No. 9 Oklahoma State beats No. 16 Baylor 36-25 in B12 rematch

Associated PressOct 1, 2022, 9:39 PM EDT

Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports

WACO, Texas — Jaden Nixon returned the second-half kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, and ninth-ranked Oklahoma State beat No. 16 Baylor 36-25 on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s Big 12 championship game.

Nixon’s return started a flurry of 39 combined points in the third quarter. He found an open gap in the middle of the field, broke free from the grasp of Baylor’s Devyn Bobby at the Oklahoma State 35 and outran everyone to the end zone.

“Third quarter was like a video game,” Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said.

The Cowboys (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) also beat Baylor in the regular season last year, but came up inches short of their first conference title since 2011 when the Bears made a fourth-down stop just short of the end zone in the final seconds of the championship game.

Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders threw seven picks in his two games against Baylor last season, including four in the Big 12 title game, but he was more efficient this time. He finished 20-of-29 passing for 181 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also ran 14 times for 75 yards with several scrambling runs, and had a 1-yard TD plunge.

“That’s a big win. … It just shows that the young guys stepped up, you know, did their job,” Sanders said. “That’s a great team to win against, especially on the road in their own house.”

After Nixon’s return, Baylor (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) responded with Blake Shapen‘s 49-yard TD pass to Monaray Baldwin, who added a 70-yard catch-and-run score on another fourth-down play later in the third. True freshman Richard Reese had a 1-yard TD run on a short drive set up when Christian Morgan intercepted Sanders.

Another long kickoff return for Oklahoma State, with Brennan Presley taking it to midfield after Reese scored, was followed immediately by Braydon Johnson‘s incredible 49-yard catch and then Dominic Richardson‘s 1-yard run. The Cowboys added a 19-yard field goal after Shapen’s fourth-down incompletion from the Baylor 33 gave Oklahoma State the short field.

Shapen completed 28 of 40 passes for 345 yards and Baldwin caught seven passes for 174 yards. Reese had 85 yards and a score on 17 carries. Six of the true freshman’s TDs have come in Baylor’s three home games.

A week after opening Big 12 play with a win at Iowa State, the Bears couldn’t match that at home, where they had been so good. Their only lead came after a field goal on the game’s opening drive, before Oklahoma State scored a touchdown its first possession.

“We definitely had points where we were low on that (energy level) throughout the game,” Bears standout left tackle Connor Galvin said. “At those times, we had to take a deep breath and like `alright guys, let’s pick it back up.’ Let’s go. Let’s fix the issue on the field.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys were solid coming off their open date and rose to the challenges of playing their first ranked opponent and leaving Stillwater for the first time. Oklahoma State made some highlight catches for Sanders, including Bryson Green‘s contested leaping catch in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard TD on the Cowboys’ opening drive. On Johnson’s 49-yard catch in the third quarter, he reached back and through a defender to make the grab near the sideline, and when twisting and turning, his left foot slid out of bounds just short of the end zone.

Baylor: The Bears had won nine consecutive home games since a 42-3 loss to Oklahoma State in the 2020 regular-season finale. That game was pushed back two months because of COVID-19, and played when Baylor was without 47 people – players, coaches and support personnel – and had one full-time offensive assistant coach at the game.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Oklahoma State will certainly remain in the top 10, and may even climb a spot. Baylor could hang in near the bottom of the poll since both of its losses are against Top 25 teams, or could fall completely out of the rankings.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma State plays Texas Tech next Saturday at home.

Baylor has a Saturday off before playing its next game at West Virginia on Oct. 13, a Thursday night.

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.