl

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TEXARKANA, Ark. – Griffon Football (7-5) jumped out to an early lead and hung on to win the 2018 Agent Barry Live United Bowl, 30-25 over Southern Arkansas (8-4).

Outstanding special teams and crucial plays on both sides of the ball helped Missouri Western to its first seven-win season since 2014. Senior kicker Tyler Basch was named the Agent Barry Live United Bowl MVP after going three-for-three on field goal attempts including a Live United Bowl record 58-yard field goal at the end of the first half. Basch’s bowl record breaking kick tied the Missouri Western record.

NOTABLES

  • Missouri Western led 20-0 at halftime, but the Southern Arkansas offense started to click in the second half
  • The Griffon lead was down to eight (27-19) with 11:25 to play, but Basch capped an 11-play, 64-yard drive that took more than five minutes off the clock with a 27-yard field goal to put MWSU up 30-19 with 5:58 to go
  • Southern Arkansas would score again, but failed to convert its third two-point try of the game to make the score 30-25 with 1:48 left
  • Missouri Western recovered the ensuing onside kick and left Southern Arkansas with just forty seconds on the clock and the ball at its own 13-yard line. The Griffon defense held to clinch the game for the Griffons
  • It was the program’s first postseason victory since defeating Henderson State in the second round of the 2012 playoffs and the first bowl win since the 2009 Mineral Water Bowl
  • The special teams were fantastic for the Griffons with Kyle Dumler blocking a first half field goal attempt, Shamar Griffith blocking a punt, Luke Theis pinning Southern Arkansas inside its own 20 three times and Sam Aviles averaging 61 yards per kickoff with four touchbacks. Southern Arkansas also had a muffed snap on its first punt attempt of the game and Brandin Dandridge had a highlight reel punt return touchdown called back due to offsetting penalties.
  • Missouri Western held a powerful Southern Arkansas offense to just 120 first half yards, but the Muleriders added 321 in the second half
  • The Griffon defense held Southern Arkansas to 96 rushing yards on 31 carries while the Griffon offense rushed for 116 on 28 carries

LEADERS

  • James Bailey Jr. had two rushing touchdowns on 10 carries for 45 yards
  • Dom Marino was 13-for-23 through the air for 211 yards and a touchdown
  • Joe Horn Jr. and Carlos Thompson each had three catches
  • Shamar Griffith led the team with 57 receiving yards
  • Jabbar Miles and Kobe Cummings each had 12 tackles to lead the team
  • Cummings also broke up two passes

Three Jayhawks earn All-Big 12 first team honors; Williams Jr. named Offensive Freshman of the Year

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Pooka Williams Jr., was named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and also picked up All-Big 12 First Team honors as both a running back and kick returner, joining seniors linebacker Joe Dineen Jr., and defensive lineman Daniel Wise as the Big 12 Conference awards were announced Wednesday. Williams, Dineen and Wise led the way as Kansas football had a total of 11 members of the program pick up all-conference honors as voted on by the 10 league coaches.

A New Orleans native, Williams is the first Jayhawk to garner Freshman Offensive Player of the Year honors and is also the first KU freshman to be named All-Big 12 First Team at any position. One of the most explosive players in the league with 15 carries of 20+ yards, Williams rushed for a total of 1,125 yards on 161 carries, good for 102.3 yards per game, 7.0 yards per carry and seven rushing touchdowns. He added 289 yards and two scores on 33 receptions and 246 yards on 11 kick returns to lead the Big 12 and rank sixth in the FBS in all-purpose yards at 150.9 per game. Williams also threw for a touchdown-a nine-yard pass against Oklahoma.

Williams is one of two players in the Big 12 Conference to record a 100-yard rushing game (4) and a 100-yard receiving game (1) joining TCU’s Jalen Reagor. He is also one of only two players in the league to score a touchdown by way of passing, rushing and receiving in 2018 joining Texas’ Lil’ Jordan Humphrey and is one of just three true freshman in Big 12 history to accomplish the feat.

Williams’ 1,125 rushing yards tie him for eighth place in KU’s single-season history books, ranking him second among Jayhawk freshmen on that list. His 252 rushing yards at Oklahoma rank sixth in KU’s single-game records, while his 16.8 yards per carry against the Sooners was both a Big 12 Conference and Kansas record for a game with a minimum of 15 carries. His 1,660 all-purpose yards rank third on KU’s single-season list.

Williams was tabbed the Big 12 Conference’s Newcomer of the Week on four occasions during the 2018 season. He is the one of just two Jayhawk running backs to be tabbed All-Big 12 First Team, joining Jon Cornish (2006). He is also one of just two Kansas returners to earn All-Big 12 First Team accolades, joining Charles Gordon (2005).

A Lawrence, Kansas, native, Dineen closes out his Jayhawk career leading the Big 12 Conference in tackles for the second-consecutive year-just the second player in conference history to do so joining Texas Tech’s Lawrence Flugence (2001, 2002, 2003). Dineen turned in a career-best 147 tackles, which ranks sixth on KU’s single-season chart. His 12.3 stops per game in 2018 also ranks fourth in the FBS.

For the second-straight season, Dineen led the FBS and the Big 12 Conference in solo tackles with 108 during his senior campaign. Dineen collected 11 tackles-for-loss in 2018, giving him a KU-record 45.5 in his career, making him both the single-season TFL record-holder (25.0 in 2017) and career record-holder. Additionally, Dineen’s 391 career-tackles rank fourth in Kansas history.

Dineen was honored by the league coaches as a first-team member for the first time in his career after earning All-Big 12 Second Team honors in 2017. He was tabbed Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week twice during his senior season. Dineen is currently a Senior CLASS Award finalist, a Jason Witten Man of the Year semifinalist and a Lott IMPACT Trophy Semifinalist after picking up its weekly award one time this season and being a weekly award nominee three other weeks. He was named Midseason First Team All-America by Sports Illustrated, an Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree and a finalist for the Pop Warner Little Scholars Collegiate Player of the Year.

Wise earned All-Big 12 First Team honors for the second-consecutive season, becoming the first Jayhawk to do so since Aqib Talib in 2006-07 and is the only KU defensive lineman to earn back-to-back first-team honors since the inception of the Big 12. A native of Lewisville, Texas, Wise led the Jayhawk defense with 12.5 TFLs in 2018. His career total of 44.0 tackles behind the line scrimmage rank second in KU history, just 1.5 behind Dineen.

Wise led KU in sacks in 2018 with 5.0, while he added five quarterback hurries and 34 total tackles as a senior. In addition to concluding his career at Kansas ranked second in TFLs, Wise ranks sixth in sacks with 18.5. His 16.0 TFLs in 2017 rank 10th in KU single-season history, while his 7.0 sacks in 2017 also rank 10th on KU’s single-season charts.

Williams, Dineen and Wise give KU three All-Big 12 First Team honorees for the first time since 2014 when linebacker Ben Heeney, punter Trevor Pardula and cornerback JaCorey Shepherd each earned a first-team nod from the conference coaches.

In addition to the trio of first-team honorees, KU junior offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji and sophomore punter Kyle Thompson each were tabbed to the All-Big 12 Second Team.

A native of Garland, Texas, Adeniji picked up All-Big 12 Second Team honors for the first time in his career after being recognized as an honorable mention honoree during his first two seasons as a Jayhawk. Adeniji started all 12 games at left tackle for KU, helping pave the way for Williams’ outstanding all-purpose performance.

Thompson, who hails from El Cajon, California, was the Big 12’s top punter in 2018, averaging 43.3 yards per punt. He recorded 17 kicks of 50 yards or longer and dropped 26 of his punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Thompson turned in a career-long 76-yard punt in KU’s season-finale against Texas.

Four Jayhawks picked up honorable mention nods from the conference coaches in senior kicker Gabriel Rui and juniors defensive backs Hasan Defense, Mike Lee and Bryce Torneden. Additionally, both Wise and Dineen earned honorable mention honors for Defensive Player of the Year (Dineen) and Defensive Lineman of the Year (Wise), while freshman cornerback Corione Harris was honorable mention Defensive Freshman of the Year and sophomore wide receiver Stephon Robinson was honorable mention Offensive Newcomer of the Year.

Overall Kansas football had 11 players recognized with 15 honors, its most players honored since it had 11 recognized in 2016 and its most honors since it had 17 honors in 2005.

— KU Athletics —

Risner leads five Wildcats named to All-Big 12 Teams

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior right tackle Dalton Risner, the 2018 Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year, led five Wildcats that were named to the Coaches’ All-Big 12 teams, the conference office announced Wednesday.

Risner was a first-team recipient for a third-straight season, while running back Alex Barnes and defensive back Duke Shelley were named to the second team. Punter Devin Anctil and defensive end Kyle Ball were both honorable mention selections. Shelley earned his second All-Big 12 honor from the league’s coaches as he was an honorable mention last year, while Barnes, Anctil and Ball picked up their first-career accolades.

A product of Wiggins, Colorado, Wiggins is the second Wildcat to earn Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year honors, the first being B.J. Finney in 2014. He was joined as an Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2018 by Oklahoma’s Dru Samia and West Virginia’s Yodny Cajuste.

Risner is the fourth offensive lineman in conference history to earn First Team All-Big 12 accolades in three-straight seasons, while he is the fourth player in school history to accomplish the feat, joining defensive tackle Will Geary (2015-17), Finney (2012-14) and linebacker Mark Simoneau (1997-99).

Risner led an offensive unit that finished third in the Big 12 by averaging 182.6 rushing yards per game, which included a 184.2-yard average in conference games to rank second. The Wildcat rushing attack averaged 208.6 yards and 2.3 rushing touchdowns per game in the final seven contests after averaging 146.2 yards and 0.8 rushing touchdowns in the first five.

A majority of that rushing yardage went to Barnes, the Big 12’s regular-season rushing champion at 112.9 yards per game with a league-high tying 12 touchdowns. The Pittsburg, Kansas, native was even better in conference play as he averaged 125.2 yards per game with 11 scores.

Barnes’ season rushing total of 1,355 yards ranked fourth in school history and seventh nationally at the end of the regular season. He topped the 100-yard rushing mark on seven occasions to tie for third in school history. His impressive junior campaign improved his career rushing total to 2,616 yards to rank fifth in K-State history, while his 12 career 100-yard games is tied for second.

Shelley concluded his senior campaign with a team-high three interceptions despite missing the final five games of the season due to injury. His interception total included two against Oklahoma State, while he had one the previous week at Baylor. The Tucker, Georgia, native finished his career with eight interceptions – just outside the school’s top-10 list – while his 39 career passes defended ranked seventh. He also had two pick-sixes in his career to tie for fourth in school history.

Anctil had a great finish to the season as he punted the final six games, averaging 43.6 yards per punt with 10 landing inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and six that traveled at least 50 yards. His average would lead the Big 12 if he met the required minimum amount of games played. His six punts of at least 50 yards are the most by a Wildcat since 2013, while his five punts downed inside the TCU 20-yard line were the most by a Wildcat in a single game since 2014.

Ball completed the 2018 season with 16 tackles, including 4.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, while he also batted away two passes. The Prairie Village, Kansas, product carded a season-high seven tackles at Oklahoma, while his sacks came against UTSA and Oklahoma State.

Coaches’ All-Big 12 Teams (Kansas State)
Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year: Dalton Risner (joined by Oklahoma’s Dru Samia and West Virginia’s Yodny Cajuste)
First Team: Dalton Risner (OL).
Second Team: Alex Barnes (RB) and Duke Shelley (DB).
Honorable Mention: Devin Anctil (P) and Kyle Ball (DE).

— K-State Athletics —

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