Jackson’s 3 TD runs lead No. 21 Oklahoma St past Texas Tech

Associated PressNov 28, 2020, 7:13 PM EST

Bryan Terry-USA TODAY Sports Images

STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State’s top two running backs were out with injuries. Dezmon Jackson played, and that was enough for the Cowboys.

Jackson rushed for career highs of 235 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 21 Oklahoma State beat Texas Tech 50-44 on Saturday.

Jackson had 36 carries, in part, because Chuba Hubbard and LD Brown did not play. The junior said he couldn’t remember getting that many carries in any level of football.

“All week in practice, I was just running so hard just to get myself in shape with this being my first start,” he said. “Practice — it translates to the field. I wasn’t really tired today.”

Jackson said he knew early in the week that he would start.

“My roommates told me that I had been acting different because they just saw how focused I was all week,” he said. “Last night, I couldn’t even sleep because I was so ready to play.”

Hubbard was out with a right ankle injury. The redshirt junior was introduced with the seniors on Senior Day. He walked onto the field during a pregame ceremony wearing his jersey without pads and a medical boot on the injured leg. Brown also has been fighting through injuries.

Still, the Cowboys ran for a season-high 317 yards, bouncing back nicely from a disappointing loss to rival Oklahoma.

Spencer Sanders passed for 222 yards and ran for 78 for Oklahoma State (6-2, 5-2), which remained in the running for a spot in the Big 12 title game. Tylan Wallace caught seven passes for 129 yards and a score.

Alan Bowman passed for 384 yards and three touchdowns for Texas Tech. Erik Ezukanma caught seven passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns, and SaRodorick Thompson ran for 133 yards and two scores.

The Red Raiders (3-6, 2-6) gained 639 yards, but Oklahoma State made up for it with a safety, an onside kick return for a touchdown and an interception return for a score.

Texas Tech took a 24-21 lead in the third quarter on a 48-yard pass from Bowman to Ezukanma. The Red Raiders went for an onside kick, but the ball bounced right to Jason Taylor, and he ran it back for a touchdown to put the Cowboys ahead again.

Texas Tech coach Matt Wells said the Cowboys had looked vulnerable to an onside kick in the first half, and the Red Raiders had been practicing against the look the Cowboys showed in the third quarter.

“We made the decision at halftime, we come out and we score and we take the lead, that’s the best time to try to do it,” he said. “We just didn’t execute it well.”

Later in the quarter, Tre Sterling had a 61-yard interception return to put the Cowboys up 34-24. After Tech’s Xavier White bounced off a would-be tackler and went 70 yards for a touchdown, Oklahoma State countered with Wallace’s 27-yard TD reception for a 41-31 lead.

In all, five touchdowns were scored during a 5:53 stretch in the third quarter.

Bowman threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Loic Fouonji with 1:51 remaining in the fourth quarter to cut Oklahoma State’s lead to 50-44, but the Red Raiders’ onside kick went out of bounds.

“It’s like being in a title fight — you’re going to take a blow and you have to give one back,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “You just try to hang on long enough so you can get the last one. Our guys found a way to come out in the end, which I was proud of them for playing well down the stretch.”

Georgia extends contract for AD Josh Brooks, plans two new football practice fields

Associated PressMay 26, 2023, 9:14 PM EDT

Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

ATHENS, Ga. – On the heels of a second straight national football championship, Georgia has rewarded athletic director Josh Brooks a contract extension that ties him to the Bulldogs through at least 2029.

The athletic association board, wrapping up its annual spring meeting Friday at a resort on Lake Oconee, also announced plans for a new track and field facility that will free up space for two more football practice fields.

Brooks’ new contract will increase his salary to $1.025 million a year, with annual raises of $100,000.

The 42-year-old Brooks, who took over the athletic department in 2021 after Greg McGarity retired, called the Georgia job “a dream for me” and said he hopes to spend the rest of his career in Athens.

“I am extremely grateful,” Brooks said. “I got into this business 20-plus years ago as a student equipment manager. My first job at Louisiana-Monroe was making $20,000 a year in football operations.”

The Georgia board approved a fiscal 2024 budget of $175.2 million, a nearly 8% increase from the most recent budget of $162.2 million and the sign of a prosperous program that is flush with money after its success on the gridiron.

The school received approval to move forward with its preliminary plans for a new track and field facility, which will be built across the street from the complex hosting the soccer and and softball teams.

The current track stadium is located adjacent to the Butts-Mehre athletic facility, which hosts the practice fields and training facilities for the football program.

Georgia lost a chunk of its outdoor fields when it built a new indoor practice facility. After the new track and field stadium is completed, the current space will be converted to two full-length, grass football practice fields at the request of coach Kirby Smart.

“He wants to find efficient ways to practice, and there is a lot of truth to the issues we’ve had with our current practice fields,” Brooks said. “There is a lot of strain on our turf facilities staff to keep that field in great shape when half the day it is getting shade, so that has been a challenge as well. For our football program, it is better to practice on grass fields than (artificial) turf, so to be able to have two side-by-side grass fields is huge. It makes for a much more efficient practice.”

The new track and field complex, which will continue to be named Spec Towns Track, will also include an indoor facility, the first of its kind in the state of Georgia.

Iowa AD Gary Barta announces retirement after 17 years at Big Ten school

Associated PressMay 26, 2023, 9:11 PM EDT

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa athletic director Gary Barta will retire on August 1 after 17 years at the university, the school announced Friday.

Barta, 59, is one of the longest-tenured athletic directors in a Power Five conference. He was hired by Iowa in 2006 after being the AD at Wyoming.

An interim director will be announced next week, Iowa said.

In September, Iowa hired former Ball State athletic director Beth Goetz to be deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer, putting her in position to possibly succeed Barta.

“It has been an absolute privilege and honor to serve in this role the past 17 years,” Barta said in a statement. “This decision didn’t come suddenly, nor did it come without significant thought, discussion, and prayer.”

“That said, I’m confident this is the right time for me and for my family.”

Iowa won four NCAA national team titles and 27 Big Ten team titles during Barta’s tenure. The women’s basketball team is coming off an appearance in the national championship game and the wrestling team is coming off a second-place finish at the NCAA championships.

Barta served as the chairman of the College Football Playoff committee in 2020 and 2021.

He faced heavy criticism over more than $11 million in settlements for lawsuits in recent years alleging racial and sexual discrimination within the athletic department.

Lawsuits filed by former field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum and associate athletics director Jane Meyer led to a $6.5 million payout.

Iowa had to pay $400,000 as part of a Title IX lawsuit brought by athletes after it cut four sports in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the agreement, Iowa reinstated the women’s swimming and diving program and add another women’s sport.

Iowa added women’s wrestling, the first among Power Five schools to compete this year.

A lawsuit brought by former football players alleging racial discrimination within the program was settled for $4.2 million last March, which prompted state auditor Rob Sand to call for Barta’s ouster.

“Gary Barta’s departure is a long time coming given the four different lawsuits for discrimination that cost Iowa more than $11 million,” Sand posted on Twitter.

The university did not allow taxpayer money to be used for the settlement with the former players.

Barta led Iowa through $380 million of facility upgrades, including renovation of Kinnick Stadium, the construction of a new football facility, a basketball practice facility and a training center for the wrestling teams.

Under Barta, Iowa has had just one head football coach (Kirk Ferentz), women’s basketball coach (Lisa Bluder) and wrestling coach (Tom Brands). All were in place when he arrived.

Barta has also come under scrutiny for allowing Ferentz to employee his son, Brian Ferentz, as offensive coordinator. To comply with the university’s nepotism policy, Brian Ferentz reports to Barta.