Colorado Barely Defeats Lowly Iowa State

John Hessler drove Colorado to the winning touchdown after making two critical mistakes and the Buffaloes escaped with a 43-38 Big 12 victory over Iowa State Saturday at Ames, Iowa.

Dwayne Cherrington scored the winning touchdown on a one-yard run with nine seconds left.

Colorado (5-4, 3-3 in the Big 12) pulled it out after Iowa State, which blew an 18-point lead, went ahead, 38-37, on Jamie Kohl’s 24-yard field goal with 2:54 remaining.

The Cyclones (1-8, 1-5) lost to Colorado for the 14th consecutive time despite Todd Bandhauer’s three touchdown passes and Dustin Avey’s 94-yard interception return for a touchdown, the second-longest runback in school history.

After Kohl’s field goal, Ben Kelly returned the kickoff 33 yards to his 48 and Hessler took Colorado downfield after passing to Chris Anderson for 16 yards on fourth and 10 from the 48.

The oft-criticized senior also had seven-yard completions to Anderson and Marcus Stiggers, and Herchell Troutman ran nine yards to the Iowa State two. Two plays later, Cherrington burst through the left side for the winning touchdown to cap the third consecutive high-scoring game between the schools. Colorado won, 49-42, at Boulder last year and, 50-28, in Ames two years ago.

Iowa State played most of the second half without running back Darren Davis, who had rushed for 508 yards in the two previous games. Davis injured his left thigh late in the first half and carried only twice in the second half, finishing with 68 yards in 22 carries.

Hessler was 24 for 40 for 299 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a touchdown. But he made two bad plays that could have cost Colorado the game.

With Colorado trailing, 21-10, and driving late in the first half, Hessler threw the ball right to Avey at the Iowa State six. The freshman safety, a state champion hurdler at Ames High School, had an open field in front of him and easily outran Hessler to the end zone to make it 28-10.

Midway through the third quarter, Hessler pitched the ball behind Troutman on an option play and Iowa State’s Jim Morse recovered at the Colorado 11. Two plays later, Bandhauer passed to Tyronne Watley for a seven-yard touchdown and a 35-17 lead.

Hessler shook off the mistake and drove the Buffaloes 68 yards in 14 plays, Cherrington going the final yard on a fourth-down sweep.

No. 11 Kansas State 48, Kansas 16--Michael Bishop threw three touchdown passes and Gerald Neasman scored on a kickoff and an interception return to lead the Wildcats (8-1, 5-1) over the Jayhawks (5-5, 3-4) at Manhattan, Kan.

It was Kansas State’s fifth win in a row over Kansas and the 48 points is the most the Wildcats have ever scored against their in-state rivals in 95 games.

Junior kicker Martin Gramatica made six extra points and two field goals to boost his point total to 202, breaking the Kansas State career scoring record. Bishop broke the school single-season rushing record for a quarterback, going 33 yards to increase his total to 424.

“Last week I didn’t play as well as I could have,” said Bishop, who was benched in the fourth quarter after throwing three interceptions against Texas Tech. “I just concentrated on doing the right things, coming out and winning.”

Bishop, now 32-1 as a starter counting two years at Blinn Junior College, threw touchdown passes on the Wildcats’ first two possessions. One to Gavin Peries covered 28 yards and the other, a scrambling, off-balance throw to Darnell McDonald, went for 63 yards.

The pass to McDonald traveled about 65 yards in the air as Bishop darted away from pressure and threw off his back foot.

No. 21 Texas A&M; 38, Baylor 10--Branndon Stewart passed for three touchdowns and a season-high 231 yards as the Aggies (7-2, 4-2) stayed in the driver’s seat in the Big 12 South Division and became eligible for a bowl by defeating the Bears (2-7, 1-5) at College Station, Texas.

The Aggies (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) stayed in the driver’s seat in the Big 12 South Division and became eligible for a bowl with the victory over the Bears (2-7, 1-5).

If Texas A&M; defeats Oklahoma and Texas in its final two games the Aggies will play in the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 6 at San Antonio.

Texas Tech, which defeated Texas A&M; earlier in the year, has declared itself ineligible for postseason play because of NCAA rules violations.

The crowd of 64,006 included former President Bush and his wife, Barbara.

No. 25 Oklahoma State 30, Oklahoma 7--The Cowboys (7-2, 4-2), who had lost their previous two games, got two touchdown passes from Tony Lindsay and forced six turnovers to defeat the Sooners (3-7, 1-5) at Norman, Okla.

The victory was just the Cowboys’ fifth against Oklahoma since World War II. But they have won two of three against the Sooners under Coach Bob Simmons, both victories coming in Norman.

“It was an emotional game, but after we settled down, especially on defense the kids played lights out and gave our offense a chance,” Simmons said.

Oklahoma lost four fumbles and had two passes intercepted.

Converted defensive back Brandon Daniels made his first start at quarterback for the Sooners and went most of the way, but the option game was bottled up most of the time as the Cowboys dared Oklahoma to pass.

Texas Tech 24, Texas 10--Dane Johnson returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and the Red Raiders’ Ricky Williams outrushed his namesake from the Longhorns at Austin.

Texas Tech (5-4, 4-2) shook off a tumultuous week in which it was announced that the NCAA has accused the school of violating rules in 18 areas.

The Longhorns (3-6, 1-5) guaranteed themselves a losing record for the first time since 1991 (5-6)--the same year David McWilliams was fired as coach--and have lost four in a row for the first time since 1988, when the team finished 4-7.

The game figured to be a showcase for Texas’ Williams, who was seeking to tie an NCAA record by rushing for a fifth consecutive 200-yard game. But Texas Tech’s defense, which had seven sacks, held him to 80 yards in 21 carries, including a two-yard touchdown run.

Williams was the nation’s leading rusher (177.4 yards per game) entering into the game.

Instead, it was Texas Tech’s Williams, a true freshman from Duncanville, who stole the show, carrying the Red Raiders’ offense as he ran 25 times for 131 yards.