THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2006
SPORTS
3B
Colorado, Baylor lose on opening weekend
Ten conference schools come out victorious; new players receive offensive, defensive, special teams honors
BY SHAWN SHROYER
Missouri's starting quarterback Chase Daniel sets to pass during the second half of a football game against Murray State on Saturday in Columbia, Mo. Missouri defeated Murray State 47-7.
Iowa State 45, Toledo 43 (3 OT) Four quarters and two overtimes weren't enough to settle the first Big 12 game of the 2006 season. Tied 37-37 in the third overtime, Iowa State junior quarterback Bret Meyer found junior wide receiver Todd Blythe for a 25-yard touchdown.
Forced to go for a two-point conversion, Meyer used his running ability to get into the endzone. Toledo scored a touchdown on its possession in the third overtime, but failed on the two-point attempt.
Texas 56, North Texas 7
In Texas' first game without quarterback Vince Young, consistency was the key. Texas scored 14 points in each quarter on its way to routing North Texas.
Freshman Colt McCoy was under the microscope Saturday as Texas' new starting quarterback. Like Vince Young, McCoy performed with both his arm and his legs. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 38 yards and a touchdown on four carries.
"He made a great play with his feet on the quarterback draw, and we need him to do that more." Texas coach Mack Brown said. "I thought Colt was as good out of the box today as we could have expected him to be."
Montana State 19, Colorado 10
Montana State 19, Colorado 10
New Colorado senior starting quarterback James Cox couldn't compete with Montana State junior quarterback Cory Carpenter. Cox completed just eight of 22 passes for 110 yards while Carpenter racked up 229 yards and a touchdown.
Although Division I-AA
Montana State never pulled away from Colorado, coach Mike Kramer was confident his team could maintain the lead.
tam the test.
"At no point did I not think that we couldn't win this football game because of our talent level and coaching expertise," Kramer said. "I knew that if we didn't make a big mistake, that we could be there in the fourth quarter."
James A. Finley/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nebraska 49, Louisiana Tech 10
Balance was the key for Nebraska on Saturday. The Cornhuskers racked up 332 yards through the air and 252 on the ground, giving opponents a glimpse of what to expect this season.
Showing the most balance were Nebraska's running backs, sophomores Cody Glenn and Marlon Lucky and juniors Brandon Jackson and Kenny Wilson all had carries. Only Wilson will reach to reach the endzone.
"Its working great," Glenn said. "Once someone gets tired, someone else is ready to go. I was satisfied with my carries. Everybody got the carries they thought they would get."
Missouri 47, Murray State 7
The post-Brad Smith era began flawlessly for Missouri behind new starting quarterback Chase Daniel. Daniel, a sophomore, set a new school record for touchdowns in a game with five, and posted 320 passing yards.
passing yards. Missouri also had its way with Murray State on the ground. Junior running back Tony Temple led the Tigers with 119 rushing yards.
Raider quarterback, passing for 342 yards and five touchdowns.
However, Texas Tech added another element to its offensive attack with sophomore running back Shannon Woods rushing for 105 yards.
Texas Tech sophomore quarterback Graham Harrell followed the tradition that goes with being a Red
Texas Tech 35, SMU $ ^{2} $
"Graham looked good tonight; he did a real good job," senior receiver Robert Johnson said. "He's a Tom Brady; he's a calm guy, he's cool."
10 Oklahoma State's young offense was firing on all cylinders on Saturday. Against Missouri State, now coached by former Kansas coach Terry Allen, Oklahoma State scored 38 points in the first half alone.
Oklahoma State 52, Missouri State 10
Oklahoma State sophomore quarterback Bobby Reid threw four touchdowns on just eight completions, and sophomore running back Mike Hamilton gained 160 rushing yards.
Oklahoma 24, UAB 17
Oklahoma's quest to win the Big 12 South got off to a rocky start, but thanks to junior running back Adrian Peterson, the Sooners salvaged a victory.
Peterson rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown,but his 69-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter gave Oklahoma the lead for good.
"We have got to be better," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "We can't turn the ball over four times and win. We got lucky."
Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee was impressive in his first start outside the shadow of former quarterback Reggie McNeal.
Texas A&M 35, The Citadel 3
In the air, McGee completed 16
of 24 attempts for 200 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, he had 26 yards and another touchdown.
"He's only going to get a little better in his pocket presence as he gets more relationships in doing those things." Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione said. "For the most part he was a good field general. He directed the team well and gave them a lot of energy."
Kansas State 24, Illinois State 23
After Illinois State scored a touchdown to come within a point of Kansas State with three minutes left in the game, Illinois State coach Denver Johnson opted to go for a two-point conversion instead of a game-tying extra point.
"I'm tired of these kind of games. It's still a loss," Morriss said. "We need to find a way to win these
However, the attempt failed, and Illinois State turned the ball over on downs on its last possession, sealing a victory for Kansas State for coach Ron Prince's first game.
"Some decisions you make with your head, some decisions you make with your heart, some decisions you make with your gut," Johnson said. "All three — my head, my heart and my gut — told me that our best chance to win the game was right there, right then. I have absolutely no remorse, no second thoughts about that."
Although Baylor was competitive against a ranked team, coach Guy Morriss expressed displeasure for his team's inability to win close games.
The only Big 12 school to play a ranked opponent this weekend, Baylor led TCU until the 1:17 mark of the third quarter on Sunday.
TCU 17, Baylor 7
games. Bottom line, we didn't make enough plays to get it done."
Players of the Week
Three fresh faces in the Big 12 received their first conference Players of the Week honors Monday.
Missouri sophomore quarterback Chase Daniel was named Offensive Player of the Week for his 320-yard, five-touchdown performance. The five touchdowns were a Missouri single-game record.
Kansas State sophomore defensive end Ian Campbell was named Defensive Player of the Week after recording eight solo tackles, five for losses, and three sacks.
Oklahoma State freshman kick returner Perrish Cox was named Special Teams Player of the Week. In his college football debut, Cox returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.
Kanssportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@ kansan.com
Edited by Mindy Ricketts