Tag: SMU Mustangs

Marcus Jones’ 100-yard kickoff return gives Houston victory over SMU

Marcus Jones with a 100-yard kickoff return for Houston to sink SMU

Houston had been victimized by a 100-yard kickoff return to open the second half of their game Saturday against SMU. The Cougars got one their own in the final minute as they handed the Mustangs their first defeat, 44-37.

SMU had tied the game on a 45-yard field goal and decided to kick deep to Marcus Jones, one of the nation’s best return men.

Jones, who already had an interception, took the ball and was off and running. One hundred yards later, he was in the end zone and the Cougars had a seven-point lead after the PAT with 17 seconds left.

The call on Houston radio:

The outcome remained in doubt because Brian Massey, who had the TD return of the second-half kickoff for SMU, grabbed the ensuing squib kick and returned it to the Houston 35.

The final play of the game, a pass, fell incomplete, and Houston had downed their in-state rivals in a thriller.

SMU radio announcer Rich Phillips loses it on 100-yard kickoff return

SMU’s Brian Massey opens the second half with a spectacular kickoff return for a TD

The play likely won’t be remembered in what has become a seesaw C-USA game between undefeated SMU and Houston on Saturday.

However, Brian Massey’s kickoff return to open the second half had the Mustangs’ radio voice Rich Phillips in high gear.

Massey took the kickoff five yards deep in the end zone and weaved his way through the Cougars’ special teams.

The return goes down as a 100-yard touchdown because college football rules have something against crediting players from where they actually start their journey.

SMU once trailed 17-0 and Massey gave it a 27-23 lead after the PAT.

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams named to Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2021

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams was selected as one of the 40 named to the Davey O’Brien QB Class of 2021.

Oklahoma freshman quarterback Caleb Williams captivated the college football world when he burst onto the scene at the Red River Showdown and spearheaded a wild Sooners’ rally over Texas.

In that 55-48 win over the Longhorns, Williams took an early second quarter fourth and 1 snap, broke loose from would-be Texas tacklers and raced 66 yards into the end zone to announce his presence nationally. Williams wound up the hero that day, finishing with 212 passing yards and a pair of touchdown passes to OU sophomore wide receiver Marvin Mims.

Since then, Williams has largely been marvelous for Oklahoma. The Washington, D.C., native threw for 295 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 52-31 Sooners’ victory over TCU. Then, after a slow start, Williams regrouped last week after halftime against Kansas to finish with a pair of touchdown passes.

Williams has recorded touchdown runs of 40-plus yards in each game he’s played in since taking over the Sooners’ starting quarterback duties. It was a fourth and 3 snap versus Kansas that Williams evaded three Jayhawks defenders before breaking free for a 40-yard touchdown scamper to make the score 28-17.

As a result, Williams has been selected as one of 40 quarterbacks that are officially eligible to win the 2021 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. The next step in the process will be to select the award’s 16 semifinalists from the 40 quarterbacks. Semifinalists will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 9.

Semifinalists will be chosen based on voting from the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee as well as the first round of the fan vote. Fans can vote for Williams on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. The top five vote getters on each social media platform will receive bonus committee member ballots.

Fellow Big 12 quarterbacks Gerry Bohanon of Baylor, Iowa State’s Brock Purdy and Texas’ Casey Thompson were also selected. SMU quarterback and former Sooner Tanner Mordecai made the initial cut as well.

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

Where is Penn State in the AP Top 25 after loss to Illinois?

Penn State got hammered by the AP Top 25 voters after a loss to Illinois in Week 8

Penn State’s catastrophic loss to Illinois in a marathon nine-overtime contest in Week 8 saw the Nittany Lions take a significant stumble in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. Voters in the Associated Press Top 25 were ready to hammer Penn State as well in this week’s updated AP poll.

Penn State fell to No. 20 in this week’s AP Top 25, falling 13 spots from last week in the process from No. 7. Penn State is now actually ranked lower than the Auburn Tigers, whom Penn State defeated earlier in the season. Auburn moved up from No. 19 to No. 18 this week.

Penn State is still one of five Big Ten teams ranked in the AP Top 25 this week. No. 5 Ohio State and No. 6 Michigan stayed where they were a week ago. No. 8 Michigan State moved up one spot after Penn State and Oklahoma State each lost this weekend. And No. 9 Iowa is back into the top 10 after being on a bye week.

[lawrence-related id=9044]

Georgia remains on top of the AP Top 25 with all 63 first-place votes heading their way. Cincinnati is still ahead of one-loss Alabama for the second spot right behind the Bulldogs. Alabama moved up to No. 3 after swapping rankings with Oklahoma this week.

NEXT: Full AP Top 25 following Week 8

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Penn State tumbles in USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

Where is Penn State ranked in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll after an epic overtime loss to Illinois?

After dropping a nine-overtime marathon at home to lowly Illinois, Penn State was due to take a major tumble in the latest polls on Sunday. And that’s exactly what happened for the Nittany Lions following Week 8 of college football action.

Penn State fell 10 spots down to No. 17 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, which was updated Sunday afternoon less than 24 hours after a major disappointment in front of a homecoming crowd. But Penn State’s fall in the polls may have been given a slight pillow considering a number of other losses taken by ranked teams around the country.

Coastal Carolina and NC State each losing gave Penn State a slight cushion underneath them, as did the loss by Clemson. Coastal Carolina and NC State each remained in the top 25, although Clemson fell out after their road loss at Pitt. The Panthers moved up four spots in the coaches poll, but only up to No. 19 to remain two spots behind Penn State despite a better record of 6-1.

Penn State took the biggest tumble in this week’s coaches poll by falling nine spots after a loss to Illinois. No. 15 Oklahoma State also took a good fall by dropping six spots after a loss to Iowa State (up to No. 23 after being unranked). Coastal Carolina fell eight spots and NC State fell seven after losses to Appalachian State and Miami, respectively.

Georgia remains the unanimous No. 1 team in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll after receiving all 64 first-place votes to stay ahead of No. 2 Cincinnati. But No. 3 Alabama has moved ahead of No. 4 Oklahoma, who fell two spots after having to claw back on the road against Kansas. No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Michigan, and No. 7 Michigan State remain in their spots from a week ago heading into a massive weekend of Big Ten football. Penn State is now left in the rearview mirror, at least for now, in the Big Ten East race.

No. 10 Iowa moved up one spot in its bye week to give the Big Ten four top 10 teams after Penn State fell out.

NEXT: The full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll After Week 8

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Penn State maintains position in AP Top 25 after Week 7

What Big Ten team passed Penn State in the updated AP Top 25 after an off week?

[mm-video type=video id=01fj7nqpt36yqs64yfrh playlist_id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fj7nqpt36yqs64yfrh/01fj7nqpt36yqs64yfrh-973db9747f736df95f53637f573ab808.jpg]

An idle week for Penn State saw no movement for the Nittany Lions in this week’s AP Top 25 poll, which was updated Sunday afternoon. The Nittany Lions remain at No. 7 in this week’s updated AP Top 25, although there was some notable movement around them that may raise some eyebrows.

The Michigan Wolverines moved up two posts in this week’s AP Top 25, leaping from one spot behind Penn State to one spot in front of Penn State in this week’s AP Top 25. The logic for such a move considering both teams were on a bye week likely falls on the result of the Iowa Hawkeyes being dumped at home by Purdue in Week 7. A week after Iowa edged Penn State, the Hawkeyes lost by 17 at home to Purdue, thus taking some of the defense to Penn State losing a hard-fought game in the same stadium.

The loss by Iowa dropped the Hawkeyes out of the top 10 of the AP Top 25 (as well as the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll), leaving the Big Ten with four teams in this week’s top 10 of the AP poll. No. 7 Penn State is accompanied by No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Michigan, and No. 9 Michigan State. Iowa fell from No. 2 down to No. 11 this week. Purdue also crept into the top 25 of the AP poll this week, rounding out this week’s poll at No. 25 after their big win at Iowa.

Purdue is one of five new teams in this week’s ranking. Auburn returned to the AP Top 25 at No. 19 this week. No. 20 Baylor, No. 23 Pittsburgh, and No. 24 UTSA also moved into the top 25 this week.

Top-ranked Georgia remained the top team in this week’s ranking with all 63 first-place votes, but Iowa’s loss left an opening for Cincinnati to climb to No. 2 in the AP top 25. The Bearcats stayed ahead of No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 4 Alabama, with all moving up one spot this week.

NEXT: The full AP Top 25 following Week 7

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Penn State passed by division rival in updated USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

Where is Penn State in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll after Week 7?

Penn State did not move up or move down in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll this week while on a bye week, but the Nittany Lions did get passed by one of its division rivals while sitting at home. Michigan State moved up two spots following a close victory over Indiana in week 7, as the Spartans moved up to No. 7 in this week’s coaches poll.

Penn State remained No. 8, the same ranking they held the previous week after suffering its first loss of the season at Iowa in Week 6. Iowa, after getting humiliated at home by Purdue, actually fell behind the Nittany Lions after tumbling from No. 2 down to No. 11 this week.

The Big Ten still has four teams ranked in the top 10 of the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll with Penn State coming in behind No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Michigan, and No. 7 Michigan State.

Georgia secured all 65 first-place votes in this week’s coaches poll to lock down the No. 1 overall ranking for a second straight week. But Cincinnati’s path to its highest ranking in the coaches ranking was blocked by a resurgent Oklahoma. Oklahoma moved up one spot to No. 2 to replace Iowa behind the Bulldogs, and Cincinnati moved up to No. 3. No. 4 Alabama, Ohio State, and Michigan each moved up one spot and the Spartans moved up two. No. 9 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Oregon round out the top 10 this week.

Former Penn State opponent Auburn popped back up into the top 25 of the coaches poll this week following their win over Arkansas, which dropped the Razorbacks out of the top 25 as their losing skid hits three games after a fun start to the season. Pittsburgh also surged into the rankings this week at No. 23, moving just ahead of No. 24 Clemson to setup a top 25 matchup between the Panthers and Tigers coming up.

Here is the full look at the full coaches poll after this week’s slate of games.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Georgia 6-0 1,624 (64) –
2 Oklahoma 7-0 1,508 +1
3 Cincinnati 6-0 1,497 +1
4 Alabama 6-1 1,446 +1
5 Ohio State 5-1 1,305 +1
6 Michigan 6-0 1,299 +1
7 Michigan State 7-0 1,158 +2
8 Penn State 5-1 1,134 –
9 Oklahoma State 6-0 1,093 +3
10 Oregon 5-1 1,048 –
11 Iowa 6-1 1,031 -9
12 Ole Miss 5-1 826 +2
13 Notre Dame 5-1 816 –
14 Kentucky 6-1 763 -3
15 Wake Forest 6-0 696 +1
16 Coastal Carolina 6-0 675 -1
17 Texas A&M 5-2 580 +1
18 NC State 5-1 528 +3
19 SMU 6-0 399 +4
20 Baylor 6-1 369 +7
21 San Diego State 6-0 334 +3
22 Auburn 5-2 315 +4
23 Pittsburgh 5-1 192 +6
24 Clemson 4-2 146 +1
25 UT-San Antonio 7-0 96 +5

Dropped from the rankings:

No. 17 Florida; No. 19 Arkansas; No. 20 Brigham Young; No. 22 Arizona State

Others receiving votes:

Iowa State 38; Utah 35; Arkansas 31; Florida 23; Brigham Young 23; Air Force 20; UL Lafayette 18; Arizona State 18; Purdue 16; Houston 11; Virginia 6; Texas 4; Louisiana State 2; Fresno State 1.

[listicle id=8497]

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

OU QB challenge: Former college HC says ‘Go with the guy that got you to the dance’

Former Hawaii and SMU head coach June Jones shared his thoughts on what he’d do with the Oklahoma Sooners QB situation vs. TCU this week.

Right now, there isn’t a hotly debated topic in college football than what the Oklahoma Sooners should do at the quarterback position. It’s a unique spot for Lincoln Riley and the OU coaching staff.

Between Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams, the Sooners have two good options at the most important position in football. Say what you want about Spencer Rattler. He’s played some really good football for the Sooners. Aside from the Kansas State game, it has been a tough year for Rattler.

But recency bias shouldn’t erase everything he did for the Sooners last year to help them win the Big 12 Championship and the Cotton Bowl over Florida.

Williams was fantastic last week and looked to be the real deal. But that doesn’t make Riley’s decision easy. Williams doesn’t have the experience Rattler offers.

He has two guys capable of leading this team and two guys with a lot of talent. Though a report from earlier in the week indicated Williams was getting a majority of the first-team reps, there’s no telling what happened in practice the rest of the week.

Riley has been reluctant to name a starting quarterback for this week, but if the rest of the week played out like the report from OU Daily, it looks as though it’ll be the Williams show.

Former SMU and Hawaii head coach June Jones joined me on the “Locked On Sooners” podcast to promote his “Run and Shoot” coaching seminar on CoachTube.com. In the workshop, Jones and former head coach Mouse Davis take you through the ins and outs of the “run and shoot,” an offense predicated on motion and throwing the football. It’s the offense that helped Timmy Chang become the NCAA all-time leading passer at one point.

Coach Jones knows a thing or two about the offensive side of the ball and the quarterback position and offered his thoughts on what he’d do this week with Rattler and Williams.

I always feel you go back to the guy that got you to the dance. I would start (Spencer Rattler). I’ve watched him. He makes some unreal plays. He can pass the ball. I think you always go back to him. And if you really think the young kid behind him is the guy then he’s got to prove it again if Rattler doesn’t do the job, then he takes over the team at that point. But right now, for me, I’d go back to the starting quarterback and let the young kid sit there and watch him. – Jones

Rattler has played a lot of good football for the Sooners and has been a big part of Oklahoma’s nation-leading 14-game winning streak dating to last season. He hasn’t looked comfortable for much of this season, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad quarterback or incapable of turning it around.

Riley will do what he thinks is best for the Oklahoma Sooners in Saturday night’s matchup with the TCU Horned Frogs. Whether Rattler or Williams is at quarterback, the Sooners will have a good player running the show.

3 Offensive Keys to the game for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. TCU

As the Oklahoma Sooners get ready to play the TCU Horned Frogs, here are three keys for the offensive side of the ball.

On Saturday night, Oklahoma pushes forward and looks to take one step closer to an undefeated regular season. This week’s opponent will be the TCU Horned Frogs led by Gary Patterson. Patterson’s team is far from a heavyweight but they aren’t pushovers either. They come into the game with a record of 3-2 with losses to Texas and their big rival in SMU.

Defensively, they do not resemble the TCU defenses of the past. For years, TCU was a stingy, stingy defense that had impactful players at every level. While the talent isn’t bad, they lack the edge of TCU defenses from the past.

So, how does Oklahoma attack them when the Sooners have the ball? Let’s take a look at three offensive keys to put Oklahoma in a spot to come out victorious Saturday night.

Protect the Ball

Yes, it’s quite obvious. However, there is still uncertainty about who will be taking the snaps as starting quarterback. There has been no official word from Lincoln Riley about his decision but the point stands for either Spencer Rattler or Caleb Williams. Rattler was benched for his turnovers against Texas. A fumble on a scramble sealed his fate for that game and opened the door for Caleb Williams.

However, Williams has had some issues securing shotgun snaps. TCU quarterback Max Duggan is a veteran player and has the running and throwing ability to make Oklahoma pay if they give them extra possessions.

The Oklahoma Sooners are the more talented team. They can’t afford to let a team like TCU hand around by giving them good field position off of turnovers. Whoever the quarterback is the Saturday night has to protect the football.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Where did Penn State fall in updated AP Top 25 after Week 6?

Where is Penn State in the AP Top 25 after the loss to Iowa in Week 6?

[mm-video type=video id=01fhnjm34xvws2mfew9y playlist_id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fhnjm34xvws2mfew9y/01fhnjm34xvws2mfew9y-824de2a36c478d7eff450360531f8657.jpg]

As expected, Penn State was due to drop a few spots in the new AP Top 25 that was released Sunday after losing on the road to Iowa. But what was unknown was just how much of a drop Penn State could take in a week that saw the Nittany Lions lose a close one on the road while playing the majority of the game with a backup quarterback. It turns out, three spots.

Penn State fell to No. 7 in the new AP Top2 5 that was released Sunday afternoon. Penn State had previously been ranked No. 4 in last week’s AP Top 25. While Penn State did fall behind a rising Ohio State in the AP poll, the Nittany Lions did manage to stay ranked ahead of the Michigan Wolverines amid the reshuffling of the top 10.

Georgia took full control of the first-place ballots this week, receiving all 62 after their road win at Auburn was paired with Alabama’s upset loss Saturday night at Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide fell to No. 5 in the AP poll this week. Iowa moved up to No. 2, with Cincinnati moving up to No. 3 and Oklahoma taking No. 4 this week.

Like in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, Michigan State has moved into the top 10 of the AP Poll to give the Big Ten half of this week’s top 10 teams (Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State.

NEXT: See the full AP Top 25 following Week 6

Pages: Page 1, Page 2