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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014
PAGE 13A
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Kansas pulls away from CMU after big late plays
STELLA LIANG
@Stelly_Liang
Burned by the big play last week, Kansas defeated Central Michigan 24-10 Saturday by making its own big plays.
None was bigger than wide receiver Justin McCay's 60- yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.
"I thought that play was the turning play in the game," coach Charlie Weis said.
The score was tied 10-10 early in the last period. Sophomore place kicker Matthew Wyman missed a 35-yard field goal attempt on the previous drive, and the team was looking for a spark.
On a third-and-9 from the Kansas 40-yard line, sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart connected with McCay in the middle of the field. McCay ran away from a defender and headed for the end zone.
McCay said that when the opportunity came, he took it, but was also cautious of celebrating too much, too early.
"After the play, I was like Yeah, we're up," but then we have to finish out the game," McCay said. "I can't just dwell on this play."
It might have been McCay's biggest play in a Kansas uniform. McCay is a senior who started out his career at Oklahoma. After sitting out a year due to transfer rules, McCay played in every game
last year, but only had nine catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.
"Him (McCay) getting an opportunity to make a big play like that, it's almost
CHARLIE WEIS Kansas football coach
like payback for all the hard work he's put in," Weis said. Further big plays then sealed the victory for the Jayhawks.
With two minutes left in the game, freshman running back Corey Avery caught a 30-yard touchdown from Cozart. Senior cornerback JaCorey Shepherd followed up on defense by intercepting a pass from Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush.
The Jayhawks took the lead early, just 18 seconds into the game. The quick senior Tony Pierson received the handoff on the opening play and took off.
Weis said the team lined up with four wide receivers and a tight end, so Central Michigan thought it was facing an empty backfield. Pierson, listed as a wide receiver, became the running back on the play and rushed for a 74-yard touchdown.
"I think that Tony's big play early in the game kind of sparked everything, but my biggest concern (energywise) actually was the delay." Weis said.
There were concerns about storms all afternoon. There was almost a 30-minute delay before the third quarter started. No storms ended up reaching Memorial Stadium.
Cozart rebounded from last week's subpar effort by completing 23 of his 33 passing attempts for 226 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Cozart threw short passes for most of the first half, which was efficient enough for the victory. Cozart's main target was senior tight end Jimmay Mundine, who led the team with six catches for 67 yards.
The defense played solid, coming up with three sacks and forcing three turnovers. Junior safety Isaiah Johnson led the team with eight tackles. Junior linebacker Jake Love made two big stops on Central Michigan's offense in the fourth quarter.
Before the game, Weis said this game would set up the Big 12 season, which starts next week with Texas. He and his players were pleased with this effort.
"The locker room was as happy of a locker room as we've had in a long time" Weis said. "Those guys knew the fourth quarter could have gone either way."
Edited by Drew Parks
FRANK WEIRICH/KANSAN
Freshman running back Corey Avery runs past several Central Michigan defenders. Avery racked up 35 yards total in the matchup on Saturday.
Sophomore linebacker Courtney Arnick tackles the Central Michigan running back. Arnick recorded four tackles in the gameSaturday.
FRANK WEIRICH/KANSAN
Indiana upsets No.18 Missouri 31-27 Saturday
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Whatever message Wilson was trying to send, the Hoosiers got it.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — After losing at Bowling Green last week, Indiana coach Kevin Wilson wanted his team to "play with our hair on fire" against Missouri on Saturday.
D'Angelo Roberts scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds remaining and Nate Sudfeld passed for 252 yards and a touchdown to help the Hoosiers upset the 18th-ranked Tigers 31-27.
"We've been talking about how we've been knocking on the door and now you have to knock it down," Wilson said. "We kept tapping on it and hadn't knocked it down."
"It was a really big win. We came out here with fire. We played until the end."
TEVIN COLEMAN Indiana running back
A Missouri player is taken down by Indiana defenders during Saturday's game. The Hoosiers upset the No. 18-seeded Tigers 31-27
After giving up 10 consecutive points to Missouri in the fourth quarter, the Hoosiers (2-1) traveled 75 yards on six plays to reclaim the lead for good. Tevin Coleman ran 44 yards to the Missouri 15-yard line to setup the game-winning score.
Indiana extended its final drive thanks to a pass interference penalty on Missouri's John Gibson on fourth-and-6 at the Hoosiers' 29. Sudfeld attempted to find Dominique Booth across the middle of the field, but Gibson wrapped his arms around the receiver before he could make the catch.
in your mouth," Missouri linebacker Michael Scherer said. "This should have never happened, but it did, so we've got to rebound and we've got to work. That's all there is to it."
"You have a bad taste
Indiana entered the game as a double-digit underdog, having lost 45-42 to Bowling Green, but recorded 11 tackles for loss, hamstringing Missouri for most of the first three quarters. The Tigers finished with 498 total yards, including 145 in the final 15 minutes.
Missouri looked to be in prime position, too, after Andrew Baggett kicked a 40-yard field goal with 2:20 remaining to cap an 11-play, 70-yard drive for a 27-24 lead. The score followed a 1-yard touchdown pass from Maty Mauk to Sean Culkin
11 minutes earlier to tie the game.
"When was the last time we faced adversity?" Mauk asked. "Obviously, you don't want that, but we're going to bounce back and I have no doubt everybody's going to get healthy and we're going to come out ready to play Saturday."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mauk completed 28 of 47 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns and an interception and Russell Hansbrough added 119 yards on the ground on 10 carries. The Tigers (3-1) play at South Carolina next week to start a stretch of eight consecutive games against Southeastern Conference opponents.
Hansbrough provided sparks for the Tigers in the opening half after walking off the field gingerly on Missouri's second possession after Indiana's Antonio Allen committed a horse-collar tackle. He then gained 111 yards on his first three carries, including 68 yards on a touchdown run to tie the score at 14 midway
through the second quarter.
The Tigers struggled to contain Coleman, though, without defensive end Markus Golden, who injured his left hamstring midweek in practice but is expected to return next week, coach Gary Pinkel said. The senior defensive end has 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks this season.
Coleman opened the game's scoring with a 1-yard run 10 minutes into the game, extending his streak of reaching the end zone to 12 games and tying the school record set by Anthony Thompson in 1988-89.
The junior finished with 132 yards on 19 carries despite sitting the final 20 minutes of the first half with cramps,
Wilson said. He returned during the Hoosiers' first drive after the break.
Indiana gained 493 total yards, 77 short of their season average, and finished just 1 of 14 on third-down conversions. While there are
it was a really big win," Coleman said. "We came out here with fire. We played until the end."
"We ain't got nothing figured out," Wilson said. "We're the same group of bums that played last week. That's the same bunch of bums this week. We'll see how we show up next week."
things to fix, a win against an SEC opponent nonetheless provided some enthusiasm heading into Big Ten play against Maryland.