LINCOLN, Neb. — Harper Murray is smiling and laughing every day. And she’s playing her best volleyball in two seasons at Nebraska.

This alone lifts spirits among Murray’s teammates. Her happiness matters to them. The Huskers saw Murray spiral last spring amid public struggles with her emotional health. Two legal incidents derailed her offseason after Murray was named the top freshman in the Big Ten and a third-team All-American.

But her path is about more than rejuvenation.

The college volleyball community and Nebraska’s legion of fans have taken notice this fall of Murray’s bond with Nebraska coach John Cook.

“The connection that he has with Harper is extremely special,” senior co-captain Lexi Rodriguez said. “I think anyone can see it, whether you’re on the court or not.”

Murray’s rebound is defined in part by her uncommon relationship with the 68-year coach who stood up for her like the father she lost 13 years ago. Murray, 19, brings out a soft side in Cook that few have seen. He cares for her like a daughter.

“It’s unconditional love,” said Cook, a four-time national champion coach in his 25th season at Nebraska. “That’s really what it is. In this day and age, with this generation, you’ve got to have that if you’re going to coach.”

They star together in TikTok videos. She created an account for him and controls the content, using his phone. He revels in the millions of views.

“He’s always asking what we’re going to do next?” Murray said. “He loves it.”

If the Huskers want to make a request of the coach — maybe it’s an adjustment to their uniforms or a tweak in the schedule — Murray gets nominated. “You ask” teammates tell her, she said, “because he’ll say yes to you.”

Cook doesn’t say that Murray is his favorite. But the Huskers know it to be true. And it’s OK. She needs him in her life.

@coachjohncook1 it aint easy being a cowboy 🤠#nebraskavolleyball #fyp #nebraskatok ♬ original sound – coachjohncook1

No. 2 Nebraska enters the final week of the regular season at 28-1 and perfect in the Big Ten. It has won 54 of 59 sets in league matches and plays at No. 4 Penn State on Friday, followed by a Saturday visit to Maryland. The postseason bracket reveal is on Sunday.

Murray’s 3.29 kills per set and 27 service aces lead the Huskers. She’s the No. 1 attacking option on the most balanced offensive team in the nation. Her defense in the back row as a six-rotation player has progressed more than any area of her game.

But three months ago, Murray was terrified to walk onto the court in front of Nebraska’s fans for the preseason Red-White scrimmage. She wondered what people would think, Cook said. What would they say about her? Would she get booed?

Back up eight months. Last December, Texas swept top-seeded Nebraska in the national championship match. Murray did not play well, especially in receiving the Longhorns’ serves.

At the news conference that followed the loss, she was despondent. A reporter asked her about the future.

“I think we’re going to win three national championships (in) the next three years,” Murray said.

The comment blew up on social media. Murray digested the reactions and buried herself in negativity. She fell into a depression that lasted for months. On April 5, she was cited for DUI in Lincoln. Less than a month later, she got caught on security camera shoplifting $65 of jewelry at a sporting goods store.

ESPN featured the rise and fall of Murray in an hour-long documentary, “No Place Like Nebraska.” It aired in August, tracking the Huskers’ 2023 season and the months after it.

Murray lost her spot on the U.S. women’s U21 team. Family members worried that she might physically harm herself. Her mother, Sarah, feared that Cook would dismiss Harper from the team at Nebraska. Every time Cook talked to Sarah for weeks, she sought reassurance about Harper’s roster status. Public pressure existed for him to dump her.

“The thought crossed my mind,” Harper said. “But I think I knew deep down that he wasn’t going to give up on me that easily.”

Murray was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2023 and her success on the court has continued helped by the support of head coach John Cook. (Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics)

Cook and Nebraska assistant coach Jaylen Reyes began to recruit Murray before she started high school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She attended the Huskers’ Dream Team camp as an eighth-grader and fell for everything about the Nebraska program

As Murray developed into the No. 1-rated prospect in the 2023 class, her recruiting intensified. She was named the Gatorade Player of the Year and had her choice of top schools. But she valued her initial impressions of Nebraska, and Cook won over her mom, in part, by making sure she knew he would watch over Harper and let Sarah know if her daughter made any poor decisions.

It’s a message that Cook tells the parents of every player he recruits.

“It’s one thing to say that,” Harper said. “It’s another to act on it.”

When her life veered off the rails this year, Cook did not waver.

“I learned a long time ago that you do everything you can before you give up on these kids,” the coach said.

Murray’s struggles strengthened Cook’s commitment to her — not to be construed as going easy on her. In the coach, Harper said, she saw a role model. He supported her, she said, “when other people probably wouldn’t have.”

“I look up to him,” Murray said, “and just the way he approaches every day in life. It’s different than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Cook helped Murray make a checklist of items required to restore her good standing with the Huskers.

She completed extensive community service and more than 100 hours of therapy, which continues in addition to court-ordered probation. Within the team environment, Murray worked to regain trust.

Cook often hears from former athletes and observers that they admire Murray’s growth. He marvels at her resolve. Many athletes in her situation, he said, would have left this year in search of a fresh start.

She couldn’t leave. Not after all that Cook had done to help her.

“He wasn’t happy with me,” Murray said. “But at the same time, he promised my mom that he would be there for me. And that’s exactly what he did. He held me accountable. But he gave me grace.

“I have a lot of love and respect for him. I wouldn’t be the person or the player I am without him. And I know that I owe a lot to him. One of my biggest goals in life is to make him proud, especially because I put our program through a lot. I put us in the gutter at some points.”

Murray’s father, Vada, died when she was 6. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008 and lived three years with the disease until age 43. Vada was a standout safety on the Michigan football team from 1987-90, playing in three Rose Bowls. He graduated to work as a police officer in Ann Arbor.

Harper holds only fragmented memories of Vada. But the absence of her father haunts her. She wears his jersey No. 27, just as her sister, Kendall, did with Michigan volleyball from 2020 to 2023.

The loss that Harper experienced has impacted Cook’s approach to their relationship.

“There’s a coach-player relationship,” Cook said, “but I also think there’s a … I don’t want to call it father-daughter, because I’m not her father. But it’s built on trust.”

Harper has seen their bond grow most in the way they communicate. The TikTok videos allow the public to catch a glimpse. But the roots of their connection run much deeper. On the court, she said, he’s tough on her. Harper asked Cook before this season as she struggled with confidence to ease up and show her more compassion.

He complied. But it was temporary.

“He can make me really mad,” she said. “But I know it’s because he wants what’s best for me.”

The moment last year that triggered Murray’s slide is coming up on its first anniversary. Cook said he’s not worried that she’ll suffer again in a similar way if the Huskers fall short in December. She’s more mature, he said. Her perspective has changed.

Murray said she’s as driven as ever to win a national championship.

“I feel like I have something to prove,” she said.

Murray wears tape on her left hand during matches. She marks the pinky finger with an “8” to honor Rodriguez, a guiding light for Harper, and the ring finger with “27,” the Murray family number. On the index finger, Harper writes “JC,” the initials of her coach.

“He’s the closest thing I have,” she said, “to a father figure.”

(Top photo: Dylan Widger / Imagn Images)

Rams receiver Demarcus Robinson, who was arrested this week on suspicion of driving under the influence, will not be suspended by the team and will play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, coach Sean McVay said Wednesday.

Robinson was arrested early Monday after California Highway Patrol officers observed him allegedly speeding at more than 100 mph on the 101 Freeway in Woodland Hills. He was cited at the scene and released.

“He understands the severity of this and how lucky we were that nobody was injured,” McVay said, adding that he would deal with the situation in an unspecified way internally. “I did appreciate his ability to acknowledge it to the team, while also not minimizing … the severity of what could have been.

“And I do trust that he’s going to learn from it, and I think it’ll be a good learning opportunity for our whole football team.”

Robinson, a ninth-year pro, said he made “a bad decision” to drive while impaired. Robinson said he informed McVay about the incident Monday afternoon, and apologized for his actions.

“It’s a bad look,” Robinson said. “I don’t want to bring that type of light or any type of negative energy toward the team. So things like that [are] not … in my nature or stuff that I usually do. So I just told him I sincerely apologize to him and the team and this whole organization for even putting myself and the organization in a predicament like that.”

Robinson also addressed the team.

“Just letting the guys know we all make mistakes but hopefully we all can learn from it,” he said.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford and other teammates offered support.

“I know that D-Rob is a great person, love being around him, love him as a teammate,” Stafford said. “You know those things aren’t things that he wants to do or be a part of, so I know he’ll learn from it. We all will.”

Said receiver Cooper Kupp: “I told him that I love him. Obviously, it’s a mistake and we’ve all made mistakes and [we’re] just really fortunate that no one was hurt with what took place. We’ll wrap our arms around him. He addressed the team and we’ll be able to move forward from that and be able to support him however we can.”

Robinson, 30, played six seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs and one for the Baltimore Ravens before signing with the Rams last season. He caught 26 passes, including four for touchdowns, and the Rams re-signed him to a one-year, $4-million contract that includes $1 million in incentives, according to overthecap.com

This season Robinson has 26 catches, six for touchdowns, including one in the Rams’ 37-20 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium. The game ended about 8½ hours before his arrest.

The NFL conducts independent investigations about off-the-field incidents involving players but does not typically make a decision about suspensions until the legal process concludes.

Robinson said the incident would not take away from his preparation for the game against the Saints.

“It is real life — I do think about it,” he said, “But, I mean, just try to move on the best that I can from it and let the guys know I’m still here. I still can play ball. … Just trying to stay in a positive mood, keep moving forward and, hopefully, it gets behind us.”

Etc.

Left tackle Alaric Jackson did not practice because of a foot injury, according to the injury report. … Tight end Tyler Higbee, coming back from a knee injury suffered during last season’s NFC wild-card playoff defeat at Detroit, practiced for the first time. Higbee, who was limited, remains on injured reserve and is not expected to be activated for the game against the Saints. … Right tackle Rob Havenstein (ankle) was a full participant and is expected to play Sunday for the first time in four games.

America’s breadbasket straddles the Missouri River, with Iowa on the eastern slope and Kansas burying a knee in its back from the southwest. The river’s thick, muddy waters and countless tributaries irrigate the world’s most fertile farmland. In Iowa, that means corn, hogs and even turkeys. In Kansas, that’s winter wheat, sorghum and cattle.

Agriculture dictates business in both states, and their land-grant institutions are among the nation’s best at cultivating the next crop of farmers. It has led Iowa State and Kansas State to forge close ties, and that cooperation spills over to competition in athletics. It also helped launch one of the greatest rivalry nicknames in sports.

Once considered a derisive moniker, “Farmageddon” has nudged its way into the lexicon of modern college football in a way that belies its threadbare roots. In a new-look Big 12 scuttled and reformed through realignment, Farmageddon is a relic and a treasure. With expansion, teams change conferences and rivalries disintegrate. Yet Iowa State and Kansas State have found in each other an organic partner and competitor.

“There’s that sense of a rivalry between the two schools, and it’s always a battle,” said Kansas State defensive end Brendan Mott, who grew up in Iowa City, Iowa. “It’s super physical up front. The conditions are always tough. It’s definitely a rivalry. I know us as players look forward to it every year. And I’m sure Iowa State does as well.”

#CyclONEnation fans voted overwhelmingly to start a trophy with one longtime foe, who ISU has played every year since 1917. Iowa state players agree.

Should Iowa State and K-State meet for ‘The Reaper,’ as the Paul Bunyan’s Axe of the Plains?
Our story:https://t.co/cJl9LJM2Kd pic.twitter.com/fXo07uOXUs

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— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) August 16, 2022

Farmageddon has never meant more to the contestants, fans or college football, and the series has soared in importance. For just the second time in their century-plus competition, the programs meet as ranked opponents. Saturday night at Jack Trice Stadium, No. 18 Iowa State (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) could win a 10th game for the first time in school history and qualify for the Big 12 Championship Game. No. 24 Kansas State (8-3, 5-3) could ruin the party in Ames and perhaps sneak into the title game itself.

“We’ve had the game circled,” Kansas State tight end Will Swanson told reporters.

Humble beginnings

For generations, the Kansas State and Iowa State football teams sat like loose nails on a wooden fence waiting for the hammer to pound them into place. From the start of the Big Six Conference in 1928 through the completion of the Big Eight in 1995, either the Cyclones or the Wildcats finished in last place 54 times in 68 seasons. In 1989 and 1991, Kansas State moved its home games with Oklahoma to Norman so both squads could generate more revenue.

Then came the Manhattan Miracle led by Bill Snyder. In perhaps the greatest turnaround in college football history, Snyder took a program teetering toward shifting to a lower division and won multiple Big 12 championships. Snyder, a College Football Hall of Fame inductee, was 215-117-1 in 27 seasons with five top-10 finishes. The Wildcats had participated in one bowl game in their first 93 years. Snyder took them to 20.

“When you look at both programs, their histories are very similar,” said Jeff Woody, a running back at Iowa State from 2009-13. “Kansas State just came out of it sooner. Kansas State, before Bill Snyder got there, was awful, and Iowa State was awful until (Dan) McCarney got there.”

Iowa State had a few peaks under McCarney, but the Cyclones were well behind their foes 350 miles to the southwest. For 90 years, it was less a rivalry than just a series between two similar institutions that simply played every year.

“They had a great run under coach Snyder, and in some ways, they were the gold standard of what maybe Iowa State kind of aspired to do,” said Iowa State’s Jamie Pollard, who ranks third in longevity among Power 4 athletic directors. “Their institutional composition, their makeup, their history, is more like us than not.

“You look at K-State as a program. They won Big 12 championships. They played in the Cotton Bowl. They did some things that Iowa State would like to do. Quite frankly, with coach (Chris) Klieman there right now, in some ways the path to where we want to go kind of goes through them.”

Farmageddon

In 2007, Kansas and Missouri played a top-five matchup at Arrowhead Stadium. The stands were full and feisty, the game a rousing success. Kansas City Chiefs brass then reached out to multiple schools to gauge interest in staging future games.

“K-State was willing, as we were willing, to each give up a home game, so we did the two-year deal,” Pollard said. “It was a good one-off opportunity that allowed us to go to the Kansas City market, which is a big market for us.”

Before the first game in 2009, a Kansas State fan site coined the phrase “Farmageddom.” It caught on quickly and appeared in newspapers and other media outlets. At first, many fans and supporters considered the term cringeworthy and cliche. The nickname, however, gathered momentum and stuck despite the series moving back to campuses in 2011.

Concurrently, the Big 12 was amid a radical realignment. In multiple years, there were heavy discussions about six schools — including Texas and Oklahoma — joining the Pac-10. After the 2010 season, Nebraska and Colorado left for the Big Ten and Pac-10, respectively. The next year, Missouri and Texas A&M bolted for the SEC. Each time, Iowa State and Kansas State were left twisting at the whims of their higher-profile colleagues. Amid the chaos, a bond formed.

“I was in college for the first round of realignment, and Kansas State was also one of those afterthought schools,” Woody said. “And you go, ‘Well, where do we go?’ Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Texas Tech were the land-grant schools. No one expects as much from us. It’s sort of a sibling rivalry that I can fight you and you can fight me, and we can hate each other, but no one else is allowed to hate us.”

New era

Saturday marks the 108th consecutive season the Wildcats and Cyclones face off, but the stakes never have been higher. When both schools were ranked in 2002, it was midseason, and K-State rolled past Iowa State 58-7. Now, it’s the season finale and both teams still harbor Big 12 title hopes.

Should the Cyclones win, they’re almost certain to appear in the title game for the second time, barring a three-way tie and a complicated tiebreaker. But the percentages are low, and coach Matt Campbell said Tuesday it’s not something that concerns him.

Kansas State, which won the Big 12 title two seasons ago, must win and get help to make another title appearance. The long odds don’t detract from the game’s importance, however.

Last year, 6 inches of snow fell during the Cyclones’ 42-35 win in Manhattan. In a game dubbed “Snowmageddon,” Iowa State running back Abu Sama III rushed for 276 yards and three touchdowns. For Saturday’s prime-time kickoff, temperatures are expected to fall into the single digits.

“It always seems like it’s a cold game or snowy game or something like that,” Mott said. “It’s always a good brawl and battle. Last year, they came down to Manhattan. It was a snowy game, and it was our senior night, and we didn’t really have the game that we wanted to have. So, we’re a real hungry team.”

Since the term Farmageddon was applied to this series, unusual situations and surroundings have determined the outcome. In the first Arrowhead game, Iowa State missed an extra point in a 24-23 Kansas State win. From 2014 through 2017, the Wildcats won four straight by 5 points or fewer. In 2015, Iowa State led by a touchdown with the ball and 1:31 left. All the Cyclones needed to do was kneel for the victory because Kansas State had just one timeout remaining.

Instead, Cyclones coach Paul Rhoads chose to run the ball on first down. The back fumbled, and Kansas State tied the score with a touchdown four plays later. A strip-sack with 10 seconds left led to Kansas State’s game-winning field goal. Rhoads was fired the next day.

I’m intrigued by what @ChrisMWilliams thinks about this. Since Mizzou left for the SEC a decade ago, Iowa State is down to a single traveling trophy. Is it time to add another? If so, which school?

— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) August 14, 2022

Campbell’s arrival in 2016 has escalated the stakes. He’s 4-4 against Kansas State, which matches the number of Cyclone wins against Kansas State from 1999 through 2007. Klieman replaced Snyder in 2019 and is 2-3 against the Cyclones. The programs are built with the same principles with development at their core. Iowa State leads the series all-time, 53-50-4.

“Both football teams play a style that their fan bases really embrace,” Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor said. “They’re similar in a lot of ways, just hard-nosed kids from small-town Iowa, small-town Kansas. They just go out and really play good, hard, solid football.”

Future

There’s little chance of snow or below-zero temperatures for next year’s Farmageddon. Kansas State shifted the game to Ireland, and it will take place in Week 0. Aer Lingus, which operates an annual game in Dublin, met with Iowa State and Kansas State to consider playing a game there. Iowa State will host only four Big 12 games in 2025, so it declined. Taylor thought Klieman would do the same but asked his coach to research the proposal.

“I said, ‘There’s no way Klieman is moving the Iowa State game to a neutral site in Ireland,’” Taylor said. “Chris came down to my office and said, ‘Let’s do it.’ I was shocked, literally, because of the importance of the game.”

Another change is on the horizon, one that has agitated the fan bases. In the 16-team Big 12, in which eight new members have joined in the last two seasons, only four rivalries (all in-state) are protected annually. Farmageddon is slated to cycle off the schedule in 2027. There are no plans for the schools to meet in a nonconference game.

“There have been a lot of changes,” Taylor said. “We probably haven’t had a chance to really slow down and take a look at an option like that. But I think it’s worthy of discussion in the future. And say maybe we do rotate — not just one team a year that you play every year, maybe it is two or three teams. How do we keep Iowa State for us and Kansas and rotate everybody else?”

Reminder: Farmageddon is not officially recognized as a rivalry by @CycloneATH @kstatesports or the @Big12Conference

Seems like as good of time as ever seeing as the next two matchups include:

-Championship and Playoff implications

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-International stand-alone game

— Jack Trice Mafia (@JackTriceMafia) November 24, 2024

Once an afterthought, Farmageddon now resonates as an authentic rivalry shaped by similarity and substance. Mott, Woody and both athletic directors acknowledge the other has become their school’s No. 2 rival, just behind their in-state foes. It matters emotionally and competitively.

“Ohio State–Michigan have played each other for forever, and that’s like a true hatred,” Woody said. “But the existence of those programs has never been threatened, like what happened to Iowa State and Kansas State. So, recognizing that it almost fell apart, and there’s this good thing between two similar programs that because it almost fell apart, you appreciate it for what it is. It’s impossible not to see the similarities between the programs.”

“It is kind of that battle of the farmers,” Mott said. “I think it’s cool it’s got this nickname. It just adds to the rivalry.”

(Photo: Scott Winters / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)