Rare Big 12 Win For Kansas, Fans Tear Down The Goal Posts

Times have been lean for Kansas Football.


Last year the Jayhawks won three games.  One the year before that.

Turner Gill and Charlie Weis have tried and failed to bring a winner to Lawrence.

Ironically the last head coach to have success at K-U, Mark Mangino was on the opposite sideline as offensive coordinator at Iowa State.

Clint Bowen is getting his shot as head coach after Weis was let go in September and Saturday against Iowa State Bowen got his first win as the Jayhawks head coach as Kansas defeated Iowa State 34-14.



The long suffering fans of Kansas were so giddy that tearing down the goal posts after beating Iowa State was appropriate.





All the spoils of victory were enjoyed by Kansas, The goalposts went down and Bowen received the obligatory Gatorade shower.

 I've always seen those." Bowen said. "They're a lot colder than you think. The old ice punch challenge came through there. Honestly about the greatest feeling of my life as this coaching thing goes."

“This is a bad loss." Iowa State head coach Paul Rhodes said.

It was a convincing win by the Jayhawks but their performance in the last three games of their schedule might impress the powers that be at Kansas to offer Bowen the job full time.

Those last three games are at home against red hot TCU next week.  Then a road trip to a disappointing Oklahoma Sooner team before ending the season hosting Kansas State in the Sunflower Showdown.

A win in one of those games might give Bowen the gig for good.

“I would love nothing more than for him to be the guy full time" Kansas quarterback Michael Cummings said. . "Him as a coach, he is enthusiastic, he’s a former player so he knows what we go through day-in and day-out. I think he is a great leader.”

"When we look at Coach Bowen we see KU all over him, so everybody goes out in practice and in the game and play our hardest for that man.”  Kansas WR/RB Tony Pierson said.

Cmon Kansas, are you serious? You beat a 2 win team and you tore down your goalposts? Straight weak!!! #isuvsku pic.twitter.com/gqJV8xQHC4
— Giles (@giles381) November 9, 2014

KU fans tearing down goal posts for beating Iowa State. This may be the saddest moment in sports history. #isuvsku #Big12 #CollegeFootball
— Big 12 Fanatics (@Big12Fanatic) November 8, 2014

Bison Busted. North Dakota State's 33 Game Winning Streak Ended By Northern Iowa 23-3

The law of averages finally caught up to the North Dakota State Bison.

NDSU's Football Championship Subdivision record 33 game winning streak died today at Northern Iowa as the Panthers defeated the Bison 23-3.




North Dakota State couldn't anything going in the UNI Dome.  The Bison totaled only 175 yards of total offense and held to their lowest point total since a 3-0 loss to Missouri State in the 2010 season finale.

Northern Iowa was led by running back David Johnson who rushed for 133 yards on 28 carries.

"This is really sweet," Johnson said.

Johnson will go do as one of the best running backs in UNI history.  During the game he surpassed the 1,000 yard mark for the third consecutive season becoming the first Panther back to do that.

Panther kicker Michael Schmadeke kicked three field goals of 43, 36 and 42 yards.

Northern Iowa head coach Mark Farley thanked the Panther fans.

Southern California Survives In Tucson 28-26, Missed Last - Second Field Goal Dooms Wildcats

Southern California had a 21-6 lead mid-way through the third quarter.  Then the game was wild.

Arizona's Jared Baker would not be denied the end zone all three of his touchdowns in the second half.

Baker's third touchdown with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter had the Wildcats trailing by two.


Then Arizona recovered the on side kick.

Wildcat kicker Casey Skowron had a chance to win the game with a 36 yard field goal.  It was wide right.


"God’s got a plan, and we’re not exactly sure what his plan is for us yet but he is testing our will, leadership and character."  USC head coach Steve Sarkisian said.  "I couldn't be more proud of our team, just to continue to fight."

"Losing on the last play is not easy. "Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez said.  "We just didn't make a play at the end to win it."

Southern California should give it's game ball to running back Javorius Allen who rushed for 205 yards and three touchdowns.

Allen's third touchdown, a one yard run late in the third quarter to give the Trojans a 28-13 lead proved to be the game winner.

Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon put up some big numbers.  Soloman attempted 72 passes vs Southern California, completed 43 of his throws for 395 yards and a touchdown.

"Anu Solomon competed well."  Rodriguez said.  "Everyone says he struggles and doesn't make every play, but we put a lot on the guy. He didn't make all the big plays in the first half, but for a redshirt freshman playing in a big arena, Solomon has accounted for himself pretty well."

Head Ball Coach Can't Believe South Carolina Lost To Mizzou

Early in the fourth quarter South Carolina wide receiver Pharoh Cooper caught a 23 yard touchdown
pass from Dylan Thompson to give the Gamecocks at 20-7 lead at home.



Though the 'Cocks nailed the extra point head coach Steve Spurrier's gut said go for two.

'I messed up on the two-point conversion, should have gone for it." Spurrier said.  "I wasn’t even thinking about it until I looked up and saw it was 20-7. I had something in my mind that 16-7 might be real good the way our defense was playing. All of a sudden Pharoh [Cooper] caught that [the touchdown pass] and nobody even on the bench thought about it [going for two points]. I looked up and said you know what we should have gone for two, too late now. That was a mistake on my part."

That's because Mizzou scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to stun South Carolina 21-20 leaving the head ball coach sick at his stomach.



"It was a tough night for us."  Spurrier said.

Meanwhile Gary Pinkel was thrilled.

"When things got tough, we just stayed positive." Pinkel said. "Big win for us."

It's big because Mizzou is the only team in the SEC East that's undefeated in conference play.

"We just have got to focus on getting better and the confidence level that you gain for something like this is significant."  Pinkel said.  "We’ve got to be a lot better football team. We’ve got to use this to make us better, not use this to make us feel good.”

USC Couldn't Figure Out Tyler Murphy, Boston College Wins 37-31

Murphy's law was in full display Saturday night at Boston College,

Eagle quarterback Tyler Murphy rushed for 191 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown in B.C.'s 37-31 win over USC.



"Tyler Murphy played like a big time player here tonight." Boston College head coach Steve Addazio said.

"It means a lot to me." Murphy said.  "It’s pretty easy on my part because I have guys who want to work and sacrifice for each other."

Those guys Murphy's referring to is Boston College's offensive line which dominated Southern California's defense allowing the Eagles to rush for 452 yards.

“Running the ball has always been our identity." Boston College center Andy Gallick said.   "We always take pride in it, whether it’s working or not, we always try to get back to it. Getting ready for this weekend, we realized what kind of defensive front we were going against and the fronts USC had, the high caliber talent they have and we took it upon ourselves to show how good of an offensive line we can be. I think that tonight we showed that our rushing game speaks for itself.”

"The goal, obviously, of being Pac-12 champs is very alive for us," USC head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "I thought we came out playing well, and for whatever reason I thought we lost it. I've got to figure that out."

Virginia Tech Does The Hokie-Pokie At The Horseshoe - Hokies Stun #8 Buckeyes 35-21

Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer said back in July that he looks forward to playing games like
Ohio State.  Games like that let's you know where your program is.

Judging from Virginia Tech's 35-21 win over Ohio State at the horseshoe the Hokies are looking good.

"When you play good teams like we play, you’ve got about a 50-50 shot of winning and when you go on the road, it probably goes down a little bit." Beamer said.  "I think this is a big, big win for the program and for the status of our program.”


Not only was it a heart breaker for Ohio State many streaks went out the window.

It's the first time the Buckeyes had lost a home opener since 1978 ending a streak of 35 consecutive home openers.

It's the first time Ohio State has lost at home to an unranked non-conference opponent since 1982 when Florida State defeated the Buckeyes 34-17.

The loss to Virginia Tech also snaps Ohio State's 25 game regular season winning streak, the nations best.

"I'm a little bit surprised. I thought our skilled guys would perform better, I thought we'd protect a little better," Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said. "Coaches don't get surprised, we get disappointed. Obviously, we've just got to work a little harder."

Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Brewer completed 23-36 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns.

Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett was 9 of 29 passing for 219 yards, one touchdown and 3 interceptions.

Barrett could not escape the Hokie defense who sacked him seven times.

Dadi Nicolas and Derek Di Nardo each sacked Barrett twice.

Northern Illinois' BCS Berth Busted By Bowling Green, Falcons Win MAC Championship Game

So much for the MAC Championship Game as a coronation for Northern Illinois' second straight BCS bowl berth.

Bowling Green shocked NIU 47-27 Friday night in Detroit.

(Thanks MAC Digital Network)

Husky quarterback Jordan Lynch played like a mere mortal against Bowling Green completing 21 of 40 passes for 219 yards, one touchdown and 2 interceptions.  Lynch only rushed for 126 yards too.

Lynch was outplayed by Bowling Green quarterback Matt Johnson who was completed 21 of 27 passes for 393 yards and five touchdowns.

"There was a lot of talk about Jordan Lynch being up for the Heisman," Johnson said. "It's well-deserved, but I did take it a little personal."

Secretly Johnson was saying "Take that Jordan Lynch."

If anything this loss in the MAC Championship game and his average performance against Bowling Green may have cost Lynch an invite to the Downtown Athletic Club next weekend as a semi-finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

“It’s tough. You know, we don’t like to lose, and like I said all the credit goes to them.” Lynch said.

"It feels great because we were the team that Northern Illinois was playing, and that 
they were going to go and bust the BCS and that motivated us all week and we brought it out onto the field.” Johnson said.

As far as Bowling Green head coach Dave Clawson is concerned, don't call this an upset.

"You guys are all shocked."  Clawson said.  "We thought we were going to win. We really did. We would have been absolutely crushed if we didn’t win this game. We came into this game truly believing that we were the better team and that we were going to win.”

Here's the Bowling Green locker room celebration.

(Thanks MAC Digital Network)

Ga. Southern Beats Florida: Yes, This Really Happened

In a season of bad luck and things gone wrong, we're pretty sure for the once-proud and always big-talking Florida Gators have hit rock-bottom.

The Gators got beat Saturday afternoon by FBS (D-1AA), Georgia Southern 26-20, in the Swamp.

We could go on for a long, long time about all the mistakes Florida and coach Will Muschamp made and how they got beat by a team that threw for 0 yards, but that would be piling on. Wouldn't it?

The now 7-4 Eagles were expected to be a playoff team on their level and are making the move to the FCS (D-1) Sun Belt next season.

But there still isn't a universe that exists where they should beat Florida, yet they did.

429 yards rushing was more than enough for Southern, who up until Saturday afternoon, had never actually beaten an FCS team, never mind an SEC team some thought might compete for a title.

We won't go into too much detail in this story, I will file a column when I have more time, but suffice to say, Florida coach Will Muschamp has a lot to worry about this holiday season. And as for Florida fans. Well, there's always basketball....

ESPN gives us a look at the last play of the game (And yes, I'm still laughing)