KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / TUESDAY JANUARY 19, 2010 / SPORTS
NFL
7B
Jets launch past Chargers to AFC
BY BERNIE WILSON
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — Maybe Rex Ryan already knows the score of the AFC championship game, too.
The rookie coach who, at one point, didn't know his Jets were still in playoff contention, then declared them Super Bowl favorites, will need some more bold predictions.
His Jets are still playing.
Rookies Mark Sanchez and Shonn Greene led New York to a
upset of San Diego in the divisional playoffs Sunday, each providing a touchdown in the fourth quarter that marked another Chargers postseason atfall
"It's a big win for our franchise," Sanchez said, "and we're not done."
Sanchez threw a go-ahead, 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dustin Keller three plays into the fourth quarter, then Greene gave the Jets some breathing room with a 53-yard scoring run on their next possession.
The upstart Jets (11-7), who have won seven of their last eight, advanced to the AFC championship game for the first time since 1999. They'll play at top-seeded Indianapolis next Sunday.
"You'd like to play your best games in January... and certainly...we did not do that today."
"A matchup that probably nobody wanted, but too bad," Ryan said. "Here we come!"
Of course, it was the Colts who pulled Peyton Manning and other starters in the second half of their Week 16 game against the Jets, who rallied for a victory that put them in control of their playoff destiny.
1-yard sneak with 2:14 left to pull the Chargers within three, the Jets recovered the onside kick.
Facing a fourth-and-1 from the 29 with 1:09 left, the Jets called timeout. Ryan decided to go for it and Thomas Jones bulled through the Chargers' line for 2 vards.
Before that game, Ryan said his holiday wish was for the Colts to rest Manning & Co.
The Chargers (13-4) not only saw their 11-game winning
NORV TURNER Chargers coach
"I don't know if Santa Claus will be that good to me again," Ryan said. "But
Sanchez pumped his fist and pointed his hand forward in the first-down signal.
On the sideline, Ryan lifted much smaller offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer off the ground in a bear hug.
"You'd like to play your best games in January in
streak end,
but suffered
yet another
playoff melt-down
after earning the
AFG's No. 2
seed.
The Jets weren't able to capitalize on that pickoff, but Rivers' second interception was costly. On second-and-9 from his 5, Rivers underthrew Antonio Gates, who hadn't even turned around, with safety Jim Leonhard intercepting and returning it to the 16.
Sanchez, playing in his native Southern California, went from looking like the rookie that he is to a guy who has now has two straight playoff wins on the road. He was intercepted by Quentin Jammer midway through the third quarter, but the Jets got the ball back on an interception when the ball ricocheted off Vincent Jackson and into the hands of cornerback Darrelle Revis as both were sprawled on the ground.
I will say that I'd like to see Peyton Manning not play this week."
"I don't know if Santa Claus will be that good to me again. But I will say I'd like to see Peyton Manning not play this week."
games like this, and certainly, for whatever reason, we did not do that today," Chargers coach Norv Turner said.
He might be onto something. Maybe this week he'll predict the jets' opponent in the Super Bowl.
REX RYAN Jets coach
After the Jets finally did clinch a playoff spot by routing Cincinnati the following week, Ryan, their rookie head coach, created a postseason itinerary for his players that included the Super Bowl in Miami followed by a parade two days later.
"We believed the whole time, the whole year, when it probably wasn't the popular choice," Ryan said. "We don't have to apologize to anyone."
The Chargers let New York hang around long enough, and the jets finally got out of their own way, becoming the only road team to win in the divisional round.
On third
d o w n ,
S a n c h e z
rolled right
and threw to
Keller, who
shed line-
backer Tim
Dobbins in
the back corne
of the end
zone
and made
a sprawling
After Philip Rivers scored on a
2-yard catch that put the jets ahead 10-7.
The Jets turned to their top-ranked running game on their next drive, and Greene, a third-round pick from Iowa, broke his long scoring run up the middle, running over safety Eric Weddle in the process.
San Diego's All-Pro kicker Nate Kaeding missed three field goals. He was wide left from 36 yards on San Diego's second possession and was short from 57 yards as the first-half clock expired. With the Chargers trailing by 10 with 4:38 to go, he was wide right from 40.
"Once I got to the second-ary, I had one tackle to break and I did, and it was off to the end zone," Greene said. "A lot of people didn't know about me, but they know about the jets."
Ryan pumped his fist and smiled after Kaeding's third miss.
Art of distraction
Fans in the student section hold up letters to complete the word "miss" during a Texas Tech free throw attempt. Kansas moved to 16-1 following the 89-63 victory Saturday afternoon.
Weston White/KANSAN
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Texas stays No.1 as rankings shift
BY JIM O'CONNELL Associated Press
Texas survived its first week as the No.1 team in The Associated Press college basketball poll. The second won't be any easier.
The Longhorns (17-0) moved into the top spot for the first time in school history last week and they stayed there Monday, receiving 57 first place votes from the 65-member national media panel. They won 90-83 at Iowa State in their first game in the top spot and then beat Texas A&M 72-67 in overtime in their first home game as a No. 1 team.
Texas headed to No. 10 Kansas State on Monday night, then plays + Connecticut on Saturday.
Kentucky (18-0), which was No. 1 on eight ballots, Kansas, Villanova and Syracuse remained second through fifth. Michigan State, Duke and Tennessee all moved up one place to sixth through eighth, respectively.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texas coach Rick Barnes shouts instructions toward a player during second half action in the team's 72-67 victory in overtime against A&M
Saturday in Austin, Texas. Texas retained its 1. ranking
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pittsburgh, which moved into the Top 25 for the first time this season just two weeks ago and has started 5-0 in the Big East, jumped from 10th to ninth. Kansas State was 10th, its first appearance in the top 10 since being ninth in the final poll of the 1972-73 season.
West Virginia was 11th, followed by Georgetown, Purdue, BYU, Gonzaga, Temple, Clemson, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech and Northern Iowa, which is ranked for the second time in school history.
The Tar Hears (12-6), who lost two games last week and three of four, dropped from 12th to No. 24, their first time below 13th in the poll since February 2006.
The last five were Ohio State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, North Carolina and Baylor. Ohio State and Mississippi State both returned to poll after being ranked earlier in the season.
Northern Iowa (16-1) moved in
on a 15-game winning streak that began following a loss to DePaul in the opening round of the Paradise Jam. The Panthers were ranked for three weeks in January and February 2006.
Ohio State (13-5) was out of the poll the last two weeks but returned following victories over Purdue and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes have won three of four since the return of Evan Turner, who missed six games after breaking bones in his back while dunking. They split the games he missed, so all but one
Mississippi State (15-3) was 100 in the preseason Top 25 but was gone quickly following a season opening loss to Rider. The Bulldogs have won 12 of their last 13 games, including their first three Southeastern Conference games.
UConn (11 6) dropped out from 15th following losses last week to Pittsburgh and Michigan that gave the Huskies their first three game losing streak since closing 2006-07 with four straight
defeats. They were 12th in the preseason poll and ranked as high as 10th this season.
of their losses have come when Turner was out.
Miami (15-3) moved into the poll for the first time this season at No. 23 last week. The Hurricanes didn't fare well as a ranked team, losing to Virginia Tech and Virginia.
Florida State (14-4) saw a three-week run in the rankings end after losing to North Carolina State last week. The Seminoles, who were 25th, followed that loss with a win over Virginia Tech.
AUDITION UNIVERSITY DANCE COMPANY
Tuesday,January 19
7:00 pm
Studio 242
Robinson Center
NO SOLO MATERIAL REQUIRED
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
785-864-4264
CEWebinar ™
Why choose CE Webinar? Here are a few reasons:
Professor developed, professor taught.
4 of our professors have written test questions for the DAT & MCAT!
Live online format, so you can attend from anywhere!
Practice tests included!
✓ $495 - Almost 1/3 the price of Kaplan!
http://www.cewebinar.com
-