By MATT PIKE
Bye weeks: Northwest Missouri State (Next game: 10/10 vs UCM @ 1:30pm), Kansas State (Next game: 10/10 vs No. 20 Houston @ 2:30pm on Fox)
No. 25 Tigers stomp No. 8 Gators for first Top 10 win since 2013
Tied 10-10 with just over four minutes remaining in the first half, the No. 25 Missouri Tigers scored 35 unanswered points to pull away from the No. 8 Florida Gators in a 45-17 win at Faurot Field on Homecoming
The Tigers saw career games by running back Jamal Roberts and quarterback Austin Simmons as Mizzou piled up 560 yards of offense and snapped a nine game losing streak against ranked opponents and the first win against a Top 10 team since 2013, giving head coach Eli Drinkwitz his first regular-season win over a top-10 team in 11 tries.
Missouri and Florida ended the first quarter tied 3-3 after the Gators Patrick Durkin hit a 20 yard field goal and the Tigers Blake Craig knocked through a 32 yard kick. To start the second quarter, Mizzou pulled ahead with the first touchdown of the game, a 47 yard passing touchdown from Simmons to Donovan Olugbode, but again the Gators tied the game with 4:26 remaining in the half on a 12 yard pass from Aaron Philo to Dallas Wilson.
That's when the Tigers offense exploded. Simmons connected for the first time on the season with Caleb Goodie for a score on a 31 yard touchdown pass, capping a five play drive. Then, after forcing a Florida punt, the Tigers consumed the remaining clock in the first half ending with Craig hitting a 50 yard field goal to give Missouri a 20-10 lead at the halftime break
Roberts scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter, his first of three on the day, scoring from five yards out and after another Gators punt Mizzou extended their lead with another field goal to end a 10 play drive, this time off the leg of Craig from 52 yards away, pushing the Tigers ahead 30-10 heading into the final quarter. Missouri forced another Florida punt, and starting the fourth quarter scored another touchdown, following a 77 yard run by Roberts, ending a four play drive with a one yard rushing score from Roberts.
Struggles continued for the Gators in the final quarter of regulation, as fans began to pour out of the stadium, and in one play after a Florida punt Roberts scored his final touchdown, and the Tigers final touchdown, of the game scoring on an 80 yard rush. The Gators ended the game scoring one final touchdown on a 42 yard pass from backup quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. to TJ Abrams, before Mizzou ran out the remaining clock.
Simmons was 23-for-30 through the air for 340 yards with two touchdowns. Roberts rushed 24 times for 211 yards with three touchdowns and added three catches for 29 yards. Cayden Lee had eight catches for 110 yards, his third 100 yard receiving game this season, while Olugbode had six catches for 94 yards and a score, his sixth touchdown in five games. Goodie, who had one catch all season, had two catches for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Missouri (4-1, 1-1 SEC) next hosts Texas A&M (3-2, 1-2 SEC) on Saturday at 11am. Pregame will air at 10am on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).
MoWest breaks school passing record but fall to No. 10 Emporia State
The Missouri Western State University football team put up 610 yards of offense, with a school record 494 passing yards, but missed chances in the red zone cost MoWest in a 34-22 loss to No. 10 Emporia State at Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas.
Emporia took the lead quickly in the game, scoring in the first 62 seconds of the game on a 19 yard touchdown run by Camden Crooks to take an early 7-0 lead, and never trailed at any point. MoWest answered with a pair of field goals from Latrell Armstrong on consecutive drives, from 23 and 28 yards respectively, to cut the lead to one point late in the first quarter, but the Hornets extended the lead with a 45 yard passing touchdown Jamison Sarver to Ondraye Beasley.
Trailing 14-6 late in the opening quarter, the Griffons put up their first touchdown of the day when Isaiah Tate found Crew Myers for a 57-yard touchdown pass, but failed the two point conversion attempt, going into the second quaerter trailing 14-12. The Hornets added a three yard touchdown pass from Sarver to Malik O'Atis and a 34 yard field goal by Brandon McCary in the second quarter to continue extending their lead, while the Griffons could only manage a 27 yard field goal from Armstrong midway through the quarter, going into halftime trailing Emporia 24-15 at the break.
MoWest failed to convert on several chances in the third quarter with four possessions all ending with punts. McCary added to the Hornets lead in the third hitting a 30 yard field goal, before early in the fourth quarter Emporia State capped their scoring pushing the lead to 34-15 with a one yard touchdown run by Victor Chionuma. Less than two minutes later, Tate found Emmanuel Ellison on a 31-yard touchdown pass to cap the scoring, after MoWests final two drives ended with a turnover on downs and an interception.
Tate was 28-of-55 through the air for a record 494 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Myers had a career-best nine catches for 175 yards and a score while Ellison had three catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. Rickie Dunn led the way on the ground with 18 carries for 99 yards.
MoWest (2-3, 1-2 MIAA) is back home on Saturday to face Nebraska-Kearney (0-5, 0-3 MIAA) for Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast as the MIAA Game of the Week on 38 The Spot.
No. 4 Ravens get comeback win over No. 23 Wildcats in Heart opener
The No. 4 Benedictine Ravens foorball team earned a comeback 34-32 win in a Top 25 battle against No. 23 Baker University after trailing by 15 points in the second half.
The Ravens defense both started and ended the scoring in the game. A 91 yard interception return by Isaiah Hasten started the scoring in the game, giving Benedictine a 7-0 lead in the opening quarter. The Wildcats answered with a touchdown of their own with a one yard rush by Gage Greer, however the extra point missed going off the upright for Benedictine to hold a 7-6 lead going into the second quarter.
A 37 yard field goal from Kylar Haarhuis extended the Ravens lead early in the third quarter, before Baker briefly took a lead in the first half as Greer scored again, this time through the air on a one yard pass from Sam Heggeman with the extra point going through this time for a 13-10 Wildcats lead. A six yard touchdown pass from Patrick Heitert to Atchison High School alum Xiomar Hernandez gave the Ravens the lead back, and Benedictine held the 17-16 lead at the halftime break after Cam Arnold hit a 29 yard field goal at the end of the first half.
After the halftime break, the Wildcats scored 16-straight points to take a 32-17 lead in the third quarter. A one yard run from Gavin Fellingham gave Baker the initial lead, before another one yard run from Caleb Perry extended the advantage. A 31 yard field goal from Cody Gast was the final score of the third quarter, and the final score by the Wildcats before the Ravens took over in the final frame of regulation.
A 12 play drive going 59 yards which included a fourth down conversion deep in Baker territory set up the answer for the Benedictine offense as Hernandez rushed in from two yards out to cut into the Wildcats lead. The Ravens defense forced a three-and-out, and taking over on their own 15 yard line Benedictine marched 85 yards on 11 plays before Heitert rushed in for the touchdown from eight yards away before also connecting with Hernandez for a two point conversion to tie the game.
On the ensuing Wildcats drive, Benedictine's Anthony Lonergan intercepted a pass from Heggeman, but the Ravens were forced to punt. Scotty Robertson made a perfect punt, pinning the Wildcats at the two yard line. With their back to the goal line, on the first play, Ravens edge rusher Joseph Abrams shed his blocker and took down Fellingham in the end zone for a safety, giving the Ravens a 34-32 lead. Benedictine killed some clock on their ensuing drive but punted to the Baker 23-yard line with 23 seconds to play and Hasten iced the game with his second interception.
Heitert 7-of-13 for 84 yards through the air with one touchdown and one interception while adding 12 rushes for 30 yards and a score. Hernandez led the Ravens with 15 rushes for 61 yards and added two catches for 14 yards receiving for two total touchdowns with one rushing and one receiving. Titan Osburn had four catches for 80 receiving yards.
Benedictine (5-1, 1-0 Heart South) will next hit the road on Saturday for a 6pm game at Central Methodist University.
Jayhawks pitch dominant shutout victory against Middle Tennesee
The Kansas Jayhawks came back from a bye week, and a week of international travel, and pitched a shutout while putting up a school record in total offense beating Middle Tennessee 55-0 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.
A strong defense and rushing attack helped lead Kansas to the victory. After only getting a 43 yard field goal from Martin Connington in the first quarter, the Jayhawks added 17 points in the second quarter, two rushing touchdowns from Kansas State transfer Dylan Edwards coming in the frame, the first from six yards out and the second from five yards away. Connington added a 35 yard field goal to go up 20-0 at the halftime break.
Edwards scored his third touchdown of the game in the third quarter, rushing in from 12 yards away this time, and late in the quarter the Jayhawks scored their first touchdown through the air as Isaiah Marshall found Nahzae Cox for a 34 yard strike to extend the Kansas lead to 34-0 heading into the final quarter.
The rushing attack continue to pour on the scoring in the fourth quarter for Kansas. Jalen Dupree scored on a five yard rushing touchdown and after a Blue Raiders punt Chase Jenkins added a 14 yard running score. Another punt from Middle Tennessee set up the final score from the Jayhawks with Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman rushing for a 24 yard touchdown, the sixth rushing score of the game.
The shuutout was Kansas's first since a win against Louisiana Tech in 2008. The Jayhawks outgained Middle Tennessee 706-136, including 480-55 rushing, the 706 total yard a new school record. Marshall was 13-of-22 through the air for 161 yards with one touchdown adding 11 rushes for 110 yards.
Edwards rushed 20 times for 137 yards with three touchdowns. It was the first 100-yard rushing game for Edwards with the Jayhawks, the third of his career. Dupree rushed 12 times for 68 yards with a score. Bryson Hayes had three catches for 50 yards while Cam Pickett added six catches for 49 yards. Cox had two catches for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Up next, Kansas (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) returns to Big 12 play at No. 13 Utah on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 9:15pm with the game airing on ESPN.
Huskers defense helps turn tide in win over Maryland
Dwayne McDougle III's 81-yard interception return for a touchdown helped to spark Nebraska in the first half as the Cornhuskers shut down Maryland after that in a 48-23 victory at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Nebraska trailed for the first time this season before the interception. Sean O'Haire gave the Terrapins a lead early in the first with a 25 yard field goal, and after Mekhi Nelson scored on a 19 yard touchdown run, filling in for the injured Jamal Rule, Maryland started to pull away. The Terrapins took the lead back on a 65 yard passing touchdown from Malik Washington to Chris Durr Jr. and O'Haire added field goals of 42 and 32 yards to give Maryland a 16-7 lead.
Nelson cut the Maryland lead to two scoring his second touchdown of the game on the ground from five yards out, but the Terrapins answered extending the lead back to two possessions on a three yard rushing touchdown from DeJuan Williams. Trailing 23-14, that's when McDougle III jumped in front of a pass intended for Kaleb Webb and ran it back all the way for Nebraska’s longest pick six since 2007. The Cornhuskers forced a punt following the interception, and with five seconds left in the half Anthony Colandrea threw a one yard touchdown strike to Luke Lindenmeyer giving Nebraska a 28-23 lead at halftime.
After no scores in the third quarter, the Cornhuskers extended their lead in the fourth quarter, starting early in the final frame with a one yard touchdown run by Vincent Genatone. Colandrea capped the scoring with two touchdown passes, both to Kwazi Gilmer, the first from five yards out after a Maryland punt and the second from 30 yards following a turnover on downs.
Colandrea was 26-of-39 through the air for 238 yards with three touchdowns and one interception adding 10 rushes for 108 yards. Nelson ran 14 times for 39 yards and two scores while Isaiah Mozee ran eight times for 46 yards and also had four catches for 30 yards. Gilmer had 11 catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns.
Nebraska (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) is off to their best start since 2016 with defending national champion and No. 6 Indiana coming to Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff will be at 11am and the game will air on Fox.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.