(Radio Iowa) — A Prairie City boy will celebrate his 14th birthday tomorrow (Tuesday) by serving as “Kid Captain” for the Iowa football team as the Hawkeyes play Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl. Gabe Graber’s mother, Emily, says her son was born on January 1, 2005 with a rare birth defect. “Gabe’s congenital heart defect is called double-inlet left ventricle, which means that his right ventricle never fully developed, and his left ventricle is responsible for handling the whole function of his heart,” Emily said.

Gabe Graber

Gabe had two heart surgeries before his third birthday. During his second surgery, Gabe suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on his left side. But within two months, he was walking again. His father, Darin, says a third major surgery followed a seizure in 2015. “After the surgery or since, he’s been like a changed person. He has a lot more confidence. He’s more engaging with people,” Darin said. Emily added, “Gabe has taught me the definition of resilience. He continues to fight no matter what obstacles he’s faced.”

Gabe’s parents made their comments in a video produced by the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. This marks the 10th year for the UI Kid Captain program. The Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida kicks-off tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11 a.m., Iowa time.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Nia Clouden scored 27 points, Jenna Allen had 17 rebounds, both career highs, and No. 20 Michigan State pulled away from No. 16 Iowa in the second half for an 84-70 win in the Big Ten Conference opener. The one-two punch for the Spartans (11-1) offset a 30-point, 14-rebound outing for Megan Gustafson, who became the all-time leading scorer for the Hawkeyes (9-3).

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Emmanuel Nzekwesi had 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting and 14 rebounds, D.J. Weaver made seven 3-pointers and scored 21 and Oral Roberts beat Omaha 87-84. Kevin Obanor made two free throws with 29 seconds left to give ORU an 87-83 lead.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs clinched their third consecutive AFC West title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with a 35-3 whitewash of the Oakland Raiders. Patrick Mahomes threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns, making him the second quarterback in NFL history with at least 5,000 yards passing and 50 TDs in a season. The Raiders never gave themselves a shot after turning the ball over on their first four possessions.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Missouri’s Drew Lock wants to make sure he ends his college career with a positive memory as the No. 24 Tigers face Oklahoma State in the Liberty Bowl. Lock didn’t follow the example of other NFL prospects who skipped bowl games to begin draft preparations. The senior quarterback instead wanted to join his college teammates one last time.

(Learfield Sports) — Iowa will face a familiar offense in tomorrow’s (Tuesday’s) 33rd edition of the Outback Bowl, against 18th ranked Mississippi State. Bulldog coach Joe Moorhead was the offensive coordinator at Penn State when the Nittany Lions beat the Hawkeyes in 2016 and 2017.

Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker says the Hawkeyes need to be assignment sound against Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who has rushed for more than a thousand yards this season.

We’ll have the game for you here on KJAN, beginning at 9-a.m., with the kick-off from Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL at 11-a.m.

Kansas City finally clinched its third consecutive AFC West title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, Sunday, with a 35-3 pounding of the Raiders. Patrick Mahomes threw for 281 yards, highlighted by a 67-yard TD pass to Tyreek Hill and an 89-yard TD toss to Demarcus Robinson for the 12-4 Chiefs. That gave the first-year starter 5,097 yards and 50 touchdown passes, joining Peyton Manning as the only QBs to hit 5,000 and 50 in the same season.

Hill finished with five catches for 101 yards, becoming the Chiefs’ single-season leader for yards receiving with 1,479, while adding a fourth-quarter touchdown run. Damien Williams added 51 yards and a score on the ground as the Chiefs beat the Raiders for the eighth time in nine games.

The Chiefs’ Travis Kelce had five catches for 62 yards, giving him 1,336 yards this season. That broke the NFL record for tight ends set by the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski in 2011, only for the 49ers’ George Kittle to pass him a few minutes later.

Mahomes was 14 of 24, giving him a franchise-record 383 completions this season. He began the day tied with Trent Green with 369. Coach Andy Reid broke a tie with former Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer for seventh on the NFL’s career wins list with his 206th.

Next up: A postseason bye and divisional-round game at home await the Chiefs.

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Nia Clouden scored 27 points, Jenna Allen had 17 rebounds, both career highs, and No. 20 Michigan State pulled away from No. 16 Iowa in the second half on Sunday for an 84-70 win in the Big Ten Conference opener. The one-two punch for the Spartans (11-1) offset a 30-point, 14-rebound outing for Megan Gustafson, who became the all-time leading scorer for the Hawkeyes (9-3). Gustafson surpassed former teammate Ally Disterhoft (2,102) and men’s great Roy Marble (2,116). Gustafson, the nation’s leading scorer (26.5 ppg) now has 2,124 points.

The turning point was the third quarter when Michigan State shot 50 percent and outscored Iowa, which shot 17 percent (2 of 12), 23-10 to take a 60-53 lead. Clouden, a freshman, had nine points in a 13-3 run to start the second half, converting two 3-point plays and hitting a 3-pointer.

Iowa, which had a five-game winning streak snapped, never got untracked, shooting 29 percent in the second half and 43 percent for the game. For the Hawkeyes, who lead the Big Ten at 53 percent, it was just their fifth time below 50 percent. Iowa was within seven with 3:07 to go when MSU went on a 9-0 run as the Hawkeyes missed four straight 3-pointers.

Allen also had 20 points for Michigan State, which won its eighth straight.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — It had been over three decades since Iowa had last finished its non-conference team schedule undefeated. But the 24th-ranked Hawkeyes will resume Big Ten play next week at 0-2 in the league — and coming off one of their ugliest wins in years. Tyler Cook scored 19 points with 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double in seven games and 24th-ranked Iowa held off lowly Bryant 72-67 on Saturday night. Jordan Bohannon had 17 points for the Hawkeyes (11-2), who swept their out of league opponents for the first time since 1986-87.

Iowa hardly looked like it was ready for what’s coming. The pesky Bulldogs (3-8) pestered the Hawkeyes with a slow tempo — and even tied it at 66-all with 3:08 left. Cook gave Iowa the lead back with a layup, and the Hawkeyes forced a subsequent shot-clock violation. Bryant’s Adam Grant then missed an open look at a potential game-tying 3 with 24 seconds left, and Bohannon sealed it at the free throw line.

Bryant showed it was ready to give the Hawkeyes a game from the get-go, as Grant scored 12 of the Bulldogs’ first 13 points — and buried a 3 at the buzzer — to help keep them within 43-34 at the break. The Bulldogs then opened the second half on a 10-2 run to get within a point of Iowa’s lead, and Grant’s 3 with 5:37 left cut the lead to 64-62. Joe Kasperzyk then tied it up on a layup. Grant had 20 of his 23 points in the opening 20 minutes for Bryant. The Bulldogs hit 10 3s after shooting just 27.8 percent entering play.

The Hawkeyes played a relatively ambitious non-conference slate, going up against the likes of Oregon, Connecticut, Pitt and Iowa State — and their first two Big Ten games were against No. 15 Wisconsin and No. 8 Michigan State. It’s understandable, then, that coach Fran McCaffery would finish December with Western Carolina, Savannah State and Bryant. But the Hawkeyes looked lost at times against a team they might beat by 40 if they played again. Iowa could be at risk of dropping out of the Top 25 on Monday after barely beating a team that Yale thumped by 42 points.

Iowa’s team stat sheet wasn’t indicative of one for a squad that could only beat one of the worst teams in America by five points. The Hawkeyes shot 46 percent from the floor, 36 on 3s and 67.7 on free throws — not great numbers, but not terrible ones either. Iowa also forced 13 turnovers and had 16 assists on 21 baskets.
UP NEXT: Iowa travels to Purdue on Thursday.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Andrew Garcia scored 24 points and Stony Brook won its school-record 12th non-conference game, pulling away from Northern Iowa, 73-63 Saturday night in their final contest before opening America East play. The Seawolves (12-3) already set the school’s record as a Division I school with 11 non-conference wins with a 76-73 victory over Quinnipiac. Stony Brook opens conference play Saturday at UMass-Lowell.

Wyatt Lohaus scored at the basket as time expired in the first half to get Northern Iowa within two at the break 36-34. The Seawolves answered to start the second half. Andrew Garcia drilled a 3 seconds into the period and Jeff Otchere dunked to make it 41-34. Garcia hit the second of two free throws and followed it with a jumper seconds later to push Stony Brook’s lead into double figures, 56-46 midway through the second half, and Jules Moor hit a 3 to make it a 13-point bulge.

Garcia was 9-for-9 from the field, including 4 of 4 from distance. Jules Moor added 14 points off the bench. Lohaus hit 5 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished with 23 points for Northern Iowa (5-8).

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Garrett Sturtz scored 16 points off the bench as Drake completed its non-conference schedule by bolting past Division II McKendree, 98-70 on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs posted their 11th win in 13 starts after capturing the Las Vegas Classic tournament championship last week, their first tourney title since 2013, and enter Missouri Valley Conference play at Evansville Wednesday.

Drake took the lead on Nick Norton’s 3 four minutes into the game and his layup with 12:33 left pushed the lead into double digits. D.J. Wilkins’s 3 with a second left made it 51-27 at the break. Six Drake players scored in double figures and 11 contributed to the offense. Nick McGlynn added 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Alijah Thomas scored 15 points and Jacob Donaldson added another 13 off the bench for McKendree.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Ric Hanson.

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Gardner Minshew II threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score and No. 12 Washington State stopped No. 25 Iowa State on a late two-point conversion in a 28-26 victory in the Alamo Bowl. Minshew passed for 299 yards to help Washington State (11-2) set a school record for wins in a season.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs safety Eric Berry missed practice Friday after the heel injury that kept him out most of the season acted up, leaving his status for Sunday’s game against Oakland in question. The Chiefs can clinch the AFC West and No. 1 seed in the playoffs by beating the Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — JT Gibson hit five 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 22 points and Matt Pile scored 17 on 8-of-12 shooting to help Omaha hold on for a 91-84 win over Denver in the Summit League opener for both teams. Mitch Hahn added 16 points, Zach Jackson scored 11 and Ayo Akinwole 10 for Omaha (7-7), which has won four in a row.