4B • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BIG 12 F00TBALL
MONDAY,SEPT.24,2001
K-State: Freshman running back shines
The Associated Press
MANHATTAN, Kan. Kansas State's 64-0 victory over New Mexico State someday may be remembered not as the day Josh Scobey scored four touchdowns, but as the debut of Darren Sproles.
Reminding people of Barry Sanders, the Wildcat freshman entered the game when its outcome was safely in hand. Then he ran 11 yards to the 1-yard line and scored on the next play. Overall, he had four carries for 49 yards and a touchdown.
His average of 12.3 yards per carry was about what many have expected of the Olathe, Kan., product.
"Darren Sproles ... is a
player to be reckoned with." said Kansas State offensive coordinator Ron Hudson. "He's a hiccup. (The defense) had better break down fast when he's coming at you."
Said Scobey. "Those things he does are things that Barry Sanders does. He's a great back, and he's going to have a heck of a future here at Kansas State."
The Aggies, who have played four straight opponents who are currently ranked, had just 6 yards of total offense in the first period to Kansas State's 195.
For the game, Kansas State outgained New Mexico State 521-114.
Iowa State: Cyclones able to hang on for victory
The Associated Press
ATHENS, Ohio — Ennis Haywood ran for 219 yards and two touchdowns as Iowa State held off Ohio 31-28 on Saturday.
Haywood scored on a 66- yard run to give the Cyclones (2-0) a 31-14 lead through three quarters. He also had a 7-yard scoring run and finished with 33 carries.
Joe Mohler scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Ohio (0-3), on passes covering 31 yards from Dontrell Jackson and 53 yards on a halfback pass from Chad Brinker.
After Mohler's second TD reception with 5:25 left, the Bobcats never got the ball back, with Iowa State running out the clock to preserve the lead.
Iowa State's Lane Danielson added 47 yards on two carries — including a 15-yard TD run — and Seneca Wallace gained 45 yards on nine carries, scoring on a 1-yard run as the Cyclones piled up 308 rushing yards on 53 attempts.
Wallace completed 15 of 28 passes for 250 yards with two interceptions.
Ray Huston and Jackson each scored on 1-yard runs for the Bobcats.
iowa State dominated the statistics in first downs (29-17), total yards (558-436) and time of possession, holding on to the ball for almost nine minutes longer.
Texas: Quarterback garners 311 yards
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — Chris Simms threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns, including a 92-yarder to B.J. Johnson, as No.5 Texas beat Houston 53-26 on Saturday night.
Despite showing some second-quarter rust that helped Houston take a brief lead, Simms rebounded to go 20-for-35 with one interception.
Ivan Williams ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns for the Longhorns, 3-0 for the first time since 1994.
Texas scored 30 straight points before a sympathetic road crowd of 31,784, a
much larger audience than the typical Houston game.
The Texas offense, which showed a brief spark in the first quarter when Simms hit Johnson in stride at midfield for the 92-yard score, the sixth-longest offensive play in Longhorns history, reawakened late in the second.
The Longhorns began to wear down the Cougars in the third quarter, with Texas stretching its lead to 33-14 on two 1-yard runs by Williams.
Texas A&M:Blocked punt breaks open close game
The Associated Press
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Eric Crutchfield recovered a blocked punt in the end zone as Texas A&M overcame a sluggish offense performance to beat Oklahoma State 21-7 on Saturday.
The crowd of 82,601, the fourth-largest in Texas A&M history, remembered the victims of the terrorist attacks by buying and wearing red, white and blue T-shirts that turned Kyle Field into a giant patriotic rainbow, the upper deck red, middle level white and lower deck blue.
More than $150,000 raised from the shirt sales was being donated to New
York Fire Department charities.
Oklahoma State punter Scott Elder, standing in his own end zone with less than two minutes to go in the third quarter, had his kick blocked by defensive back Wes Bautovich and Crutchfield pounced on the ball for the score.
The touchdown broke open a 14-7 game that was taken over in the second half by the defense of Texas A&M (3-0, 1-0 Big 12), which wound up sacking Cowboys quarterbacks six times and allowing Oklahoma State (1-2, 0-1) to convert on only two of 16 thirddown plays.
Texas Tech: Team led by defensive back
The Associated Press
IRVING, Texas — Senior defensive back Paul McClendon became Texas Tech's leading scorer for this season Saturday night.
McClendon returned a fumble and an interception for touchdowns as Texas Tech (2-0) beat North Texas 42-14 at Texas Stadium. He now has three TDs for this season. He returned a fumble 54 yards for a touchdown in Tech's season-opening 42-30 victory against New Mexico two weeks ago.
McClendon intercepted Richard Bridges' pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown that increased the Red Raiders' lead to 28-0 in the third quarter. North Texas (0-3) had just picked up first downs on three consecutive plays, matching the Mean Green's first-half total.
In the first quarter, McClendon had grabbed Kevin Galbreath's fumble and run 6 yards for a touchdown. That came just two plays after Tech's opening 19-play drive stalled when Williams was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 3.
"I was just blessed. I really didn't have to do a whole lot," McClendon said. "I just went down (on the fumble) and picked it up. They had run that route several times. I followed the route and the ball came right to me."
Tech coach Mike Leach, known for his love of high-scoring offense, was asked whether he should move McClendon to offense.
"We maybe ought to leave him where he is so we don't jinx it or anything." Leach said. "It looks like he's already playing offense so we ought to leave him alone."
Ricky Williams had 94 yards rushing, including touchdown runs of 9 and 2 yards, and caught 15 passes for 101 yards as the Red Raiders had 407 total yards to 285 for North Texas.
Baylor: Overtime field goal clinches victory
The Associated Press
Baylor squandered every opportunity it had to beat New Mexico — except the last one. Daniel Andino's 29-yard field goal in overtime allowed Baylor to beat New Mexico 16-13 in Waco on Saturday after an evening full of offensive miscues, defensive lapses and spotty special teams play.
"I've been a part of a lot of programs that have won in a lot of ways." Baylor coach
Kevin Steele said, "but a win is a win."
The victory gave Baylor its first 2-0 start since 1996, when the Bears went 3-0. They won in front of 38,396 spectators. Baylor's largest nonconference home crowd in five years.
New Mexico (1-2) had the ball first in overtime, but running back Jarrod Baxter fumbled and lost the ball on 4th-and-two from the Baylor 3-yard line.