West and Missouri Run Over Kansas

Kansas focused on stopping Missouri quarterback Corby Jones, and Devin West made the Jayhawks pay.

West ran for a school-record 319 yards, carrying 33 times in 94-degree heat, as No. 25 Missouri beat archrival Kansas, 41-23, Saturday at Columbia, Mo.

A spot starter before this season, West topped the previous record of 240 yards set by Harry “Slippery” Ice, also against Kansas, in 1941. It was the third-biggest rushing game in Big 12 history.

Combined with last week’s 125-yard performance in a 37-0 victory over Bowling Green, West has 444 yards rushing for Missouri, 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12 Conference.

Kansas (0-2, 0-2) tried to stop Missouri’s option offense by forcing Jones, last season’s all-Big 12 quarterback, to pitch. He did, but the strategy backfired.

Missouri Coach Larry Smith, who celebrated his 59th birthday on Saturday, said, “I’ve coached a lot of years and had a lot of great backs, but I’ve never seen a performance like this.”

Ten of West’s rushes gained 10 yards or more, including runs of 55, 45, 33 and 16 yards. He scored on runs of three and 45 yards.

No. 16 Colorado 29, Fresno State 21--The Buffaloes trailed the Bulldogs 14-3 in the first half at Boulder, Colo., and then, leading 29-14 early in the fourth quarter, needed a goal-line stand to avoid the potential of overtime and a possible loss to a 21 1/2-point underdog.

Colorado quarterback Mike Moschetti, a transfer from Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Javon Green early in the fourth quarter, capping a 26-point flurry and giving the Buffaloes (2-0) a 15-point lead.

Fresno State (0-1) made it 29-21 on Jaime Kimbrough’s four-yard run with 6:56 left, then used a blocked punt by Justin Johnson to set up a last-minute scoring chance at the two-yard line.

But quarterback Billy Volek, trying to sneak across from the one-foot line on third down, fumbled and Colorado end Nick Ziegler recovered with 22 seconds left.

No. 5 Kansas State 73, Northern Illinois 7--Michael Bishop ran for two touchdowns and passed for two and David Allen’s two touchdowns included a 69-yard punt return as Wildcats (2-0) ran up the score on the outmanned Huskies (0-2) at Manhattan, Kan.

Kansas State has outscored its first two opponents 139-7, having beaten Indiana State, 66-0, in its opener. The Wildcats set a record for points in a half (59) and a game. Previous high for a game came in a 67-0 rout of Akron in 1995.

No. 18 Texas A&M; 28, Louisiana Tech 7--Fullback D’Andre Hardeman scored three touchdowns and the Aggies won at soggy Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.

Hardeman scored on runs of one, 10, and nine as the Aggies (1-1) played keep-away from the pass-happy Bulldogs (0-3).

Louisiana Tech’s Troy Edwards, who set an NCAA record with 405 receiving yards against Nebraska, caught 11 passes for only 67 yards, although he did score on an eight-yard run.

Texas Tech 30, North Texas 0--The Big 12’s “other” Ricky Williams, the nation’s leading rusher heading into the weekend with 251 yards, ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns as the Red Raiders (2-0) avenged last year’s loss to the Eagles (0-2) with a shutout at Irving, Texas.