Tag: Blake Shapen

Mississippi State without its starting QB vs Georgia

Mississippi State is without its starting quarterback on the road against Georgia football

The Mississippi State Bulldogs will be without starting quarterback Blake Shapen on Oct. 12 against the Georgia Bulldogs. Shapen is out for the season after suffering a shoulder injury against the Florida Gators on Sept. 21.

Shapen, a Baylor transfer, completed 68.5% of his passes for 974 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception this season. In his place, Mississippi State has turned to freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren.

Against Florida and Texas, Van Buren completed 52.8% of his passes for 244 passing yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound quarterback is mobile and has one rushing touchdown this season. The freshman signal caller has taken eight sacks in two games.

Van Buren and Mississippi State had an extra week to prepare for Georgia, which should help him adjust to running the Bulldogs’ offense. Mississippi State also uses freshman quarterback Chris Parsons primarily as a rusher (four rushes for 20 yards against Texas). However, Van Buren and Parsons face a steep challenge against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia has the fifth-best passing defense in the SEC (169.6 yards per game) despite facing four Power Four opponents in five games.

“He’s (Michael Van Buren) a tremendous athlete. I think they’ve allowed him to do some things that he’s really good at, and they’re mixing the other quarterback in with quarterback run. So, they both are capable runners, but they bring Chris (Parson) in and do more stuff with him,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for (Mississippi State coach) Jeff Lebby and his offense… They’re hard to defend because they space you out, they spread you out, they tempo you, they count your numbers in the box. They’re almost always going to be right in terms of what they run,” said Smart.

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Georgia will look to put Mississippi State in obvious passing situations. If Georgia can build up a two- or three-score lead, then Mississippi State will be in trouble.

SEC quarterback rankings ahead of 2024 spring football

Where does Jackson Arnold rank among SEC quarterbacks heading into spring ball?

As the SEC expands to 16 teams in 2024, the conference is stacked at the quarterback position. From former five-star prospects to 2024 Heisman contenders to intriguing transfer additions, there will be some fantastic quarterback play on display this fall in the SEC.

Seven of the last nine Heisman winners have come from Oklahoma and the SEC. Two of those seven were non-quarterbacks, DeVonta Smith and Derrick Henry.

Much of what will determine which teams emerge as SEC title and College Football Playoff contenders will be on the shoulders of the quarterbacks who will lead their team in 2024.

There are some quarterback competitions that need to take place, but here’s our pre-spring ball SEC quarterback rankings.

 

Nebraska transfer portal quarterback target selects SEC school

A Nebraska target at quarterback has announced that he will be heading to the SEC.

A Nebraska target at quarterback announced he is heading to the SEC. Baylor transfer Blake Shapen confirmed he will join Mississippi State for the 2024 season.

Shapen was originally a three-star prospect out of Shreveport, Louisiana, in the 2020 recruiting cycle. This season, he appeared in eight games for Baylor, completing 61.7% of his passing attempts for 2,188 yards and 13 touchdowns while throwing just three interceptions.

Nebraska offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield met with Shapen in Waco, Texas, earlier this week. His decision takes off the board one of the several potential options the Huskers were looking for at the quarterback position in the transfer portal.

You can find an entire list of potential targets here.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

REPORT: Huskers add Baylor transfer QB Blake Shapen to list of targets

Add Baylor quarterback transfer Blake Shapen to the list of potential quarterbacks for Nebraska.

Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt and Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord are two of the most recent names to be discussed at the quarterback position for Nebraska when it comes to the transfer portal targets. But there is another name to throw in that group as well.

That name would be Baylor transfer Blake Shapen, according to multiple reports, including from the Omaha World-Herald and Husker Online. Communication between the two sides has gone as far as Cornhuskers offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield meeting with Shapen recently in Waco.

Shapen was originally a three-star prospect in the 2020 recruiting cycle out of Shreveport, Lousiana, committing to Baylor over about a dozen other scholarship offers, including Arizona State, Ole Miss, UCLA, and USC. Notably, he committed to the Bears after the departure of Matt Rhule from the Baylor program.

During his career with Baylor, the 6-foot-0, 192-pound quarterback played in 27 games, completing 63.7% of his passes for 5,574 yards with 36 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. This season, Shapen appeared in eight games for Baylor, completing 61.7% of his passing attempts for 2,188 yards and 13 touchdowns while throwing just three interceptions. He also has 184 career rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

On top of Leavitt, McCord, and now Shapen, another name that has been discussed and will be worth keeping an eye on is Kansas State transfer Will Howard.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

Studs and duds from No. 23 Texas’ 38-27 victory over Baylor

Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson took over the football game in the second half.

No. 23 Texas concluded the regular season with a 38-27 victory over in-state foe Baylor. Steve Sarkisian’s group used a gritty ground game and sound defense to come out with the senior day win.

Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson took over the football game in the second half. The duo combined for over 250 yards of offense and four touchdowns. The majority of those yards came after halftime.

Linebackers Jaylan Ford and Demarvion Overshown lead another outstanding defensive performance for the Longhorns. Ford continued his All-Big 12 level season with 13 tackles, two tackles for loss and a crucial interception. Overshown added a team-high 14 tackles and a sack to the effort.

The win puts the Longhorns at 8-4 on the 2022 campaign. Texas awaits its postseason fate pending the Kansas vs. Kansas State results on Saturday night. A Jayhawks win would set Texas up with a rematch against TCU in the Big 12 championship game next week.

Here is a look at the studs and duds from Texas’ much-needed win over Baylor.

Report Card: Front seven failures, turnovers doom Oklahoma vs. Baylor

Oklahoma was inconsistent in their performance against the Baylor Bears. How did we grade each position group? From @thatmanbryant

Saturday’s effort for the Oklahoma Sooners followed an almost identical script to the game they played against the Kansas State Wildcats. An inability to stop the run, untimely errors on offense, and a chance late to flip the script. However, a crucial fourth-quarter fourth-down stop was too much to ask for. That same scenario played out in the Sooners 38-35 loss to Baylor.

Things weren’t all bad as a collective, but it wasn’t good enough, and that has become an all too familiar feeling after Oklahoma Sooners games this season.

How did Oklahoma perform in this week’s positional report card?

5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 38-35 loss to Baylor

5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 38-35 loss to the Baylor Bears. From @thatmanbryant

Oklahoma suffered their fourth loss on Saturday as they fell 38-35 to Baylor at home. It was a tough loss to swallow. It mirrored the loss to Kansas State simply because Oklahoma couldn’t stop the run despite knowing it was coming at crucial points of the game.

“We couldn’t get out of our own way at the right times,” said head coach Brent Venables in the immediate press availability following the game. He hit the nail on the head as three turnovers, penalties, and missed assignments on a few crucial plays doomed the Oklahoma Sooners.

Craig Williams, not Richard Reese, gashed the Sooners for 192 yards on 25 carries. He scored twice as well.

Offensively, the Sooners were paced by Eric Gray’s 106 yards on the ground and 120 receiving yards from Marvin Mims, who bounced back after arguably his worst performance as a Sooner in the previous game.

While the dust begins to settle and the sting of the loss settles in, what can we walk away with from this game? We present our five takeaways from the game below.

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Final thoughts on the Oklahoma Sooners vs. Baylor Bears

Final thoughts on the Oklahoma Sooners vs. the Baylor Bears Saturday afternoon in Norman. From @john9williams

The Oklahoma Sooners get set to take on the Baylor Bears on Saturday in a matchup between 5-3 teams that were two of the favorites to make the Big 12 title game. Though both still have a mathematical chance to make it, Baylor’s road to Arlington is much more clear.

The Sooners can upset those plans with a win today, but beyond that, Oklahoma is looking to finish the season strong after and 0-3 start to the Big 12 schedule.

As the Sooners welcome a strong Baylor run game and formidable defensive front, here are some final thoughts on Oklahoma’s Big 12 tilt vs. the Baylor Bears.

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Oklahoma vs. Baylor: 4 Bears to know ahead of Saturday’s showdown

Ahead of Oklahoma’s Saturday afternoon showdown with Baylor, here are four Bears to know. From @thatmanbryant

Oklahoma has become quite familiar with their yearly tussles with the Baylor Bears. Whether it was Matt Rhule at the helm or now Dave Aranda, the Bears have provided a tough contest yearly. Games against Baylor haven’t been lopsided affairs in favor of Oklahoma for years now.

In 2019, Oklahoma had to come back from a 28-3 deficit to pick up the win. Later that year, in the Big 12 championship game, it was a one-score win for Jalen Hurts’ Sooners. In 2020, Spencer Rattler’s won 27-14, but it wasn’t an easy 13-point win, and then last year, Baylor handed the Sooners their first loss of the season.

On Saturday, they’ll duke it out once again.

This time the showdown will feature two defensive-minded head coaches, Brent Venables and Dave Aranda, doing battle in a conference that has long been lauded for its offensive prowess.

Last year’s Baylor team manhandled Oklahoma at the point of attack on both sides of the ball. Baylor could look to employ the same approach. However, their personnel this year is different than before. Guys like Jalen Pitre, Terrel Bernard, Abram Smith, Trestan Ebner, Tyquan Thornton, and Gerry Bohannon are no longer on the roster. They are relying on some other faces to step up and make plays.

Here are four Baylor players to know ahead of the showdown.

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5 keys to an Oklahoma Sooners win over the Baylor Bears

Oklahoma has quite the test with the Baylor Bears coming to Norman, but what do they need to do to pick up the win? From @john9williams

The Oklahoma Sooners take on the Baylor Bears in a game that could help set the tone for the remainder of the season as the Sooners look to finish strong.

Baylor comes in at 5-3 and 3-2 in Big 12 play, having picked up wins over Texas Tech, Kansas, and Iowa State. They’ve yet to play TCU, Texas, or Kansas State. With wins over their final four games, the Bears would earn a trip to the Big 12 title game. They still have a lot to play for.

Oklahoma has a chance to play spoiler in this contest if they can come out the gates fast and find some running room against a “stout” Baylor defensive front. Here are this week’s 5 keys to the game.

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