Volume 124 Issue 10
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kansan.com
Thursday, September 1, 2011
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2011
2 s t a
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Syracuse rallies in OT
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Van Chew made a diving 4-yard touchdown catch in the left flat at the goal line on the first series of overtime, and Syracuse rallied past Wake Forest 36-29 on Thursday night in the season-opener for both teams.
The Demon Deacons got the ball one last time, but the Syracuse defense held for one of the few times on the night and forced a fourth-down incompletion from the 19 from Ted Stachitas to Chris Givens in the right corner of the end zone.
Kevyn Scott appeared to secure the victory for Syracuse when he made a diving interception over the middle at the Wake Forest 32 with just over 5 minutes remaining and the game tied at 29-all. But Ross Krautman, who had made a school-record 16 straight field goals, had his 32-yard attempt blocked by Kyle Wilber with just under 3 minutes to go in regulation.
It was a breakthrough of sorts for the Orange. Syracuse's last win over a Football Bowl Subdivision team in the Carrier Dome was a 31-13 upset of Rutgers in November 2009. Syracuse was 0-4 last season against FBS teams in the Dome and hasn't had a winning season overall at home
since it went 4-1 in 2004.
Wake Forest, which lost starting quarterback Tanner Price to an injury early in the fourth quarter, couldn't mount a threat behind backup Ted Stachita. Price was 18 of 31 for 289 yards and three touchdowns.
The Orange had rallied furiously after trailing 29-14 early in the fourth quarter.
After Jimmy Newman's 40-yard field goal gave Wake Forest a 15-point lead with 11:02 left, Syracuse's Antwon Bailey scored on a 53-yard run around the left side and quarterback Ryan Nassib hit fullback Adam Harris for a 2-yard score with 8:26 left.
Price hit Chris Givens on scores of 60 and 22 yards, and had a pretty 16-yarder on a third-and-goal play to Michael Camapanaro.
The defense was supposed to be the weak link for the Orange with a veteran offense returning. It was until the end, and so was the offense until it finally got untracked late against Wake's 3-4 spread.
Nassib was 12 of 20 for 85 yards passing through three quarters and finished 20 of 28 for 178 for the Orange.
The Syracuse defense, which lost its heart with the graduation of linebackers Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue, missed too many tackles and never mounted any kind of pressure on Price, and he repeatedly made them pay. Price had 12 completions of 13 yards or more.
Free safety Phillip Thomas was burned twice by Givens on long passes. Givens hauled in a 37-yard pass in the first quarter to help set up jimmy Newman's 38-yield field goal, his 13th straight conversion. Givens then blew past Thomas again on the right side and caught a 60-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage after Syracuse had scored its first touchdown.
The Demon Deacons scored again on their final possession of the first half when the Orange were unable to stop a third-and-goal play from the 16 and just over 2 minutes to play.
The Orange offense finally got going when Nassib hit tight end Nick Provo over the middle at the Wake Forest 15. Provo broke a tackle by linebacker Riley Haynes and rumbled into the end zone for a 7-6 lead with 9:29 left in the first half.
In the first half, Syracuse gained just 52 yards on 22 plays offensively, and its defense was torched for 258 yards on 45 plays.
FOOTBALL
Locker impressive as Titans dominate
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Titans' first-round pick, who is expected to press Matt Hasselbeck for the starting job at some point this season, completed 15 of 17 for 132 yards and a touchdown. He had a 118.6 quarterback rating, playing just over three quarters. Locker also ran 22 yards to score.
Tennessee's rookie quarterback jake Locker added a bit of sparkle to an otherwise lackluster game Thursday night, leading the Titans to a 32-9 victory over the New Orleans Saints.
Saints backup QB Chase Daniel was not as impressive, completing 29 of 39 for 249 yards. He was sacked twice. His only 20 drive came in the fourth quarter when Montez Billings capped a 66-yard drive with a 2-yard reception.
The Titans' defense scored first as defensive tackle Karl Klug chased Daniel into the end zone and sacked him for a safety. It was the first safety New Orleans allowed since the second regular-season game of 2009, the Saints' Super Bowl season.
Ron Bironas added the first of his three field goals, a 32-yarder to put
Tennessee up 5-0 going into the second quarter.
Tennessee stretched its lead to 22-0 at the half with Locker's 22-yard scramble, a 47-yard field goal, and a 12-yard touchdown reception by Lavelle Hawkins.
Bironas had a 41-yarder in the third quarter that made it 25-0.
The final preseason game for both teams was a battle of the backups. The Titans briefly played 10 of their regular starters, including quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who took nine snaps, and five defensive starters.
Damian Williams returned a punt 52 yards in the fourth quarter for a touchdown that closed out Tennessee's scoring.
Tennessee agreed to a $56 million, six-year deal with starting running back Chris Johnson earlier Thursday. He will be a welcome addition for the regular season. Six Titans runners churned out 118 yards against the Saints, and the only TD rushing was Locker's.
New Orleans had one offensive starter in early and seven defensive starters played for a short time.
GOLF
ASSOCIATED PRESS
McIlroy swings back
Nick Dougherty shot an 8-under 63 Thursday to lead Rory McIlroy by two shots after the first round of the European Masters.
The Englishman had eight birdies in a bogey-free round, while McLroy had five birdies in his first eight holes. It's McLroy's first tournament since injuring his right wrist three weeks ago.
"It's totally fine," McIlroy said. "I'm able to hit all the shots I want to and not lose any distance."
Martin Kaymeyer, Lee Sung and Gary Boyd also were two shots behind the leader. Kaymeter had seven birdies and just one bogey.
McLroy showed no ill effects from the injury he sustained after hitting a tree root during the PGA Championship. He spent two weeks spent recuperating in the United States with his girlfriend, top-ranked tennis player Caroline Wozniacki.
said McIlroy, the U.S. Open winner who could rise to No. 3 in the rankings with a victory. "I'm sixth and I want to get higher."
Mclroy's steady round took off with birdie putts of 3 feet and 20 feet at No. 2 and No. 3. His only blemish was a 5 at the fourth hole after hooking his tee shot into trees. But he recovered with a 12-footer on the next hole, then made a 14-foot, downhill putt for birdie at the sixth.
"It's a great way to start the week,"
Second-ranked Lee Westwood and British winner Darren Clarke were in a group of six players at 4 under. Westwood's adventurous round included two eagles and a double bongee. He missed short par-saving putts at each of the final two holes.
Kaymer made a sensational a 40-foot putt for birdie at the short eighth hole, then finished with a birdie at No.9.
Dougherty has missed the cut at 21 straight events and has no earnings on the European Tour money list.
white, 11 of the top 40 recruits will be playing football in Austin, Texas this season.
A&M is making a move that will put them in the lower echelon of the top football conference instead of remaining in the upper echelon of one of the top conferences (albeit a very unstable one).
Quite simply, this is Texas A&M giving the finger to Texas for being better than them in nearly every way, shape and form. Instead of beating the Longhorns head-to-head, they decided losing more games in a better conference would be the proper form of revenge.
So now it's the Big 12's turn, as they can say goodbye to Texas A&M. You can be sure they will take pleasure in watching them get "whooped" more often than not.
— Edited by Sarah McCabe
program joins the Coast Conference.
Jan 19, 2011 University of Texas president William Powers said Texas is "firmly committed" to the Big 12 and that league officials knew Texas was pursuing a network deal.
Aug 25, 2011
Texas A&M president R. Bowen
Loftin sends a letter to Big
12 commissioner Dan
Beebe explaining that
Texas A&M is considering leaving the Big 12.
Aug 30,2011
M denies the Monday New York Times report that it notified the Big 12 of its intention to leave the athletic conference.
become the 1/th member of the Big East conference after
leaving the Mountain West.
The Governors of Colorado and Utah deem June 30 'Pac-12 Day' as the Utah Utes and Colorado Buffaloes become official members of Pac-12.
Jul 1,2011
of Pac-12.
Aug 29,2011
Aug 29, 2011 The New York Times reports that President R. Bowen Loftin informed Big 12 Board Chairman Brady Deaton that the Aggies will officially withdraw from the conference as early as Tuesday.
Aug 31,2011
Aug 31, 2011 Texas A&M officially notifies the Big 12 of its intention to withdraw from the conference.
.
"We're going to put the best six out there, and sometimes that's a bit of a stretch for freshmen to do that," Bechard said. "But we have a bunch of confidence in both of those young ladies."
Sara McClinton and Chelsea Albers may each be in their first season with the Jayhawks, but coach Ray Bechard is counting on both of them to contribute, and contribute early. McClinton started all three of the team's victories in the season-opening Georgia Bulldog Invitational over the weekend, and Albers started both of the Saturday sweeps.
McClinton finished the weekend with 11 kills, including seven in the finale against Georgia. To secure her role as a starter for the season's first three games, McClinton had to play catch-up with the upperclassmen who stayed over the summer.
"I knew we had a good opportunity to compete with some of the upperclassmen for the spots, but you can't come in and expect to start," McClinton said. "You have to
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work to achieve
it. That was my goal, to come in and start, but I guess I wasn't expecting it so soon."
Starting so early is an unexpected perk for Albers, but it is one she said she plans on working hard to maintain. Both freshmen had to work hard just to avoid being redshirted by Bechard, who said the decision to sit and develop a player for a year is a difficult one.
Albers had an impressive first start on Saturday morning, recording six kills in the sweep against Liberty. She may have ensured her spot as a starter along a decorated high school career at Papillion LaVista, where she notched a state-leading 487 kills in 2009 was named the Omaha World-Herald's Girl's 2010-11 Athlete of the Year her senior season.
"That is a tough call," Bechard said. "You need to kind of get a sense for where you think his progress will be within the first month and this is a kid that can help us by mid-
Since Bechard was hired as the coach of the volleyball team 14 years ago, he has had a player from Nebraska on his roster every season. Albers and McClinton first met as opponents in the state's notoriously competitive high school volleyball circuit. They would later come to know each other better as teammates at the even more competitive club level.
training in Italy, the resmen were not permitted to tag along. Still, the upperclassmen have tried to make the Nebraska' natives feel at home, Albers said.
"They have worked hard to include us and not make us feel like freshmen," Albers said. "Speaking for myself, I feel like they treat us like volleyball players and not by our age."
"Growing up in Nebraska, I think it gave us a huge advantage," McClinton said. "High school volley
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