September 10, 2011

This weekend is full of memories of ten years ago, and also memories of the consequences of that fateful day. May we remember to mourn the victims and celebrate the many heroes of those days.

High School Division: Ada and Columbus both showed the tenacity of their bulldog mascots in a 34-33 thriller won by Columbus Grove. Three players for Columbus Grove each rushed for 100 yards. CG won the game by being able to make conversions after touchdowns and by intercepting Konnor Baker with about 1 minute to go to clinch the victory.

Division III: Randolph Macon used a strong defensive effort to come from behind to defeat Averett 15-7. Washington U St. Louis clobbered visiting Rhodes 48-21. Apparently, Rhodes is not a colossus this year.

Which One Do I Root For Again? Homestanding Arizona State led #21 Mizzou 30-16 early in the 4th quarter, but Mizzou came roaring back to tie the game with 2:50 left and force overtime. Arizona State then scored a touchdown in the overtime and held Mizzou scoreless to clinch the win.

What a Battle: Notre Dame scored a TD to take a 3 point lead with 30 seconds to go, but Michigan scored a TD to win the game with 8 seconds to go in a 35-31 barn burner. #12 South Carolina barely beat a determined Georgia team 45-42 in a game that went back and forth all afternoon. #24 Texas edged BYU 17-16.

Our Teams Victorious: #11 Virginia Tech used strangling defense to edge East Carolina 17-10. North Carolina had to stop a determined Rutgers comeback to top the Scarlet Knights 24-22. #5 ranked (in I-AA) William and Mary used a strong defense and powerful running to trample the Keydets of VMI 24-7. Virginia trailed Indiana 31-23 with 6 1/2 minutes to go, but the Cavaliers scored a touchdown and two-point conversion with a minute and a half to go and a field goal at the whistle for a 34-31 victory. Vandy made five sacks and took the ball away four times on the way to a 24-21 come from behind victory over U Conn. Vandy is now 2-0! Richmond stung the Seahawks of Wagner 21-6.

Eating Cupcakes: Illinois rolled over the Jackrabbits of I-AA South Dakota State 56-3. #19 West Virginia pulverized I-AA Norfolk State 55-12. Florida shut out Alabama-Birmingham 39-0.

Ranked vs. Ranked: #23 Penn State used 2 quarterbacks at home, but neither could make much of a dent in the defense of #3 Alabama as the Tide rolled over the Nittany Lions 27-11 in Happy Valley, PA.

Trophy Games: In a hard fought battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy, Iowa State (of the incredible shrinking conference) defeated Iowa 44-41.

Sighing: Colorado outgained Cal by 200 yards and forced Cal into overtime before losing 36-33 in a matchup of Golden Buffaloes against Golden Bears. Air Force outgained #25 TCU but the Horned Frogs turned their gains into touchdowns, winning 35-19. Colorado State led Northern Colorado 28-0 at halftime and coasted to a 33-14 victory. #6 Stanford hammered Duke 44-14. Old Dominion thumped Georgia State 40-17 in Atlanta.

Upsets: Defending national champion Auburn upset #16 Mississippi State 41-34. New Mexico State upended Minnesota 28-21. Rice had not beaten a team from a BCS conference in 10 years, but they edged Purdue 24-22 on a last second field goal.

Criminal Court: Toledo nearly upset #15 Ohio State but gave up an interception with 1 minute to go to extinguish their last hope. Had Toledo not killed themselves with penalties, special teams errors and other mistakes, they might have been the first Ohio school to beat OSU since 1921.

Pentagon: San Diego State 23, Army 20. Navy at Western Kentucky. Navy torpedoed Western Kentucky 40-14.

Undefeated and Untried This Week: Peabody Conservatory, Emory, #13 (D-III) Ohio Northern, Maryland, Miamis (both of them).

Other Sports News: Ohio Northern's men's soccer team is ranked #4 nationally. #3 Wash U St. Louis women's volleyball dominated Ohio Northern 3 games to 0.