October 6, 2012

     Fall is definitely here.  The highs for this weekend will be in the 50s, and the leaves are turning.  Ada is full of mums because it is homecoming for both Ada High and for Ohio Northern.  Fall in Ohio.

     High School Division:  This season has presented a real weather challenge for high schools.  This Friday night brought cold rain, but at least no interruption for lightning.  Ada and  Crestview were tied at 14 at halftime and at the end of the third quarter.  Ada's Kellen Decker turned a screen pass into a 69 yard game-winning touchdown.  Ada held off the Knights 26-21.

     Division III Doings:  Ohio Northern was a little too generous in hosting Baldwin Wallace for ONU's homecoming.  BW outpointed the Polar Bears 22-20.  Randolph Macon hosted their first night game  against Catholic U, but the Yellow Jackets were not very hospitable, stinging Catholic 45-12.

     FCS (Division I-AA) Stuff:  Public Ivy William and Mary took a 24-7 halftime lead and then held on to defeat private Ivy Penn 34-28.    Richmond got two late interceptions to hold off Villanova
28-17.  New Hampshire dumped Georgia State 44-21.  Montana devastated Northern Colorado 40-17.

     Ranked vs. Ranked:  #4 LSU scored two field goals, the only points, in the first half against # 10 Florida.  Unfortunately for the Tigers, Florida scored the only points of the second half, two touchdowns, to defeat LSU 14-6 in Gainesville.  Geno Smith threw four TD passes to lead #8 West Virginia in a successful trip to Austin in edging #11 Texas 48-45.  #6 South Carolina clobbered #5 Georgia 35-7.

     Grudge:  Vandy traveled to Columbia to welcome Missouri to the SEC.  Missouri lost its star QB James Franklin in the first half, gave up a safety in the first quarter, and took a close loss 19-15.  North Carolina outrushed Virginia Tech by nearly 300 yards in thrashing the Hokies 48-34 in Chapel Hill.

     Say What??:  North Carolina State scored a fourth down touchdown with 16 seconds to go to upend #3 Florida State 17-16.  #18 Stanford had to score two late TDs to force Arizona into overtime.  Stanford stopped Arizona's overtime possession with an interception and then scored a TD to overcome Arizona 54-48.

     Rivalry and Trophy Games:  On Friday night, usually high-scoring BYU defeated normally high-scoring Utah State 6-3 to take the Old Wagon Wheel.  The victory also gives BYU a leg up toward claiming the Beehive Boot, the reward for the best major college football team in Utah.  The Sunflower Showdown was a little one-sided as Kansas State mauled Kansas 56-16 to grab the Governor's Cup.  #2 Oregon outraced traditional rival #23 Washington 52-21.

     Our Teams Triumphant:  Maryland scored a touchdown with less than 6 minutes to go to overtake Wake Forest 19-14 for its third victory of the year.  Maryland has already won one more game than it did all of last year.  Hurricane lose power as they go north, which may help to explain #9 Notre Dame's domination of Miami 41-3.

     Vale of Tears:  Wisconsin dominated Illinois 31-14.  Zac Dysert passed for over 300 yards, but he could not overcome a superior Cincinnati team that destroyed his Red Hawks 52-14.  Fresno State completed its sacking of Colorado by pounding Colorado State 28-7.

     Corrections News:  Penn State upended #24 Northwestern 39-24 to bring happiness to Happy Valley.  #12 Ohio State outplayed #21 Nebraska in all phases of the game, bulldozing the Huskers 63-38 in Columbus.

     Pentagon Papers:  Navy scored a late touchdown and two-point conversion to force an overtime against Air Force, and then scored a touchdown in the OT to torpedo the Falcons 28-21 in Colorado Springs.  Army running back Brent Steelman scored his third rushing TD of the game with less than a minute to go as Army edged Boston College 34-31.

     Undefeated and Untied This Week:  Emory, Peabody Conservatory, Washington U St. Louis, Colorado U, (Thankfully) the Colorado Rockies, after only 98 losses.