Baylor led 77-76 when Walton made the second of two free throws. Texas’ Justin Mason then made one of two before Walton got to the line again with 10 seconds left and calmly hit both.

Texas had one last chance to tie it but Avery Bradley’s 3-pointer bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
Baylor (16-4, 3-3 Big 12) got its first regular-season win over Texas (18-3, 4-2) since 1998. Tweety Carter led the Bears with 27 points.

Texas rallied from 14 points down early in the second half. Damion James had 20 points and 19 rebounds for the Longhorns, but fouled out in the final minute of overtime.

-Kansas 81, Kansas State 79
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Sherron Collins bounced back from a back injury to score on a hard drive with nine seconds left in overtime, helping No. 2 Kansas pull out a gritty win over No. 11 Kansas State.
Kansas (20-1, 6-0 Big 12) dismantled Missouri on Monday and closed out the rivalry week sweep by winning an epic back-and-forth battle with Kansas State (17-4, 4-3).

Collins hit the floor with 2:44 left in overtime and went to the bench holding his back, then returned just in time to score on a baseline drive. He missed the free throw, but Cole Aldrich grabbed the rebound and Brady Morningstar hit two free throws to close out the Jayhawks’ 26th win in their last 27 games in Manhattan.
Aldrich had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Collins finished with 16 points.

Kansas State had a chance to win it in regulation, but Kansas’ Tyrel Reed stripped a streaking Dominique Sutton at the buzzer. Jacob Pullen had 22 points and Denis Clemente added 13 on 4 of 15 shooting for the Wildcats.

-Missouri 95, Oklahoma State 80
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Kim English ended a scoring slump with 20 points and had four of Missouri’s 16 3-pointers, helping the Tigers bounce back from their worst loss of the season by whipping Oklahoma State.

James Anderson had a season-high 31 points with eight rebounds for Oklahoma State (16-5, 4-3 Big 12), hounded into a season-worst 24 turnovers by Missouri’s all-court pressure. Matt Pilgrim added 21 points, 15 above his average, and added nine rebounds.

Marcus and Michael Dixon also had four 3-pointers apiece for Missouri (16-5, 4-2), which was 17-for-31 from long range and shot 52 percent overall.

Laurence Bowers had 16 points and Zaire Taylor 14 points for the Tigers, who have won 32 in a row at home and entered the game with a 29-point average victory margin.

Arriaran set a Texas record for 3-pointers in a Big 12 game. Kathleen Nash added 11 points for the Longhorns (13-5), who have won two in a row after an 0-2 start in the Big 12.

Texas trailed 43-36 early in the second before Arriaran made two 3-pointers to start a game-changing Texas run. Arriaran was 8 of 11 from long range.

Andrea Riley scored 31 points to become Oklahoma State’s career leader with 2,392. Riley has scored at least 30 points in four straight games.

Tegan Cunningham scored 19 points for Oklahoma State (15-3, 3-1).

Texas led 31-27 at halftime despite having Brittainey Raven, their leading scorer, spend almost the entire first half on the bench after two early fouls. Raven had drawn the defensive assignment of covering Riley.

Raven picked up her third foul early in the second and Cunningham put Oklahoma State ahead 39-35 with a baseline jumper. The Cowgirls pushed the lead to 43-36 before Arriaran reeled them back in with eight consecutive points in an 18-3 run that put Texas up 54-46 with 9:13 to play.

Arriaran, who had made just one basket in Texas previous two games, had an easy time finding her shot against Oklahoma State’s defense, which seemed to sag off the Longhorns on the perimeter. Her eight 3-pointers were the most by a Texas player since Danielle Viglione made 11 against Houston in 1994.

Yvonne Anderson, who had to guard Riley because Raven was in foul trouble, made a pair of superb defensive plays as Texas steadily built on the lead.

Anderson’s steal and layup put Texas up by 11 before she poked the ball away from Riley, who got upset there was no foul called and was hit with a technical foul. Raven made both free throws before Arriaran drifted to the left wing and made another 3-pointer. Arriaran’s eighth 3-pointer 90 seconds later put Texas up 69-49 with 4:49 to play.

• No. 13 Oklahoma 62, Missouri 61

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Amanda Thompson scored off a rebound with 9.6 seconds left to give lift Oklahoma past Missouri.

Nyeshia Stevenson led Oklahoma (13-4, 3-1 Big 12) with 23 points, Danielle Robinson added 16, and Thompson finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Jessra Johnson led Missouri (10-7, 0-4) with 16 points. The Tigers were 2 for 22 from 3-point range and 22 of 66 overall from the field.

“Get to the quarterback,” Weatherspoon said.

Nothing else – including double- and triple-teaming – seems to work.

At 6 feet 5, Alexander towers over every defensive back, every safety trying to cover him. Ask Tysyn Hartman of Kansas State, who on a deep pass pattern appeared to be step for step with him until Alexander leaped over Hartman’s head, reached down and snatched the ball, reversing what looked to be a possible interception.

And then, of course, kept on motoring into the end zone, completing an 80-yard touchdown play.

Not that Hartman should have felt picked upon.

“Anyone on him is a mismatch,” MU quarterback Blaine Gabbert said.

Alexander, after three knee operations and a broken wrist, has traveled from anonymous to seemingly a unanimous pick as the Big 12’s top receiver in his final season at Mizzou.

At the start of the season that honor was up for discussion among Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant and Kansas’ Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier.

Bryant’s season was scuttled by NCAA suspension for lying to investigators. Briscoe and Meier have largely lived up to expectations. And Texas’ Jordan Shipley is right there as well.

But with Alexander – to twist and borrow from author Gertrude Stein – there is more there there.

Coming into Saturday’s Border War against Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium, Alexander’s 128.27 yards per game receiving average is third in the nation, only .09 of a yard behind Greg Salas of Hawaii and 6.5 yards behind Bowling Green’s Freddie Barnes.

Alexander – along with Meier – is also third nationally with 8.36 receptions a game.

And in total receiving yards? Alexander leads the Big 12 easily with a school-record 1,411 yards to Shipley’s 1,204, Briscoe’s 1,095 and Meier’s 931.

Alexander has become the focus of not only a conference but a national spotlight that he is more comfortable avoiding.

“You can’t let it burn a hole through you,” he said. “You can’t just go out on the field and it’s going to happen.”

After Alexander burned Iowa State for 11 receptions and 173 yards Saturday – barely missing what would have been a national record-tying third straight 200-yard receiving game – Cyclones coach Paul Rhoads pumped up the hyperbole.

Rhoads compared Alexander to all-time NFL Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown and to Olympic gold-medal sprinter Usain Bolt all in the same sentence.

“Jim Brown ran reckless,” Alexander said. “Couldn’t anybody tackle him. Jim Brown, he was a monster. I can’t be compared to him.”

Then how about Bolt?

“I’ve never heard anything like that,” Alexander said, shaking his head in humility.

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel has been shaking his head a lot lately when asked for new superlatives to describe Alexander’s play.

Pinkel has already compared him on several occasions to two-time Missouri All-American Jeremy Maclin. But the two players are more different than alike.

Where Maclin – now playing with the Philadelphia Eagles – started fast and was at top speed within three strides, Alexander gets open by studying how to, with his long strides leading to a late speed that seems to surprise defenders who think they have the angle on tackling him .

“When I see the angle, I just know I’ve got an extra gear,” Alexander said.

“Just opened up the stride a little more,” he explained of breaking away on his 63 -yard TD catch and run against Iowa State.

“I saw all the green grass.”

People tend to forget that heading into the 2007 season, Alexander had beaten Maclin out for a starting job.

A broken wrist suffered in the first game of that season against Illinois opened a door of opportunity that Maclin ran through and slammed shut behind him.

With that – and a succession of knee injuries that required three surgeries – Alexander seemed destined to follow in the footsteps of Wally Pipp, the New York Yankees first baseman who left the lineup one day and was consigned to the shadows by a replacement named Lou Gehrig.

Alexander still wears a knee brace, which some contend limits his side-to-side maneuverability just a bit.

“The plan was, use it for the Illinois game and after that just take it off,” Alexander said. “But I had a good game against Illinois (10 receptions for 132 yards).

“I’ve been able to make plays. That’s why I’ve kept it on.”

With such obvious success – Alexander has twice been selected Big 12 offensive player of the week this season and has been Missouri’s nominee on several other occasions – comes obvious attention from the opposition.

“I’m double-covered, sometimes triple-covered,” Alexander said, having noticed he was being noticed more for the first time in the second half of a game at Oklahoma State where he caught nine passes for 180 yards.

“You’ve got to be ready for the more attention you’re going to get from the defense.”

Alexander, as a way of being ready, picks the brain of Gabbert and the MU coaches, and watches game video over and over .

“Knowing what defenses are going to do, and what the quarterback sees,” Alexander said, “let’s me know where I need to be at on the field.”

The result?

“That’s obvious to anybody,” Pinkel said. “He’s a premier wide receiver.”

——

(c) 2009, The Kansas City Star.

Visit The Star Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.kansascity.com.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Alexander had 11 catches for 173 yards and a 63-yard score, breaking records for single-season and career yardage set by Jeremy Maclin last season. In his last three games, Alexander has 34 catches for 578 yards and five touchdowns. On Saturday, Jackson had eight receptions for 142 yards and a 70-yard score.

Both of the big plays came in the third quarter for Missouri (7-4, 3-4 Big 12). Iowa State (6-6, 3-5) led 17-10 at halftime.

Blaine Gabbert was 23 for 32 for 337 yards and two touchdowns and had 51 yards on 12 carries, helping fill the void after Derrick Washington sustained a concussion in the second quarter.

The sophomore quarterback has heard plenty of speculation that a break would do him, and the Tigers, good in the long run. But even if he’s far from 100 percent there’s no way Gabbert’s missing tonight’s Big 12 test against No. 3 Texas.

“That’s not the kind of person I am,” Gabbert said. “People can think all they want, they have no idea what’s going on. I’m fine. I’m good to go.”

Missouri (4-2, 0-2 Big 12) needs Gabbert against the Longhorns (6-0, 4-0), who lead the nation with a 42-point average, are 6-0 for the second straight season and have taken 15 of the last 16 from the Tigers, including a rout last season in Austin is one of seven unbeaten teams left, has won 10 in a row dating to last season and is a 13-point favorite to spoil homecoming.

“I knew these three games were our toughest games, I knew this was going to be a great challenge for us,” coach Gary Pinkel said. “I said this last year, and the year before and the first year I got here: It’s hard to win. It’s very, very hard to win.”

For Gabbert, at times it appears it’s been very hard to move, and the injury has affected his accuracy. The last two weeks he’s 39 for 87 with five interceptions and one touchdown.

“It’s a little bit different than having a sore elbow or wrist because it’s your plant foot,” Pinkel said. “How that affects him, we’ll never know. But here’s a guy who says ‘I’m playing,’ as long as the medical staff says it’s OK, and that kind of attitude is going to define him.”

Defense has made the difference at Texas, which overcame Colt McCoy’s worst game of the year to survive its annual Oklahoma rivalry game with a 16-13 victory last week. The Longhorns have used that game as a springboard, following up with at least a four-game winning streak all but one of the last 10 seasons.

They’re allowing only 14.7 points per game, and holding opponents to 20.7 percent success on third down. The goal this week is to bring Gabbert more misery.

“We’re going to go after every quarterback, no matter who it is or what team it is,” cornerback Aaron Williams said.

Missouri’s best hope for an upset might be a quick start against a school that’s been slow-starting on offense much of the season, scoring 10 or fewer points in the first half of four games. The Tigers’ problem lately has been a lack of finishing touch without stars such as Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin and Chase Coffman who led the program to consecutive 10-win seasons in 2007-08.

Texas coach Mack Brown anticipated Missouri would have a drop-off, but changed his mind after the Tigers whipped Illinois in the season opener. He downplays the last two losses because of a downpour that marred the Nebraska game and Gabbert’s limited mobility against Oklahoma State.

“I think they have a chance to be just as good as they were last year,” Brown said. “And because of that they scare you to death.”
Brown blames injuries for Texas’ slow starts, particularly at running back and receiver.

“We haven’t had continuity,” Brown said. “Everybody plays good at times but we’re not starting the game well, and that’s something we’ve got to try to do better.”

Just like Gabbert, McCoy has been less than 100 percent in recent weeks. He was ill against Texas Tech and injured his thumb against Oklahoma while going 21 of 40 for 127 yards.

The difference is Texas has still been winning. McCoy is 19-1 in his last 20 starts, and points to the bottom line.

“At this point I wanted to be 6-0 and we are 6-0, so I couldn’t be more proud of that, I couldn’t be more happy of that,” the quarterback said.
“There’s a lot of things we can be better at but the good thing is we’re 6-0. So there’s been no disappointment thus far.”

Zac Robinson threw for 227 yards and Lucien Antoine added an interception return for a touchdown as the Cowboys (5-1, 2-0 Big 12) snapped a four-game losing streak on their home field against the Tigers (4-2, 0-2).

Missouri’s pass-heavy offense fell flat after a prolific first half, and even a 60-yard punt return on a reverse couldn’t spark a comeback as the Tigers were shut out in the second half.

Oklahoma State started Big 12 play with back-to-back wins despite being without Bryant and top running back Kendall Hunter, who missed his fourth straight game with a sprained ankle.

Jones, replacing injured Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford, found a favorite target in Ryan Broyles, who caught scoring passes of 24, 51 and 11 yards and finished with seven catches for 155 yards for Oklahoma (1-1), which bounced back from a season-opening loss to BYU.

The Bengals of the Big Sky Conference had minus-2 yards of offense in the first half and 44 for the game, including minus-22 yards rushing.

• Iowa 35, Iowa State 3

AMES, Iowa – Ricky Stanzi threw a career-high four touchdown passes and Iowa forced six turnovers in beating Iowa State, the Hawkeyes’ first victory on their rivals’ field in six years.

Iowa, which fell out of the Top 25 after squeezing out a 17-16 victory over Northern Iowa a week ago, had a much easier time in what’s annually the state’s biggest athletic event.

Tyler Sash tied a school record by making three of Iowa’s five interceptions, and the Hawkeyes (2-0) also recovered a fumble. Stanzi and the offense converted four of those turnovers into touchdowns.

Though he wasn’t especially sharp against the Cyclones (1-1), Stanzi still completed 18 of 34 passes for 197 yards with two interceptions.

• Missouri 27

Bowling Green 20

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Blaine Gabbert threw two second-half touchdown passes and Derrick Washington scored the go-ahead TD late in the fourth quarter, helping No. 25 Missouri rally from a dud start to beat Bowling Green in its home opener.

Washington had 120 yards on 23 carries for the Tigers, who jumped into the rankings after an impressive opening victory over Illinois and needed a strong finish for any hope of staying there. Missouri (2-0) trailed 13-0 in the second quarter and 20-6 midway in the third before awakening.

Tyler Sheehan was 29 for 46 for 206 yards and a touchdown, and Willie Geter had 99 yards on 20 carries with a 1-yard scoring run for Bowling Green, which capitalized on a pair of fumbles for two first-half field goals before fading.

• La. Lafayette 17

Kansas State 15

LAFAYETTE, La. – Tyler Albrecht hit a 48-yard field goal with 32 seconds left to lift Louisiana-Lafayette a victory over Kansas State.

The Ragin’ Cajuns (2-0) trailed 15-14 before driving from their 33 to the Kansas State 30 to set up the game-winner and give Louisiana-Lafayette its first win over a BCS conference member since 1996.

Kansas State (1-1) rallied from a 14-2 deficit with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

Wildcats running back Daniel Thomas threw for one score and ran for one.

• Kansas 24, UTEP 7

EL PASO – Jake Sharp ran for 104 yards and three touchdowns while No. 24 Kansas got two big punt returns from Daymond Patterson to beat Texas-El Paso.

Todd Reesing completed 25 of 41 attempts for 260 yards passing with one interception. He threw a 5-yard TD to Sharp and worked again Dezmon Briscoe, who returned from a one-game suspension and had eight catches for 154 yards.

The Jayhawks finished with 576 total yards and their defense racking up five sacks and held UTEP (0-2) to negative rushing yards until the closing minutes.

• Nebraska 38, Arkansas State 9

LINCOLN, Neb. – Zac Lee passed for 340 yards and four touchdowns, and No. 22 Nebraska warmed up for next week’s trip to Virginia Tech with a victory over Arkansas State.

The Cornhuskers (2-0) scored on five of their first six possessions, ending any hopes the Red Wolves (1-1) had of pulling an even bigger upset than their win at Texas A&M last year.

Lee completed 27 of 35 passes to 11 different receivers and threw no interceptions. He opened the game leading two straight 80-yard drives and a 46-yarder as the Huskers jumped ahead 21-0.

All he could do was watch as his Oklahoma Sooners lost – and the BYU Cougars launched their bid to become the latest BCS busters from the Mountain West.

Max Hall threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide-open McKay Jacobson in the back of the end zone with 3:03 left, giving No. 20 BYU a 14-13 victory over No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday night.

The Sooners’ last hope to recover ended when Tress Way came up short on a 54-yard field goal with 1:23 left.

BYU players exchanged flying chest bumps right away, then celebrated wildly when their upset was complete, making for a stunning end to the first college football game – and first regular-season game – ever played at the nearly $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium and throwing the national title and Heisman races for a loop on the opening weekend.

“This is unbelievable,” Hall said.

Cougars fans made up only a small portion of the crowd of 75,437, but they all stuck around long after this one. The team stayed on the field so they could all enjoy it together, cheerleaders waving flags and players pointing to friends and family in the crowd. Hall’s uncle, former Cowboys quarterback Danny White, was expected to be among them.

“I don’t know if we can measure it now,” said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, who opened his fifth season with his biggest victory and one of the best in program history. “All I can say is I’m very proud of this football team.”

The Cougars won at least 10 games each of the last three years, helping regain some of their national profile, but they’d lost 12 straight to ranked non-conference foes. Their last such win was over No. 1 Miami in 1990. While their No. 20 ranking showed they were respected, conference rivals Utah and TCU were ranked ahead of them. That’s likely to change when the new poll comes out.

Hall was 26 of 38 for 329 yards and two touchdowns. The numbers that matter most: a 16-play, 78-yard drive that included converting a fourth-and-4 and throwing the winning touchdown after being shoved back from the 2 on a delay-of-game penalty.

Hall was intercepted twice and sacked four times, but this win could vault him to the fringe of the Heisman talk – especially with Bradford’s status unknown.

Bradford sprained his throwing shoulder when he was tackled on a hard, clean hit by linebacker Coleby Clawson in the closing seconds of the first half. Oklahoma kicked a field goal on the next play to go up 10-7, but backup Landry Jones wasn’t able to stretch it very much.

• Texas 59, La.-Monroe 20

AUSTIN – Colt McCoy passed for 317 yards and two touchdowns and No. 2 Texas romped past Louisiana-Monroe.

Last season’s runner-up for the Heisman Trophy connected with Jordan Shipley for a 78-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Cody Johnson scored Texas’ first three touchdowns on short runs and freshman D.J. Monroe returned a kickoff 89 yards for a TD.

Texas got exactly what it paid the Warhawks $850,000 for: A much-needed tuneup that quickly turned into a rout in the opener for both teams.

• Baylor 24, Wake Forest 21

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Robert Griffin completed his first eight passes, finishing with 136 yards passing and a touchdown, to help Baylor beat Wake Forest.

Kendall Wright ran for a touchdown, wide receiver Ernest Smith passed for a score and David Gettis caught one for the Bears, who opened last season with a 41-13 home loss to the Demon Deacons.

Griffin, the 2008 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, also ran for 41 yards on 13 carries for Baylor. Joe Pawelek finished with seven tackles, a sack and an interception.

The Bears snapped a nine-game road losing streak, which dated back to a 34-21 victory against Buffalo last season.

• Texas A&M 41, New Mexico 6

COLLEGE STATION – Jerrod Johnson threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score to lead Texas A&M to a win over New Mexico.

Johnson completed 31 of 41 passes and Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael added touchdown runs for the Aggies (1-0), who piled up 606 yards. The A&M defense showed dramatic improvement from last season, holding New Mexico to 21 rushing yards and sacking Donovan Porterie five times.

Porterie completed 29 of 40 passes for New Mexico (0-1) in his first start since tearing ligaments in his right knee in the fourth game last season and undergoing surgery. The Lobos played poorly in Mike Locksley’s head coaching debut and failed to score a touchdown in their opener for the fourth straight season.

• Missouri 37, Illinois 9

ST. LOUIS – Blaine Gabbert threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a fourth in a stellar starting debut to lead rebuilding Missouri to a victory over Illinois, its fifth win in a row in the neutral-site series.

Juice Williams was held in check and failed to convert a crucial fourth-down play for Illinois, which just missed cracking the preseason Top 25 but flopped despite an offense with eight returning starters. The Fighting Illini were 5-7 last year but had been a touchdown favorite against a program replacing 23 seniors.

Missouri won its eighth straight opener without most of the key skill players from an offense that helped produce 22 victories the past two seasons. Gabbert, a sophomore shining in his hometown after appearing in three games last season as Daniel’s understudy, was 24-for-33 and added 54 yards on nine carries for an offense that had no turnovers.

• No. 24 Nebraska 49

Florida Atlantic 3

LINCOLN, Neb. – Roy Helu Jr. ran for 152 yards and three touchdowns and Zac Lee passed for 213 yards and two scores in his first start for Nebraska.

The Huskers won their 24th consecutive opener, the longest streak in the nation. The Owls fell to 1-16 against opponents from Bowl Championship Series automatic-qualifying conferences, including 0-7 vs. the Big 12.

• No. 25 Kansas 49

Northern Colorado 3

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Todd Reesing sparked slow-starting Kansas with two rushing touchdowns, then passed for two more before the biggest home crowd in school history.

Reesing, who has virtually rewritten his school’s passing records, took a seat on the bench midway through the fourth quarter with the Jayhawks holding a 35-3 lead. He hit 13 of 20 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns and scored on runs of 2 and 13 yards.

• Kansas State 21, UMass 17

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Carson Coffman threw two touchdown passes to Attrail Snipes and Kansas State had a less-than-stellar start to the second Bill Snyder era, holding off Massachusetts.

Kansas State bumbled its way through Snyder’s first game in three years, turning it over three times and allowing a blocked punt return for a touchdown to fritter away most of an 18-point halftime lead.