Oct 23, 2022

CFB Roundup: NWMSU defense dominates Riverhawks, Tigers earn first SEC win

Posted Oct 23, 2022 3:00 PM
Northwest defensive tackle Elijah Green avoids tacklers after catching a fake punt from Quarterback /Punter Mike Hohensee in Saturday's win/ Photo by Alexis Starks of Northwest Athletics
Northwest defensive tackle Elijah Green avoids tacklers after catching a fake punt from Quarterback /Punter Mike Hohensee in Saturday's win/ Photo by Alexis Starks of Northwest Athletics

By MATT PIKE

St. Joseph Post

Bearcat defense decimates Northeastern State for Homecoming win

The home win streak extended to 17 games as the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats earned a 36-3 win over the Northeastern State Riverhawks on Homecoming.

The Bearcat defense limited Northeastern State to just three first downs and 29 yards of total offense, holding their rushing game to negative yardage as the Riverhawks rushed 19 times for -16 yards.  Meanwhile, the Northwest offense couldn't be contained generating 485 yards of total offense (289 passing, 196 rushing) and 28 first downs.

Junior linebacker Isaac Vollstedt started the defensive gem for the Bearcats on the first series of the game, snagging an interception and setting the Bearcats up on the 31 yard line and four rushing plays later freshman running back Jay Harris found the endzone. 

It was all Bearcats from there, with Northeastern States only points coming in the second quarter on a 27 yard field goal from Tyler Crawford.

The Don Black Award, which is given to the MVP of Northwest's Homecoming game, was given to junior wide receiver Kashan Griffin who accounted for 200 yards of total offense on the game, catching four passes for 86 yards and returning three punts for 114 yards, including a season long return of 64 yards. 

Sophomore quarterback Mike Hohensee was the leading passer completing 20 of 29 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns.  Running back Jamar Moya led the rushing attack with 62 yards on 11 carries, while Harris was not far behind him with 12 carries for 58 yards and his touchdown. 

The Bearcats are now 6-2 on the season with the win.  Next up will be a road trip to Kearney, Nebraska for a matchup with Nebraska Kearney who is coming off a big 66-17 win over Lincoln in Jefferson City.  Kickoff between the two will be at 2pm.

Gorillas remain undefeated after big third quarter against Griffons

Missouri Western traveled to Pittsburg, Kansas on Saturday and gave up three straight touchdowns in the second half, falling 28-16 on Saturday.  Read our full recap here.

Ravens take over in second quarter in win over Missouri Valley

After ending the first quarter tied at 10 a piece, the #8 Benedictine Ravens went on to outscore Missouri Valley College 35-14 en route to a 45-24 victory, the Ravens sixth straight win over the Vikings.

The Ravens defense struggled in the first half, allowing 228 total yards of offense on just 28 plays to the Vikings, but Benedictine would shore up it's defense only allowing 113 yards more in the second half.  The Ravens would finish the game with 504 total yards of offense, their third 500 plus effort in the last four games. 

Field goals would start and end the first quarter scoring, with both teams scoring touchdowns in between.  Missouri Valley did score the first touchdown of the second quarter, taking a 17-10 lead, before Benedictine would score 14 unanswered points to lead 24-17 at halftime. 

The Ravens returned to the rushing attack for their next two scores, a 40 yard touchdown from freshman running back Derek Overstreet and a one yard score from sophomore wide receiver JaShawn Todd. 

The lone score in the fourth quarter was a passing touchdown from Garrett Kettle, a short six yard touchdown to Todd, which capped the game at the 45-24 final. 

Kettle passed for 288 yards on 19 of 33 passing throwing three touchdowns.  Overstreet led on the ground rushing for 60 yards, a chunk of those on his lone score, while Rayshon Mills rushed 10 times for 59 yards.  Kettle also scored one touchdown with his legs on the day.

The Ravens are now 7-1 on the year and will return home for Homecoming this Saturday, welcoming Baker University to O'Malley Field at Larry Wilcox Stadium.  Kickoff is set for 1pm.'

Tigers get out of SEC cellar with win over Vanderbilt

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri had lost its first three SEC games in increasingly heartbreaking fashion.

The Tigers finally held on down the stretch to win one on Saturday.

Luther Burden III had touchdowns on the ground and through the air, Missouri kept Vanderbilt's offense off the scoreboard until late in the fourth quarter, and the Tigers proceeded to make a huge fourth-down stop with just over a minute left for a nerve-wracking 17-14 victory that lifted them out of the conference cellar.

“I've been around a lot of teams and I've not ever seen a team go through what they have and still bond and fight and have the energy in the way they practice,” Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “Man, I was so proud of them."

The Commodores had a chance late in the fourth quarter before the Tigers made one more defensive stop.

“There's a lot of things that need to be fixed, some really bad things,” Drinkwitz said, “but it's easier to fix after a win.”

Missouri (3-4, 1-3 SEC) will look to continue their winning ways this week as they travel to Columbia South (Columbia,South Carolina) to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks.  Kickoff is set for 3pm and will be aired on SEC Network.

#8 TCU overcomes deficit to steal game from #17 Kansas State

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Max Duggan threw for 280 yards with three touchdowns and Kendre Miller ran for 153 yards and two scores as eighth-ranked TCU again rallied from a big early deficit to stay undefeated, beating No. 17 Kansas State 38-28 on Saturday night to take over sole possession of first place in the Big 12 Conference.

Duggan's 55-yard strike to Quentin Johnston late in the third quarter put the Horned Frogs (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) ahead to stay. That was their third consecutive drive to finish in the end zone.

The Frogs, with new coach Sonny Dykes, have won four consecutive games over ranked opponents. Three in a row was already a first in school history, which they accomplished a week earlier at home by overcoming a 17-point deficit to beat then-No. 8 Oklahoma State in double overtime.

Kansas State (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) had jumped out to a 28-10 lead when Will Howard threw for two touchdowns and ran for another after taking over for banged-up quarterback Adrian Martinez on its second drive. Deuce Vaughn's 47-yard run for his first touchdown in five games capped the fourth consecutive TD drive for the K-State.

Howard ran for 14 yards on his first play and completed his first seven passes for 156 yards. He finished 13 of 20 for 225 yards, leaving the game briefly after hurting his shoulder on a running play late in the third quarter. Freshman Jake Rubley, the third K-State QB in the game, threw an interception on his first pass that came after TCU had gone ahead to stay.

Kansas State will return to Manhattan on Saturday, welcoming the Oklahoma State Cowboys to Bill Snyder Family Stadium.  Kickoff time is to be determined.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Frogs could possibly move up a spot since No. 7 Ole Miss and No. 9 UCLA, the teams they were between, suffered their first losses Saturday. Kansas State is sure to drop some, but should still be ranked when the new poll comes out later today

Kansas loses third straight to Baylor

WACO, Texas (AP) — True freshman Richard Reese ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns, including a late game-clincher as the Bears held on to beat Kansas 35-23 on Saturday.

Baylor had a 28-3 halftime lead in the game matching former Top 25 teams that had both lost their previous two games.

The 5-3 Jayhawks were within 28-23 when quarterback Jason Bean scrambled 4 yards for a touchdown with 6 1/2 minutes left, ending a 93-yard drive after Baylor was stopped on fourth-and-1.

Reese scored with 2 1/2 minutes left. Bears quarterback Blake Shapen was 17-of-26 passing for 164 yards with a touchdown, but had three turnovers.

Kansas is still without standout quarterback Jalon Daniels, who missed his second game in a row since injuring his right (throwing) shoulder after being hit late in the first half of a loss to TCU on Oct. 8. Bean was 16 of 27 for 232 yards and a touchdown.

The Jayhawks had scored 73 points in their previous two losses, but never really got much going against Baylor. They had just 76 total yards at halftime, and finished with only 288.

“We didn’t get in much of a rhythm,” coach Lance Leipold said.

Kansas had only 49 plays, while Baylor ran 83.

Kansas, which is going into his open date, dropped out of the poll from 19th this week after its back-to-back losses to TCU and Oklahoma.

“It’s definitely gonna be beneficial for us. An extra week of film, an extra week of treatment, not really banging heads every day,” center Mike Novitsky said. "That’ll be good for us ... kind of reset a little bit, get our feet back on the ground and be ready to compete.”

More details about Scott Frost firing emerge during Huskers open week

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Fired Nebraska football coach Scott Frost would have received a one-year contract extension and had his annual salary restored to $5 million if the Cornhuskers had shown improvement, gone 6-6 in the regular season and played in a bowl game, according to athletic director Trev Alberts.

The metrics had been kept private until a judge, citing state open records laws, on Tuesday ordered the terms made public. Alberts announced the terms on his radio show Tuesday night.

USA Today had sued the university after its custodian of records denied a reporter's request for the metrics. The newspaper contended the information should be public under state law, just as coaches' contracts are public records. The university argued the metrics were a personnel matter and confidential.

Lancaster County District Judge Ryan Post sided with USA Today and ordered the university to release the information within seven days.

The metrics Alberts and Frost agreed upon did not guarantee Frost would be retained. Frost was fired Sept. 11, the day after a 45-42 loss to Georgia Southern dropped the Huskers to 1-2 this year and 19-31 in Frost's four-plus seasons. Mickey Joseph was named interim head coach.

Alberts and Frost last November agreed to a restructured contract that reduced Frost's pay to $4 million this year. Had Frost made it through the season and won six games and gone to a bowl, he would have gotten a $1 million raise and his contract would have been extended a year to Dec. 31, 2027.

Nebraska is 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten, with Joseph winning two of the four games he has coached. The Huskers were on bye this week and will host No. 18 Illinois this Saturday with kickoff at 2:30pm.

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