Football – Page 46 – North Platte Post Archive

Mississippi Tie: Rebels, Bulldogs 3rd in AP Poll, Nebraska Falls to 21

Posted on October 5, 2014

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi and Mississippi State are tied for third in The Associated Press college football poll after a wild day of unexpected results brought major changes to the Top 25.

Just about the only thing that didn’t change this week was No. 1: Florida State is still top-ranked, with 35 first-place votes.

Auburn, the only other team in the top six to win, moved up three spots to No. 2 and received 23 first-place votes. Then comes Ole Miss and Mississippi State, in the top five together for the first time after the Rebels beat Alabama and the Bulldogs beat Texas A&M on Saturday.

The Bulldogs received two first-place votes.

The Rebels haven’t been ranked this high since 1970, when they were also No. 3. The Bulldogs have their best ranking ever. Their previous best was No. 7 in 1981.

Baylor rounds out the top five and Notre Dame is No. 6.

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Oct. 4, 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. Florida St. (35)	5-0	1,461	1
2. Auburn (23)	5-0	1,459	5
3. Mississippi	5-0	1,320	11
3. Mississippi St. (2)	5-0	1,320	12
5. Baylor	5-0	1,258	7
6. Notre Dame	5-0	1,186	9
7. Alabama	4-1	1,060	3
8. Michigan St.	4-1	981	10
9. TCU	4-0	979	25
10. Arizona	5-0	951	NR
11. Oklahoma	4-1	904	4
12. Oregon	4-1	888	2
13. Georgia	4-1	854	13
14. Texas A&M	5-1	731	6
15. Ohio St.	4-1	534	20
16. Oklahoma St.	4-1	527	21
17. Kansas St.	4-1	486	23
18. UCLA	4-1	460	8
19. East Carolina	4-1	344	22
20. Arizona St.	4-1	325	NR
21. Nebraska	5-1	283	19
22. Georgia Tech	5-0	235	NR
23. Missouri	4-1	212	24
24. Utah	4-1	206	NR
25. Stanford	3-2	143	14

Others receiving votes: Clemson 92, Marshall 78, Southern Cal 61, Louisville 36, LSU 35, BYU 26, West Virginia 18, Arkansas 14, Wisconsin 7, California 6, Penn St. 5, Kentucky 4, Rutgers 4, N. Dakota St. 3, Minnesota 2, South Carolina 1, Virginia 1.

No. 10 Michigan St. Holds Off No. 19 Nebraska 27-22

Posted on October 4, 2014

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Trae Waynes intercepted Tommy Armstrong’s pass with 30 seconds remaining, and No. 10 Michigan State held off a furious Nebraska rally, beating the No. 19 Cornhuskers 27-22 on Saturday night.

The Spartans (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) led 27-3 heading into the fourth quarter before three Nebraska touchdowns set up a tense finish. A 43-yard pass to Alonzo Moore gave the Huskers the ball at the Michigan State 37 with just under a minute to play.

But on a day when several other top teams lost in wild upsets, Nebraska (5-1, 1-1) couldn’t finish this comeback. Armstrong’s pass to the end zone fell incomplete, and Waynes then came up with his second interception of the game.

NFL Hires Another Domestic Conduct Adviser

Posted on October 3, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL has hired Beth E. Richie as a senior adviser on domestic conduct.

Richie is the director of the Institute of Research on Race and Public Policy and a professor of African-American studies, criminology, sociology, gender and women’s studies, and criminal law and justice at Illinois-Chicago. She is considered a leading expert on issues of sexual assault.

Richie joins five previously hired advisers. According to a memo sent by Commissioner Roger Goodell to all team chief executives and presidents, the advisers meet with the league daily “to help develop our educational and service programs, and to assist in revising our personal conduct policy.”

Goodell also mentioned that the NFL met with the heads of groups representing the parents of pro football players, and with Dr. Dara Richardson-Heron, the CEO of the YWCA, the largest provider of domestic violence services in the United States.

Chiefs’ Donnie Avery has Surgery on Sports Hernia

Posted on October 3, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs wide receiver Donnie Avery had surgery Friday for a sports hernia and has been ruled out for Sunday’s game at San Francisco, though he is expected back later this season.

The Chiefs have their bye week after playing the 49ers.

Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry also will miss his third straight game with a high ankle sprain, though wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas is expected to make his NFL debut after dealing with a hamstring injury that has kept him out since training camp.

The Chiefs also get right tackle Donald Stephenson back from a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Stephenson is expected to serve as the backup to Ryan Harris, who has started in his absence.

Denver Broncos Cut Ties with Matt Prater

Posted on October 3, 2014

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos have cut ties with Matt Prater, who’s about to come off his four-game suspension.

First-year kicker Brandon McManus has turned his temp job into a full-time one.

In a statement, GM John Elway said releasing Prater was “a very difficult football decision.”

He added that McManus “has earned the opportunity to continue kicking for our team with how well he’s played to start the season. He has a very strong leg and we have confidence in him on both field goals and kickoffs.”

Prater appeared in 96 regular-season games for Denver from 2007-13, connecting on 141 of 170 (.829) field goal attempts and 259 of 261 (.992) extra point attempts for 682 total points. He registered 262 touchbacks on 497 kickoffs (.527) for the Broncos while posting eight special-teams tackles.

Student Who Ran on Field May Keep Scholarship

Posted on October 3, 2014

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A student who ran onto the field during an Ohio State football game and was body-slammed by a coach may not lose his scholarship.

An official of the Evans Scholars Foundation says that 21-year-old Anthony Wunder has been suspended from all program activities and was asked to move out of the Evans Scholars House on campus. But the status of his scholarship is still being determined.

The program covers tuition and housing for former golf caddies.

Wunder, a fourth-year engineering student, ran onto the Ohio Stadium turf last Saturday and was slammed to the ground by Ohio State assistant coach Anthony Schlegel. Video of the hit became a sensation on social media.

Wunder’s attorney entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf to misdemeanor criminal trespassing.

Spartans Host Huskers in Crucial Big Ten Matchup

Posted on October 3, 2014

After all the big, era-defining victories Michigan State earned last season, a November win at Nebraska is often overlooked.

Michigan State’s 41-28 victory at Nebraska last year was the Spartans’ last major hurdle en route to the Legends Division title. The Big Ten realigned after that, and these teams are in different divisions now, but a lot will still be on the line Saturday night when the 10th-ranked Spartans host the 19th-ranked Cornhuskers.

Michigan State (3-1) has rebounded from its loss at Oregon and still holds hopes of reaching college football’s new four-team playoff. The Big Ten has taken some criticism for its early-season performance, so if the Spartans are going to impress the nation, this matchup with one of the league’s other ranked teams is important.

Nebraska (5-0, 1-0) didn’t look great while struggling against McNeese State a few weeks ago, but the Cornhuskers beat Miami and routed Illinois.

9 Ex-Players Opt Out of NFL Concussion Litigation

Posted on October 3, 2014

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Lawyers for thousands of former football players involved in the NFL concussion litigation say nine have opted out of the proposed settlement.

The deadline to opt out is Oct. 14, although some retirees want a judge to extend the date.

The NFL has agreed to pay at least $765 million over 65 years. About 20,000 ex-players would be covered by the agreement.

Individual awards could reach $5 million for severe brain trauma. The average ex-player with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is expected to get about $190,000.

The players’ lawyers filed a motion Thursday asking U.S. District Senior Judge Anita Brody to keep the current timelines for settling the case. They say families need money soon.

But some plaintiffs want the opt-out deadline delayed until after the judge weighs the fairness of the settlement in November.

Huskers Inching Closer to Showdown with Spartans

Posted on October 3, 2014

Lincoln, Neb. – The Nebraska football team went through a 50-minute walkthrough at the Hawks Championship Center on Thursday in preparation for Saturday night’s showdown against Michigan State.

Head Coach Bo Pelini spoke to the media afterward and expressed pleasure with the team’s performance this week.

“It was good,” Pelini said. “It’s not over yet. We have one more day. There are always some mistakes early in the week. I thought we corrected them as the week went on. I thought that walkthrough was very clean. We’ve got some things to clean up. We’ve got our final run-through tomorrow and our guys made a couple of adjustments on both sides of the football today. We’ll practice it tomorrow and be ready to go.”

Pelini mentioned that the team’s focus will be on “us” and that the Huskers need to play loose to have success against the Spartans.

“(We need to) execute our football,” Pelini said. “Don’t treat this any different than we have up to this point. We have to execute our football and do what we are being coached to do. That’s been a constant theme for us. I know they’ll play hard and at the end of the day, we need to execute at a high level and do the things we’ve done up to this point.”

Sophomore Tommy Armstrong enters the matchup with a 12-1 record as the starting quarterback, without a loss on the road. Pelini expressed confidence in Armstrong.

“Tommy is a confident kid and we have a lot of confidence in him,” Pelini said. “I have confidence in this football team. I know we are playing a good football team. It will be a battle. The teams are going to go at it. It’s going to come down to little things. It always does.”

Pelini added that junior linebacker David Santos is “doubtful” for Saturday, but said it shouldn’t change too much with the defense and that the Blackshirts will “go kind of the way (they) did last week.”

The Huskers and Spartans square off on Saturday in East Lansing, Mich., at 7 p.m. (CT) on ABC. NU is seeking its second Big Ten win of the season as the Huskers take on the defending conference champions.

Bears Announce NFL Draft Headed to Chicago in 2015

Posted on October 3, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — The 2015 NFL draft will be held in Chicago, according to a tweet by the Bears.

The Bears posted the announcement on their Twitter account Thursday, saying: “2015 NFL Draft will be held in Chicago next April 30-May 2 at Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University.”

Moving the draft out of New York, where it has been held for decades, was likely once the league began taking bids for the event. Los Angeles and Chicago were the finalists for next year’s event.

The NFL soured on Radio City Music Hall after it was forced to move the draft back two weeks into May this year. But under Commissioner Roger Goodell, the league also has considered moving around the draft for a while.