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Category: Sports

Chiefs defeat Denver 30-23 to sweep season series

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes had another 300-yard passing day with four touchdowns. Kareem Hunt had another hurdling, tackle-breaking touchdown that gave the Chiefs a lead they’d never surrender.

Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins produced huge games, too, as the high-powered Kansas City offense once again made the incredible look downright casual in a 30-23 victory over Denver on Sunday that finished off a season sweep of the Broncos.

“When we’re clicking and spreading the all around,” Mahomes said, “we’re really tough to stop.”

You could make a case for nearly impossible. The only team to beat the Chiefs (7-1) so far has been New England, and it took the Patriots scoring 43 points at home to win by a field goal.

The Broncos (3-5) never came that close Sunday.

Mahomes finished with 303 yards passing for his franchise-record seventh consecutive 300-yard performance. Watkins had 107 yards and two of the TD catches, and Kelce and Hunt had the other two, as the Chiefs won for the 19th time in their past 21 games against the AFC West rivals.

“There were some good individual efforts there,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, rattling off most of those same names before adding, almost as an afterthought: “Obviously our young quarterback was involved, too.”

Obviously.

Case Keenum had 262 yards passing and two scores for the Broncos (3-5), while Phillip Lindsay had a big day in his first career start. The undrafted rookie had 95 yards rushing and a TD while catching three passes and providing a spark out of the backfield.

Still, that production couldn’t help the Broncos overcome their own sloppiness. They were flagged 10 times for 83 yards, several of the penalties wiping out big gains — and that doesn’t include a few that were declined or offsetting, including a personal foul on defensive tackle Derek Wolfe.

“We can’t beat ourselves against this team. We know that,” said Broncos cornerback Chris Harris, whose team has lost seven straight to the Chiefs. “We got to be smart and we didn’t play smart enough here. We got to figure it out, why we keep having these same things happen every week.”

Kansas City failed to score on its initial drive for the first time all season, and instead it was the Broncos jumping in front when Lindsay scored from a yard out midway through the first quarter.

The Chiefs quickly found their stride, though.

Harrison Butker hit a chip-shot field goal, Kelce made a tough touchdown catch in traffic and Watkins found the soft spot in the middle of the Denver defense to haul in his first TD grab. Denver had no answer until the closing seconds, when Tim Patrick had his first career touchdown catch.

Still, the Chiefs took a 16-14 lead into the locker room. And they weren’t done.

Watkins, signed in the offseason to take some pressure off Tyreek Hill, showed his own game-breaking ability early in the third quarter. He had a 24-yard reception to move Kansas City downfield, and his 10-yard strike from Mahomes added to the Chiefs’ cushion .

The Broncos, meanwhile, kept stumbling through costly miscues. Two more penalties on their first possession of the half resulted in a shanked punt that gave Kansas City prime field position, and it took just four plays for Hunt to reach the end zone for the 10th time this season.

The reigning NFL rushing champion took an inside pitch from Mahomes — a pass, technically — and ran through two tackles, hurdled Will Parks and dragged fellow safety Justin Simmons into the end zone.

The highlight-reel catch-and-run came after another hurdling run by Hunt a week ago.

Denver tried to come back in the fourth quarter, when Jeff Heuerman caught a fourth-down touchdown catch. But the Broncos failed to convert the 2-point conversion, then Keenum threw a pick after they’d managed to get the ball back, foiling their best chance to make it a game.

“It is disappointing, but you got to go back to work on Sundays,” Lindsay said. “It’s time to get us a win. What better way than to go back home and get a win against the Texans?”

STATS AND STREAKS

Denver has lost four of five. … Reid won his 201st game, tying Dan Reeves for eighth-most in NFL history. … Butker had a streak of 61 consecutive PATs snapped in the first half.

INJURIES

Broncos: The Broncos were missing RB Royce Freeman (ankle), RT Jared Veldheer (knee) and strong safety Darian Stewart (neck). LBs Brandon Marshall (knee) and Von Miller (ankle) were active.

Chiefs: WR Tyreek Hill appeared to tweak his groin on a long catch early in the game. He left late in the fourth quarter. … LBs Anthony Hitchens (ribs) and Frank Zombo (hamstring) also left late.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Hill showed up at Arrowhead Stadium wearing an inflatable sumo wrestler suit. That came after Mahomes posted video of himself on social media this week wearing a Tyrannosaurus Rex outfit while playing a pingpong game with practice squad wide receiver Gehrig Dieter, who also wore a sumo suit.

UP NEXT

Broncos: Return home to face Houston next Sunday.

Chiefs: Head to Cleveland next Sunday.

— Associated Press —

Northwest soccer ends season with double OT loss at Lindenwood

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The Northwest Missouri State soccer team played its final game of the season at Lindenwood Sunday and lost 1-0 in double overtime.

After 109 minutes of scoreless soccer Emily Jower scored with 9 seconds left in the game to give Lindenwood their 7th win of the season.

With this win, Lindenwood qualifies for the MIAA tournament. Northwest ends its season 2-15 overall and 1-10 in the MIAA.

— Northwest Athletics —

Griffons commit five turnovers in 34-14 loss to Pitt State

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ST. JOSEPH – Five costly turnovers spoiled an otherwise impressive performance by the Griffon Football team against Pittsburg State (7-2), Saturday. Missouri Western (5-4) out-gained the Gorillas by 126 yards, but fell 34-14 in the Rogers Pharmacy Hall of Fame Game.

NOTABLES

  • The Griffon defense limited what was the MIAA’s second best rushing team coming into Saturday to 125 yards on 46 carries, a 2.7-yard per carry average
  • Missouri Western averaged nearly seven yards per carry, rushing 39 times for 265 on the MIAA’s third-ranked rush defense
  • A four-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard Shamar Griffith touchdown on the Griffons first drive of the second half cut the Gorilla lead to 24-14. Pittsburg State answered with a 95-yard return touchdown on the ensuing kickoff
  • The kickoff return touchdown was the only TD for the Gorillas in the second half
  • Missouri Western entered having thrown four interceptions and six lost fumbles, but threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles to Pittsburg State
  • The Griffons were penalized nine times for 122 yards with Pittsburg State losing 96 yards on 11 penalties

LEADERS

  • Shamar Griffith led the Griffon running game with 78 yards on five carries for a 15.6-yard average per carry
  • Dom Marino rushed for 69 yards and threw for 87 yards
  • Wyatt Steigerwald completed 6-of-15 passes for 53 yards and had a touchdown pass taken away due to a penalty
  • Anthony Williams led the defense with 12 total tackles

UP NEXT

  • The Griffons travel to Nebraska Kearney (4-5) Nov. 3 for an 11 a.m. kickoff
  • The Lopers scored 28 second half points in a 42-35 loss at Central Missouri, Saturday

— MWSU Athletics —

No. 11 Bearcats roll past Northeastern State 62-17

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TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma – The No. 11-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcat football team breezed to a 62-17 road victory over the Northeastern State University RiverHawks.

Northwest (8-1 overall) accumulated 568 total yards and 25 first downs. Northeastern State (0-9 overall) was limited to 193 total yards (29 rushing yards) and 10 first downs.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Braden Wright accounted for five touchdowns and 227 yards of total offense. Wright rushed for three scores (6, 6, 48) and tossed two more touchdowns (9, 16) – all in the first half.

The Bearcats scored touchdowns on their first four drives and built a 28-3 lead less than a minute into the second quarter.

Northwest’s scoring onslaught continued in the last 2:45 of the half as the Bearcats scored 17 points on a field goal and two touchdowns to boost the halftime lead to 45-3.

Alec Tatum returned a punt 53 yards with 13:53 left in the third quarter and Northwest held a 52-3 advantage over Northeastern State.

The RiverHawks found the end zone for the first time with 9:17 left in the third quarter when Jay Baker threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Mark Wheeland. The RiverHawks used a short field after an interception to go 32 yards in three plays for the touchdown.

Northwest extended the lead back to 62-10 following a 41-yard touchdown pass from Jadyn Kowalski to LaTroy Harper and a 32-yard field goal from Parker Sampson.

Sampson booted two field goals (50, 32) on the day and kicked off 11 times. Sampson had four touchbacks on kickoffs. The 50-yard field goal was a career-best for Sampson.

The Bearcats had another miscue midway through the fourth when Harper misplayed a punt and the RiverHawks recovered at the 6-yard line. NSU converted the chance into a touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Brice Waggle to Cory Jones with 6:56 left to cap the scoring.

Northwest will return home and take on Fort Hays State next Saturday at 1:35 p.m. at Bearcat Stadium.

NOTES: Anthony Lane and Matt Connelly tied for team-high tackles honors with five each … Austen Eskew registered sacks for the Bearcats … Jacob Giese and Lane each were credited with a fumble recovery … Josh Caldwell rushed for a team-high 96 yards and a touchdown … Caldwell has rushed for 30 career touchdowns as a collegian … Wright passed for 151 yards, while Kowalski threw for 64 yards … Raymond Thomas led the Bearcat receivers with three catches for 61 yards … Shawn Bane Jr. caught his 29th career touchdown reception … Bane nabbed two receptions to move into a tie for No. 7 on Northwest’s all-time receptions list with 196 … Steve Hansely also caught 196 passes for the Bearcats from 1983-1985) … Harper posted 156 all-purpose yards with 71 on kick returns, 54 receiving and 31 on punt returns.

— Northwest Athletics —

Mizzou loses to No. 12 Kentucky on final play

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Terry Wilson threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Conrad on the final play to give No. 12 Kentucky a 15-14 victory over Missouri on Saturday.

Kentucky took over on its own 19 with 1:24 left. With 4 seconds left, Wilson threw toward Ahmad Wagner in the back left corner of the end zone. Wagner caught the ball out of bounds, but Missouri cornerback DeMarkus Acy was called for pass interference, giving Kentucky an untimed down that it turned into the winning score.

“Amazing victory by our team,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “Just could not be more proud of this group, the way we just stuck together, played as a complete football team.”

Lynn Bowden Jr. returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown with 5:18 left to pull the Wildcats (7-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) to 14-9.

Kentucky held Missouri (4-4, 0-4) without a first down on eight second-half possessions.

“There’s anger, there’s hurt, there’s sadness — about every emotion on that side of things that you can feel,” Missouri coach Barry Odom said. “That’s what we have.”

Wilson, who was replaced by backup Gunnar Hoak for part of the second half, completed 22 of 31 passes for 267 yards. Bowden had 13 catches for 166 yards. Benny Snell, who entered the game as the nation’s fourth-leading rusher, gained just 67 yards on 19 carries.

Missouri opened a 14-3 halftime lead with two 10-play touchdown drives. Damarea Crockett scored on a 2-yard run early in the second quarter, and Larry Rountree added a 1-yard TD run just before halftime.

Missouri’s Drew Lock completed 15 of 27 passes for 165 yards.

Kentucky appeared to have squandered its last chance to get back in the game when A.J. Rose was stuffed on a fourth-and-goal run from the 2-yard line with 7:31 left. It was the third failed fourth-down conversion of the game for the Wildcats. But a few minutes later, Bowden returned the punt for a touchdown and the comeback was on.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kentucky: The Wildcats keep finding ways to win despite scoring little. Kentucky’s defense has held six opponents under 20 points this season. The Wildcats held the Tigers to just 249 total yards.

Missouri: Barry Odom is 0-7 against ranked opponents in three years as head coach. Lock is 0-9 against Top 25 teams in his four years as a starting quarterback.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Kentucky, which was a seven-point underdog to unranked Missouri, is sure to rise in the rankings.

UP NEXT

Kentucky: The Wildcats return home to face seventh-ranked Georgia.

Missouri: The Tigers travel to ninth-ranked Florida.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western volleyball takes down Southern in three sets

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ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Volleyball sent its three seniors off with a three-set victory, Saturday night. After honoring the senior class of Shelby Taylor, Rachel Losch and Audrey Keim pre-match, Missouri Western (14-15, 6-10) made quick work of Missouri Southern (3-23, 3-13).

In the final home match for the three seniors, the Griffons produced their highest hitting percentage in a match since the first match of the season and remained in contention for the postseason with one week remaining in the regular season.

NOTABLES

  • Missouri Western hit .435 as a team, its highest hitting percentage since hitting .451 against Cedarville in the team’s season opening sweep
  • The efficient attack night gave the Griffons their third (vs. SBU) and second highest hitting percentages of the season on back-to-back nights
  • Missouri Western remained tied for eighth place in the MIAA standings with Lindenwood, which won in three sets at Emporia State, Saturday night. Lindenwood’s win brought seventh place Emporia State back to just a half game over the Griffons and Lions with a match against Central Missouri coming on Sunday.
  • The Griffons reeled off several notable runs in the match, including 5-0 runs toward the end of the first and second sets
  • There were just three total blocks in the match, two by Missouri Southern and one by Missouri Western

LEADERS

  • Rachel Losch hit .625 and led all players with 11 kills in her final home match
  • Ali Tauchen hit .800 with eight kills on 10 attacks and added nine digs
  • Stephanie Doak also had eight kills
  • Lauren Murphy led the team with 35 assists
  • In her final home match, Audrey Keim had a team-high 13 digs
  • Shellby Taylor had seven kills and four digs in her final home match

UP NEXT

  • Missouri Western ends the regular season on the road with trips to No. 6 Nebraska Kearney (28-2, 14-2) on Nov. 2 and Fort Hays State (8-20, 2-14) on Nov. 3

— MWSU Athletics —

K-State gets blown out at No. 8 Oklahoma 51-14

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NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma is starting to look like a complete team.

Kyler Murray passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score to help No. 8 Oklahoma beat Kansas State 51-14 on Saturday. The Sooners (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) rolled up a season-high 702 total yards and only punted once, and that was in the fourth quarter after Murray was done for the day.

But the defense did its job, too, putting together its second consecutive solid performance under interim defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill. Oklahoma held the Wildcats (3-5, 1-4) to 245 yards, a season low for an opponent, a week after holding TCU to 275 yards.

“For them to have some success after some of the changes — to have that success makes a difference, and it continues to breed confidence,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said. “So the key is, as the success comes, the work ethic has got to continue to rise. Ruffin’s done a great job. It’s not an easy role to step into.”

Kansas State’s Alex Barnes, who entered the game as the Big 12’s leading rusher, was limited to 28 yards on 13 carries. He rushed for 250 yards against Baylor and 181 against Oklahoma State in his previous two games.

“He’s been tremendous against everybody, so that’s, of all the stats in the game, that’s one of the ones that I know I’m most proud of,” Riley said.

Linebacker Kenneth Murray said the defensive improvement has stemmed from keeping things simple and players holding each other accountable.

“At the end of the day, it’s about us,” he said. “It’s about us playing for each other, and I think that’s the biggest thing that we’ve built on these last few weeks, is just playing for the brother next to you, not trying to let the brother down next to you. I think our brotherhood right now is at an all-time high.”

As for the Oklahoma offense, it purred as usual. The Sooners scored at least 45 points for the fourth consecutive game. CeeDee Lamb caught four passes for a career-high 160 yards and two touchdowns, and Kennedy Brooks ran for 94 yards and two scores.

The Sooners gained 209 yards in the first quarter and took a 17-0 lead. Murray threw two touchdown passes in the period, including an 82-yard connection with Lamb.

Murray ran for a 9-yard touchdown in the second quarter to push the lead to 31-7, and the Sooners were ahead 34-7 at the break. Murray completed 17 of 22 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 37 yards and another score in the first half.

Skylar Thompson passed for 108 yards and ran for 54 for Kansas State. Two weeks after a dominant performance against Oklahoma State, the Wildcats regressed.

“I’ll have to reinvest some time and try and find out if the ship has ever been in this condition before,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. “I’m not sure that it has.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas State: The Wildcats ran for 319 yards against Baylor and 291 yards against Oklahoma State in their previous two games. They found the going tough against the Sooners, a bit of a surprise against a Sooner team that had struggled at times against the run this season. Kansas State gained just 137 yards rushing on 32 carries.

Oklahoma: The Sooners won time of possession for the second straight week, and for just the third time this season. They ran for 322 yards on 39 carries, a good sign for a team that lost star running back Rodney Anderson in the second game of the season.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Sooners might not move up much in the next poll, but they helped perception with a second consecutive dominant performance.

RUSS RETURNS

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook stood on Oklahoma’s sideline during Saturday’s game.

Westbrook was the NBA’s MVP in 2016-17 and has averaged a triple-double the past two years. He attended Oklahoma’s game against UCLA earlier this season, but he wore UCLA gear because he went to college there.

“I did see him,” Kyler Murray said. “I did see him on the other sideline when we played UCLA, so it’s nice that he came to show love.”

STEADY LAMB

Lamb caught a touchdown pass for the seventh straight game. He has nine touchdown receptions in that span. For the season, he has 34 receptions for 674 yards.

UP NEXT

Kansas State plays at TCU on Saturday.

Oklahoma plays at Texas Tech on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Kansas hangs on against TCU for first win in October since 2009

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — One of the few bright spots all season for Kansas has been its ability to force turnovers, doing so at such a high rate that the Jayhawks have the Big 12’s best turnover differential.

They produced another one at a crucial juncture against TCU on Saturday.

It gave them their biggest bright spot, too.

Peyton Bender threw two touchdown passes to Pooka Williams Jr., the Kansas defense hopped on a fumble at its own 6-yard line with 58 seconds left and the Jayhawks held on to beat the Horned Frogs 27-26 to end a four-game losing streak and give their embattled coach just his second Big 12 win.

The Jayhawks (3-5, 1-4) got their first win in October since 2009, snapping a 38-game losing streak in the month, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

“They certainly were there and could have easily won that game,” Jayhawks coach David Beaty said, “but our guys persevered and I’m extremely proud of them. Guys deserve to have some success.”

The Jayhawks took the lead on Williams’ touchdown grab with 6:13 to go, but TCU (3-5, 1-4) and first-time starter Michael Collins breezed downfield in an attempt to answer it.

Collins converted a third-down pass to give the Horned Frogs first-and-goal at the 9-yard line, and Darius Anderson got the ensuing carry. But the ball popped out when he hit his own lineman and the Jayhawks clearly recovered, even though the officials initially called Anderson down.

The replay gave Kansas the ball. And after Bender took a safety to drain all but one second from the clock, the Jayhawks covered the ensuing squib kick to seal the win.

“Listen, gentlemen, we’ve been here before. I said before the season, we were young,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “But the bottom line is, we’re going to keep fighting. We’re going to keep getting better so we can move forward. … If we do that, then we’ll have a chance.”

Bender finished with 249 yards passing and Williams had 102 yards receiving in giving the Jayhawks just their second Big 12 victory under embattled coach David Beaty. It also was the first against the Horned Frogs since 1997, long before the schools became Big 12 rivals.

“It’s awesome for everybody, all the stuff we’ve gone through, all the stuff that’s been said, all the naysayers,” Jayhawks linebacker Joe Dineen Jr. said. “It’s nice to get a win.”

Collins had 351 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception, and Jalen Reagor had eight catches for 177 yards, as TCU lost its third straight and fifth in six games.

Perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising that the Horned Frogs and Jayhawks played a back-and-forth game that went down to the wire. Even though TCU had won all six conference meetings, five had been decided by 14 points or fewer.

Kansas struck first by marching 75 yards for a touchdown, but the Horned Frogs’ defense stiffened the rest of the half, giving up only 14 yards the rest of the way.

The TCU offense struggled to capitalize, though, and it took a long touchdown pass to Reagor just before halftime to give the Horned Frogs a 10-7 lead at the break.

Both offenses finally found a rhythm in the second half.

Williams caught his first touchdown pass to give Kansas the lead, then Collins scored his first TD to give the Horned Frogs the lead back. Gabriel Rui added a pair of field goals for the Jayhawks, and TCU answered with a 75-yard drive that Collins capped with another short scoring run.

Kansas pulled ahead once more on its ensuing drive, when Bender converted a pair of third downs and then found Williams in the flat. He made a devastating cutback and went 28 yards for a score, which was upheld after it appeared that the freshman running back fumbled right at the goal line.

Another replay went the Jayhawks’ way at the other end of the field a few minutes later.

“Just a mistake I made,” Anderson said of his fumble. “Can’t get it back now.”

LAST PLAY

The Jayhawks had seven seconds to burn on fourth down at the end of the game, so Bender ran into his own end zone and chucked the ball out of bounds. But it hit a tarp before hitting the ground for a safety, and that left a single second on the clock — and forced a tense squib kick. “It was definitely a long second,” Bender said. “I wish I would have taken another one.”

THE TAKEAWAYS

TCU capped a miserable week in which top playmaker KaVontae Turpin was kicked off the team and quarterback Shawn Robinson was forced to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery with an on-field dud. Collins had a few positive moments, but the Horned Frogs’ defense struggled throughout.

Kansas might have a new coach next season — it already has a new athletic director — but its guys are still playing hard for Beaty, who is immensely popular in the locker room. Beaty called the plays for the second game after firing offensive coordinator Doug Meacham and the Jayhawks responded.

UP NEXT

TCU returns home to play Kansas State next Saturday.

Kansas gets a visit from Iowa State next Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Northwest Missouri State volleyball dominates Southwest Baptist

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MARYVILLE, Missouri – The Northwest Missouri State University Bearcat volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 sweep of Southwest Baptist University on senior day at Bearcat Arena. Northwest won by set scores of 25-13, 25-16, 25-16.

Northwest (21-6 overall, 13-3 MIAA) hit .386 for the match while holding SBU (4-25 overall, 0-16 MIAA) to a .080 hitting percentage.

Senior Sofia Schleppenbach registered a team-high 11 kills and a team-best four blocks.

Northwest scored the first seven points in the opening set. Schleppenbach would tally five kills in seven attempts with no errors in the first set to lead Northwest to a 25-13 win.

The Bearcats hit .550 in the second set with 12 kills and one attack error en route to a 25-16 win. Hallie Sidney led the Bearcats with four kills in the second stanza.

Northwest closed out the sweep with a 25-16 triumph in the third. SBU was held to .069 hitting in the third with 11 kills to go against nine errors.

The Bearcats will wrap up the MIAA regular season Friday at Fort Hays State (6 p.m.) and Saturday at Nebraska-Kearney (6 p.m.).

NOTES: Northwest is 19-0 in three-set matches this season … the Bearcats have won seven of their last eight matches … Northwest honored its four seniors (Maddy Bruder, Olivia Nowakowski, Sofia Schleppenbach and Megan Stilmock) prior to the match.

— Northwest Athletics —

Nebraska has no trouble with Bethune-Cookman 45-9

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska got what it wanted out of its game against Bethune-Cookman. The Cornhuskers won, nobody got hurt, and a lot of guys got to play.

Adrian Martinez passed for 213 yards and two touchdowns and Devine Ozigbo ran for 110 and another score — all in the first half — and Nebraska prepped for next week’s road game against Ohio State with a 45-9 win Saturday.

A month ago, Nebraska was in the middle of its 0-6 start and coming off a 46-point loss at Michigan. Last week’s win over Minnesota and the fast work they did against the Wildcats of the Football Championship Subdivision have lifted the Huskers’ spirits heading into their trip to the “Horseshoe” to face the 11th-ranked Buckeyes, who were off Saturday after losing at Purdue last week.

“I think we’re a more disciplined team, a more efficient team right now,” coach Scott Frost said. “Hopefully, with the last two wins, it will make us a more confident team. We’ve got to go on the road to a tough place to play a really good team that’s going to be ticked off and has had two weeks of practice since their last game that didn’t go well for them. We know what we’re in for. We’re going to get their best shot.”

The Cornhuskers (2-6) scheduled Bethune-Cookman (4-5) a month ago as a replacement for the Sept. 1 opener against Akron that was canceled because of severe weather. The Wildcats earned an $800,000 guarantee.

“I’m appreciative of them for coming, and I think it was great for both teams,” Frost said. “It was the type of game we needed. I’m sure the amount of money we’re paying for them to come up is something they needed. I think both teams came out of the game really healthy, which is what both coaches wanted. I think it was a win-win for everybody.”

Stanley Morgan caught seven passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns and JD Spielman ran back a punt 77 yards for a touchdown and had five receptions for 72 yards.

Nebraska’s offensive starters turned the game over to the backups to start the second half. Most of the regulars on defense played the first two B-C possessions of the third quarter. A total of 74 players got on the field for the Huskers.

Bethune-Cookman started David Israel at quarterback in place of Akevious Williams, who left last week’s game against North Carolina A&T with a knee injury. Israel was 12 of 27 for 196 yards and two interceptions. Jabari Dunham led the Wildcats’ 10-play, 82-yard touchdown drive that Alfred Adams finished with a 5-yard run as time expired.

“We’re definitely appreciative of the opportunity to have a chance to come to Nebraska and play in a historic venue such as Memorial Stadium and play a program like Nebraska,” B-C coach Terry Sims said. “I don’t think we played our best. But the outcome is what it is. We had some guys that left it on the field today, played their hearts out.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Bethune-Cookman: The Wildcats showed some flashes against the Huskers’ top defense. Steffon Francois picked up 54 yards on a catch-and-run to set up Uriel Hernandez’s 28-yard field goal, and the Wildcats drove to the 8 and 14 against Nebraska’s starters on their first two series of the second half but couldn’t get into the end zone until the final play against reserves.

Nebraska: Martinez was hammered by Marquis Hendrix and got up slowly on the last of his 41 plays over seven series. Quarterback Noah Vedral, who transferred to Nebraska after backing up McKenzie Milton at Central Florida last year and was declared eligible Oct. 12, played in his first game and ran for a 20-yard touchdown.

STATS TO NOTE

Nebraska improved to 12-0 all-time against FCS opponents; Bethune-Cookman dropped to 2-10 against the FBS. … Spielman’s punt return for a touchdown was Nebraska’s first since De’Mornay Pierson-El ran one back against Iowa in 2014. … Ozigbo went over 100 yards for the fourth time in five games. … Martinez’s 1,656 passing yards are a Nebraska freshman record. … Peyton Newell had the Huskers’ first interception by a defensive lineman since 2013.

UP NEXT

Bethune-Cookman visits Morgan State on Nov. 3.

Nebraska visits No. 11 Ohio State on Nov. 3.

— Associated Press —

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