Monday, November 8, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 5
Minnesota victory shocks Penn State
The Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE. Pa. — With one miracle play, Minnesota ended No. 2 Penn State's national championship hopes.
The Gophers completed a tipped pass on fourth-and-16 with 1:22 left, setting up Dan Nystrom's 32-yard field goal, which beat the Nittany Lions 24-23 Saturday.
Billy Cockerham's pass bounced off receiver Ron Johnson's hands and Arland Bruce dived to scoop it up at the 13-yard line. Three plays later, Nystrom split the uprights spoiling Joe Paterno's bid for a third national title.
Watching from across the field, Paterno thought the pass was incomplete.
"I though we batted it down." Paterno said after his 400th game as head coach. "Then all of a sudden, on the sideline, they were yelling. 'He caught it! He caught it!"
Nystrom, a freshman who earlier missed an extra point, said he was confident as he prepared for his game-winning field goal.
After Nystrom's kick, the Gophers (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) jumped for joy as the stunned players from Penn State (9-1, 5-1) walked off the field.
The Gophers' sixth win clinched their first winning season since 1990 and made them eligible for a bowl for the first time since 1986. It was Minnesota's first win against Penn State in five tries, and the Gophers' first victory against a Top 5 team since beating No. 2 Michigan 20-17 in 1986.
They beat a top-25 team for the first time since upsetting No. 23 Syracuse 35-33 in 1996. They had been close all season, losing to Wisconsin, Ohio State and Purdue by a combined 11 points.
"The best team wins, and you only have to be the best team for three hours, or in this case, three seconds," said Minnesota coach Glen Mason.
TOP 25 FOOTBALL SCORES
- Minnesota 24, at No. 2 Penn State 23
- No. 3 Virginia Tech 22, at Virginia 20
- No. 4 Tennessee 24, Notre Dame 14
No. 4 Tennessee 38, Notre Dame 14
No. 4 Tennessey 38, Norte Dame 11
No. 5 Florida 13, Vanderbilt 6
Virginia 45, No. 7 Georgia Tech 38
No. 10 Wisconsin 28, at No. 17 Purdue 21
No. 12 Alabama 23, Louisiana State 17
No. 10 Wisconsin 28, at No. 17 Purdue 2
No. 12 Alabama 24, Louisiana State 17
No. 16 Michigan 37, Northwestern 3
No. 13 Marshall 28, at Kent 16
No. 14 Michigan 27, North Carolina 3
10. To McMurray 37, Rainbow Hill
Alabama-Birmingham 36, No. 18 East
Caddisfield
No. 19 Michigan State 23, No. 20 Ohio State 7
No. 22 Miami (Fla.) 33, at Pittsburgh 3
No. 23 Mississippi 38, Arkansas 16
No. 25 Southern Mississippi 20, at Memphis 5
Colorado spooks K-State
The Associated Press
MANHATTAN, Kan.— After many easy victories, No. 6 Kansas State got what it probably needed most the week before Nebraska — a big scare.
For worried players and white-knuckled fans, Saturday's 20-14 victory against Colorado brought back haunting memories of last year's double-overtime 36-33 loss to Texas & M, when K-State wasted a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter of the Dixie Bowl.
Big 12 title game and to a shot at the national championship.
"It was starting to get pretty scary," said defensive back
Lamar Chapman, whose
second interception set up what turned to be the game-winning field goal for the Wildcats (9.0 overall, 6.0 Big 12).
Colorado quarterback Mike Moschetti, shut down almost entirely by Kansas State's quick-hitting defense, finally found the range when he connected with Jevon Green on a 64-yard touchdown pass play that trimmed the Wildcats' lead to 20-7 with 62:1 left.
After a Kansas State punt, Moschetti hit Green on the left sideline and the 6-foot-2 junior broke several tackles during a 70-yard scoring play.
All of a sudden, it was 2014 with 412 left. And, in another eerie reminder of that crushing loss to Texas A&M, the crowd had been cheering just a few minutes earlier at the news of
Minnesota's upset of No. 2 Penn State.
In the Big 12 title game, Texas A&M's rally had coincided almost exactly with the announcement that UCLA had lost to Miami, leaving the Wildcats a clear path to the national championship game — had they beaten the Aggies.
Finally, on fourth-and-6 from their 38,
the Colorado comeback ended when
moseletti's pass
fell incomplete
with 1:36 to go.
with 1:36 to go.
"We needed a game like this when we hold onto a lead in the last minutes," defensive end Monty Beisel said.
"Moeblybeil, we
The Associated Press
NORMAN. Okla.
BIG 12 FOOTBALL SCORES
NORMAN, OMA
Missouri has been on the losing end of games with Oklahoma more than once, but Coach Larry Smith said Saturday's 37- defeat was the most embarrassing he has
e  v  e  r
■ Kansas 45, Baylor 10
■ No. 6 Kansas State 20, Colorado 14
■ No. 9 Nebraska 37, No. 21 Texas
■ A84A 0
- No. 11 Texas 34, at Oklahoma State 21
- Texas Tech 28, Iowa State 16
- Oklahoma 37, Missouri 0
can build on that going to Nebraska."
Kansas State's struggling offense had only one first down when Quincy Morgan got 10 yards behind cornerback Damen Wheeler and teamed with Jonathan Beasley on a 68-yard touchdown pass play on third-and-11 with 1:53 left in the first quarter.
Beasley went nine yards on a quarterback draw, and Joe Hall bulled into the end zone with 37 seconds left in the half. The Wildcats were um 14-0 at the half.
Adam Helm replaced Beasley at quarterback and guided the Wildcats to a first down at the 8. Four plays later, Rheem came in to kick a 20-yard, setting the Kansas State record with his 14th straight successful kick.
encoun tered.
tered.
"They're a good football team, but they're not .37 points better than we are," Smith said. "Our
offense absolutely stunk today. It was the most pathetic thing I've ever seen in my life."
The Sooners (5,3, 3-2 Big 12 Conference) pushed their series lead to 59-23-5 against the Tigers and beat Missouri for the 15th consecutive time in Norman.
The Tigers (4-5, 1-5 Big 12)
showed early promise.
Missouri defensive end Justin
Smith stopped fullback Seth
Littrell in the Oklahoma
backfield on a fourth-down
play at the Missouri 38.
But Missouri was unable to
convert on fourth-and-inches at the Oklahoma 26 on the ensuing possession and never recovered.
Tim Duncan's 25-yard field goal and a 5-yard touchdown pass from Josh Heupel to Seth Littrell put the Sooners up 10-10 in the first half.
From there it got worse for the Tigers, who have now lost four of their last five games, including three on the road.
Oklahoma largest home crowd of the se as o n (74,966) saw the Sooners roll up 436 vards of offense
behind Heupel. The junior completed 27 of 46 passes for 260 yards before he exited early in the fourth quarter.
"Overall, I was very pleased with the players' effort and execution in most parts of the game," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said after the Sooners pushed closer to their first winning season since 1994.
After losing running back Michael Thornton for the year in a 38-24 loss to Colorado a week ago, the Sooners started redshift freshman Quenton Griffin against the Tigers.
Griffin led the Sooners with 69 yards rushing on 14 carries.
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