Football – Page 27 – North Platte Post Archive

Broncos Beat Bills 24-17 Behind Anderson’s 3 TDs

Posted on December 7, 2014

DENVER (AP) — C.J. Anderson ran for three touchdowns and the Denver Broncos overcame a rare unsteady outing by Peyton Manning to beat the Buffalo Bills 24-17 Sunday.

Manning’s streak of 51 straight games with a touchdown throw — three shy of Drew Brees’ NFL record — ended on a sun-splashed, almost still afternoon in Denver, where the game-time temperature was a balmy 63 degrees.

Despite three turnovers, the Broncos (10-3) won their third straight game since changing from a pass-oriented attack to a run-heavy approach.

Manning finished 14 of 20 for 173 yards with two interceptions. His top receiver, Demaryius Thomas, was held to two catches for 11 yards, and tight end Julius Thomas (ankle) was active but didn’t play for the third straight week.

Buffalo is 7-6.

Huskers to Face USC in Holiday Bowl

Posted on December 7, 2014

Nebraska has been selected to take on USC in the National University Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Saturday, Dec. 27. The matchup will take place at Qualcomm Stadium, the home of the San Diego Chargers. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. CT with ESPN providing television coverage of the matchup.

The Huskers will head to the West Coast with a 9-3 overall record, including a 5-3 mark in Big Ten Conference play. Nebraska capped the regular season with a 37-34 overtime victory at Iowa on the day after Thanksgiving. Nebraska is ranked 22^nd in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 25 in the Associated Press Poll heading to San Diego.

Mike Riley was named Nebraska’s head coach on Dec. 4, but will not coach the Huskers in the bowl game, with Interim Coach Barney Cotton leading the Huskers in San Diego.

“We look forward to the opportunity to take on USC in the Holiday Bowl, and the opportunity to finish our season with a trip to San Diego,” Cotton said. “Our goal as a coaching staff is to provide a great bowl experience and put this team in position for success in the Holiday Bowl. This team has outstanding character and leadership, and we would like nothing more than to send our seniors out with a second straight bowl victory and a 10-win season.”

Nebraska’s appearance in the Holiday Bowl will mark its fourth trip to the San Diego game, including three in the past six years. Nebraska is 1-2 in the Holiday Bowl, defeating Arizona in the 2009 game, while losing to Arizona in the 1998 Holiday Bowl and to Washington in 2010.

The trip to the Holiday Bowl is Nebraska’s 51^st all-time bowl appearance, the third-most bowl appearances of any school in the country. The 2014 season marks the seventh straight season with a bowl trip for Nebraska.

“We are excited to celebrate our 51^st bowl appearance with a trip to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl,” University of Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst said. “The Holiday Bowl is a wonderful new partner for the Big Ten Conference, and our student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans are excited to travel to the West Coast. I know they will have a wonderful experience in San Diego. The University of Southern California is an outstanding institution, has an excellent football program and will be a great matchup for our team.”

The matchup with USC marks the fifth all-time meeting between two of college football’s most storied programs, and the first ever in a bowl game. USC holds a 3-0-1 all-time edge in the series, most recently defeating Nebraska in 2006 and 2007 in a home-and-home series. USC also defeated Nebraska in 1969, and the schools played to a tie in the 1970 season.

USC will enter the Holiday Bowl with an 8-4 overall record, including a 6-3 mark in Pac-12 Conference play. The Trojans are ranked 24^th in the Associated Press Poll and the College Football Playoff rankings, and are just outside of the top 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Three of USC’s four losses were by six or fewer points, and the Trojans are coming off a 49-14 win over Notre Dame in their regular-season finale.

Coach Steve Sarkisian is in his first season at the helm of the USC program, after running the Washington program prior to moving to Los Angeles. The 2014 Trojans feature an explosive passing offense, averaging nearly 300 yards per game to rank 15^th in the nation. USC also ranks in the top 30 in total offense and scoring offense. Defensively, the Trojans are tough against the run, and also rank among the nation’s leaders in turnover margin.

Tickets for the Holiday Bowl are on sale to the public now at Huskers.com. Beginning Monday morning tickets can also be purchased by calling the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-8-BIG RED. Fans can purchase tickets by using VISA, MasterCard or Discover.

Holiday Bowl tickets range in price from $75 to $120, and Nebraska will receive an allotment of 6,000 tickets for the game.

Alabama, Oregon, FSU, Ohio State are in Playoff

Posted on December 7, 2014

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State have been selected to play in the first College Football Playoff.

Alabama is the top seed and will play Ohio State in one semifinal at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Oregon is the second seed and will play Florida State in the other semifinal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Both games will be played New Year’s Day.

The winners will advance to the national championship game to be played Jan. 12 at the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas.

The Big 12 co-champs, TCU and Baylor, were left out.

A 12-member selection committee set the field, revealing its selections Sunday morning.

The College Football Playoff is replacing the Bowl Championship Series this season. The BCS matched the top two teams in the country in a national championship game.

Baylor, Ohio State Pass TCU in AP Top 25, Nebraska Remains 25th

Posted on December 7, 2014

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — Baylor and Ohio State jumped past TCU in the final Associated Press college football poll Sunday.

No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Florida State and No. 3 Oregon held their places from last week in the final media poll of the regular season.

The Bears were fourth and Buckeyes were fifth, with TCU dropping to two spots to sixth after Baylor and Ohio State had impressive wins against ranked teams on Saturday.

TCU routed lowly Iowa State to finish its season as co-champion of the Big 12 with Baylor.

The final College Football Playoff rankings will be released later Sunday and the four-team field for the playoff will be set.

The rest of the top 10 is Michigan State at seven, followed by Mississippi State, Mississippi and Georgia Tech.

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 6, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

	Record	Pts	Pv
1. Alabama (27)	12-1	1,452	1
2. Florida St. (25)	13-0	1,436	2
3. Oregon (8)	12-1	1,426	3
4. Baylor	11-1	1,265	5
5. Ohio St.	12-1	1,262	6
6. TCU	11-1	1,257	4
7. Michigan St.	10-2	1,105	7
8. Mississippi St.	10-2	1,070	10
9. Mississippi	9-3	976	13
10. Georgia Tech	10-3	876	12
11. Kansas St.	9-3	875	9
12. Arizona	10-3	819	8
13. Georgia	9-3	745	15
14. UCLA	9-3	663	16
15. Arizona St.	9-3	602	17
16. Missouri	10-3	599	14
17. Wisconsin	10-3	542	11
18. Clemson	9-3	509	19
19. Auburn	8-4	450	20
20. Louisville	9-3	406	21
21. Boise St.	11-2	368	22
22. LSU	8-4	221	23
23. Utah	8-4	134	24
24. Southern Cal	8-4	112	NR
25. Nebraska	9-3	79	25

Others receiving votes: Minnesota 58, Oklahoma 46, Marshall 36, Memphis 34, Duke 32, Colorado St. 13, N. Illinois 11, Air Force 7, Cincinnati 5, UCF 4, West Virginia 4, Stanford 1.

No. 6 Buckeyes Blow Out No. 11 Badgers 59-0

Posted on December 7, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Cardale Jones threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, Ezekiel Elliott ran for a career-high 220 yards and two scores and No. 6 Ohio State made an emphatic statement with a 59-0 rout over No. 11 Wisconsin in Saturday’s Big Ten championship game.

Now the Buckeyes (12-1, 8-0 Big Ten, No. 5 CFP) must wait to see if they’ve done enough to earn one of the four spots in this year’s inaugural playoff.

Ohio State has won 11 straight, this time with Jones, who started the season No. 3 on the quarterback depth chart. Jones finished 12 of 17 and led the Buckeyes to scores on five of their first six possessions, building a 38-0 halftime lead.

Melvin Gordon ran for 76 yards as the Badgers (10-3, 7-1, No. 13) had a seven-game winning streak snapped. It was Wisconsin’s worst loss since 1979 and its first shutout since 1997.

Broncos Bring Back McManus as Kickoff Specialist

Posted on December 7, 2014

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Brandon McManus is back with the Denver Broncos as their kickoff specialist two weeks after losing his kicking job to veteran Connor Barth.

Denver waived rookie punt returner Isaiah Burse.

McManus’ 69 percent field-goal conversion rate prompted the switch to Barth, who was 5 for 5 on field goals in a 29-16 win at Kansas City.

However, none of his eight kickoffs went for touchbacks on a frigid, windy night at Arrowhead Stadium and the Chiefs’ average starting position on those kickoffs was their 33.

McManus had 48 touchbacks in 64 kickoffs (75 percent) this season. Barth is just 11 for 164 in his career.

Burse averaged 7.2 yards on 29 punt returns. He’ll be replaced Sunday by Emmanuel Sanders or Wes Welker against Buffalo.

Demaryius Thomas Says He’ll Give Broncos a Break

Posted on December 5, 2014

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Demaryius Thomas says he’d take a hometown discount to stay in Denver.

If he does, the Broncos can thank Peyton Manning and even Josh McDaniels, the man who drafted him.

Thomas, who has a bruised right ankle, said he expects to play Sunday against Buffalo, but the bigger news is his eagerness to get a deal done to stay in Denver for the long haul.

While hometown discount is a nebulous term — is that less than the $16 million annually that Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald average, and if so, how much less? — it is certainly good news for the Broncos.

They have two other stars up for megadeals in cornerback Chris Harris Jr. and tight end Julius Thomas. Then, there’s the blockbuster extension looming for Von Miller after 2015.

Nebraska AP High School Football Final Rankings

Posted on December 5, 2014

Here are the final Associated Press Nebraska high school football rankings in Classes A through D2. Listings include name of school, season record and previous ranking (NR-not ranked). The rankings are based on a formula that includes ratings from the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star plus experts for each class. Class A: Dale Miller, Grand Island Independent. Class B: Jeff Fielder, Scottsbluff Star-Herald. Class C1: Tom Behmer, Norfolk Daily News. Class C2: Brent Wasinius, Fremont Tribune. Class D1: Andrew Bottrell, North Platte Telegraph. Class D2: Nick Blasnitz, Hastings Tribune.

CLASS A

1. Omaha North (13-0), 1.

2. Creighton Preparatory School (11-2), 3.

3. Papillion-La Vista South (8-4), 6.

4. Millard North (10-1), 2.

5. Grand Island (10-2), 5.

6. Omaha Central (7-4), 7.

7. Millard West (7-4), 9.

8. Lincoln East (7-3), 8.

9. Bellevue West (6-4), 4.

10. Kearney (7-4), 10.

Others receiving votes: None.

CLASS B

1. Omaha Skutt Catholic (11-2), 1.

2. Elkhorn (10-3), 4.

3. McCook (10-2), 5.

4. Gretna (9-2), 3.

5. Scottsbluff (10-2), 6.

6. Blair (7-4), 7.

7. Seward (8-3), NR.

8. Beatrice (7-4), NR.

9. Elkhorn South (7-3), 2.

10. York (7-3), 8.

Others receiving votes: None.

CLASS C1

1. Boone Central/Newman Grove (13-0), 1.

2. Norfolk Catholic (9-2), 3.

3. Ashland-Greenwood (12-1), 2.

4. Kearney Catholic (10-2), 8.

5. Columbus Scotus (9-2), 4.

6. Cozad (10-2), 6.

7. Chadron (8-2), 7.

8. Grand Island Central Catholic (8-3), 10.

9. Wilber-Clatonia (9-1), 5.

10. Pierce (6-4), NR.

Others receiving votes: Boys Town.

CLASS C2

1. Aquinas Catholic (12-1), 4.

2. Battle Creek (11-1), 1.

3. Hartington Cedar Catholic (10-3), 6.

4. Oakland-Craig (10-2), 7.

5. Sutton (9-1), 3.

6. Hastings St. Cecilia (9-2), 5.

7. North Platte St. Patrick’s (10-1), 2.

8. Archbishop Bergan (8-3), 8.

9. Freeman (9-2), 9.

10. Lutheran High Northeast (6-4), NR.

Others receiving votes: Fillmore Central, Malcolm.

CLASS D1

1. Hemingford (13-0), 1.

2. BDS (11-2), 7.

3. Blue Hill (6-4), 8.

4. Elm Creek (10-2), 9.

5. Heartland (10-1), 4.

6. Guardian Angels Central Catholic (11-1), 3.

7. Creighton (10-1), 2.

8. Friend (10-1), 5.

6. Fullerton (10-1), 6.

10. Howells-Dodge (6-4), NR.

Others receiving votes: Burwell.

CLASS D2

1. Exeter-Milligan (13-0), 1.

2. Falls City Sacred Heart (9-3), 5.

3. Anselmo-Merna (12-1), 4.

4. Humphrey St. Francis (10-1), 3.

5. Kenesaw (9-2), 6.

6. Stuart (9-1), 2.

7. Giltner (7-3), 7.

8. Maxwell (10-2), NR.

9. Randolph (7-3), 10.

10. Garden County (10-1), 8.

Others receiving votes: None.

Chiefs’ Charles Available Sunday vs Cardinals

Posted on December 5, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles will be available for Sunday’s game at Arizona despite bruising his knee in last weekend’s loss to the Broncos.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that Charles did not miss a snap all week in practice and will start against the Cardinals. Charles had just 10 carries for 35 yards against Denver.

Reid said that wide receiver Junior Hemingway and defensive lineman Allen Bailey are out after sustaining concussions. Hemingway has struggled to get on the field most of the season, but Bailey has become valuable for a defense that has struggled to stop the run.

Vance Walker and Kevin Vickerson are expected to replace Bailey in the lineup.

Mike Riley Introduced as Head Coach

Posted on December 5, 2014

Lincoln, Nebraska — The University of Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst announced the hiring of Mike Riley as the Huskers new Head Football Coach on Thursday, December 4. On Friday, Coach Riley was formally introduced at a news conference held in Memorial Stadium.

Coach Riley comes to Nebraska after 14 seasons as the head coach at Oregon State University, spanning two different tenures in Corvallis (1997-98 and 2003-14). Riley led OSU to 93 wins and a 6-2 record in postseason bowl games.

In addition to his time at Oregon State, Riley served as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers (1999-2001) the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (1987-90), with whom he won two Grey Cup Championships, and the San Antonio Riders in the World League of American Football (1991-92). With 40 years of coaching experience, Riley also served as an assistant coach at California, USC, Linfield College, Whitworth and Northern Colorado as well as with the New Orleans Saints and in the Canadian Football League.

“There was one coach who fit all the characteristics that I was seeking to lead our tradition-rich football program,” Eichorst said. “Mike Riley has a proven record of success, a sound approach to football and teaching, an understanding of the educational mission of our university and the integrity and values that we cherish at Nebraska. I have no doubt that Mike will assemble a tremendous staff and lead our student-athletes to win Big Ten titles and compete for national championships in the years ahead.”

“We have high expectations of the men and women who teach and coach our students and Mike Riley is an outstanding addition to our family,” added UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman. “I want to welcome Mike and his family to Nebraska and thank Shawn Eichorst for his great efforts in bringing Mike to Lincoln.”

“It is truly an honor to join the University of Nebraska family,” Coach Riley said. “Though we love Corvallis and Oregon State, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to coach at one of the nation’s most storied football programs and I can’t wait to get started. My sincere thanks to Chancellor Perlman and Shawn Eichorst for their confidence in me and I look forward to becoming a part of the Nebraska family and building upon the great history and tradition.”

Riley is a native of Idaho and a graduate of the University of Alabama, where he played for Paul “Bear” Bryant and won three SEC titles and one National Championship. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Social Science and his master’s degree in Physical Education from Whitworth. Mike and his wife, Dee, have two children, Matthew and Kate, and one grandchild, Eli.

Coach Riley will assume his duties immediately, but will not coach the Huskers in the upcoming bowl game as Interim Head Coach Barney Cotton will coach the team through the bowl. Effective today, Riley’s contract specifies an annual salary of $2.7 million with automatic $100,000 increases in each of the five years of the contract (through February 28, 2020).