High School division: #4 ranked Ada remained undefeated this week by outdistancing the Allen East Mustangs 55-20 at Ada War Memorial Stadium. The AE district neighbors Ada on the west, so this is a backyard brawl. New Ada QB Heath Jackson ran for 4 TDs and passed for 4 more in the victory. Lima Central Catholic, a bigger school, will battle Ada for the Northwest Conference championship later this season.
Division III: Randolph Macon shut out Hampden Sydney 19-0. #19 ranked Ohio Northern beat Marietta soundly 41-10 at Marietta. Washington U (St. Louis) suffered a close defeat, 24-20 at home. On the good side, John Watts of Wash U won the Division III men's singles championship in tennis.
National Big Games: #25 Notre Dame gave #6 Southern Cal a battle before losing 34-27 for the Jeweled Shillelagh. #19 Georgia Tech completed only one pass but put on a rushing clinic in the second half to upset #4 Va Tech in Atlanta. This game has no trophy, but perhaps should be called the Tech Trophy game. #3 Texas beat #20 Oklahoma 16-13 in the Red River Rivalry at the Texas State Fair. Texas thereby won three trophies: the Golden Hat, the Red River Shootout Trophy, and the Governors' Trophy. Last year's game was an offensive display, but this one was defensive and sloppy. Oklahoma QB and preseason Heisman Trophy contender Sam Bradford reinjured his shoulder early in the game and may be out for the season. #2 Alabama depended on defense and 246 rushing yards from Mark Ingram to overcome #22 S. Carolina 20-6.
More Trophy Games: Undefeated #11 Iowa beat Wisconsin 20-10 at Wisconsin to take the Heartland Trophy and sole possession of the Big Ten lead. West Virginia bested Marshall 24-7 in the Friends of Coal Bowl, taking the Governor's Cup.
Upsets: Purdue, previously 1-5, upended #7 Ohio State 26-18. The Buckeyes were ghastly on offense, giving up 5 turnovers and 5 sacks. Kentucky 21, Auburn 14.
Our Teams: Both Colorado and Colorado State faced nationally ranked opponents. Colorado upset #17 Kansas in Boulder 34-30, perhaps saving coach Hawkins' job. Newly chosen starting QB Tyler Hansen was the difference for the Buffs. Unfortunately, Colorado State got the expected result, losing at #12 TCU 44-6. Virginia seems to be salvaging its season, overcoming Maryland 20-9 in a rivalry game. Clemson played its best game of the season, clobbering Wake Forest 38-3. Florida needed a last minute field goal to overcome Arkansas 23-20. Undefeated Richmond whupped Maine 38-21. Arizona State defeated Washington 24-17. Since Washington defeated USC earlier, that means that . . . Wait, no it doesn't. Northern Colorado even won, beating winless Idaho State soundly 30-7.
Disappointments: Georgia vanquished Vandy 34-10. Illinois, now a surprising 1-5, lost to an improving Indiana team 27-14. Mizzou scored all of their points in the first half, then lost their edge and the game in the second half at #16 Oklahoma State, 33-17. Mizzou can take consolation that both Kansas (see above) and Nebraska (Texas Tech 31, Huskers 10) lost.
Of Interest: On Thursday night, #8 Cincinnati beat #21 South Florida in a battle of second string QBs. South Florida had lost their starting QB to an injury earlier in the season, and Cincinnati's Tony Pike left the game in the third quarter when the plate stabilizing the left forearm that Pike broke last season shifted. Cincinnati's backup QB promptly scored on a 75 yard TD run, cementing the victory. Minnesota at #14 Penn State. Penn State often uses the White Out (fans wearing white) to back their Nittany Lions. Mother Nature supplied the white out this weekend with several inches of unseasonably early snow. Penn State did manage to win their homecoming game 20-0 over Minnesota with stifling defense.
Eating Cupcakes: Michigan 63, Delaware State 6.
Department of Defense: Air Force shut out Wyoming 10-0. Temple beat Army 27-13. Navy roared back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to outscore SMU 38-35. George H.W. Bush was Navy's honorary captain for the game.
Undefeated and Untied this week: William and Mary, Peabody Conservatory, University of Mary Washington, Emory.
As a final note, today is my wife's 29th birthday. It seems like she was 29 last year also, but I forget. At any rate, being married to her enriches all of the good times and makes sure that I can overcome all of the tough things in my life. I love her deeply, and without her . . . well, let's just not go there.
Thanks for the football fix! I missed all the games yesterday, so it's great to catch up this morning. Big props to the CU Buffaloes (and anyone else who beats up on Kansas)!
ReplyDeleteMy cousin on the other side of the family finally got student tickets to the Penn State football games this fall. I'm sure this weekend she was wishing that she had taken up her dad and grandfather on their offer to take those tickets off her hands. :) Speaking of white outs, did you see the Patriots game today? Other than being completely ignorant of the word "mercy", it was quite the sight.
ReplyDeleteI hope you got a chance to see the end of the CU game. My parents and I stopped on our way out of a restaurant to watch the final plays and the end was incredible! Reid got pictures of the fans rushing the field, so be sure to check his Facebook page for those (or the CU Buffs Radio Network page).