THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2009
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
7B
AT STILLWATER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson runs with the ball against Georgia's Dominique Dobbs, right, in the fourth quarter of the game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday. Oklahoma State won the game 24-10.
Missouri and Oklahoma State silence the doubters in Big 12
BY HALLIE MANN
hmann@kansan.com
www.twitter.com/hallien11
The 53,000 fans who packed the newly renovated stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday finally got to see what they've waited weeks for: Oklahoma State defeating Georgia in the season opener. In the North, Missouri fans travelled all the way to St. Louis, Mo., to watch the Tigers bring home the Arch Rivals trophy for the third year in a row against Illinois. Both teams proved that the Big 12 will be a force to be reckoned with this year in the BCS.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert badd back to pass during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against illinois on Saturday in St. Louis.
Oklahoma State had serious preseason media coverage and speculation but Saturday's 24-10 victory showed that the team deserved its No. 9 AP ranking going into the game.
KEY STATS
The 10 points Oklahoma State allowed to Georgia was the fewest points allowed to a ranked opponent since a 45-3 victory against Arizona State in 1984. The Cowboys' young defense led the way for the victory with a forced fumble, an interception and multiple sacks during the game.
"It's showing people that we are out here playing for real; we are for real," Oklahoma State cornerback Terrance Anderson said in a press release.
The Oklahoma offense showed off its strength in both the passing and running game against Georgia. Quarterback Zac Robinson connected with wide receiver Dez Bryant for two touchdown passes in the second and fourth quarters highlighting the dynamic duo's abilities. But Robinson scored on his own with a quarterback sneak in the third quarter.
Missouri Illinois
Final Score 37 9
Total Yards 442 335
Passing 325 215
Rushing 117 110
Turnovers 0 2
Oklahoma State Georgia
Final Score 24 10
Total Yards 307 257
Passing 135 162
Rushing 172 95
Turnovers 0 3
Despite the victory, coach Mike Gundy said the team had some things to work on. The Cowboys could have done without the 15 penalties that cost them more than 100 yards. Gundy said that the team needed to get grounded on Sunday's practice from this victory and get ready for the next game.
"We have to get back down to earth and have a good practice," Gundy said in a teleconference.
Missouri also answered any doubts that fans may have had about its offense and new quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert completed 25 of 33 passes and scored
three touchdowns for the Tigers. Gabbert passed for 319 yards but he also made a strong impression on the ground by rushing for 39 yards and one touchdown.
Besides the offensive pressure, the Tigers were consistent on special teams as well. Kicker Grant Ressel made his first appearance for Missouri making three field goals, including one 44-yard kick, and four extra points. Coach Garv
Pinkel said he was pleased with the performance from special teams and that they would continue to work hard this week in
practice.
"The bigger game is going to be next week," Pinkel said in a press release. "I told them in the locker room this is going to be the toughest Tuesday and Wednesday practices they've ever seen."
And next will be another non-conference matchup for Missouri and Oklahoma State. Next Saturday, Missouri faces Bowling Green (1-0) at home and Oklahoma State faces Houston (1-0) at home.
— Edited by Megan Morriss
TEXAS
Longhorns go to Northwest for farthest trip in 34 years
Instead of heading to Arkansas this weekend, the Texas Longhorns will make their fastest trip to the Northwest in 34 years to play Wyoming.
Originally, this would have been the spot for Texas to resume its series with former Southwest Conference rival
Arkansas. But the Razorbacks requested that the game be pushed back to another season to open up the opportunity for them to instead play Texas A&M this season in the new Cowboys Stadium.
The Longhorns filled the opening with a Cowboys team, and their longest trip in that direction since playing at Washington in 1975.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
West with No. 20 BYU, which beat No. 3 Oklahoma, though coach Mack Brown said that wasn't necessary to get his attention.
"Wyoming beat Tennessee in Knoxville last year, and they beat Virginia in the opening game two years ago at their place (23-3), and they've got a new coach from Missouri," Brown said. "They're 1-0 and we're going on the road. I don't think we need any more motivation."
Wyoming is in the Mountain
Texas Tech's Taylor Potts, right, throws a pass under pressure from North Dakota's Damon Andrews during their game Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Potts threw for two touchdowns in the game that Texas Tech won 38-13.
AT LUBBOCK
Potts leads Texas Tech to its victory against North Dakota
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LUBBOCK, Texas — Taylor Potts threw for two touchdowns and ran for two others to lead Texas Tech past North Dakota 38-13 on Saturday night.
The Red Raiders (1-0) scored three of their five TDs on the ground, unusual for a team known for its pass-happy offense.
Potts, in his first start, got his rushing touchdowns on sneaks from 1 yard out. He also had three interceptions, one more than he had in the two seasons he played backup. North Dakota safety Joel Schwenzfeier intercepted all of them to tie a school record.
Tech kept the Fighting Sioux secondary wondering which receiver was Potts' target. He was 34-of-48 for 405 yards to 10 receivers.
Mitch Sutton got North Dakota's lone touchdown on a 9-yard run in the final quarter to whittle the margin to 28-13.
Potts' second touchdown pass came late in the game when he hit Adam James for an 18-yard score to put the Red Raiders up 38-13.
North Dakota (0-1) was overmatched throughout, but the Fighting Sioux managed to keep the Red Raiders from blowing them out. Last year, Texas Tech averaged 44 points per game, so North Dakota's defense managed what many schools last year couldn't: they stayed relatively close throughout.
Before the season began Texas Tech coach Mike Leach led Potts
that if he avoided interceptions and sacks he would be fine. Last year, Graham Harrell, who had two 5,000-yard passing seasons to set an NCAA record, threw nine interceptions in 13 games.
Expectations were low for North Dakota, but it wanted to keep the Red Raiders offense off the field.
Potts' three interceptions came in 48 attempts. The two he threw as a backup came in 85 attempts.
The victory gave Leach his 77th victory at Tech. He is six victories short of surpassing Spike Dykes for the most wins by a Tech coach.
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