CFB Roundup: Hardy wreaks havoc, Griffons air raid attack, Ravens thrash Yellowjackets

By MATT PIKE

Hardy wreaks havoc as Tigers top  Louisiana on steamy Saturday

Ahmad Hardy rushed for 250 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 25 Missouri pounded Louisiana-Lafayette 52-10 on a hot Saturday at Faurot Field in Columbia.

Hardy opened the scoring as Mizzou scored on four consecutive possessions.  Hardy capped a 10 play drive with a seven yard touchdown run.  On the next offensive drive, Beau Pribula found Marquis Johnson through the air for an 11 yard touchdown pass, and then after a third straight Louisiana three and out, Pribula scored on the ground with a 14 yard touchdown run..

The Tigers continued pouring on the scoring, Pribula throwing out of a sack, and finding Jamal Roberts for a 39 yard touchdown pass putting up 28 unanswered points for Mizzou, before Louisiana finally got on the scoreboard after intercepting Pribula, a 34 yard field goal from Tony Sterner being the first points for the Ragin’ Cajuns. 

It took just two plays for Missouri to respond, Hardy breaking a 71 yard touchdown run.  But Louisiana got a long touchdown run of their own in just one play after back to back punts, Zylan Perry going up the middle for an 84 yard rushing score, adding the final points of the game for the Ragin’ Cajuns.  Robert Meyer hit a 22 yard field goal with no time left in the clock, putting the Tigers up 38-10 at the halftime break. 

Missouri pulled most of its starters in the third quarter after building a 45-10 lead on Hardy’s third rushing touchdown, a seven yard score.  Marquise Davis finished a 17 play drive in the fourth quarter with the final score for the Tigers, a two yard rushing touchdown.

The Tigers finished with 427 yards rushing on 62 carries. Davis had 113 yards and a touchdown on the ground.  Hardy, who transferred to Missouri from Louisiana-Monroe in the offseason, posted a career high in rushing yards and broke the 200-yard barrier for the third time in his college career.   Quarterback Pribula was 15-for-22 passing for 174 yards and two TDs and one rushing touchdown.  Kevin Coleman Jr had eight catches for 84 yards.

Next, Missouri (3-0) kicks off SEC play, hosting No. 11 South Carolina on Saturday.  Kickoff will be at either 6pm or 6:30pm, with the game airing on either ABC or ESPN.  The game will NOT air on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM) due to Royals baseball.

MoWest dominates home opener against Missouri S&T for first win

The Missouri Western State University Griffons dominated the first half and played strong defense throughout in a 27-10 home opening win over Missouri S&T  at Spratt Stadium.

The Griffons opened the scoring midway through the first quarter, scoring the only points of the opening frame, as quarterback Kane Donovan capped a 10 play drive with a 22 yard touchdown pass, finding Isaac Khattab in the endzone. 

MoWest ended the first half with four consecutive scoring drives on way to a shutout in the first half, with Donovan throwing two more touchdown passes, the first coming early in the second quarter connecting with Bryce Page for a two yard score on a 4th and 2 play.  On the Griffons next possession Donovan found his third different receiver for a score, a nine play drive ending with a 24 yard touchdown score to Damir Abdullah.

A 19 yard field goal from Spencer Sprenger extended the Griffons lead late in the half and MoWest went to the halftime break leading 24-0, limiting the Miners to just 66 total offensive yards through the first two quarters of action.

After no scoring in the third quarter, the Griffons added to to their total in the fourth, with their final points of the game coming on a 37-yard field goal from Sprenger. Missouri S&T fought hard late, scoring all of their points in the last 4:15 of the matchup, first getting a five yard touchdown pass from Jake Farrell to Sheldon Butler-Lawson with 4:08 left on the clock, and in the dying seconds of the game knocking through a 36 yard field goal by Layne Ryals.

 Donovan completed 20-of-33 passes for a career-high 233 yards and a career-high three touchdown passes. He also rushed for 24 yards.Bryce Marcus III had a team-best four grabs for 54 yards. Abdullah had a team-high 57 yards on three total catches. Marrell Fountain led the team in rushing for the second straight week, going 65 yards on five carries.

MoWest (1-1) stays at home on Saturday to open MIAA play against Central Missouri (0-2). Kickoff in that game is set for 6 p.m. 

Bearcat offense explodes in home opener victory over Javelinas

The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats rolled up 646 yards of total offense, scoring a 49-20 non-conference win over Texas A&M-Kingsville at Bearcat Stadium in their home opener.

Northwest held a 28-7 lead midway through the third quarter, before TAMUK rallied with 13 straight points to cut the Bearcat lead to 28-20. However, Northwest tacked on 21 fourth-quarter points to race away for the 29-point victory.

Luke Mathews caught a pair of first-half touchdown receptions from Chris Ruhnke, passes of four yards and five yards respectively, and Zechariah Owens rushed for another with a three yard touchdown as Northwest built a 21-7 halftime lead.  The lone score from the Javelinas did have the game tied at the end of the first quarter at seven a piece as Andre Branch rushed in from one yard out.

Owens found the endzone again in the third quarter as he raced in for a 16-yard rushing score for his team-leading third on the ground touchdown this year.  The Javelinas battled back though with a touchdown, a one yard rushing score by Raymond Hudson, and a pair of field goals, 35 yards and 42 yards by Daniel Gauana, to slice the lead to eight with 13:19 to play in the game.

The Bearcats answered almost immediately with a four-play, 75-yard drive that included a 28-yard pass play to Erwin Nash and 33 rushing yards for Quincy Torry. The Bearcats used some razzle-dazzle with a reverse flea-flicker that resulted in a 16-yard touchdown strike from Ruhnke to tight end Andrew Waltlke.  After the Bearcat defense forced a three-and-out and the Northwest offense kept churning.

Northwest marched 66 yards in four plays, and Ruhnke capped the drive with his fourth touchdown pass of the day – a 12-yard toss to Nash for a 42-20 lead.  The Bearcats later went 50 yards in four plays to score their final touchdown with a 40-yard touchdown run by Myers.

Ruhnke went 16-of-20 passing for 229 yards and four touchdowns. Owens went 6-of-9 passing for 112 yards. Nash latched on to a team-high five catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.  Myers and Torry each topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time in their Bearcat careers. Myers toted the ball 10 times for 152 yards and a score. Torry rushed 15 times for 117 yards. 

Northwest (2-1) will be on the road Saturday taking on the Missouri Southern Lions in Joplin, Mo. The Bearcats and Lions will kick at 4 p.m.

Ravens crush Graceland bouncing back big after Grandview loss

Benedictine picked up a big home win Saturday afternoon.  The #4 Ravens defeated the Graceland Yellowjackets, 52-29 at Larry Wilcox Stadium, bouncing back from a conference opening loss to Grandview last week.

Jackson Dooley threw touchdowns on back to back drives opening up the scoring for the Ravens.  Dooley connected with  Brayden Fucuals for a 14 yard touchdown pass.  Then, after Isaiah Hasten ended a Graceland drive by picking off quarterback CJ Brooks, Dooley found Joseph Lagafuaina for a 16 yard touchdown pass to build a 14-0 lead.  

Graceland cut into the lead on a two yard pass from Brooks to Gerald Monroe, but the Ravens extended their lead on the next offensive drive to end the first quarter up 21-7, Xiomar Hernandez scoring on a two yard rushing touchdown.  

Benedictine had things under control early in the first half, leading the Yellowjackets 28-7 after a Xavier Ugorji six yard rushing touchdown with 13 minutes to play in the second quarter. However, Graceland was able to score two touchdowns on consecutive drives late, a 17 yard rushing score by Tael Jean and a three yard pass from Brooks to Monroe, with a two point conversion run by Jason Wagoner, to cut the Ravens lead to 28-22 with 1:19 left to play in the second quarter.  

That’s when the Ravens offense went into quick mode as Dooley led a 69-yard scoring drive in just over a minute, capping it off with a touchdown pass to Tanner Zimmerman to give the Ravens a 35-22 lead at the halftime break.

Benedictine dominated the third quarter to put the game away, scoring three times. Ugorji scored early in the third on a 30-yard run, then JJ Jackson rushed in from 16 yards out. Christian Klobe scored the final Ravens points of the afternoon with a booming 52-yard field goal to put the Ravens up 52-22.

The Ravens defense nearly held the Yellowjackets off the board for the entire second half, but Graceland scored with two seconds left on the clock, Brooks connecting with Monroe for a third time on a 35 yard passing touchdown.

Dooley finished the game with 269 passing yards and three touchdowns going 18-for-32 through the air with an interception. Lagafuaina caught four passes for 80 yards, Zimmerman also had four catches for 38 yards, and Titan Osburn caught three passes for 65 yards. Ugorji led the rushing attack with 57 yards on 10 attempts.

Benedictine (2-1) will hit the road for their next contest, a 1 p.m. Saturday at Clarke University.

K State offense struggles in non conference clash with Arizona

Ismail Mahdi ran for 189 yards, Noah Fifita had two touchdown runs and Arizona overcame a shaky start to the second half for a 23-17 win over Kansas State on Friday night in Tucson, Arizona.

Arizona faced its first big test of the year after beating two smaller-conference teams by a combined score of 88-9. The Wildcats led by 14 at halftime, but let Kansas State back in it with a series of mistakes. They sealed the win with a turnover on downs, opening 3-0 for the first time since 2015.

Arizona led 17-3 at halftime on touchdown runs of 15 and two yards by Fifita.  The Wildcats also got a 31 yard field goa from MIchael Salgado-Medina in the half, while Kansas State’s lone score started the scoring, a 51 yard field goal by Luis Rodriguez Jr.  The Wildcats from Manhattan needed one play to get back in it after the halftime break.

Taking a direct snap, wide receiver Jayce Brown weaved through a blockade of tacklers on the right side and raced past the rest of the defense for a 75-yard touchdown run — the first touchdown Arizona’s defense has allowed this season.  Then, after a three-and-out, Salgado-Medina fumbled a snap and had his kick blocked, setting up Kansas State at Arizona’s 13. Avery Johnson scored four plays later on a one yard run to tie the game up.

Salgado-Medina kicked field goals of 31 and 41 yards to put Arizona up 23-17 before hitting the upright on a 46-yard attempt with 1:55 left.  Kansas State would turn the ball over on downs, Johnson’s pass attempt to Brown falling incomplete on 4th and 7, allowing Arizona to kneel out the final minute of the game.

Coming off a home loss to Army, Kansas State struggled offensively for much of the nonconference matchup between future Big 12 foes — a game scheduled before Arizona joined the league. Kansas State had 193 total yards and Johnson was limited to 88 yards and no touchdowns on 13 of 29 passing.  Dylan Edwards returned for the first time since spraining his ankle early in the season opener against No. 14 Iowa State.  Edwards had four carries for 13 yards.  Brown had six catches for 68 yards to be the leading receiver.

Up next, Kansas State (1-3) opens Big 12 play against UCF on  September 27th.  The Wildcats get a much deserved bye week this week.

Nebraska rests starters in second half during rout of Houston Christian

Dylan Raiola threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns, Emmett Johnson ran for two scores and Nebraska hammered Houston Christian 59-7 Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

The Cornhuskers, wearing all-red uniforms for the first time since 1986, scored on their first eight full possessions against the Huskies of the Football Championship Subdivision.  Raiola, Johnson and most of the other starters didn’t play in the second half as Nebraska improved to 16-0 against FCS opponents.

The Huskers led 38-0 after rolling up 320 yards and holding Houston Christian to 52 total yards in the first half. They finished with 554 yards of offense.

The Huskers also got their first fumble return for a touchdown since 2020 early in the second quarter when former Missouri Tiger and Lees Summit North defensive end William Nwaneri picked up Jake Weir’s fumble on a sack and ran 29 yards for a score.

Houston Christian ended Nebraska’s bid for a second straight shutout though in the middle of the third quarter. Xai’Shaun Edwards took a handoff, shook off Jaylen George’s tackle attempt and went around the left side for a 45-yard touchdown.

TJ Lateef relieved Raiola to start the second half and was 5 of 5 for 126 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown to Cortez Mills Jr.  Dane Key caught four passes for 104 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown, and Kwinten Ives ran for 72 of his 85 yards in the second half. Johnson added 78 yards on the ground.

Up next, Nebraska (3-0) opens Big Ten play at home against No. 23 Michigan on Saturday.  The game kicks off at 2:30pm and will air on CBS and Paramount+.

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.