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Category: College

Mizzou’s rally falls short at Baylor

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Robert Griffin III threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another, and Terrance Ganaway ran for touchdowns of 38 and 80 yards, leading Baylor to a 42-39 victory over Missouri on Saturday night.

Baylor set a school record by gaining 697 yards. Griffin, a dazzling dual-threat quarterback, cracked 400 yards passing for the third straight game; this time was more meaningful as the last two games were lopsided losses.

The Bears (5-3, 2/3 Big 12) improved to 5-0 at home and are one win from being bowl eligible for a second straight season. They haven’t been to bowls in consecutive seasons since 1991-92.

A week after overcoming an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit at nearby Texas A&M, Missouri could only come close to wiping out a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit. The Tigers (4-5, 2-4) scored 25 points in the final period, but were thwarted when Baylor recovered an onside kick with 1:59 left.

Perhaps days from joining the Southeastern Conference, Missouri didn’t have the kind of stingy defense it’s going to need to compete in that league. The Tigers wasted leads of 7-0 and 14-7, then let a 14-13 halftime advantage turn into a 28-14 deficit. Their fourth-quarter offensive surge was undermined by allowing a 68-yard touchdown pass and Ganaway’s 80-yard TD run.

After Ganaway sealed the game by running 18 yards to the Missouri 8 on a third-and-2 in the final minute, Baylor fans chanted “S-E-C! S-E-C!”

Baylor went ahead on its first drive of the second half, with Griffin throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass, then running in for the two-point conversion. Ganaway stretched the lead with his 38-yard touchdown following a fumble by Missouri.

The Tigers got within 35-25 midway through the fourth quarter, but on the Bears’ next snap, Ganaway broke loose down the right sideline for his 80-yarder. Missouri followed with another touchdown, but there wasn’t enough time left for the Tigers to pull off another late rally in central Texas.

Griffin — who came in as the second-most accurate quarterback in the nation, and third in total offense — was 27 of 41. His best pass was a heave that hit Tevin Reese in stride for the 68-yard TD. He also ran 18 times for 64 yards.

Ganaway had 186 yards on just 12 carries.

Missouri’s Henry Josey, who came in leading the Big 12 in rushing, ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns. It was his fourth straight game with at least 129 yards. Fellow sophomore James Franklin was 33 of 46 for 325 yards and a touchdown, and he ran 16 times for 57 yards.

The game got off to a bit of an odd start, with each team’s first possession ending with a 9-yard punt. Only Missouri’s was into the wind. Kicking was a problem all game for the Bears, as they had a point-after blocked and missed field goals of 27 and 54 yards.

— Associated Press —

Griffon volleyball downs Truman for first time since 2002

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The Missouri Western volleyball team defeated Truman State for the first time since Nov. 6, 2002 in a back and forth, five-set match Saturday night at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

After falling behind, 4-0 in the deciding fifth set, Western took over for a 16-14 win that improved their record to 13-15 on the season; 6-9 in the MIAA. Truman dropped to 18-13 and 7-8 in conference play.

Western took set one, 25-15 on 13 kills. The Griffons had a .423 attack percentage in the first set. The Griffons lost a close set-two, 25-22. Western dominated set three, winning 25-15. Truman was able to battle back and win set four, 25-18.

The Griffons were led by a career-high, 15 kills from Meredith McCormick. Tahler Johnston, Alex Behnke and Shelby Corkill each had 14 kills. Stephanie Hattey led the Griffons with 52 set assists.

Western closes out the home portion of their schedule Tuesday, Nov. 8 when they host Missouri Southern at 7 p.m. in the fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

K-State falls just short at Oklahoma State

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Brandon Weeden threw for a school record 502 yards and four touchdowns, and Joseph Randle scored the final, tiebreaking 23-yard touchdown with 2:16 remaining to lift No. 3 Oklahoma State to a 52-45 victory against Kansas State (No. 14 BCS, No. 17 AP) on Saturday night.

The Cowboys (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) matched the best start in school history and survived quite a scare from K-State (7-2, 4-2), which had three shots at the end zone in the final 12 seconds.

Collin Klein missed on 5-yard passes intended for Tyler Lockett and Chris Harper and then overshot Tramaine Thompson in the end zone as time expired. Oklahoma State’s players rushed on to the field to celebrate, their national championship hopes still intact.

All-America receiver Justin Blackmon caught 13 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns, atoning for his two-fumble game with a 54-yard touchdown catch with 4:47 remaining that pulled the Cowboys out of a 38-37 deficit.

He also caught the 2-point conversion for a 45-38 lead.

Kansas State responded right back with Lockett’s 80-yard kickoff return and three straight runs by Klein, who barged in from 12 yards out to tie it up with 3:18 remaining.

It took Oklahoma State’s quick-strike offense just four plays and 62 seconds to respond again. Weeden found Isaiah Anderson for a 33-yard gain, and Randle ran through a big hole on third-and-1 before dodging safety Jordan Zimmerman to waltz in for the game-winner.

Klein drove the Wildcats down for a chance to tie — or perhaps go for the win with a 2-point conversion — by converting a fourth-and-4 with a quarterback keeper and then connecting with Harper for 22 yards to set up first-and-goal at the 5-yard line.

With no time to rely on his potent running game, coach Bill Snyder called three straight passing plays but none got the job done.

Klein finished with 231 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for 144 yards and three scores.

Minutes after the game ended, the stadium shook from an apparent aftershock from a 4.7-magnitude earthquake earlier in the day.

The thrilling finish came after a wild back-and-forth game filled with turnovers and plenty of offense — nothing like what was on display in LSU-Alabama clash in the SEC that ended 9-6 in overtime.

While LSU will likely remain first when the BCS standings come out on Sunday, Oklahoma State will probably be the new No. 2.

With starting receivers Josh Cooper and Hubert Anyiam out, Tracy Moore set career-highs with nine catches for 146 yards for Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma State capitalized on Klein’s fumble on the Wildcats’ second play from scrimmage to strike first with Randle’s 4-yard touchdown run, and it was soon 14-0 after Weeden hit Moore for a 44-yard gain to set up the Cowboys’ second score.

Blackmon stutter-stepped at the line to get Nigel Malone on his heels, then caught Weeden’s pass and stutter-stepped again to get past him for an 11-yard score.

Then the Cowboys’ stars made a series of mistakes to let K-State get back in the game.

Blackmon fumbled on a punt return to set up Anthony Cantele’s 37-yard field goal, then Weeden gave the ball right back by throwing a pick to Tysyn Hartman on a deep ball. Angelo Pease and Klein had short TD runs on Kansas State’s next two possessions before another Weeden interception was returned 60 yards for a score by Allen Chapman.

Kansas State led 24-14 — the biggest home deficit this season for the Cowboys — then started piling up errors of its own.

James Thomas intercepted a pass that Klein threw into coverage and Brodrick Brown tipped. His 47-yard return set up Weeden’s 5-yard TD pass to Moore on the next play. Then, instead of pinning Oklahoma State deep, Ryan Doerr’s punt went out of bounds after only 19 yards and gave OSU good field position to drive for Quinn Sharp’s 29-yard field goal and a 27-24 halftime lead.

The Cowboys were 1 yard away from claiming a 41-31 lead late in the third quarter when Blackmon fumbled for the second time in the game and Lyndell Johnson recovered in the end zone for Kansas State.

— Associated Press —

Northwest volleyball falls to No. 7 Central Missouri

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The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team fell to the No. 7 Central Missouri Jennies 3-0 Saturday night.

Northwest falls to 11-17 on the season and 5-10 in the MIAA falling to the Jennies in straight sets, 25-19, 25-22, and 25-18.  The Jennies improved to 24-4 on the year and 14-1 in league play.

Northwest was held in check hitting .214 while Central Missouri hit .366 for the match.

Abby Graves led the attack for Northwest recording a team high 13 kills in the match.  Brooke Bartosh and Amy Majors chipped in 8 and 7 kills respectively.

Laira Akin recorded 36 assists in the match and 10 digs to record her 16th double-double of the season.

Tori Beckman led the defense recording 11 digs in the loss, while Alicia Watson added 8.

The Bearcats were plagued by errors Saturday night recording 17 attack errors and 7 service errors while the Jennies recorded a combined 14 errors.

With the win the No. 7 Jennies have won their last 19 out of 20.  Central Missouri was led by Paula Harris who recorded 17 kills in the match and hit a hot .556.  Julia Bates pitched in 38 assists in the win for the Jennies.

Up Next: The Bearcats will play their final home game of the 2011 season Tuesday, Nov. 8 when they host the Pittsburg State Gorillas.  Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Kansas loses at Iowa State on late field goal

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Zach Guyer kicked a 42-yard field goal with 4:30 left to give Iowa State the lead, and backup running back Jeff Woody helped the Cyclones run out the clock in a 13-10 victory over Kansas on Saturday.

Iowa State looked nothing like the team that rolled over Texas Tech 41-7 a week before and struggled to finish drives against the Big 12’s worst defense.

But freshman quarterback Jared Barnett finally got the Cyclones (5-4, 2-4 Big 12) close enough for Guyer to kick his game-winner, leading a march from his own 13 to the Kansas 24. With the wind at his back, Guyer’s kick sailed through the uprights, his second field goal of the day.

Kansas (2-7, 0-5) showed some spark after managing only 46 yards in a 43-0 loss to Texas, but missed two field goals and lost a fumble deep in Iowa State territory in suffering its seventh straight loss. The Jayhawks haven’t won a conference game since beating Colorado, which no longer is in the Big 12, on Nov. 6, 2010.

Barnett, now 2-0 as a starter, ran for 125 yards on 22 carries and threw for another 175 yards, completing 16 of 30 passes with one interception.

He started the winning drive with a 17-yard completion to Aaron Horne, then sprinted 11 yards for another first down. Barnett later hit Albert Gary for gains of 11 and 6 yards before the drive stalled and coach Paul Rhoads called on Guyer, whose 32-yarder had given Iowa State an early 3-0 lead.

Iowa State’s Stephen Ruempolhamer sacked Jordan Webb three plays later to force a punt, and the Cyclones, taking over with 2:37 left, kept the ball the rest of the way as Woody ripped off runs of 6, 8, 6 and 25 yards.

The Cyclones finished with 426 yards of total offense against a team that had been allowing an average of 559 a game in league play. Iowa State now is within one win of bowl eligibility, but the Cyclones have a tough road the rest of the way, finishing against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kansas State.

Both teams wasted good scoring opportunities, and that was especially costly for Kansas.

After taking a 7-3 lead when D.J. Beshears scored on a 22-yard reverse late in the first quarter, Kansas drove to the Iowa State 32, 19, 23 and 2 on consecutive possessions and came away with only three points.

Alex Mueller had a 49-yard field goal attempt blocked by A.J. Klein, then was wide right on a 36-yard attempt, and James Sims lost a fumble before Ron Doherty kicked a 19-yard field goal to tie the score at 10 in the third quarter. The Cyclones stiffened on that drive after Kansas had first-and-goal at the 4.

Iowa State had taken a 10-7 lead on wide receiver Aaron Horne’s 18-yard touchdown run on a reverse. Horne came around from the right side, turned the corner, squirted through a group of tacklers at the 10 and raced to the end zone to finish an 11-play, 80-yard drive.

The Cyclones seemed on the verge of taking a 17-10 lead early in the fourth quarter when Barnett and Woody missed a connection on a handoff on second-and-1 at the KU 9. The ball came loose, and Patrick Dorsey recovered for the Jayhawks. Punter Kirby Van Der Kamp had kept that drive going with a 17-yard run on a fake.

After the fumble, Iowa State forced the Jayhawks to go three-and-out on their next two possessions — the first time that had happened all day — and Barnett directed the drive to Guyer’s go-ahead field goal.

Kansas showed an effective running game after being held to minus-2 yards on the ground by Texas. The Jayhawks rushed for 174 yards, but had only 4 yards on the ground and 15 total yards in the fourth quarter.

Webb finished 13 for 21 for 127 yards and no interceptions.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska gets upset by Northwestern

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Starting quarterback Dan Persa was on the sideline in the second half because of a bum shoulder, and Northwestern’s maligned defense was doing all it could to hold off Nebraska.

Surely, most fans wearing scarlet and cream at Memorial Stadium were thinking it was just a matter of time before the Cornhuskers (No. 10 BCS, No. 9 AP) took control of this game.

The Wildcats wouldn’t let it happen, hanging on to upset Nebraska 28-25 for their first win over a top-10 opponent in two years.

“A great program win for us,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “To come on the road and put together our most complete game of the year. … Not perfect. Not a work of art. There are some things we can correct.”

The critiques can wait, though. There was much to celebrate after this one.

Second-string quarterback Kain Colter ran for two touchdowns and passed for another as Persa cheered him on from the sideline.

Just as important, a defense that had been allowing 32 points and 432 yards a game held up its end.

“We got beat. It’s that plain and simple,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. “They outplayed us, they outcoached us. What are you going to say? They won the football game. They deserve it. I give Northwestern a lot of credit. We didn’t respond.”

The loss to the 17-point underdog Wildcats (4-5, 2-4) dropped Nebraska (7-2, 3-2) into a second-place tie with Iowa and Michigan in the Big Ten’s Legends Division. Michigan State moved into sole possession of first place with its win over Minnesota.

The win was Northwestern’s first over a top-10 team since a 17-10 road victory over then-No. 8 Iowa on Nov. 7, 2009.

Persa injured his left shoulder in the second quarter when he was slammed to the ground by defensive end Eric Martin. Persa tried to play a couple more series, but he was on the sideline with his left arm in a sling after halftime.

Colter, who typically shares playing time with Persa at quarterback, took all but four snaps in the second half. He ran for 58 yards and completed four of six passes for 115 yards. Third-string quarterback Trevor Siemian came in and went 3 of 4 for 67 yards.

“I feel like we could really go into this game and make a statement,” Colter said. “We had a great week of practice, came into the game with a great game plan and a lot of focus. We just went out there and executed. We really wanted this game.”

Jeremy Ebert caught six passes for a career-high 147 yards and went over the 2,000-yard mark for his career on an 81-yard touchdown play that put the Wildcats up 21-10 early in the fourth quarter.

After the Huskers had pulled to 21-18, Colter scored from the 1 with 1:34 left to finish a 13-play, 66-yard drive that chewed more than 7 minutes off the clock.

“I give it up to our O-line,” Ebert said. “We dominated the line of scrimmage. That final drive, for us to score, that was all them.”

Nebraska, missing Jared Crick and two other defensive linemen because of injury, couldn’t stop the running of Colter, Jacob Schmidt and Treyvon Green on Northwestern’s last touchdown drive.

“We’re thin up front,” Pelini said. “They were just getting the push. It looked like we’d have them stopped for no gain and it’d leak for 3 or 4 yards.”

Colter converted a fourth-and-1 with a 4-yard run around right end to the Nebraska 14, and five plays later the Wildcats were in the end zone.

Persa, who was 9 of 14 for 79 yards in the first half, slapped Christian Jones on the helmet, high-fived Drake Dunsmore and gave a quick hug to Colter as they came off the field.

Taylor Martinez, who passed for 289 yards and two scores, hurriedly moved Nebraska down the field. He hit Kenny Bell for a 14-yard touchdown with 18 seconds to play, but Charles Brown recovered the onside kick and Northwestern ran out the clock.

Nebraska finished with a season-low 122 yards on 35 carries, the third time this season it did not rush for at least 200 yards.

The Wildcats bottled up Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead and forced two costly turnovers in the first half.

Burkhead, who had 100-yard outings in five of his last six games, was limited to 69 yards on 22 carries.

Burkhead fumbled for the first time this season after the Huskers had driven to the Northwestern 5. Jack DiNardo reached in and stripped the ball, and Tyler Scott recovered.

Northwestern went nowhere after the turnover and punted into the wind, setting Nebraska up just inside the 50. But Quincy Enunwa got hit hard by Jeravin Matthews after catching a 25-yard pass, and Ibraheim Campbell recovered for the Wildcats.

“We had a lot of passion in practice and that really got spread around,” defensive end Quentin Williams said. “Really, the defense and the whole team collectively really put our foot down and said enough is enough. We really needed to come out here and play a complete game, defense especially.”

Northwestern kept alive its hopes of being bowl eligible for a fifth straight year. The Wildcats have no more road games and finish with Rice, Minnesota and Michigan State.

“I said it after last week, that if we wanted to make this season special we had to make it a November to remember,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re two steps up the mountain. But this one will go for naught if we’re not humble.”

— Associated Press —

NWMSU’s Pursell & Adams earn All-Region honors

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A pair of Northwest Missouri State men and women cross country runners raced to All-Region honors finishing in the top 25 as the Bearcat women placed third as a team while the men finished fifth in NCAA South Central Regional Championships at the Hawks Ridge Golf Course.

Angela Adams recorded a top 10 finish covering the 6k course in 22:14.30 for the Bearcats highest finisher.  Katti Carroll raced to a 12th place finish to also earn All-Region honors for Northwest as she finished with a time of 22:18.00.

On the men’s side TR Pursell earned All-Region accolades with a 12th place finish. Pursell, who has been Northwest’s top runner, cover the 10k course in a time of 31:49.60.

Pursell was joined by Ryan Darling earning All-Region honors sneaking in at 25th. Darling finished with a time of 32.33.20.

All-Region honors were given to the top 25 finishers in each of the men’s and women’s races.

Midwestern State edged Pittsburg State in the early women’s race to finish ahead of the Bearcats. Abilene Christian’s Chloe Sussett was the individual champion to advance to Nov. 19 NCAA National Championships in Spokane, Wash.

A pair of Lone Star Conference teams will represent the South Central Region as Eastern New Mexico claimed the title and was followed closely by East Central (Okla.). Central Missouri’s Laban Sialo claimed the men’s individual title covering the course in a time of 30:33.20.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Griffon volleyball falls 3-1 to No. 7 Central Missouri

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The Missouri Western volleyball team battled the 7th ranked Central Missouri Jennies tough fell 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-23, 25-11) in the fieldhouse. Freshman Amanda Boender led the Griffons with a career best 14 kills on 30 attacks with just two errors. Western falls to 12-15 overall and 5-9 in MIAA action.

Western came out sluggish in set one hitting just .081 with 12 kills and nine errors falling 25-16. The Griffons spotted the Jennies a 4-0 lead in the second set but were able to use a 5-0 run claiming their first lead of the set 13-11 after a Hannah Zimmerman kill. The two teams went back and forth the rest of the set with Western coming away with the 25-23 victory tying the match at one heading to the break. The set was just the sixth MIAA set that the Jennies have lost this season.

The Griffons battled in set three tying the Jennies at 21 after two Boender kills. The Jennies took control the rest of the way outscoring Western 4-2 taking set three 25-23 and a 2-1 lead in the match. Set four belonged to the Jennies as they hit .357 with 12 kills with just two errors. They defeated the Griffons 25-11 sweeping the season series.

Tahlor Johnston was the only other Griffons in double figures with 13 kills. Stephanie Hattey finished with 47 set assists while Sarah Faubel had 15 digs. Western had 52 kills hitting .154. The Griffons had five blocks with 64 digs.

The Jennies improve to 23-4 overall and 13-1 in MIAA action. The Jennies hit .282 with 54 kills while Taylor Goodness led the charge with 19 kills. Allie Huffman and Paula Harris finished with 11 and 10 kills respectively while Julia Bates had 40 set assists.

The Griffons return to action on Saturday, November 5 when they take on the Truman State Bulldogs on Senior Night. The Griffons will honor three seniors before the match who include Tahler Johnston, Alex Behnke and Hannah Zimmerman. Match time is set for 7:00 pm from the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Northwest volleyball loses at Truman State

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Northwest Missouri State ran into a hot hitting Truman State squad knocking off the Bearcats 3-1 Friday night in MIAA action inside Pershing Arena.

The Bearcats have now dropped four of their last five as they fell to 11-16 overall and 5-9 in league play. TSU improved to 18-12 and 7-7 in conference play. Northwest quickly returns to action as they travel to Central Missouri Saturday night.

Northwest hung with the Bulldogs in the first set, but a hot hitting TSU squad only made four errors in each of the first two sets as they went on to a 25-20, 25-18, 12-25, 25-21 win. The Bulldogs also hit close to .400 in each of the first two sets to take the 2-0 lead into intermission.

The Bearcats comeback would begin in the third set as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead in set three. However, unlike the Bearcats have done so many times this season a comeback was not in the cards for Northwest.

Amy Majors would put together one of her top offensive performances of the year with 14 kills hitting an amazing .542. Majors was responsible for 17.5 of the Bearcats’ points as they took the third set in dominating fashion 25-21.

TSU would close out the match with a 25-21 win in set three as Northwest could never overtake the Bulldogs.

Laira Akin also was solid again recording 42 assists and 13 double-doubles.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Benedictine women defeat William Woods in season opener

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The Benedictine (Kan.) College women’s basketball team started their 2011-12 season off on the right foot on Friday night with an upset over NAIA Div. I preseason No. 23 William Woods in front of their home fans in the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium.

Benedictine (1-0) limited William Woods (1-1) to just 29.1 percent from the floor and forced 22 turnovers en route to a 58-40 win.

The Ravens converted on 41 percent from the floor and knocked in 50 percent from beyond the arc in the second half to turn a 30-17 halftime lead into a 18-point win.

Benedictine was led in scoring by center Theresa Zienkewicz with 19 points. The senior and Wichita, Kan., native went 6 of 10 from the floor and was the teams top free throw shooter, knocking in 5 of 7.

William Woods was led in scoring by Sharron Andrews and Blake French, who both scored 8 points.

The Ravens hit the road on Monday as they travel to Sioux City, Iowa, to take on NAIA Div. II preseason No. 5 Briar Cliff University.

— Benedictine Sports Information —

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