Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

Saturday's Big Ten: Nebraska students chant ‘Fire Frost’ after Ga Southern win

Associated Press

Lincoln, Neb. — Georgia Southern’s players sprinted into the south end zone in celebration after the Eagles finished their 45-42 upset of three-touchdown-favorite Nebraska on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, in the southeast corner of Memorial Stadium, the student section was chanting “Fire Frost, Fire Frost, Fire Frost.”

Georgia Southern running back Gerald Green (4) breaks a tackle and runs for a touchdown against Nebraska.

Kyle Vantrease scored on an 8-yard run with 36 seconds left after Nebraska had taken its first lead, and after Casey Thompson moved the Huskers into field goal range, Timmy Bleekrode was wide left with a 52-yard attempt as time ran out.

The victory, the Eagles’ first in 13 games against Power Five opponents, came with a $1.423 million guarantee paid by Nebraska. And it happened almost a year to the day that Southern California fired Helton two games into his seventh season. Helton was hired last November to take over a Georgia Southern program that went 3-9 and lost six of its last seven games last year.

“What a special night,” Helton said. “So proud of our kids, especially when you come off the season where you just win three games and you’ve got a new collection of people. You watch them come together and watch them starting to believe in themselves and believe in each other.”

The loss again turns up the pressure on embattled Nebraska coach Scott Frost, who faces a home game next week against No. 7 Oklahoma.

The Huskers (1-2) had come into the Georgia Southern game 214-0 when scoring at least 35 points at Memorial Stadium.

Frost lost to a Sun Belt Conference team for the second time in his five seasons, and he and his players are bracing for a week of negativity from one of college football’s most ardent fan bases.

“Got to make sure it doesn’t seep into players. I haven’t listened to any of it for a long time. Got to make sure they don’t,” Frost said. “There are a lot of games left in the season and this group can do well.”

The Eagles (2-0) piled up 642 yards, none bigger than the 75 they moved in 11 plays for the winning touchdown.

Kyle Vantrease converted a fourth-and-2 pass and threw 27 yards to Khaleb Hood before he took off up the middle on a designed quarterback run for the go-ahead score.

Thompson moved the Huskers from their 23 to the Eagles’ 34 before Bleekrode pulled his field-goal try to the left.

“We kind of felt that it might be a shootout and that whoever had the ball last, it might go their way,” Helton said. “We had just enough time left on that clock to be able to score, and I was holding my breath on their last drive when they had. The good Lord was watching after us.”

Nebraska had taken the lead on Thompson’s 1-yard run with 3:05 left after Marques Buford’s second interception of the game turned back the Eagles as they tried to build on a three-point lead.

Thompson led the Huskers 98 yards in 15 plays. Thompson and Anthony Grant churned out yards on the ground and Marcus Washington made a catch at the 1 that was upheld on video review before Thompson went over the pile at the goal line.

Vantrease, who was quarterback for Buffalo when it lost at Nebraska last year, was 37 of 56 for 409 yards. Gerald Green ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns and Jalen Allen had 85 yards and two scores.

Thompson ran for three touchdowns and was 23 of 34 for 318 yards and a score. Grant carried 27 times for 138 yards and a score.

“We win together and lose together,” Frost said. “All of us are frustrated after that one. Give them credit, give Clay credit. We can’t let it divide us.”

More Big Ten

Washington State 17, (at) No. 19 Wisconsin 14: Nakia Watson acknowledged having extra motivation this week facing his former team.

No wonder he was a little more emotional than usual afterward.

Watson scored both of Washington State’s touchdowns as the Cougars upset No. 19 Wisconsin, 17-14, on Saturday. Watson rushed for 522 yards and five touchdowns at Wisconsin from 2019-20 before transferring.

Washington State players celebrate after their victory over Wisconsin.

“Normally, I’m not a person that cries,” Watson said afterward. “But I cried a little bit, I’m not going to lie.”

Watson scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter and put the Cougars ahead for good by turning a short completion into a 31-yard score with 5:12 left in the third period. Watson said he followed the counsel of Mark Atuaia, who continually reminded him to maintain his poise at all times.

He only let his emotions out once the game ended as he thanked Atuaia for the advice.

“The fireworks were going in my head when the clock hit zero,” said Watson, who had 10 carries for 33 yards.

Washington State (2-0) was about a 17-point underdog but survived a game that featured multiple bizarre plays to produce a happy homecoming for Watson and Cougars coach Jake Dickert.

Dickert was born in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, Wisconsin, about 65 miles east of Camp Randall Stadium. Dickert played for Wisconsin-Stevens Point from 2002-06, and about 200 friends and relatives gathered for a pregame tailgate.

Several of them hung around for a postgame celebration around the visitors’ locker room.

“I think a few of the are looking for some beers in the fridge that aren’t there,” Dickert quipped. “Just Gatorades and water.”

This game featured two separate plays in which one team intercepted a pass and then fumbled the ball away, creating a first down for the team that threw the pick.

Wisconsin (1-1) trailed 17-14 and faced third-and-6 from the Washington State 9 midway through the fourth quarter when defensive tackle Christian Mejia picked off a Graham Mertz pass before losing the football. Wisconsin recovered at the Washington State 20, but a personal foul on Badgers tight end Clay Cundiff pushed them back to the 35.

Cundiff then caught a 24-yard pass, but Quinn Roff forced a fumble that Sam Lockett III recovered at the 12 with 5:14 left.

Washington State never gave up possession the rest of the way.

Those two mistakes spoiled Cundiff’s day after he had caught two touchdown passes from Graham Mertz in the second quarter, a 17-yarder and a 10-yarder. Those were Cundiff’s first touchdowns since the tight end dislocated his right ankle, broke a fibula and tore a foot ligament in a victory over Iowa last October.

“I had a good first half, but none of that will matter unless you finish on the right foot,” Cundiff said. “I didn’t do that today.”

There was plenty of blame to go around for Wisconsin.

The Badgers were penalized 11 times for 106 yards. Vito Calvaruso sent a 51-yard field goal wide right in the first quarter and was well short on a potential tying 43-yard attempt to start the final period.

“We did some things today that make it hard to win,” Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said.

Another interception-turned-fumble led to Washington State’s go-ahead score.

The Cougars trailed 14-10 and had third and 10 from their 47 when quarterback Cameron Ward was hit by Kamo’I Latu just as he threw a pass that Wisconsin’s Jay Shaw picked off. Washington State receiver Lincoln Victor then applied a hit that knocked the ball loose, and center Konner Gomness recovered the fumble at the Wisconsin 49.

“I take this one on me, to be completely honest with you,” Shaw said.

Six plays later, Watson caught a pass just beyond the line of scrimmage, made a spin move to get past Latu at the 30 and raced untouched the rest of the way.

“When I spin off him, I see nothing but green grass and I see OP (Orion Peters), one of our receivers, blocking downfield,” Watson said. “He had his guy, and I knew it was going to be a touchdown from there.”

Washington State hung on from there and gave Watson and Dickert moments they’ll never forget.

“My grandma told me something today, your grandpa would be so proud if my grandpa was still here,” Dickert said. “That’s a special moment. Special people that just know me as Jake Dickert. That’s always what we’ve been. I’m just proud to be able to win this game with all of them here cheering us on.”

► Duke 31, (at) Northwestern 23: Jordan Waters had a pair of touchdowns on the ground, and Riley Leonard threw for a score. 

Leonard, who was 13 of 24 passing for 240 yards and an interception, found Jordan Moore with a short scoring pass early in the fourth quarter to give Duke a 28-16 lead and Brandon Johnson had a late interception in Wildcat territory to set up a field goal with 1:18 remaining.

Johnson finished the game by pouncing on Evan Hull’s fumble with 12 seconds left.

Waters rushed for a career-best 91 yards, including a 42-yard scoring run for the Blue Devils (2-0). Jaylen Coleman added 83 yards and a short touchdown run.

Hull caught 14 passes for a career-best 213 yards and a touchdown, and added 65 yards and a score on the ground for the Wildcats (1-1), who trailed 21-0 in the opening 16 minutes. Ryan Hilinski was 36 of 60 for a personal-high 435 yards with two scores and an interception.

Northwestern got within 21-10 by halftime and twice cut the lead to five points in the second half.

(At) No. 3 Ohio State 45, Arkansas State 12: C.J. Stroud threw three touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison Jr., TreVeyon Henderson ran for another two scores and Ohio State raced past Arkansas State.

Harrison had a career-best seven catches for 184 yards. Coupled with his three-touchdown performance as a first-year player in the Rose Bowl last season, Harrison became only the second Ohio State receiver to have a pair of three-touchdown games in his career. Joey Galloway had multiple touchdown games in 1993 and ‘94.

Stroud, a Heisman Trophy favorite, had 207 passing yards and a pair of 42-yard touchdowns to Harrison in the first half. He finished 16 for 24 for 351 yards and four touchdowns as the Buckeyes (2-0) rolled up 538 yards.

Henderson busted through for an 8-yard scoring run in the first quarter and a 23-yard romp to open the second half. He finished with 10 carries for 87 yards.

Kicker Dominic Zvada was responsible for all of Arkansas State’s scoring, but Ohio State miscues set up the first two field goals.

(At) Minnesota 62, Western Illinois 10: Tanner Morgan passed for 287 yards and a score over 2½ quarters and had one of Minnesota’s seven rushing touchdowns.

Mohamed Ibrahim (23 carries for 130 yards) and Trey Potts (10 carries for 79 yards) kept their comeback from injuries going strong with two scores apiece on the ground for the Gophers (2-0), whose 679 total yards were the third most in program history.

Morgan went 14 for 18 passing without a turnover before yielding to backups Athan Kaliakmanis and Cole Kramer for the bulk of the second half. The Gophers posted their highest score in head coach P.J. Fleck’s six seasons and their most since a 63-26 victory over Indiana in 2006.

Quarterback Nick Davenport’s 33-yard pass to Naseim Brantley for Western Illinois (0-2) with 4:26 left marked the first touchdown given up by the Gophers this year.

► (At) Purdue 56, Indiana State 0: Aidan O’Connell and Charlie Jones hooked up for three touchdowns, and then took the second half off as Purdue routed FCS foe Indiana State. 

Jones caught nine passes for 133 yards in his second straight 100-yard game since transferring from Iowa to Purdue (1-1) so he could reunite with O’Connell, his childhood friend.

O’Connell went 17 of 19 for 211 yards and four scores. He now has 48 career TD passes, surpassing Scott Campbell (45) for sixth in school history. O’Connell is the only walk-on to ever win the starting quarterback job at Purdue.

Indiana State (1-1) fell to 0-6 all-time against the Boilermakers and  had just 145 total yards.

(At) Illinois 24, Virginia 3: Chase Brown rushed for 146 yards on 20 carries, Tommy DeVito threw for 196 yards and two scores and the Illinois defense stifled Virginia’s once-potent attack. 

Things looked dicey for Illinois (2-1, 0-1 Big Ten) after DeVito threw an interception on his first pass attempt of the day and when Brown fumbled after a first-down run.

However, a dominant defense cleared the path to victory as the Illini held Virginia (1-1) to 1 of 16 on third-down conversions.

Cornerback Devon Witherspoon shined with seven tackles and three pass breakups and defensive end Keith Randolph came up with 2½ tackles for loss, a sack and seven tackles.

DeVito bounced back to complete 17 of 25 passes, including 39-yard and 2-yard touchdown throws to tight ends Michael Marchese and Tip Reiman, respectively, to help the Illini take a 21-3 lead into the half.

Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong struggled to find his receivers, completing just 13 of 32 passes for 180 yards with two interceptions. He threw for 405 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-14 win against the Illini in 2021.

► Iowa State 10, (at) Iowa 7: Xavier Hutchinson caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Dekkers in the fourth quarter, completing a 99-yard drive. The 21-play possession that started in the third quarter took 11 minutes, 49 seconds off the clock, and helped the Cyclones (2-0) end a six-game losing streak to the Hawkeyes (1-1).

Iowa State survived three turnovers and two blocked punts to gain their first road win in the in-state rivalry since 2014, forcing three Iowa turnovers and holding the Hawkeyes to 150 yards of offense.

Still, the Hawkeyes had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds. Two penalties on Iowa State after what appeared to be a game-ending turnover by the Hawkeyes gave Iowa the ball at the Cyclones’ 39-yard line with nine seconds left. Quarterback Spencer Petras threw a 9-yard pass to tight end Sam LaPorta to get Iowa into field-goal range, but Aaron Blom’s 48-yard field goal attempt was wide left as time expired.

The Cyclones’ winning drive came after Iowa fullback Monte Pottebaum fumbled inside the Iowa State 1-yard line. Iowa State converted six third downs on the drive, the last one coming on Dekkers’ pass to Hutchinson for the touchdown.

Dekkers was 25 of 38 passing for 184 yards. Running back Jirehl Brock rushed for 100 yards.

► Maryland 56, (at) Charlotte 21: Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 391 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, and Maryland improved to 2-0 for the third time in four seasons under head coach Michael Locksley. 

Tagovailoa connected on TD passes of 39 and 45 yards to Jacob Copeland and 14 and 16 yards to Jeshaun Jones in the first half as the Terrapins scored touchdowns on their first five possessions to build a 35-14 lead. The redshirt junior also ran for a score in the second half.

Antwaine Littleton ran for a 59-yard touchdown and Colby McDonald scored on a 49-yard burst as Maryland outgained Charlotte 617-388.

Third-string quarterback Xavier Williams threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns for Charlotte (0-3). Williams was pressed into his first college start with Chris Reynolds and James Foster out with injuries.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Tagovailoa used his elusiveness to extend plays, completing 20 of his first 21 passes for 305 yards and four TDs before throwing an interception in the end zone with 1 minute left in the first half.

► (At) Rutgers 66, Wagner 7: Tight end Johnny Langan threw and caught a touchdown pass for Rutgers. Highly-touted recruit Gavin Wimsatt made his first career start at quarterback, but Rutgers coach Greg Schiano continued to jockey the position between the redshirt freshman and third-year sophomore Evan Simon. Veteran signal caller Noah Vedral remained out with an upper-body injury.

After Wagner opened the game with a 31-yard pass play, Rutgers’ defense tightened and stopped the Seahawks on fourth-and-4. Rutgers proceeded to go down the field on an 11-play, 62-yard drive spanning 4:27, capped by a Kyle Monangai 2-yard touchdown run to take an early lead.

Simon later threw a 40-yard touchdown pass, Wimsatt added a 41-yarder and Langan connected with Isaiah Washington on a 43-yard touchdown pass as the Scarlet Knights (2-0) scored on their first four possessions.

Nick Kargman found Jayvin Little in the back of the end zone for a 8-yard touchdown pass-and-catch to cap an eight-play, 75-yard drive early in the second quarter for Wagner (0-2).

(At) Penn State 46, Ohio 10: Nick Singleton rushed 10 times for 179 yards and two touchdowns and Penn State’s defense dominated.

Penn State (2-0) hadn’t had a 100-yard rusher since November 2020, but got big run after big run from Singleton, a freshman who torched the Bobcats for touchdown sprints of 70 and 44 yards in the first and fourth quarters.

In between, quarterbacks Sean Clifford and Drew Allar played clean enough and the Nittany Lion defense bore down to force eight punts, a safety and a turnover on downs.

Clifford completed 19-of-27 passes for 213 yards, ran for a score and threw for another as Penn State scored on three of its first five possessions.

Ohio (0-2) crossed midfield just three times and broke the shutout just before halftime.

(At) Indiana 35, Idaho 22: Indiana scored 29 consecutive points, including 23 in the third quarter, to rebound from a sluggish start against FCS-member Idaho on a rainy night. The game was delayed 35 minutes by a lightning warning, and the Hoosiers didn’t show up at the outset against the three-touchdown underdog Vandals, who led 10-0 at halftime.

Then everything clicked, and rather quickly, for Indiana.

Backup quarterback Donaven McCulley started the comeback with a 4-yard TD rush. After a bad Idaho snap resulted in a safety, Connor Bazelak threw touchdown passes of 43 yards to A.J. Barner and 26 yards to D.J. Matthews Jr. The latter three scores came in a span of 5:10.

Much like his team, Bazelak improved dramatically after the break. The junior transfer quarterback completed 10 of 12 throws for 148 yards and two TDs in the third quarter. He connected on just 6 of 17 passes for 49 yards with an interception before the break.

Indiana amassed 239 yards in the third period after gaining just 110 in the first half. The Vandals, who had dominated time of possession with 170 first-half yards, managed just 10 yards in the quarter.

Josh Henderson scored on an 8-yard TD run to push Indiana’s lead to 29-10 just 5 seconds into the final quarter.

Idaho’s Gevani McCoy threw TD passes to Jordan Dwyer, Roshaun Johnson and Michael Graves.