September 17, 2011

It's a lovely fall day in Ada. The Harvest and Herb Festival has filled Main Street with booths, and the parade begins a day of live music downtown. It's a great small-town event.

High School Dept.: Ada's rivalry with Upper Scioto Valley High in Alger, the next town south, had been discontinued when USV had trouble keeping their football program going and had to leave the Northwest Conference. The two renewed the rivalry last night, but USV probably wished they hadn't, because Ada shocked and awed the Rams 69-7 in Ada.

Division III: #12 ONU stopped a two-point conversion in overtime to edge Otterbein 34-33 in Ada, the D-III Game of the Week in Ohio. #21 Wittenberg continued its 23 game winning streak in defeating Washington U 20-17. Randolph Macon scored a touchdown and two-point conversion with less than 5 minutes to go to defeat Shenandoah 36-29.

Division FCS (I-AA): Richmond had early success against VMI and kept on the pressure to defeat the Keydets 34-19. Northern Colorado gave up over 500 passing yards to Idaho State and got bombed 50-20. #4 William and Mary may have difficulty keeping their rank after barely beating New Haven 14-10 in Williamsburg. Jacksonville State controlled the game by running the ball and trampled Georgia State 37-21.

Divided Loyalties: Illinois bent but did not break in edging #22 Arizona State 17-14. The Champaign is now open! Wyoming edged Bowling Green 28-27.

Rivalry and Trophy Games: Tyler Hansen accounted for all of Colorado's points by running for two touchdowns and throwing for the other two in a 28-14 drubbing of Colorado State for Centennial Cup. Louisville's running outpointed Kentucky's passing allowing the Cardinals to claim the Governor's Cup 24-17. #18 West Virginia took an early lead and held on against a Maryland comeback to triumph 37-31. In the South's Oldest Rivalry, Virginia outgained North Carolina but were unable to take advantage of their opportunities in a 28-17 loss to the Tar Heels. Running back Chris Rainey and a stifling defense powered #16 Florida over Tennessee 33-23 in the Swamp. Utah met BYU in the Holy War, and the winner will be in the best position to claim the Beehive Boot (for being the best division I football team in Utah).

Our Teams Triumphant: After a scoreless first quarter, Vandy scored 3 TDs in the second quarter including an interception return for a TD and defeated Ole Miss 30-7 at Nashville. Vandy intercepted five Rebel passes. Duke QB Sean Renfree completed 40 passes and led the Dukies to a 20-19 squeaker over Boston College. Notre Dame finally held a halftime lead, and they upended #15 Michigan State 31-13 in South Bend.

Bridge of Sighs: Minnesota coach Jerry Kill had suffered a seizure near the end of last week's game, but he returned to the sideline, and Minnesota returned to the winning column in defeating Miami (Ohio) 29-23. Zac Dysert threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.

Ranked Teams: #4 Boise State snuffed the Toledo Rockets 40-15. #3 LSU outlasted #25 Mississippi State 19-6 on Thursday night. #1 Oklahoma vs. #5 Florida State.

Prison Riot: #17 Ohio State's quarterback problems and offensive deficiencies were on full display as the Hurricanes of Miami blew over the Buckeyes 17-6.

Washtenaw County Championship: Michigan defeated Eastern Michigan 31-3 to establish themselves as the county champions.

Eating Cupcakes: #13 Virginia Tech played only well enough to slip past Arkansas State 26-7. Missouri dominated Western Illinois in all phases and pummeled them 69-0. Purdue 59 South East Missouri State 0.

Upsets, Anyone?: Clemson gained over 600 yards and upended defending national champion and #21 ranked Auburn 38-24.

Pentagon Papers: Army rolled over Northwestern 21-14 at West Point. Marcus Lattimore of #10 South Carolina ran for 246 yards against Navy, and Navy's wishbone only produced 275 yards rushing. Lattimore enabled the Gamecocks to overcome the Middies 24-21.

Undefeated and Untried This Week: Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Air Force.