By MATT PIKE/AP
St. Joseph Post
Last second FG gives Missouri Western upset win over Emporia State
It was a homecoming to remember as the Missouri Western Griffons are off to their best start in a decade, upsetting #11 Emporia State on a last second 41 yard field goal to earn a 34-31 victory. Read our full recap HERE.
Bearcats fail to survive shootout with UCM falling 41-38
Northwest Missouri State struggled to score in the first half, but rallied back in the second half to tie up the game before going back and forth with Central Missouri, ultimately falling 41-38 in Warrensburg on Saturday.
The Bearcats managed to score just three points in the first half, going into the locker room at halftime down 24-3. Northwest though would come out of the gates firing in the second half scoring 21 unanswered points to tie the game at 24 at the end of the third quarter.
Mike Hohensee returned after sitting out with an injury the last two weeks to start under center for the Bearcats, throwing two touchdowns in the 21 point third quarter, a 15 yard strike to Kashan Griffin and a 10 yard touchdown pass to Trevon Alexander.
Jay Harris also added a touchdown in the third quarter, rushing in from six yards out and capping of a 67 yard drive that needed just four plays.
With the score tied and the Mules driving to end the third quarter, it did not take long for Central Missouri to cap off a nine play drive as Zach Zebrowski would find Jack Pospisil for a six yard touchdown pass just under 30 seconds into the fourth quarter.
With the Bearcats now trailing 31-24, Northwest would answer almost immediately needing just two plays and 60 yards for Jackson Miller to connect with Ra'Shoud Shelton for a 22 yard touchdown pass, knotting the game back up at 31.
The game would stay tied for the next nine minutes, but with 5:04 left in the game, Marcellous Hawkins would break off a 30 yard run for a UCM touchdown, extending the lead to 38-31. A Mules interception on the ensuing Bearcat drive would turn into more points, Luke Dobson putting a 41 yard field goal through the uprights extending the lead to two possessions with just 1:52 left in regulation.
Northwest would drive quickly trying to answer, and they would needing just five plays to go 73 yards in 48 seconds, Hohensee throwing his third touchdown pass of the day, a 45 yard pass to John Giagiari.
The Bearcats would come out and attempt on onside kick, but UCM would recover and Zebrowski would kneel out the remainder of the 58 seconds on the clock, sending Northwest home with their third loss in their last four games.
Hohensee in his return did throw for 261 yards and three touchdowns, going 15 of 25 on the day, however he also threw three interceptions in the game. Harris rushed for 108 yards and one touchdown, carrying the ball 18 times. Griffin led all receivers with six catches on seven targets for 84 yards and one touchdown.
Northwest is now 2-3 (1-3 MIAA) on the season. They'll return home this Saturday to host former head coach Adam Dorrel and the Central Oklahoma Bronchos. Kickoff is at 1:30pm.
Ravens come out on top in defensive battle with William Penn
After back to back wins scoring 60 plus points, the Benedictine Ravens needed just 10 points to get a victory in a defensive shootout against William Penn in Oskaloosa, Iowa, coming away with a 10-7 victory on Saturday.
Both teams were held scoreless in the first quarter as the defenses shined, at one point three straight drives ended with interceptions, two by William Penn and one by Benedictine. And it continued to shine early on in the second quarter as the Ravens first drive of the second frame would also end with an interception.
But following a punt by William Penn on the drive after the interception, Benedictine would finally take the only lead they would need late in the second quarter. The Ravens took over with 7:13 left in the half and drove 51 yards over six plays, the drive capping with a seven yard rushing touchdown from quarterback Jackson Dooley.
Harry Balke would make it 7-0 converting the extra point and once again on the ensuing drive the Ravens defense stood tall, forcing a three and out, giving Benedictine the ball back with 2:59 remaining, and they would use all of that going 43 yards on seven plays and settling for a 33 yard field goal from Balke to put the game at 10-0 at halftime.
The only other score of the game came early in the second half, with William Penn receiving the kickoff to start the half and then going on to orchestrate a nine play 75 yard drive, ending with a one yard run from sophomore running back Destynd Loring, putting the game at 10-7 following the extra point from Ethan Olivas.
The next 11 drives of the game was a defensive effort, all ending in turnovers as fans at Statesman Community Stadium in Oskaloosa would see drives that ended as such: Punt, Punt, Interception, Punt, Punt, Interception, Turnover on Downs, Turnover on Downs, a missed field goal, and an Interception, all before the end of regulation.
It was a rough day on the field for Dooley as aside from his rushing touchdown the sophomore quarterback was 11 of 24 through the air for 108 yards, a season low, and four interceptions. Sophomore running back Dalton Witherspoon, on the other hand, had a season high 171 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Benedictine has now won three games in a row and are 4-2 on the season. The Ravens will have a bye this week before traveling to Fayette, Missouri on October 14th to take on Central Methodist to open up their conference slate.
Brady Cook sets record as Mizzou tops Vanderbilt to open SEC play
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Brady Cook is a big reason that the Missouri Tigers are off to their best start since 2013.
The 23rd-ranked Missouri Tigers quarterback set the Southeastern Conference record for most pass attempts without an interception Saturday as he threw for a career-high 395 yards and four touchdowns, helping Missouri beat Vanderbilt 38-21 Saturday.
“Just let him cook,” Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III said of his quarterback.
The Tigers (5-0) opened the SEC portion of their schedule with their fifth straight victory. That puts them two victories from matching 2013 when the Tigers won their first seven games en route to the SEC Eastern Division title and a berth in the conference championship.
Missouri also is one win from matching last year's total for the season. Coach Eli Drinkwitz isn’t worried about his Tigers getting overconfident.
“I don’t really think they’re buying the hype or drinking the Kool-Aid in any sort of manner,” Drinkwitz said. “I think they’re focused on how do we play this game and then how do we get better.”
Cody Schrader ran for a TD that gave Missouri the lead for good early in the second quarter.
The Tigers outgained Vanderbilt 532-300 with the Commodores not reaching 100 yards of offense until 7:19 left in the third. Kris Abrams-Draine ended that drive with an interception in the end zone, and Austin Firestone had the game's lone sack with 5:42 left at the Vandy 19 to set up Cook's final TD pass.
Missouri won its fourth straight in this series and improved to 4-2 against the Commodores in Nashville. Burden finished with 11 catches for 140 yards receiving and two TDs. Theo Wease Jr. had 10 receptions for 118 yards and a TD.
Cook now has thrown 347 passes without an interception dating back to his last pick in a win last October over Vanderbilt. He had seen a tweet about how close he was coming into with 306 straight attempts.
“Obviously, I’ll probably throw an interception this year, so I’m not too worried about it," Cook said. "I’m just trying to do the best I can.”
Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-2) now has lost four straight overall.
Commodores coach Clark Lea started senior Ken Seals at quarterback to give sophomore AJ Swann time to heal up a bruised right elbow after he wasn't able to work enough in practice. Seals ran for a 6-yard TD putting Vanderbilt up 7-3 in the first quarter and tried to rally the Commodores in the fourth quarter.
“I’ve got so much respect for him,” Lea said of how Seals has handled his college career. “I’m really proud of him. I’m disappointed in the game. Obviously we want to win, and we’re experiencing the pain of growth and we want to be ahead of where we are and I think that's really normal.”
Missouri answered with Schrader's TD early in the second, and Cook put the Tigers up 17-7 with a 12-yard TD pass to Wease just before halftime. Cook made it 21 straight points as he opened the third with an 18-yard TD pass to Burden for a 24-7 lead.
That put Burden over 100 yards receiving for a fourth straight game.
THE TAKEAWAY
For Missouri. Cook is blossoming this season after being questionable with an injured knee. He completed 25 of his first 29 passes, and he completed passes to eight different receivers. The junior quarterback, who hadn't thrown for 300 yards in a game before this season, posted his fourth straight such game.
SEC RECORD
The Missouri quarterback topped the mark Andre Woodson previously set with 325 attempts without an interception between 2006 and 2007. The previous Missouri mark had been 254 by Chase Daniel.
Drinkwitz said being a smart, disciplined decision-maker is the mark of a good quarterback.
“He’s playing smart, not conservative,” Drinkwitz said. "When it needs to go deep, he’s been able to hit those deep balls. When he needs to take some check downs, he’s done that. He just hasn’t put the ball in jeopardy very much. It’ll happen at some point. But, you know, so far, so good.”
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Missouri: The Tigers should move up at least one spot with No. 22 Florida's loss to Kentucky.
UP NEXT
Missouri will host No. 13 LSU before a sold-out stadium. Kickoff will be at 11am and the game will air on ESPN.
Without Daniels, Jayhawks struggle to keep up with Longhorns
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jonathon Brooks and balance. Texas has been using both to put teams away through the first half of the season.
Brooks rushed for 217 yards and two touchdowns as No. 3 Texas piled up more than 600 total yards in a 40-14 win over No. 24 Kansas, which lost standout quarterback Jalon Daniels in pregame warmups with back stiffness.
Quinn Ewers passed for 325 yards and ran 30 yards for the game's first score. Texas (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) also got another standout game from its defense, which has surrendered just three touchdowns in the past three games.
Brooks, who was behind freshman C.J. Baxter on the depth chart when the season started, now has three consecutive 100-yard rushing games and a team high six touchdowns. He averages 7.0 yards per carry.
“He is a home run hitter for us right now,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian.
Brooks' first touchdown came on a 54-yard ru n. His second came after Texas recovered a fourth-down fumble, putting the Longhorns ahead 26-14 late in the third quarter.
His only blemish Saturday was getting chased down from behind on a 67-yard run.
“That (defender) was fast,” Brooks said.
Texas finished with 336 yards rushing and 661 yards overall, and wore down Kansas (4-1, 1-1) in the second half. The Longhorns blew the game open in the fourth quarter with Ewer's touchdown pass to Adonai Mitchell and the quarterback's second touchdown run.
“We can run and pass,” Brooks said. “We just kept going back to (the run), breaking the other team's will and being really physical.”
Sarkisian said Texas is gaining confidence it can win with any game plan.
“We keep talking about being versatile and finding different ways,” Sarkisian said. “Championship teams get better during the season, I think that’s something we’ve done.”
Kansas was hamstrung by the unexpected loss of Daniels, the preseason Big 12 offensive player of the year, who was with the team at the start of warmups. But he didn't finish them, leaving the offense with backup Jason Bean. Kansas managed just 260 total yards.
“We tried to get him ready. We thought we could get him out there,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “It is what it is .... We just never got in sync."
Bean passed for 136 yards and a 58-yard touchdown to Trevor Wilson that pulled Kansas within six points early in the third quarter. But missing Daniels, the hero of Kansas' upset win here in double-overtime in 2021, turned the Jayhawks heavily reliant on a running game that struggled.
Daniels also missed the first game of the season with back problems. Texas hasn't faced an opponent's starting quarterback since beating Alabama and Jalen Milroe in the second game of the season.
Leipold said he would not speculate on how big of a difference Daniels could have made if healthy.
“That's not fair to Jason, it's not fair to Jalon and honestly, it's not fair to this football team,” Leipold said.
THE TAKEAWAY
Despite giving up the big rushing yards, the Jayhawks' defense played pretty well in the Texas heat in the mid-90s for three quarters. Two Texas drives ended near the endzone with Longhorns field goals instead of touchdowns, and Texas missed two more kicks. Kansas even snagged the first interception thrown by Ewers this season, That kept the Jayhawks in the game, but the constant pounding from Brooks and Baxter in the fourth quarter finished them off.
WILD PLAY
Kansas’ first touchdown was a wild one. Bean bolted into open field on an option keeper before he was drilled by Texas safety Jalon Catalon. The ball popped out and bounced right to the Jayhawks’ Daniel Hinshaw, who was trailing the play. It was a simple scoop and score for Hishaw, who finished off the final 18 yards to the end zone.
UP NEXT:
Kansas hosts new Big 12 member Central Florida on Saturday. Kickoff is at 3pm and the game will be aired on Fox.
#2 Michigan Wolverines rout Huskers in Lincoln 45-7
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — For a first road game, Saturday couldn't have gone much better for second-ranked Michigan.
J.J. McCarthy passed for two touchdowns to Roman Wilson and ran for another, and the defense shut out Nebraska until the final five minutes in a 45-7 victory in record heat at Memorial Stadium.
Michigan (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) made fast work of the Cornhuskers (2-3, 0-2), scoring on its first three possessions and leading 28-0 at half.
“It was an important task, critical that we come in here on the road and play good football, and I thought our guys did that, and then some, in all phases,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Can't start a game better than we did today.”
On a sunny afternoon when the temperature reached a record high of 96 degrees shortly after kickoff, Michigan went 75 yards in 11 plays on the first series. The Wolverines converted a fourth-and-1 two plays before McCarthy threw a dart to Wilson in the back of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown.
Safety Omar Brown just missed getting a hand on the ball as he ran in front of Wilson in coverage. Wilson somehow pulled the ball in with safety Isaac Gifford hanging all over him.
“What a catch that was,” Harbaugh said. “The guys up in the press box were telling me just how good it was when they were watching in on the replay, keeping his feet inbounds. Amazing.”
McCarthy said he thought Gifford would be called for pass interference and was surprised Wilson was able to hang on.
“I didn't even know he caught the ball,” McCarthy said, adding that he knew something good happened when he saw offensive lineman Karsen Barnhart's raised arms. “I was just like, 'Man, that's God, and Roman Wilson.' ”
The Wolverines got the ball right back when defensive lineman Kenneth Grant intercepted a tipped ball, and Blake Corum scored on a 20-yard burst up the middle three plays later.
McCarthy broke off a 21-yard TD run and found Wilson in the left corner of the end zone for a 16-yard TD just before half.
“You hate these kinds of losses,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “They all count the same, but they hurt when you have this type of loss.”
McCarthy led a long touchdown drive on Michigan's first series of the second half and then turned the game over to his backups, Indiana transfer Jack Tuttle and Jayden Denegal. McCarthy finished 12 of 16 for 156 yards.
Corum had 74 yards on 16 carries to lead a Michigan rushing attack that produced a season-high 249 yards. The Huskers entered the game second nationally in rushing defense, having allowed none of their first four opponents to run for more than 58 yards.
Wilson's two touchdown receptions gave him a Big Ten-leading eight for the season.
Nebraska, which has scored in 344 straight games since 1996, ended Michigan's shutout bid when Joshua Fleeks ran 74 yards for a touchdown with 4:17 left.
The Huskers, who came in as the top rushing team in the Big Ten, was held to a season-low 106 yards on the ground.
“We can’t sit around and pout about this game,” Gifford said. “You've got to take it out on the next team you play.”
THE TAKEAWAY
The Huskers have lost 23 in a row against Top 25 opponents since 2016.
HOSPITALIZED HUSKER
Linebacker Luke Reimer, who was injured last week but was expected to play, was taken to a hospital Saturday morning when he began experiencing pain at the team hotel. Rhule did not have an update on his condition or whether he remained hospitalized Saturday night.
UP NEXT
Nebraska visits Illinois on Friday. Kickoff is at 7pm and the game will be aired on FS1
BYE WEEK
Kansas State got a week to relax and recover before they will travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma on Friday to take on Oklahoma State. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30pm and the game will be aired on ESPN.