The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 35

COLLEGE GAMEDAY TECH MISSOURI TIGERS 41 "t- Callahan, Big Red are showing shades of black and blue 3 -r," if the Huskers used to put up in their heyday. "We really didn't close down the quarterback the way we should have on the read. We just have to do a better job getting off the blocks." The Blackshirts are officially a myth now, like Paul Bunyan or the Easter Bunny. The coaching staff didn't seem to make significant adjustments after being down only 16-14 at the break. When the visitors took the second-half kickoff, drove 80 yards and went up 22-14 on Lane's 2-yard touchdown run, you could almost feel the air leaving Memorial Stadium.

Steve Pederson may be gone he was fired as athletic director Monday and replaced by former football coach Tom Osborne but the same old problems persist. "He just acted rather Nixonian in how he did things," Mike Grooms, another Des Moines Husker fan, said of Pederson last week. "He had to go." Many feel Callahan will be next, if he isn't toast in Osborne's mind already. The dynamic between current and former Nebraska coaches has been cordial, if a little awkward. A minor fire was snuffed late last week when the memoirs of a former Huskers trainer, slated to be published next month, reportedly included a passage in which Callahan referred to Osborne as "a crusty old (expletive)." The university quickly issued statements by Osborne and Callahan defusing the comments, but this marriage might already be damaged beyond repair.

Just like the Huskers' season. Columnist Sean Keeler can be reached at (515) 284-8102 or at sekeelerdmreg.com KEELER, from Page 1C like in that "Freaky Friday" movie. The Huskers are 4-4, 1-3 in the Big 12 North, ahead of only Iowa State, and with three of the next four on the road, there's talk a lot of talk, actually that they might not reach the postseason at all. The last time that happened, in 2004, Callahan's first season, fans were furious. Now, many, like Donohoe, are almost speechless.

"It's one thing when you get beat on big plays," Kevin Paul offered as he left the stadium. Paul is the president of Iowans 4 Nebraska, Central Iowa's Huskers alumni chapter. "But just to have somebody ram it down your throat time and time again. The afternoon proved almost as ironic for Nebraska fans as it was painful. A quarterback wearing No.

7 was running wild in Lincoln, notching first downs with his legs, chewing up precious clock. Only instead of Eric Crouch, it was the Aggies' Stephen McGee. The Huskers defended option game as if they'd never seen one before and considering these were mostly Callahan's recruits, they probably hadn't. McGee rumbled for 167 yards, and when he wasn't squirting through a hole, bowling-ball tailback Jorvorskie Lane (268 pounds, 130 rushing yards, four TDs) was creating one. "They played a little more read-option than they have in the past, but I thought they had a good blend of everything," Callahan said of the Aggies, who ran for a whopping 359 yards on the day the kind of numbers Texas beats Baylor again Waco, Texas Colt McCoy overthrew a wide-open receiver in the end zone, then the Texas quarterback made things worse with a bad pitch and personal foul penalty on the next play.

There were also two interceptions, including a perfect throw to a Baylor linebacker right after halftime. Even with all those mistakes, McCoy still wound up having a solid game and the 19th-ranked Longhorns beat Baylor again, 31-10 Saturday. It was their 10th straight victory in the series. "We still had the energy," said McCoy, who McCoy was 25-of-34 for 293 yards and a touchdown with 44 yards rushing. "We competed even when we didn't play well.

We made some mistakes. I personally made some mistakes." While the outcome wasn't as lopsided as usual Texas won the previous nine by an average of 41 points the margin was a bit deceiving. Texas (6-2, 2-2 Big 12) still led by only a touchdown when Deon Beasley intercepted a pass with nine minutes left at the Baylor 43. Five plays later, including a 31 -yard pass from McCoy to Jamaal Charles, Vondrell McGee scored on a 4-yard run to make it 24-10. Marcus Griffin returned another interception 91 yards for a touchdown with 5:47 left for Texas, which has followed its first 0-2 conference start since 1956 with two victories.

Kansas tops Colorado Boulder, Colo. Maybe it's time the Kansas defense starts getting as much attention as the high-powered offense. The No. 15 Jayhawks forced three turnovers and stopped Colorado on downs twice in the fourth quarter, escaping Folsom Field with a 19-14 victory on Saturday. It was the Jayhawks' first win in Boulder since 1995.

Kansas (7-0, 3-0 Big 12) has won seven straight to start the season for only the second time since 1968. The team also started 7-0 in 1995. The Buffaloes scored with 3:42 remaining on Cody Hawkins' 5-yard pass to Byron Ellis to make the score 19-14. After the Jayhawks' offense went three-and-out, the defense stepped up. Colorado lost six yards on the final drive before turning it over on downs.

The Jayhawks had gained at least 400 yards of offense and scored 30 or more points in every game coming in, but the Buffaloes limited them to 333 yards of offense. The Buffaloes (4-4, 2-2) couldn't put the clamps on Kansas sophomore Todd Reesing, though. Reesing gained 84 yards on seven carries, including a 53-yard scamper in the first half to set up a field goal. STANDINGS CONF, ALL JEFF ROBERSONASSOCIATED PRESS Missouri defensive lineman Stryker Sulak leaps over Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell for a touchdown off an interception in the first quarter Saturday afternoon. Missouri ranks a 10' in its defense of Tech TEXAS 1 RED esJi Oklahoma Stillwater, Okla.

Jason Ricks kicked a 26-yard field goal with 2 seconds remaining and Oklahoma State overcame the best passing performance of Josh Freeman's career to beat No. 25 Kansas State 41-39 Saturday night. The Wildcats (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) called all three of their timeouts as Ricks was setting up, but his kick was right down the middle to cap a comeback made necessary when K-State coach Ron Prince decided to go for two points Instead of the tie after Leon Patton's 1 1 -yard touchdown run with 1:10 remaining. Josh Freeman threw for a homa last week and is 2-1 during a three-game stretch against ranked opponents. "A game like that against such a good team, and the damage they can do in seconds, I'm very proud of our team," coach Gary Pinkel said.

Temple missed his second straight game with an ankle injury, adding a bruise to a sprain in practice on Wednesday. Missouri still won for the 13th time in 14 home games. The score was a season low Farley Lewis Western Illinois 267 yards to 44 in the second half. Leathernecks running back Herb Donaldson, the leading rusher in the conference, ran for just one yard in the final two quarters, finishing with his second-lowest total of the season at 80 yards. Donaldson rushed just twice in the second half as Northern Iowa scored 28 points and the Leathernecks went to the air.

"I was on the sidelines," said Donaldson, who came off a 314-yard performance in last week's win over Missouri State. "That's the perfect way to stop us." The Panthers rushed 66 times for 355 yards. wn RAIDERS 10 State kick career-best 404 yards and three touchdowns to star receiver Jordy Nelson, who also caught the go-ahead 2-polnt conversion, but It wasn't enough for the Wildcats. Tommy Devereaux returned the ensuing kickoff to the Oklahoma State 42, and Zac Robinson threw a 24-yard pass that tailback Dantrell Savage leaped and twisted to catch to set up Ricks' field goal. The Cowboys (5-3, 3-1) ran the ball twice to drain the clock and get the ball to the center for the field.

Robinson was 11-for-25 for 181 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Dez Bryant. for Texas Tech, which entered the game first in points (50) and yards (582) per game. Missouri scored on its first four possessions of the second half to top its 40-point average, though the game didn't become the expected points-fest by two prolific passers. "We played like a coalition, a banana republic type of deal," coach Mike Leach said. "This little group, that little group might play for a period of time.

We never played together." Corey Lewis rambled for 166 yards and two touchdowns, and Darian Williams added 102 yards on the ground. "Our game plan was to play flat-back football, we call it just to pound it down their throat, continually getting 6 to 8 yards per carry," said Sanders, who threw just eight passes, completing all of them, and rushed for two scores. He was never sacked the third time this season his jersey stayed clean. "We pounded the ball," Panthers offensive lineman Chad Rinehart said. "It's always nice as an offensive lineman when they rely on you a lot.

We kept on getting yards on every down and no negative plays." Even the punting game served as a microcosm of Saturday's blowout. Northern Iowa punted once for a solid 48 yards. The Leathernecks punted six times, with one going minus-2 ByR.B. FALLSTROM ASSOCIATED PRESS Columbia, Mo. For a change, Chase Daniel was a member of the supporting cast for Missouri.

The Tigers' most well-rounded effort of the season made it possible. Missouri's improving defense intercepted Graham Harrell four times, returning one for a score, while throttling the nation's top offense in a 41-10 win over No. 22 Texas Tech on Saturday. Texas Tech forced Missouri, minus injured Tony Temple, to run the ball, and the Tigers did so with great success. They gained 212 yards on the ground and Daniel had 210 yards passing on only 19 attempts, both season lows.

"We've thrown that many in a quarter before," Daniel said. "It just really shows we're multidimensional, we're not just going to throw it around 50-60 times a game. "If the running game is going, we're going to stick with it." Backup tailback Jimmy Jackson had 59 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. Freshman Derrick Washington added 66 yards on nine carries for Missouri, which rebounded from a 10-point loss at Okla- NORTH PF PA KANSAS 3 0 7 0 321 71 MISSOURI 2 1 6 1 281 157 KANS. ST.

2 2 4 3 259 159 COLORADO 2 2 4 4 197 190 NEBRASKA 1 3 4 4 213 255 IOWA ST 0 4 1 7 121 246 SOUTH CONF. ALL PF PA OKLA. 3 1 7 1 356 133 TEX. 3 1 6 2 257 182 OKLA. ST.

3 1 5 3 276 207 TEXAS 2 2 6 2 277 154 TEX. TECH 2 2 6 2 360 185 BAYLOR 0 4 3 5 163 258 Coach Bill Callahan and the Nebraska Huskers have dropped three straight games after starting the season 4-1. ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Illinois CONF. ALL No. 1 Panthers blow out SATURDAY'S RESULTS Oklahoma 17, Iowa State 7 Texas 31, Baylor 10 Texas 36, Nebraska 14 Missouri 41, Texas Tech 10 Kansas 19, Colorado 14 Oklahoma State 41, Kansas State 39 SATURDAY, OCT.

27 GAMES 11 a.m. Colorado at Texas Tech 1:00 Iowa State at Missouri 2:30 Nebraska at Texas 2:30 Baylor at Kansas State 6:00 Kansas at Texas SATURDAY'S BEST NORTH WL WL PF PA N. IOWA 3 0 7 0 236 91 S.ILLINOIS 3 1 7 1 360 125 W. ILLINOIS 2 1 5 3 213 160 ILLINOIS ST. 2 2 4 4 258 223 Y'TOWN STATE 1 2 5 3 217 158 MISSOURI ST.

1 3 4 4 264 326 INDIANA ST. 0 4 0 8 95 370 Western yards, and the punter himself downing the ball. And so it went. All night long. This is very satisfying," Farley said, "because of how we won." UNI 27 66-355 93 8-8-0 29 2-1 3-15 37:08 7 7 21 3 0 0 Will First clowns Rushes-yards Passing Comp-Alt-Int Return Yards Punts-Avg.

Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards Time of Possession N. Iowa 7 W. Illinois 0 28-114 49 5- 16-1 14 6- 28.2 0-0 2-10 22:52 42 3 First Quarter C.Lewis 15 run (Hallgren kick), 2:55. Second Quarter WFG T.Rowan 22,8:48. Sanders 5 run (Hallgren kick), 1:37.

Third Quarter C.LbwIs 6 run (Hallgren kick), 10:05. Fourth Quarter W.Lewis 11 pass from Sanders (Hallgren kick), 14:53. Sanders 11 run (Hallgren kick), 13:08. Law 6 run (Hallgren kick), 9:42. A 15,330.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing N. Iowa. Lewis 29-166. D.Williams 19-102. Law 7-38, Sanders 4-27, Brookins 5-25, Team 2-lminus 3).

Illinois. Donaldson 17-80, Barr 4-19. Douglas 6-15, Wells 1-0. Passing Iowa, Sanders 8-8-0-93. W.

Illinois. Barr 3-12-1-19. Wells 2-4-0-30. Receiving N. Iowa, C.Lewis 3-33, Gray 2-29, Howard 2-20, Lewis 1-11.

W. Illinois. Donaldson 2-13. Warner 1 -21 Douglas 1 -9. T.Speight 1-6.

PANTHERS, from Page 1C could see the wear and tear on them." The Panthers (7-0, 3-0 Gateway) own an eight-game winning streak dating to last season. With a home win Saturday against Youngstown State, they would match the program's best start in 15 years. Northern Iowa started 8-0 in 1992 and advanced to the Division I-AA playoff semifinals before falling to the aforementioned Penguins. "We're fortunate to be 7-0," quarterback Eric Sanders said. "But there are still some tough battles ahead of us." Saturday's game didn't play out that way.

"It was a butt-kicking," said Leathernecks coach Don Patterson, whose team fell to 5-3, 2-1 in the conference. How commanding was the Panther performance? The Panthers outgained PASSING C-A Yds TP Freeman, KSU 36-51 404 3 Harrell.TT 44-69 397 1 McCoy, Texas 25-34 293 1 Hawkins, Colorado 27-44 287 2 Keller, Nebraska 26-44 275 1 RUSHING Att. Yds TP McGee, 35 167 0 Lane, 15 130 4 Savage, OSU 28 124 1 Robinson, OSU 16 109 0 Reesing, Kansas 7 84 0 RECEIVING No. Yds TP Nelson, KSU 12 176 3 Lucky, Nebraska 13 125 0 Amendola.TT 11 94 0 DeVree, Colorado 7 90 1 Hamilton, ISU 7 88 0 SATURDAY'S GAMES Western Kentucky 56, Indiana State 7 Southern Illinois 45, Missouri State 10 Illinois State 27, Youngstown State 22 Northern Iowa 42, Western Illinois 3 SATURDAY, OCT. 27 1:30 Western Illinois at Illinois State 1:30 Indiana State at Missouri State 4:05 Youngstown State at No.

Iowa SATURDAY, NOV. 3 11 a.m. Youngstown St. Indiana St. 1:00 Northern Iowa at Missouri State 1:05 So.

Illinois at Western Illinois 6:00 Illinois St. at North Dakota St. SATURDAY, NOV. 10 Noon Youngstown St. at W.

Illinois 1:00 Missouri St. at SE Missouri St. 1:30 Southern Illinois at Illinois St. 5:05 Northern Iowa at Indiana St. w.

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