Thoughts from Ada

October 15, 2011

2011-10-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

The membership in conferences resembles the social situation in a 6th grade class. The little groups seem to be different every week. The Big 12 seems to have stabilized itself for the moment by grabbing TCU, even if Missouri is attempting to leave. The Big East may be doomed as a football conference, since it is down to six football-playing members as TCU, Syracuse and Pittsburgh depart. The Big East is so desperate that it is trying to attract Air Force and Boise State. It will be interesting to see whether the Conference USA--Mountain West alliance, the 22 team super-conference, will actually come to be. At any rate, here are our games:

High School Division: The Ada Bulldogs led Allen East 48-0 at halftime and coasted through the second half to administer a 54-12 trip to the glue factory for the Mustangs. Ada QB Konnor Baker threw 4 TD passes and ran for 2 more. In Denver, Thomas Jefferson whipped George Washington 32-12.

Division III News: Ohio Northern at Baldwin Wallace. Washington & Lee at Randolph Macon. Wash U St. Louis has College of Wooster at home.

Division I-AA (FCS): #16 William and Mary entertains #6 New Hampshire.

Trophy and Rivalry Games: Ohio State took advantage of 3 turnovers to upend #16 Illinois in Champaign for the Illibuck Trophy. #23 Michigan State combined strong running with determined defense to upset #11 Michigan 28-14 to claim the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Louisville's offense struggled, and Cincinnati recovered all of its own fumbles to enable the Bearcats to take the Keg of Nails 25-16. Missouri pulverized Iowa State 52-14 to claim the Telephone Trophy. Toledo bowled over Bowling Green 28-21 in the Battle of I-75.

Are You Upset?: Virginia used its bye week to excellent advantage to upset #12 Georgia Tech 24-21.

Our Teams Triumphant: #19 Va. Tech at Wake Forest.

Ranked vs. Ranked: #21 Texas A & M shocked and awed #20 Baylor 55-24 behind 6 TD passes by quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Jeremy Smith of #6 Oklahoma State ran for 140 yards and two TDs on only seven carries as the Cowboys dominated #22 Texas 38-26.

Our Teams, Depressed: Washington scored more than 50 points for the first time in 10 years in clobbering Colorado 52-24. Vandy gave Georgia a much better game than the Bulldogs expected before succumbing . Florida State overcame its recent troubles in drubbing Duke 41-16 in Durham. Miami played a very strong first half and then held on against the North Carolina comeback to overcome the Tar Heels 30-24 in Chapel Hill. Kellen Moore threw 4 TD passes and led #5 Boise State to a 63-13 thrashing of Colorado State. The defenses controlled the game as #24 Auburn beat Florida 17-6.

Pentagon Papers: San Diego State's Ronnie Hillman ran for 172 yards as the Aztecs grounded Air Force 41-27. Rutgers used a strong defense and blocked a late Navy field goal attempt to edge the Middies 21-20.

October 8, 2011

2011-10-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been too crowded for blogging. Sorry about that. On September 24, I was the spotter for the Colorado Buffaloes radio broadcast when they played Ohio State. (Thank you, Reid.) It was thrilling to be in the Horseshoe (Ohio Stadium) for the first time, and to see the OSU band form script Ohio live is even better than watching it on TV. Unfortunately, Colorado was not good enough to handle the Buckeyes in the game. Last weekend combined a visit from Lauren Lobenhofer to enable her to celebrate a wedding of a high school classmate of hers as well as ONU and Ada homecomings, so, again, no time for blogging. But, "I'm baaack!!"

High School Division: Ada does not seem to have as strong a team as they have had for the past few years. Last night, despite taking the ball away from the Crestview Knights six times, Ada barely escaped from lovely Convoy (home of Crestview High) with a 43-42 victory in double overtime. George Washington High (Denver) managed to defeat Montbello 13-6 to bring their the Patriots' record to 2-4.

Division III: Ohio Northern has dropped out of the top 25 after suffering consecutive defeats to Muskingum 27-7 and to #2 ranked Mt. Union 14-6 on ONU's homecoming. This Saturday, however, Tyler Rue threw four touchdown passes in leading ONU to a 38-20 victory at Capital. In a rare Friday night game, Randolph Macon outscored Catholic U 51-34 in D.C. #12 Wabash punished Washington U, St. Louis 24-3, for Wash U's 3d loss in a row.

Division I-AA (or FCS): #11 Delaware's defense stonewalled #9 William and Mary, giving the Blue Hens a 21-0 victory over the Tribe. Towson held off a determined Richmond team 31-28. Georgia State extended their losing streak to four games by succumbing to Murray State 48-24. Northern Colorado had only 72 yards of total offense, and Sacramento State did not attempt a pass in a 14-7 victory for Sacramento State. Northern Colorado has now lost six in a row.

Trophy and Rivalry Games: #5 Boise State annihilated Fresno State 57-7 to claim the Milk Can Trophy on Friday night. The biggest rivalry game of the weekend is the Red River Shootout between Texas and Oklahoma, played at the Cotton Bowl at the Texas State Fair. #3 Oklahoma, led by veteran quarterback Landry Jones, took a 34-10 lead by half time against a resurgent but young #11 Texas team and won 55-17, claiming the Golden Hat, the Red River Shootout Trophy, and the Governor's' trophy. In the battle for the Leather Helmet, #8 Clemson routed Boston College 36-14 to claim the O'Rourke-McFadden Trophy.

Ranked vs. Ranked: #1 LSU wrestled #17 Florida into submission 41-11. Tyler Wilson completed 19 straight passes in leading #10 Arkansas to a 38-14 thrashing of #15 Auburn.

Our Teams, Boisterous. Indiana took an early lead over #19 Illinois, but the undefeated Illini roared back with long passes to stomp the Hoosiers 41-20. #22 Arizona State took advantage of 5 Utah turnovers to rout the Utes 35-14. #21 Virginia Tech drove 77 yards in the last 3 minutes to edge Miami at the end of a wild fourth quarter in Blacksburg. Denard Robinson threw 3 interceptions, but he also threw 2 touchdown passes and scored 2 rushing touchdowns in leading #12 Michigan over Northwestern 42-24. North Carolina overcame a slow start to defeat Louisville 14-7. #16 West Virginia barely led UConn at halftime, but dominated the second half to win 43-16.

Trail of Tears. #13 Georgia Tech edged Maryland 21-16. #2 Alabama overwhelmed Vandy 34-0. Andrew Luck had his best game of the season for #7 Stanford as the Cardinal trounced luckless Colorado 48-7. Ohio State dominated #14 Nebraska for 2 1/2 quarters, but when freshman Buckeye QB Braxton Miller left the game with a sprained ankle, the Huskers came back with a vengeance, defeating the Bucks 34-27 in Lincoln for Nebraska's first Big Ten win. Missouri had two long drives for touchdowns in the final quarter, but they could not overtake #20 Kansas State, so the Tigers lost 24-17.

Surprising: Wake Forest upended #23 Florida State 35-30. #6 Oklahoma State crushed Kansas 70-28.

Armed Forces Report: The academies suffered nothing but defeats this weekend. Notre Dame carpet-bombed Air Force 59-33 in South Bend. Zac Dysert threw four touchdown passses to lead Miami (Ohio) to a 35-28 victory over Army in Oxford. Southern Miss sank Navy 63-35.

Undefeated and Untried This Week. Virginia, after being vandalized 20-21 by Idaho last week, took the weekend off to recover. Also Peabody Conservatory and Emory.

Moment of Silence: Al Davis, who presided over the evil empire known as the Oakland (sometimes Los Angeles) Raiders since 1963, passed away today at age 82. May he rest in peace.

September 17, 2011

2011-09-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

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.

September 10, 2011

2011-09-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

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.

Labor Day weekend

2011-09-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

College football is back, and the NFL lockout is over. Hooray!!

High School Division: The Ada Bulldogs look poised for another successful season. Last Friday, Ada slaughtered local rival Hardin Northern 53-7. Last night, star QB Konnor Baker had another outstanding game, throwing 5 touchdown passes and running for another score as the Bulldogs chewed up Spencerville 55-21 in Ada's home and conference opener. Senior Chris Beaschler has emerged as the starting center and a defensive stalwart.

Division III: #14 ranked Ohio Northern defeated the Battling Bishops of North Carolina Wesleyan 38-20 in Ada for the season opener for both teams. Washington University (St. Louis) defeated Knox College 28-10. Randolph-Macon got their season off to a good start at home defeating Methodist 43-7.

Big Opening Games: A few schools opened with difficult opponents. #5 Boise St. vs. #19 Georgia, #4 LSU vs. #3 Oregon.

Upsets, Anyone?: In a game that was hard to top for excitement, Baylor squeaked past #14 and favored Texas Christian 50-48. Baylor was up by 24 points at the end of the third quarter before a furious TCU comeback put the Frogs in the lead by 1 point with 5 minutes to go. Baylor then drove to score their only points of the fourth quarter, a field goal, with just over a minute to go to claim the victory. Big 12 (or 9 or 8 or ?) schools should expect a tough game from Baylor this year. Baylor QB Robert Griffin III completed 5 TD passes. Ball State upended Indiana 27-20 in the Colts' stadium in Indianapolis. Kentucky tried valiantly to lose to Western Kentucky but managed to win 14-3. #23 Auburn trailed most of the game but managed to edge Utah State 42-38.

I-AA Happenings: On Friday night, Georgia State lambasted Clark Atlanta 41-7. Showing that GSU has something in common with the bigtime schools, GSU suspended their top 2 QBs before the game, but they had punter/wide receiver Bo Schlecter to fill in and lead them to victory. Richmond finished strong to upset Duke 23-21 in Durham. Northern Colorado lost to Div. II Lindenwood 22-20.

Trophy Games: #24 West Virginia rained on Marshall for the Governor's Cup on Sunday afternoon 34-13. Speaking of rain, violent thunderstorms forced the game to be called off in the middle of the third quarter after substantial rain delays.

Our Teams, Triumphant: In the tradition of scheduling an easy game to open, a number of our teams were seen eating cupcakes. Mizzou defeated local hero Zac Dysert and Miami (OH) 17-6 in Columbia. #13 Virginia Tech bulldozed App. State 66-13. Arizona State warmed up by clobbering I-AA Cal Davis 48-14. Bowling Green vandalized Idaho 32-15. Illinois overcame a slow start to whip Arkansas State 33-15. #22 Florida ate up Florida Atlantic 41-3. Vanderbilt pummeled Elon 45-14. North Carolina overruled I-AA James Madison 42-10. QB Bryn Renner of UNC completed over 95% of his passes against JMU, nearly breaking the national record for completion percentage. Michigan, playing their first game for new coach Brady Hoke, chewed up Western Michigan 34-10. Colorado State fended off a last second New Mexico rally to overcome the Lobos 14-10. Colorado lost to Hawaii 34-17 across the water. With the toughest schedule in the country, Hawaii seemed to be one of CU's best chances to win. It will be a long season.

High Crime Area: New coach Randy Edsall led Maryland over scandal-riddled Miami 32-24. It was tough to decide what was uglier, the suspensions of Miami players or the Maryland uniforms. Despite lots of suspended players and with new coach Luke Fickell to replace the disgraced Jim Tressel, #18 Ohio State unzipped Akron 42-0.

Our Teams, in Grief. Virginia rolled over William and Mary 40-3.

Nationally Ranked: #11 Wisconsin put down the Rebels of UNLV 51-17 with the former NC State QB Russell Wilson leading the way.

Pentagon: Navy rammed I-AA Delaware 40-17. Air Force led South Dakota by thirty points early in the 3d quarter but did not finish well, defeating South Dakota 37-20. Army got bitten by the Northern Illinois Huskies

Conflict of Interest: Former Notre Dame head coach and now ESPN commentator Lou Holtz always picks Notre Dame to win, no matter how badly their season is going. This weekend, though, he had to pick against the Irish, because his wife of 50 years insisted that he pick his son, Skip's, team, South Florida. Oh, the result? In a game repeatedly delayed by weather (ringing down the thunder, literally), South Florida defeated the #16 Irish 23-20.

Counting Down from Big 12: After last season, Colorado left to join the Pac 12 and Nebraska left to join the Big 10 (which now has 12 teams). Recently Texas A & M announced that they were leaving, probably for the SEC. Oklahoma's president has announced that OU is considering leaving the conference. Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State all seem to be considering their options. Will the last school still in the Big 12 turn off the lights?

Undefeated and Untried: Peabody Conservatory, Emory.

Championship Game weekend, December 4, 2010

2010-12-04T05:49:00.000-08:00

We now have snow on the ground in the hard to melt places, and the college football regular season is about to end. The craziness of bowl assignments is being made. Today is also the day of conference championship games, and the last time that some conferences will maintain their current configurations. The Big Twelve probably won't play a championship game next year because they will have too few teams. So here goes:

Rivalry and Trophy Games: James Brooks of ASU blocked an extra point attempt to put the game in overtime, and blocked another to win the game in second overtime as Arizona State beat Arizona 30-29 in the Duel in the Desert to claim the Territorial Cup. Pittsburgh dropped Cincinnati 28-10 to take the Paddlewheel Trophy. #2 Oregon came on strong in the fourth quarter of their Civil War game against Oregon State to claim the Platypus Trophy, the Pac 10 crown, and a spot in the BCS championship game by a 37-20 score. Washington became bowl eligible and claimed the Apple Cup by defeating Washington State 35-28.

Conference Championship Games: #1 Auburn walloped #18 South Carolina in the SEC Championship game 56-17 to earn a spot in the BCS championship game. Central Florida took the Conference USA championship by defeating SMU 17-7. #12 Virginia Tech overcame #20 Florida State 44-33 to claim the ACC Championship and a spot in the Orange Bowl. #10 Oklahoma edged #12 Nebraska in the last Big 12 championship game 23-20 to claim a spot in the Fiesta Bowl.

Other Games of Interest: Miami capped a successful run, even without Zac Dysert of Ada, by defeating #24 Northern Illinois 26-21. Illinois helped the bowl resume of Fresno State by losing to the Bulldogs 25-23. #23 West Virginia kept eliminated Pitt as the Big East representative in the BCS by rolling over an outmanned Rutgers team 35-14. Connecticut claimed the Big East BCS slot by edging South Florida 19-16 on a 50 yard field goal in the last minute of play. #9 Boise State finished their season on a high note by steamrolling Utah State 50-14.

Bowl Destinations: Oregon vs. Auburn in the BCS championship game. Oklahoma to the Fiesta Bowl. Wisconsin vs. TCU (probably) in the Rose Bowl. Virginia Tech to the Orange Bowl. All three service academies will play in bowl games this year. Air Force gets the Independence Bowl, Navy the Poinsettia, and Army the Armed Forces.

November 27, 2010

2010-11-26T13:16:00.000-08:00

As the season winds down, and the winds and snow increase, it is time for rivalry and trophy games and for conference standings to be determined. As of Thursday, it is officially time to be thankful for many good things, especially for America's plenty, for those who defend us, and for college football.

Division III: #7 ONU lost to #5 Illinois Central in Illinois to end the ONU experience in the Division III playoffs. Congratulations to the Polar Bears on making it to the second round.

Rivalry and Trophy: In the Backyard Brawl, West Virginia dragged Pitt, which had been leading the Big East, back to the pack 35-10. #2 Auburn squeaked past #11 Alabama 28-27 in the Iron Bowl to claim the James E. Foy, V-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy. #16 Va. Tech overwhelmed Virginia 37-7 to retain the Commonwealth Cup. In the Sunshine Showdown, Florida managed only 64 yards passing and only 276 total yards in losing to #22 Florida State 31-7. Florida's 7-5 record in their worst under Urban Meyer, and Florida State will play next weekend in the ACC championship game against Virginia Tech. There is no trophy for the winner of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry game. However, winning Ohio State players get little gold football pants on a necklace for beating Michigan. #8 Ohio State earned their little gold pants this year and a share of the Big Ten title by pummeling Michigan 37-7. #14 Missouri dominated Kansas 35-7 in the Border Battle to claim the Indian War Drum and the Lamar Hunt Trophy.

Rivalry and Trophy, The Sequel: Indiana edged Purdue 34-31 in overtime to avoid losing all of their conference games, and the Hoosiers also grabbed the Old Oaken Bucket. Minnesota, which had played so badly that its head coach had been fired in mid season, finished the season on a high note by upsetting #24 Iowa to claim Floyd of Rosedale, a bronze statue of a pig. #10 Michigan State fended off a late Penn State rally to claim a Big Ten co-championship and the Land Grant Trophy. In a driving rain, Notre Dame defeated Southern Cal to take the Jeweled Shillelagh. Notre Dame finished with a 7-5 record. #25 Mississippi State won the Egg Bowl and the Golden Egg Trophy in defeating Mississippi 31-23. #18 South Carolina will face #2 Auburn in the SEC Championship game after taking Hardee's Trophy by defeating Clemson 29-7.

Unexpected and Unheard of: #19 Nevada came back from a 24-7 deficit to upend the BCS title hopes of #4 Boise State 34-31 in overtime. #7 Wisconsin clinched a share of the Big Ten championship and solidified their hold on the Big Ten's BCS bid with a 70-24 humiliation of Northwestern. Maryland upended #23 North Carolina State 38-31 to end NC State's chances of playing in the ACC championship.

Our Teams, Triumphant: Arizona State kept faint bowl hopes alive with a 55-34 beatdown of UCLA behind their backup quarterback.

Ranked: #1 Oregon trailed at halftime but exploded in the second half to overwhelm #21 Arizona 48-29. #4 TCU blasted helpless New Mexico 66-17. #12 Arkansas upended #5 LSU 31-23 in Little Rock. #9 Oklahoma State hosted #13 Oklahoma in the battle for the Bedlam Bell. Bedlam it was, as the teams scored 40 points in the fourth quarter, but Oklahoma emerged victorious 47-41. Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Texas A & M are all tied with 6-2 records in conference. One of them will represent the Big 12 South against Nebraska in the title game.

We Wish It Was Really a Rivalry: #15 Nebraska overwhelmed Colorado 45-17 in Lincoln. #17 Texas A & M whipped Texas 24-17 to take the Lone Star Showdown trophy. Texas, one year after competing in the National Championship game, went 5-7, and is not even bowl eligible. North Carolina retained the Victory Bell by defeating Duke 24-19. Now in basketball, this is a real rivalry.

Depression: Vanderbilt's coach Caldwell had resigned earlier in the week, but Vandy's players could not honor him with a win. Instead, Vandy finished 2-10 with a 34-13 defeat at the hands of Wake Forest.

Division I-AA (FCS) Playoff News: William and Mary earned the #2 seed in the FCS playoffs and will play Dec. 4 against the winner of Georgia Southern vs. South Carolina State.

Undefeated and Untied This Week: Georgia State, Illinois, William and Mary, Army, Navy, Peabody Conservatory, Emory.

The Other Football: The US Women's Soccer Team qualified for the FIFA World Cup by defeating Italy 1-0 and winning the 2 game qualifying series 2 goals to nil.

November 20, 2010

2010-11-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

This weekend features some rivalry games, games that shape the race to the ACC championship

game and games played in major league baseball parks.

Division III Playoffs: #7 Ohio Northern set a school record by intercepting 7 Wittenberg

passes en route to a 37-14 victory over the Tigers at home. Next up, #5 North Central of Illinois.

Go Polar Bears.

ACC Doings: NC State (5-2 in the ACC) did what they could to keep their Atlantic Division

title hopes alive by defeating instate rival North Carolina 29-25. Maryland (4-3) ceded its Atlantic

Division hopes to to Florida State (6-2) 30-16. Florida State clinched the win by returning an

interception 95 yards for a touchdown in the last minute. #14 Virginia Tech whipped #24

Miami 31-17 in Miami to claim the Coastal Division title and a spot in the ACC championship

game. Clemson became bowl eligible by defeating Wake Forest 30-10.

Trophy and Rivalry: In the I-75 rivalry, Toledo topped Bowling Green 33-14. Wyoming pummeled Colorado State 44-0 in the Border War to claim the Bronze Boot. #7 Stanford held onto the Stanford Axe by dominating Cal 48-14. #15 Mizzou shut out Iowa State 14-0 to claim the Telephone Trophy. Illinois claimed the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk by clubbing Northwestern 48-27. Illinois and Northwestern played the game at Wrigley Field, the home of baseball's Chicago Cubs, and the field was so short that all offensive series went the same direction on the field (west). #6 (I-AA) William and Mary blew out #18 (I-AA) Richmond 41-3 to claim the Capital Cup, the Colonial Athletic Association championship, and an automatic bid in the Division I Football Championship Series playoffs. Lehigh defeated Lafayette 20-13 in their 146th meeting. Lehigh and Lafayette have played more games against each other than any other pair of college football teams.

Our Teams Triumphant: Florida picked on I-AA Appalachian State and defeated them 48-10. #8 Ohio State scored a late touchdown to slip past #21 Iowa 20-17 in Iowa City. Notre Dame established itself in football in 1912 by defeating #1 Army with tricky forward passes to fleet end Knute Rockne. Notre Dame, in green jerseys, kept the tradition of defeating Army alive 27-3 at Yankee's Stadium. West Virginia kept its Big East hopes alive by defeating Louisville 17-10 in a rugged defensive struggle.

Ranked vs. Ranked: #13 Arkansas edged #22 Mississippi State in double overtime 38-31. #9 Nebraska lost a defensive war to #18 Texas A & M 9-6.

Surprises: #11 Michigan State had to come from behind in the fourth quarter to edge Purdue 35-31. Colorado, rejuvenated under interim coach Brian Cabral, followed tailback Rodney Stewart's 195 yards rushing to upend Kansas State 44-36. Bring on Nebraska!! Rice (3-8) devastated East Carolina (6-5) 62-38. Oregon State, which had suffered through a disappointing season marked by injuries to key players, upended #20 Southern Cal 36-7. Ole Miss gave #5 LSU a real battle before succumbing 43-36 at LSU.

Sighing and Sad: Georgia State had amassed several wins over a schedule of rather weak teams. #10 Alabama was a little too much for Georgia State, though, 63-7. Michigan again failed to play defense and lost to #6 Wisconsin 48-28. Virginia, slumping as usual at the end of the season, lost to Boston College 17-13. Georgia Tech became bowl eligible at Duke's expense 30-20. Tennessee defeated Vandy 24-10.

Military: Air Force finished a successful regular season at 8-4 by putting down the Rebels of UNLV 35-20. Navy warmed up for their annual match with Army by clobbering Arkansas State 35-19.

Women's World Cup: Alex Morgan, the youngest member of the US Women's National Team, scored the goal in extra time to defeat Italy 1-0.

Undefeated and Untied This Week: Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Arizona State, University of Northern Colorado (Mercifully, the season is over for this 3-8 team.)

November 13

2010-11-13T18:45:00.000-08:00

High School: The last two seasons, Ada's playoff run ended when the could not beat Delphos St. John's. This year, after a first round victory, Ada faced St. John's yet again, and with predictable results. St John's 42, Ada 14. Congratulations Bulldogs on a fine season.

Division III: Tenth-ranked Ohio Northern ended their regular season by winning a 35-14 duel with the Student Princes of Heidelberg. Randolph-Macon ended their season with a 31-28 loss to traditional rival Hampden-Sydney. Washington U finished their season with a 13-10 defeat at the hands of conference rival University of Chicago.

BCS Intrigue: The big story of the week was whether Cam Newton, Heisman trophy frontrunner and key to #2 Auburn's chances of reaching the national championship, had asked for illegal benefits in choosing the college he would star for this season. Would Auburn take a chance and play a player who might prove to be ineligible? Newton accounted for four touchdowns for Auburn, and they defeated Georgia 49-31. #4 TCU, apparently suffering an emotional hangover after defeating Utah last weekend, squeaked past San Diego State 40-35, in a performance that will not strengthen their bid to play in a BCS game. #1 Oregon edged Cal 15-13.

Triumphant: #20 Missouri got back to its winning ways by taking advantage of a sloppy performance by Kansas State 38-28. Colorado, led by interim head coach Brian Cabral, whipped Iowa State 34-14. Michigan rolled over Purdue 27-16. After allowing Penn State to rule the first half, #8 Ohio State came back with a vengeance to take down the Lions 38-14. #16 Virginia Tech swamped North Carolina 26-10. Northern Colorado handled Portland State 35-30. Richmond rammed Rhode Island 15-6. Miami of Ohio kicked a field goal on the last play of the game to defeat Bowling Green 24-21. Miami is co-leader of the Eastern Division of the MAC and is bowl eligible, a turn-around for the recently downtrodden Red Hawks.

Trophy Games: Maryland claimed the Tydings Trophy by defeating Virginia 42-23 in Charlottesville. Maryland can appear in their first conference championship game by winning their final two home games with Florida State and NC State. #3 Boise State vandalized Idaho 52-14 to claim the Governor's Cup.

News of the Weird: Northwestern took down #13 Iowa 21-17 by scoring a touchdown in the last 2 minutes. The Northwestern QB that threw the winning touchdown pass then tore his Achilles tendon in running to celebrate with his teammates and is finished for the season. Minnesota, 1-9 before this weekend and led by an interim head coach after their head coach was fired, upended Illinois 38-34. #6 Wisconsin annihilated Indiana 83-20. Notre Dame tripped #15 Utah 28-3.

Too Bad, So Sad: Kentucky humbled Vanderbilt 38-20 and became bowl eligible. Boston College beat Duke 21-16. #7 Stanford, which usually relies on its high-scoring offense, won a defensive struggle with Arizona State 17-13. After systematically put itself in playoff contention and even gaining the #1 ranking in Division I-AA, William and Mary lost to James Madison 30-24. #22 South Carolina ended #24 Florida's chances at playing in the SEC championship game by defeating the Gators 36-14. (Spurrier's revenge?)

Pentagon Papers: Navy edged Central Michigan 38-37. Air Force bombed New Mexico 48-23. Army trounced Kent State 45-28.

Undefeated and Untied This Week: Emory, Peabody Conservatory, Georgia State (resting up to play Alabama next weekend).

November 6, 2010

2010-11-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

There were a few good scores, especially in the high school and Division III news, but this week's entry is not for the faint of heart.

High School: After a 9-1 regular season, last night Ada faced 9-1 Leipsic in Ada in the first round of the playoffs. Ada had two takeaways, including an interception for a touchdown by cornerback Konnor Baker. Baker, also Ada's QB, passed for almost 250 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for almost 100 yards in Ada's 45-35 victory. Next up for Ada, Delphos St. John's.

Division III: Bridgewater made only 7 first downs on the day, but several long scoring strikes permitted BC to hold off a furious Randolph Macon comeback and to defeat Randy Mac 31-26. #11 Ohio Northern helped Wilmington continue their season-long losing streak by a 44-6 score. Washington U pulled a close upset over Case Western 14-13. Washington has one of the best records in its football history at 7-2.

Ranked: In a battle of rugged defenses, #4 William and Mary (of I-AA) defeated #8 (I-AA) New Hampshire 13-3 in New Hampshire. #4 TCU devastated previously undefeated #8 Utah 47-7. #19 Oklahoma State pounded #22 Baylor 55-28. #17 Arkansas pillaged #18 South Carolina 41-20. #10 Stanford trampled #13 Arizona 42-17.

Trophy Games: Air Force won the Commander in Chief's Trophy with a convincing 42-22 whipping of Army at West Point. Air Force broke a streak of 7 CIC Trophies in a row for Navy with this victory. Central Michigan claimed the CMU-WMU Rivalry Trophy by overcoming Western Michigan 26-22. In the most recent edition of the Saban Bowl, homestanding #12 LSU defeated #5 Alabama 24-21. Clemson upset #23 NC State 14-13 to claim the Textile Bowl Trophy.

Our Teams on the Upside: #20 Virginia Tech scored on a late kickoff return to overcome Georgia Tech 28-21 Thursday night at home. Georgia State continued their successful first season by defeating Lamar 23-17. Richmond edged James Madison 13-10.

Say What?? Texas Tech held #11 Missouri to under 100 yards passing and won the Tech homecoming game 24-17. #9 Nebraska had to intercept Iowa State's pass on a fake extra point in overtime to edge the Cyclones 31-30. North Carolina's eligible players (the few, the proud) defeated #24 Florida State 37-35 in Tallahassee. Texas A & M used better rushing and a 100 yard kickoff return for a TD to stun #11 Oklahoma 33-19. Kansas State warmed up for Missouri by mauling Texas 39-14. Judging by record, this is the worst Texas team in at least 15 years.

This Veil of Tears: The Vanderbilt Commodores were extremely gracious hosts for Florida, losing 55-14. Maryland led for most of the game, but Miami scored with just seconds on the clock to defeat the Terps 26-20. Illinois is the alma mater of legendary linebacker Dick Butkus, met Michigan is the alma mater of Charles Woodson, the only primarily defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy, but apparently neither school plays defense these days. The score was 31-31 at halftime, and, in the highest scoring game in Big Ten football history, Illinois failed to complete a 2-point conversion to lose to the Wolverines 67-65 in triple overtime. Duke, which had led most of the game, scored with less than a minute on the clock to upset Virginia 55-48 in another low-scoring defensive struggle. Colorado allowed Kansas to score 35 unanswered points in the last 11 minutes of their game to succumb 52-45. Northern Arizona chopped down Northern Colorado 21-14.

Too Late, Even with Falling Back to Standard Time: Arizona State missed a late field goal to fall short at Southern Cal, 34-33. Young Colorado State lost to San Diego State 24-19.

Other Points of Interest: Penn State's head coach, 83 year old Joe Paterno, claimed his 400th career victory as the Nittany Lions overcame Northwestern 35-21. Paterno is the only Division I-A coach with 400 victories. #1 Oregon squeaked past Washington 53-16.

Navy Department: Navy set a school scoring record in the process of shocking (and awing) East Carolina 76-35.

Undefeated and Untied This Week: Emory, Peabody Conservatory, #8 Ohio State

Halloween

2010-10-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

High School: Lima Central Catholic beat Ada to claim the Northwest Conference championship Friday night, 35-21 in Ada. The win by the Thunderbirds ended a 29 game winning streak for Ada, a streak of 23 straight conference wins, and a streak of 22 straight home victories. Both teams are expected to make the high school playoffs that begin next week.

Division III: Washington U defeated Carnegie Mellon 20-13 in overtime in their conference opener (on Halloween weekend?). #11 Ohio Northern ruined Marietta's homecoming 45-6.

Trophy Games: Florida edged Georgia 34-31 in overtime at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. In overtime, Georgia threw an interception that Florida returned to the Georgia 4 yard line. Florida's punter was then able to kick a field goal to enable Florida to claim the Okefenokee Oar. Boston College slipped past Clemson 16-10 to claim the O'Rourke-McFadden Trophy. Butler clubbed winless Valparaiso 48-0 to take Hoosier Helmet Trophy.

New Things Can Be So Upsetting: Virginia took an early lead over #22 Miami and held on for a 24-19 upset in Charlottesville. Virginia took a big step toward restoring football respectability with this win. UConn upset previously ranked West Virginia 16-13. North Carolina State put themselves back in the ACC race with a 28-24 upset of #16 Florida State when FSU was unable to score at the end of the game. Alabama Birmingham 50, Southern Miss 49. (Now figure out whether it was football or basketball. Answer below.)

Hail to the Victors Valiant: Illinois stomped Purdue 44-10 at Champaign. Syracuse took another step in their magical mystery tour by whipping Cincinnati 31-7. Syracuse is now 6-2, bowl eligible, and a contender in the Big East race. Maryland performed the turtle stomp all over Wake Forest 62-14. Maryland is now 6-2 and a contender for the ACC championship. Zac Dysert led Miami to a 21-9 victory over Buffalo. Colorado State bullied winless New Mexico 38-14. Arizona State took advantage of hapless Washington State 42-0. #10 Ohio State overwhelmed helpless Minnesota 52-10 as seven different Buckeyes scored touchdowns.

Really Rank: #14 Nebraska used a 300 yard rushing performance by Roy Helu, Jr., to hold off #7 Mizzou 31-17 in Lincoln. #18 Iowa dominated previously undefeated and #5 ranked Michigan State 37-6 to keep the Big Ten race open. BCS #1 Auburn pillaged Mississippi 51-31.

Sighing: Notre Dame's last minute comeback ended in an interception as Tulsa upset the Irish 28-27. #3 in I-AA William and Mary led North Carolina for 3 quarters before succumbing 21-17. Vandy served as a speed bump for #19 Arkansas, absorbing a 49-14 beating. Villanova defeated Richmond 28-7. Undefeated South Alabama held off a determined Georgia State comeback to defeat Georgia State 39-34 in Mobile. South Dakota skinned Northern Colorado 34-6. San Diego State outpointed Wyoming 48-38. Penn State overcame defenseless Michigan 41-31.

Pentagon Papers: In a battle of long, gray lines, Army rolled over VMI 29-7. Duke ran out to a 24 point lead over Navy and then barely hung on to win 34-31. #8 Utah defeated Air Force 28-23. If Air Force defeats Army next week, Air Force will be the winner of the Commander in Chief's trophy.

And the Answer Is: Football. In hockey, the Avalanche buried the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-1 at the Pepsi Center.

World Series Update: Texas won their first home game of the series 4-2, but San Francisco still leads 2 games to 1.

Undefeated and Untied This Week: Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Randolph Macon,

Weekend of October 23

2010-10-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend we have a guest blogger, Hannah Tanner, age 1. Hannah says:

This weekend, my grandpa, the usual blogger in this space, visited my mom and me in Maryland. Between playing with me and working, he did not have time to pay much attention to college football. The biggest news, grandpa tells me, is #1 Oklahoma going down to #11 Mizzou 35-27 at Missouri's homecoming. The Tigers made all of their friends and alums proud this week. The second biggest news, grandpa says, is #4 William and Mary edging #1 Delaware at W & M homecoming 17-16. Some weird stuff happened including Syracuse upsetting #20 West Virginia. Some things remained the same, though, as Ada High clobbered another opponent and Ohio State pummeled Purdue.

Grandpa will probably be back next week. My mommy says that it is bed time, and she turns off the lights on me, so good night.

Weekend of October 16

2010-10-16T06:22:00.000-07:00

The leaves are turning colors (including my favorite reds), the weather is cool, and pro hockey has started. Also, it is time for big conference football matchups and time to gauge how teams are doing.

High School: Ada High is ranked #6 in Division VI in Ohio, and they left their paw prints all over the Mustangs of Allen East 55-0 at Allen East. QB Konnor Baker was nearly perfect for the Bulldogs, completing 18 of 21 passes for 410 yards and 5 TDs.

Division III: #13 ONU used long touchdown passes to down Baldwin-Wallace 41-21. Washington U edged College of Wooster 14-13. In a battle of compound-named schools, Washington and Lee upset #20 Randolph Macon 42-28. W & L controlled the ball, rushing for more than 400 yards against the Yellow Jackets.

Trophy Games: In the battle for the Keg of Nails, Cincinnati's Bearcats came from behind to strangle the Cardinals of Louisville 35-27 at Louisville despite over 200 yards rushing from Louisville's Bilal Powell. In the Sunflower Showdown for the Governor's Cup, Kansas State overcame their recent loss to Nebraska with a vengeance, swamping Kansas 59-7. In a mild upset, Rice claimed the Bayou Bucket by defeating Houston 34-31.

Ranked vs. Ranked: #18 Wisconsin upset #1 Ohio State 31-18 in Madison. Wisconsin took an early 21-0 lead and then held on against an Ohio State comeback to claim the win. #12 Arkansas and #7 Auburn set an SEC record for total points scored in a non-overtime game as Auburn outscored the Hogs 65-43. Defense? What defense?

Our Teams Triumphant: QB Blaine Gabbert threw for over 300 yards and 3 TDs to lead #21 Missouri to a 30-9 triumph over Texas A & M. #25 West Virginia overcame South Florida 20-6 in a tight defensive struggle to open their Big East schedule. Colorado State unloaded on UNLV 43-10. Notre Dame routed Western Michigan 44-20. Zac Dysert passed for 399 yards and 3 touchdowns as Miami downed Central Michigan 27-20. Virginia Tech clubbed Wake Forest 52-21. Georgia State had to go to overtime to defeat North Carolina Central 20-17. #20 Richmond's fourth-string quarterback threw a touchdown pass in the last minute of play to defeat #8 Massachusetts 11-10 at the UMass homecoming game.

Veil of Tears: #13 Michigan State overcame Illinois 26-6. Georgia clobbered Vandy 43-0 between the hedges. Maryland outgained Clemson, but Clemson returned a kickoff for a touchdown and whipped the Terps 31-7. Baylor knocked down a Colorado pass in the end zone as time expired to hold off the Buffs 31-25 in Boulder. North Carolina, despite having its three of its best players declared permanently ineligible during the week, took this year's renewal of the South's Oldest Rivalry by defeating Virginia 44-10. Eastern Washington defeated Northern Colorado 35-28. Mississippi State ground out a 10-7 upset of #22 Florida by rushing the ball and keeping the ball away from Florida's ineffective offense at the Swamp.

The Unexpected: Texas, which had disappointed its fans with losses to Texas Tech and Oklahoma, upset #7 Nebraska 20-13. East Carolina upended North Carolina State 33-27 in overtime. Kentucky tripped up #10 South Carolina 31-28. Eastern Michigan, which had amassed one of the longest current losing streaks in Division IA, defeated Ball State 41-38. Jake Locker threw 5 TD passes as Washington overcame #24 Oregon State 35-34 in double overtime when Oregon State's two-point conversion attempt failed. Washington has also beaten Southern Cal this year, so watch out for the Huskies.

Other Games of Interest: #15 Iowa kept its Big Ten title hopes alive with a 38-28 whipping of Michigan in Iowa City. Pitt, whose season has been disappointing so far, recovered nicely against Syracuse by defeating the Orange 45-7 at Syracuse. Undefeated #3 Boise State, #4 TCU, and #6 Oklahoma all won by big margins, so expect them to be in the top five teams in the first BCS poll coming out this Sunday evening. Division III volleyball: #1 Washington of St. Louis defeated #2 Emory three games to two in the UAA tournament in Massachusetts.

Department of Defense: #23 Air Force's furious fourth quarter comeback fell short as San Diego State upset the Falcons 27-25. Rutgers edged Army 23-20. Navy defeated SMU 28-21.

Politcally Correct Mascots and Incongruities: Ole Miss had kicked its old, plantation-owning mascot to the curb in 2003 and finally chose a new mascot this week. In a close vote, choosing against Admiral Ackbar of Star Wars fame (a fictional rebel), Mississippi's students chose a black bear to be the new symbol of the Rebels. I understand why the old mascot had to go. I am just not sure about the new symbol of being a "Rebel." I do not understand what the bear is rebelling against, though. Global Warming? Zoo rules against feeding the bears? It is certainly not rebelling against the southern dress code for football games, because it is dressed in a blue blazer and tie on football days. William and Mary's new mascot, Griffin, is a mythical beast with the head and wings of an eagle combined with the body of a lion. I wonder why this has been chosen as a symbol of the Tribe of William and Mary. Of course, the former name of Indians was offensive to native Americans. But is the Griffin a creature that lives in tribes? I doubt it. Again, the disconnect between name and new mascot. At least this symbol can only offend members of mythical creature guilds and others who live in fantasy lands.

Undefeated and Untied This Week (In football): Emory, Peabody, Arizona State, William and Mary.

Weekend of October 9

2010-10-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

High School Department: #6 Ada crushed Crestview 63-7 in Ada Friday night. Konner Baker threw for 327 yards and 7 touchdowns in the game.

Division III: Washington U upended #19 Wabash 24-20. #25 Randolph Macon overwhelmed Catholic U 56-28. #13 ONU had a successful homecoming, outmuscling the Crusaders of Capital 44-10.

Trophy Games: Paul Bunyan Trophy, #17 Michigan State put a dent in #18 Michigan 34-17. Denard Robinson threw 3 interceptions, and Michigan State dominated in the trenches in the win. In the battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe and the Slab of Bacon, #20 Wisconsin chopped up a (literally) defenseless Minnesota team 41-23. In the Ram-Falcon Trophy game, #25 Air Force took an early lead over Colorado State and never lost control of the game, winning 49-27

Happy Times: Illinois made the homecoming at Happy Valley unhappy by clubbing Penn State 33-13. #2 Ohio State rolled over Indiana 38-10 as Terrelle Pryor passed for more than 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jim Tressel has amassed 100 victories as Ohio State's head coach. Virginia Tech scalped Central Michigan 45-21. Notre Dame held off a Pitt rally to win 23-17. West Virginia put down the Rebels of UNLV 49-10. #24 Missouri shut out Colorado 26-0. #4 William and Mary rammed Rhode Island 26-7. Georgia State crushed Savannah State 55-21. Vanderbilt was on the winning side of a blow out for a change, dominating helpless Eastern Michigan 52-6. Arizona State had to overcome unfamiliar weather--rain--to defeat Washington 24-14 and break a 3-game losing streak.

Stunners: #19 South Carolina toppled the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide 35-21 in Columbia, putting the top spot in the polls in play. Oregon State upended #9 Arizona 29-27. #8 Auburn just escaped from Lexington with a victory over Kentucky 37-34. #23 Florida State romped over #13 Miami (Florida) 45-17.

With Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth: Georgia Tech took down Virginia 33-21. North Carolina, with its variable cast of characters, overcame Clemson 21-16. New Hampshire blanked Richmond 17-0. Sacramento State whomped Northern Colorado 42-7. Cincinnati limited Zac Dysert to 165 yards passing and bounced Miami of Ohio 45-3. With the help of a couple of very close officials' calls in the last minute of play, #12 LSU edged #14 Florida 33-29 in the Swamp at Gainesville.

Ranked Powers: #7 Nebraska neutered the Wildcats of Kansas State 48-13. Freshman QB Taylor Martinez rushed for 4 TDs and nearly 250 yards against the Kittens. #5 TCU trounced Wyoming 45-0. #3 clobbered a poor Washington State squad 43-23. #4 Boise State romped over Toledo 57-14.

Military Affairs: Army rolled over Tulane 41-23. Navy's running attack slipped past Wake Forest's passing 28-27.

Undefeated, Untied This Week: Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Maryland.

Weekend of October 2

2010-10-02T06:03:00.000-07:00

The High School Years: Ada squeaked past Paulding 63-6 as Konner Baker had four touchdowns and Kellen Decker scored two others. Ada is still undefeated and leads the Northwest Conference.

Division III: Randolph Macon clipped Emory & Henry 34-22. #8 Ohio Northern lost 27-0 to D III powerhouse Mount Union 27-0.

Trophy Games: #8 Oklahoma whipped #21 Texas in the Red River Shootout 28-20, winning the Red River Trophy, Governors' Trophy, and the Red Hat. Oklahoma also has to be the favorite to win the Big 12 South. There was a huge upset in the battle for the Old Wagon Wheel as Utah State crushed BYU 31-16 Friday night on the Merlin Olsen field at Utah State. Utah State may even be in position, a rare event for USU, to contend for the Beehive Boot, the trophy for the best team among Utah, Utah State, Weber State, and BYU. In the Holy War, Notre Dame defeated Boston College 31-13 for the Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl and the Ireland Trophy.

Our Teams, Gleeful: #7 ranked William and Mary whipped #1 Villanova 31-24. The Tribe jumped out to a 21-0 lead and then held on to claim the victory at home. Virginia Tech ended #23 NC State's season-long winning street 41-30, overcoming an early 17-0 NC State lead to retake their earlier status as an ACC favorite. Terrell Pryor overcame a thigh injury and led the comeback for #2 Ohio State as they defeated Illinois in the conference opener for both teams. Zac Dysert led Miami of Ohio to a 27-21 win over Kent State in a MAC matchup. Georgia State continued their opening season success by defeating Morehead State 37-10. Denard Robinson rushed for more than 200 yards, passed for more than 200 yards, and accounted for 5 touchdowns as #19 Michigan swamped Indiana 42-35. Robinson is the first to both rush for 200 yards and pass for 200 yards in the same game twice in a season. Maryland exorcised Duke 21-16. Colorado forced a Georgia fumble to stop a potentially game-winning Georgia drive in the final 2 minutes and held off the Bulldogs 29-27. Richmond stung Costal Carolina 41-19.

Gloom and Doom: Florida State defeated Virginia 34-14. A dominant running game enabled UConn to overcome Vandy 40-21. #5 TCU shut out CSU 27-0. Oregon State edged Arizona State 31-28. Northern Colorado lost to Montana 30-7.

Say What? Games: #24 Michigan State upended #11 Wisconsin 34-24. #12 LSU barely squeaked by a weak Tennessee team 16-14. Baylor plucked the Kansas Jayhawks 55-7. Washington edged #19 Southern California 32-31.

Totally Ranked: #1 Alabama drowned the #7 Gators 31-6. The #4 Oregon Beavers dammed Stanford 45-31. #17 Iowa defeated #22 Penn State 17-3 in Iowa City.

Armed Forces: Air Force became the favorite to take the Commander in Chief's Trophy by defeating Navy 14-6 in a defensive battle. Air Force had not defeated Navy since 2002. Army lost to Temple 42-35.

Undefeated and Untied This Week: Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Wash U, West Virginia, Missouri.

Weekend of Sept. 25, 2010

2010-09-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

High School: The Bulldogs stomped the Pirates of Bluffton High at Bluffton 42-6 behind five touchdown passes from Konnor Baker. The Bulldogs rolled up 601 yards of offense on the way to the victory.

Division III: #10 ranked Ohio Northern shut out Muskingham 36-0 at home. #25 Randolph Macon piled up 45 points in the first half and cruised to a 48-14 triumph over Frostburg State. Washington U whipped Westminster College 36-6 at home.

How the Mighty Are Fallen: UCLA took the ball from Texas 4 times in the first half, rushed for more than 260 yards, and whipped the #7 Longhorns 34-12 before a dismayed crowd in Austin. #19 Miami of Florida dominated the Pitt Panthers Thursday night 31-3. Pitt was nationally ranked before the season began, but no longer.

Trophy Games: #4 TCU trampled the Ponies of SMU Friday night 41-24 in the battle for the Iron Skillet. In the Battle of the Bell, Marshall edged Ohio U 24-23.

Our Teams, Victorious: Most of the Big Ten was playing out of conference patsies today, and #21 Michigan was no exception, clobbering hapless Bowling Green 65-21. Denard Robinson, their star QB, suffered a minor knee injury in the game. #2 Ohio State devastated a feckless Eastern Michigan team 73-20. Terrell Pryor completed 4 touchdown passes for OSU, ran for a TD, and then caught one. Virginia Tech evened their record at 2-2 by shutting out conference rival Boston College 19-0. Maryland rolled over Florida International 42-28. Virginia massacred the Keydets of Virginia Military 48-7. Missouri rolled over Miami of Ohio 51-13 despite 20 of 27 passing by Zac Dysert. William and Mary scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to overcome Maine 24-21. Georgia State made played its first road game vs. Campbell, and rode a strong special teams performance to a 24-21 win. #9 Florida chewed up Kentucky 48-14 in the Swamp. Colorado State edged Idaho 36-34.

Unexpected: Toledo, expected to be Purdue's easy victim, defeated the Boilers 31-20. Tennessee barely edged Alabama-Birmingham 32-29.

Top 25: #1 Alabama had all they could handle on the road against #10 Arkansas, but the

Tide eventually rolled 24-20. #17 Auburn defeated #12 South Carolina at home in a mild upset

35-27. Four late Gamecock turnovers helped kill their chances. #15 LSU relied on defense and

special teams to overcome a determined #22 West Virginia team. #3 Boise State defeated #24 Oregon State on the blue turf in Boise 37-24. #11 Wisconsin destroyed Austin Peay 70-3. #5 Oregon took advantage of 7 Arizona State turnovers to overcome the Sun Devils 42-31 in the desert.

Our Teams, with Tears: Notre Dame, stumbling through a stretch of ranked opponents, lost to #16 Stanford 37-14. Owen Marecic scored a touchdown on a running play and, seconds later, scored another on an interception. Two way scoring like Marecic's is really rare these days. Northern Colorado served as sacrificial victim for #25 Michigan State 45-7. Richmond fell to 1-2 after losing to Delaware 34-13 at home.

Department of Defense: Air Force scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to overcome Wyoming 20-14. Army cast out the Duke Blue Devils 35-21.

Undefeated and Untied This Week: Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Navy, Vanderbilt, Colorado, Illinois.

Weekend of September 18

2010-09-18T03:58:00.000-07:00

High School: The Ada Bulldogs continued their winning ways with a defeat of Toledo Christian 48-35 at home. Konnor Baker threw for more than 200 yards and 3 touchdowns and Kellen Decker ran for more than 200 for the Dogs.

Division III Doings: #11 Ohio Northern ripped #18 Otterbein 34-10 in the conference opener for the Bears. Randolph Macon blasted Shenandoah 42-14 behind 5 TD passes from the Randy-Mac QB. The Washington U Bears visited #6 Wittenberg but should have stayed home, because they absorbed a 37-7 whipping.

Ranked vs. Ranked. #24 Arizona outlasted a comeback by #9 Iowa to upset the Hawkeyes 34-27 in the only matchup of ranked teams of the weekend.

The Unexpected Can Be So Upsetting: Southern Mississippi uprooted the Jayhawks of Kansas 31-16 Friday night. Also on Friday, Nevada Reno upended Cal 52-31 in Nevada. Massachusetts, a member of the same Division I AA conference as William and Mary, gave Michigan all that the defenseless Wolverines could handle before succumbing to superior force 42-37. Vandy drowned the Ole Miss Rebels 28-14 and won their first conference game since 2008. Missouri scored a touchdown with just over a minute to go to edge visiting San Diego State 27-24. #16 Auburn edged Clemson 27-24 in overtime. Clemson had tied the game at 27 with a field goal that was disallowed by a penalty, and then Clemson missed the second try at the 3-pointer.

As Expected: Illinois overcame Northern Illinois 28-22. #2 Ohio State's defense grabbed 5 turnovers from Ohio U and led the Buckeyes to a 43-7 shellacking of the Bobcats. Colorado started slowly but came on in the second half to defeat Hawaii 31-13 in Boulder. #10 Florida overcame a sluggish start to defeat Tennessee 31-17 in Knoxville. Virginia Tech trailed East Carolina in the third quarter but came on strong to win 49-27. #12 (Div. I AA) William and Mary beat Old Dominion 21-17. The Richmond Spiders beat Elon 27-21.

The Powers that Be: #1 Alabama edged Duke 62-13. #8 Nebraska rolled over Washington 56-21 as their defense held pro prospect Jake Locker of the Huskies to less than 100 yards passing. #4 TCU 45, Baylor 10. #5 Oregon pulverized Portland State 69-0.

Hooray For: Miami of Ohio, on the strength of 3 TD passes by Ada grad Zac Dysert, unloaded on Colorado State 31-10. Arizona State had an extra point blocked in the fourth quarter that prevented them from tying the score on #11 Wisconsin in Madison. Final score: 20-19 Badgers. Northern Colorado whipped Idaho State 35-21.

Oh, Woe Is Me: #21 West Virginia shelled Maryland 31-17. North Carolina, still playing without 12 suspended players, lost to Georgia Tech 30-24. Georgia State lost a heartbreaker to Jacksonville State, the #4 ranked team in Division I AA, 34-27 in overtime in Atlanta. Notre Dame lost a heart-breaker in the first overtime 34-31 when Michigan State scored a touchdown on a fake field goal to outmatch the field goal that Notre Dame had kicked.

Military Affairs: #7 Oklahoma had to hang on to edge Air Force 27-24 in Norman. Army shelled North Texas 24-0. Navy torpedoed Louisiana Tech 37-23.

Undefeated This Week: Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Virginia (resting up before their arduous battle with VMI).

And From the Diamond: The Rockies crushed the Dodgers 12-2. It is September, so, of course, the Rockies are making a run (from behind) for the playoffs.

College Week 2, Sept. 11

2010-09-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

On this day, we should share a moment of silence for those who died on 9/11, and for the first responders and others who did their best to save others.

High school report: Ada faced a their toughest opponent of the year so far last night, Columbus Grove. Ada jumped out to a quick lead, but Grove fought back and were driving late in the game to come back when DB Ty Jolliff intercepted a long Grove pass to secure the victory. Ada's Bulldogs outscored the Columbus Grove Bulldogs 38-20.

Division III. The Rhodes College Lynx defeated the Washington U Bears 14-10 at Rhodes. Does that make Wash U Rhodes kill? A touchdown pass in the last minute of play powered Randolph Macon to a 41-37 win over #19 Johns Hopkins.

Big Games: Several ranked teams face ranked opponents this weekend, racheting up their level of competition. #1 Alabama had no trouble handling #18 Penn State 24-3. #2 Ohio State exploited four interceptions thrown by #12 Miami in defeating the Canes 36-24. Terrell Pryor had almost 350 yards of total offense in the victory. #7 Oklahoma, coached by Bob Stoops, massacred #20 Florida State, whose defensive coordinator is Mike Stoops, 47-17. Maybe Bob knows something about Mike's playbook. Michigan took a 21-7 halftime lead against Notre Dame and then held on to take the game 28-24 at South Bend. Michigan QB Denard Robinson had over 500 yards of total offense, producing more than 200 yards passing and 200 yards running. #24 South Carolina beat visiting Georgia, ranked #22, 17-6. South Carolina, coached by passing guru Steve Spurrier, relied on a strong ground game from Marcus Lattimore to overcome the Dawgs.

Trophy Games: #23 West Virginia barely avoided an embarrassing loss and managed to claim the Governor's Cup in the Friends of Coal Bowl by beating Marshall 24-21 in overtime at Marshall. #9 Iowa stormed Iowa State 35-7 to take the Cy-Hawk trophy.

Upsets: Kansas, which last week lost to North Dakota State, upended #15 Georgia Tech 28-25 at Lawrence. South Dakota of Division IAA upset Minnesota 41-38.

Indigestion from Eating Cupcakes: #13 Virginia Tech, which had been expected to contend for the ACC championship, lost to Division IAA James Madison 21-16. This defeat, reminiscent of Michigan's disastrous loss to App. State in 2007, probably marks the end of Tech's national title hopes and also damages the BCS case of Boise State. Boise State usually only plays one or two strong teams per year, and Virginia Tech was projected to be the strongest team on Boise's schedule.

Our Teams in Victory: #8 Florida relied on several interceptions to "snap back" from their bad performance last Saturday to defeat a South Florida team coached by Skip Holtz 38-14. Florida is still having trouble on offense, so future prospects could be dimming. Clemson clobbered hapless Presbyterian 58-21. The Miami Redhawks defeated Eastern Michigan 28-21, so Zac Dysert of Ada finally won one. Maryland shelled Morgan State 62-3. Missouri ripped McNeese State 50-6. (For those of you who wonder where McNeese State is, it's in Louisiana.) Toledo edged conference rival Ohio U 20-13. Nationally ranked William and Mary massacred the Keydets of VMI 45-0. Illinois took down IAA Southern Illinois 35-3. Arizona State warmed up for Wisconsin by dumping on Northern Arizona 41-20 in Tempe.

Veil of Tears Dept.: In Colorado's first opportunity to take on a Pac 10 team since deciding to join the conference, the Buffs got mauled by the Cal Bears 52-7. Lambuth acted like the lions, and Georgia State became the lambs in GSU's first football defeat, 23-14. Vanderbilt held down #19 LSU in the first half but were eventually overwhelmed 27-3. Northern Colorado lost an offensive struggle to Weber State 50-47. #16 Southern Cal scored early and then hung on to overcome Virginia 17-14 in L.A. Colorado State took it on the chin (and on all other parts of the body) from Nevada Reno 51-6.

Other Games of Interest: Mountain West power and national #4 TCU trampled Tennessee Tech 62-7. #6 Nebraska vandalized Idaho 38-17. The #5 Texas Longhorns gored Wyoming 34-7. The Fordham Rams outbutted the Rhode Island Rams 27-25. Oklahoma State just nipped Troy 41-38.

Is It Basketball Season? Wake Forest outscored Duke 54-48 in the ACC basketball opener for both schools. Oops, it really was a football game.

Pentagon Papers: Air Force provided another reason for BYU to leave the Mountain West Conference, tripping the Cougars 35-14. Hawaii swamped Army 31-28 at West Point. Navy edged Division IAA Georgia Southern 13-7.

Undefeated and Untied This Week: Peabody Conservatory, Emory, #11 Ohio Northern, #3 Boise State.

2010 Football Season, Labor Day weekend

2010-08-28T04:58:00.000-07:00

It's a First: The first Division III football game of the season began at 3 PM on Thursday, September 2, and I was an eyewitness. The 11th ranked (Division III) Ohio Northern Polar Bears defeated the Wisconsin River Falls Falcons 35-21 at Dial-Roberson Stadium in Ada. ONU trailed 15-14 at halftime, and the teams were tied at 21 before ONU took advantage of Falcon turnovers to score the last two touchdowns. In other Division III action this weekend, Randolph Macon slaughtered Methodist 54-14. Washington U St. Louis put out the Knox College Prairie Fire 34-3.

Premiere: Georgia State played its first football game Thursday night and defeated Shorter 41-7.

Streaking: The Ada Bulldogs continued their conference winning streak, now at 17 games, and the Spencerville Bearcats continued their conference losing streak, now at 12 games, as Ada annihilated Spencerville 70-20 at Spencerville. Ada led 28-0 when Spencerville earned their first first down. Ada led 56-0 at halftime, and it was all over but the shouting.

Hopes Dashed: #15 Pitt had cherished hopes of winning the Big East and contending for national glory. Those hopes took a beating Thursday night at the hands of Utah, 27-24 in overtime at Pitt.

Overreaching and Underachieving: The "Right Reverend" Houston Nutt at Ole Miss obtained the services of Jeremiah Masoli, the quarterback dismissed by Oregon for misbehavior. The NCAA first denied Masoli permission to go to Ole Miss, but Masoli eventually won on appeal. One would normally assume that Ole Miss could handle a Division I-AA opponent like Jacksonville State, but not so. Jacksonville State won 49-48 on a two-point conversion in the second overtime.

Rivalry Games: Many major college teams take this first weekend of the season to fatten their records on patsies. The only reason that some of these teams are not playing the Little Sisters of the Poor is that the Sisters don't field a team. There are, however, a few rivalry games on this opening weekend: Temple beat Villanova 31-24, a game that was closer than the final score, to take the Mayor's Cup. Kentucky defeated Louisville 23-16 to take the Governor's Cup. Mizzou came from behind to overcome Illinois 23-13 in the Arch Rivalry game. Colorado beat Colorado State 24-3 to take the Centennial Cup. In the Crab Bowl Classic on Monday, Navy dominated the statistics, but they lost several fumbles near the Maryland goal line and lost to Maryland 17-14. Maryland was able to stage a final goal line stand, and Navy failed to score from the one within the last minute to allow Maryland to clinch the win.

Our Teams Triumphant: In the debut of coach Brian Kelly, Notre Dame defeated Purdue 23-12. Northern Colorado edged Adams State 54-0.

Sighs and Other Depressed Sounds: #4 William and Mary (I-AA) took an early lead, but allowed two fourth-quarter touchdowns to lose to unranked Massachusetts 27-24. Vandy failed to convert a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter and lost to Northwestern 23-21 in the SAT game of the day.

Real Matchups: All of that extra practice must have paid off for Michigan, who beat Connecticut 30-10. UConn had been expected to contend for the Big East title, so either Michigan is back of UConn was overrated. #6 TCU skinned the #24 Oregon State Beavers 30-21. In one of the real battles of the weekend, East Carolina outscored Tulsa 51-49 on a last second Hail Mary to the tallest receiver on the field. In what was probably the highlight game of the weekend, #3 Boise State edged the #10 Va. Tech Hokies on Monday night 33-30. Boise State trailed for much of the second half, but they were able to score the touchdown to go ahead with about a minute to go and then hold off the Hokies. If they beat Oregon State in a couple of weeks, Boise State may be in position to contend for the national championship.

Patsy Pummeling: #2 Ohio State enforced their will against Marshall 45-7. Terrell Pryor's passing was quite impressive against undermanned Marshall. Wake Forest was destined to beat Presbyterian, and the only question was the final score, which was 53-13. #13 Miami of Florida crushed the Rattlers of Florida A & M 45-0. #4 Florida, despite having trouble with the snap from center to shotgun QB and a host of other mistakes, bested Miami of Ohio and Ada-native QB Zac Dysert 34-12. #25 West Virginia climbed all over Coastal Carolina 31-0. #9 Iowa pasted Eastern Illinois 37-7. Virginia stepped on the Richmond Spiders 34-13. #5 Texas boiled Rice 34-17. #11 Oregon may have inflicted the worst beating of the weekend over New Mexico 72-0. #1 Alabama rolled over San Jose State 48-3. Arizona State burned Portland State 54-9.

Revenge of the Patsy: North Dakota State 6, Kansas 3. Turner Gill, the new Kansas coach, needs to return to the drawing board. #7 Oklahoma barely withstood a Utah State comeback 31-24.

Pentagon: Air Force shocked and awed Northwestern State of Louisiana 65-21. Army marched past Eastern Michigan 31-27.

Sins of the Fathers and Sons: #14 Southern Cal, on probation for 2 years for misdeeds that took place under former coach Pete Carroll, surfed past Hawaii 45-36. #18 North Carolina missed d13 players (9 starters), including their best defensive players, for a variety of academic and agent-related misdeeds when they face #21 LSU in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game on Saturday night at the Georgia Dome. LSU led for most of the game, but North Carolina kept fighting and made it close, losing 30-24.

Still Undefeated: Georgia State (see above), Peabody Conservatory, Emory.

2010 Football Report, Week 1

2010-08-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

Big excitement for Ada folks this Friday night. While driving from Findlay to Ada on I-75 after dinner and shopping, my wife and I passed the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile. My wife had never heard of the vehicle, and I had only seen it on TV. Ohio may really be the Heart of It All, since we have been visited by the Wienermobile.

Other big excitement--the opening game of the 2010 football season for Ada High. I was following their game on radio when I passed the Wienermobile, and it sounded like Ada might win. By midway in the second quarter, the Ada Bulldogs led their county rivals from Hardin Northern 49-0 on the way to a 69-7 opening blowout. New quarterback Konnor Baker threw 6 touchdown passes in the victory. Go Dogs!

College football begins next weekend, so those who follow this blog for college football news must wait another week. Ohio Northern will play the first Division III game of the season next Thursday afternoon at home in Ada.

College Conference Rearrangement: After much summer speculation over whether the Big 12 would be dismantled and whether this year would mean the advent of the 16 team super-conferences, there was actually little change in the BCS conferences. Nebraska, miffed at the influence of Texas in the Big 12 and seeking greater TV revenue, will move from the Big 12 to being the 12th team in the the Big 10 in 2011. (Twelve team conferences are allowed to have divisions and to offer the TV networks a championship football game between the two division winners. The Pac 10 (or 12) and the Big Ten become big winners here at the expense of the Big 12.) I found it interesting that the Big Ten chose Nebraska rather than Missouri or its other candidates--Texas, Pitt, Rutgers, etc. In choosing Nebraska, the Big Ten has chosen to remain faithful to its midwest roots, skipping the opportunity to try to penetrate Texas or the New York TV market via Rutgers and/or Syracuse. In choosing Nebraska, the Big Ten also showed that football power and economics are more important than other sports or academics, because Missouri is probably stronger in basketball than Nebraska and is also probably a stronger academic institution.

Texas is an interesting player in all of this. Both to keep its rivalry with Texas A & M and for in-state political reasons, it will be difficult for Texas to move to another conference without taking A & M, at minimum, with it. Apparently, the Pac 10 was interesting in allying with Texas, but Texas legislators were allegedly trying to force whatever conference that took Texas to also take Texas A & M, Texas Tech, and Baylor. The Pac 10 wanted Colorado rather than Baylor, so a deal with Texas was not possible. So the Pac 10 will become a 12-team league by 2012 by picking up Utah from the Mountain West Conference in 2011 and Colorado from the Big 12 in 2012. (Numerical conundrums are rampant because of these changes. The Big Ten will continue to be called the Big Ten despite having 12 teams. Perhaps the Big 12 will continue to be the Big 12 despite having only ten teams.)

The conference that has seen the most change, and the most serious threat, has been the Mountain West Conference. The Mountain West, not more than 20 years old, includes Air Force, Colorado State, Wyoming, San Diego State, Texas Christian, New Mexico, and Nevada (Las Vegas). Until this year, its consistently prominent members were Utah and Brigham Young. When Utah announced that it would move to the Pac 10, BYU began to consider its options, since Utah has been BYU's big rival for many years. After Utah's announcement, the Mountain West need to act to ensure its own survival, and so it added Boise State. Boise State (the school with the blue football turf) has been phenomenally successful in football in the relatively weak Western Athletic Conference, and so the Mountain West will be a step up for Boise State. When BYU began to look at leaving the MWC to be independent in football and joining the WAC for other sports, the conference acted again, adding two more WAC schools, Fresno State and Nevada (Reno). The Mountain West's strategy seemed both to strengthen itself and to limit BYU's options by nearly destroying the WAC, the conference to which BYU would move. BYU's plan had to change. BYU ultimately decided to become independent for football and to join the West Coast Conference, a league primarily known for basketball whose best known sports school is basketball power Gonzaga. The Mountain West has lost two of its most prominent schools, but has emerged intact and strong through its additions. The big loser in all of this has been the Western Athletic Conference, which will be left with only six schools (Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Utah State, New Mexico State, and San Jose State) and with long and expensive trips required for competition. It will be interesting to see if the WAC can survive at all.

Bad banners: One of our neighbors has taken to flying a University of Nebraska flag on the front of her home. Ada does not have strong land use laws, or I'm sure that this eyesore would probably have been removed by now. Since Nebraska will be joining the Big Ten, this banner will also be an eyesore not just to me but also to the fans of Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and the schools that most people around her root for. I have tried to find some positive value to this flag, and I may have succeeded. Since Colorado is on its way to the Pac 10 (12?), it does serve as a reminder that in the future, Colorado (Pac 12) could face Nebraska (Big 10) in the Rose Bowl.

Big 10 Expansion

2010-05-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

There have been a lot of reports in the media about the Big Ten possibly expanding by including Notre Dame, Rutgers, Pitt, Missouri, Nebraska, or others. The Southeastern Conference will almost certainly respond by expanding, probably at the expense of the Big 12 or ACC. Colorado, my alma mater, has been linked to the Pac 10, and the Pac 10, if it decides to significantly expand, will probably raid the Mountain West or WAC. One of my friends, a Pitt alum, is certain that the Big Ten will pursue Pitt. Pitt adds no major TV markets to those the Big Ten already reaches by way of Penn State. I think that the Big Ten will much more likely pursue Rutgers, Syracuse, and Missouri to add the TV markets of New York, St. Louis, and Kansas City.

It seems to me that the biggest prize for an expanding conference, and both the Big Ten and the SEC will probably be interested, is Texas. In size and academic pedigree, Texas would fit with the Big Ten. Geographically, Texas shifting from the Big 12 to the SEC probably makes the most sense. Texas would probably strengthen the desirability of either conference to the big networks. It will be fascinating to see if changes actually occur. If the Big Ten and the SEC expand, it will probably happen at the expense of the Big 12, Mountain West, Big East, and WAC. It will be interesting to see of those leagues survive and in what form.

Of course, it could be that all of this is just summer fancy to keep media types occupied until football starts again next season. If you are interested, probably the best analysis of all of these schools has been in this column by Andy Staples at Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/05/12/expansion-candidates/index.html . His follow up column on lessons from the collapse of the sixteen team WAC is also interesting. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/05/20/16-team/index.html

Enjoy!

December 5 Football Report

2009-12-05T18:46:00.000-08:00

Today's memorable sight from Ada--a few flakes of snow falling gently, and the mail carrier walking by, wearing shorts.

This weekend was the time for conference championship games and some special trophies:

This year's Civil War was much closer than the 1861-1865 model. #7 Oregon overcame #13 Oregon State in a thriller 37-33 to take the Pac 10 championship, a Rose Bowl bid, and, most important, the Platypus Trophy.

Big East: This year's River City rivalry game between #5 Cincinnati and #14 Pittsburgh was a thriller, by a Cincinnati touchdown in the last two minutes. Cincinnati squeaked by Pitt 45-44. Cincy had to come from behind and avoided overtime because Pittsburgh's holder failed to handle the snap on the conversion after a fourth quarter touchdown. Cincinnati preserved an undefeated season, a Big East championship, and clinched a BCS bowl bid. They also grabbed the Paddlewheel Trophy. Will Cincinnati's Brian Kelly be the new king of South Bend?

Big 12: The defenses ruled the night when undefeated and #3 ranked Texas met Nebraska. Texas finally won by kicking a field goal as time expired to edge Nebraska 13-12. Texas will meet Alabama in the BCS Championship game.

SEC: The most anticipated game of the weekend was the matchup of #1 Florida and #2 Alabama for the SEC championship. The occasion was a sad one for Tim Tebow and other Gators, as the Tide drowned the Gators 32-13. Alabama ran the ball very effectively, and Florida could neither run the ball nor stop the run.

ACC: CJ Spiller put on a show for Clemson, scoring four touchdowns and rushing for over 230 yards, but Georgia Tech wrecked Clemson with a fourth quarter touchdown to take the ACC championship and to claim a BCS bid. Final score, 39-34 Georgia Tech.

Conference USA: East Carolina, playing at home, upset #18 Houston 38-32 to take their second consecutive conference title. Is Skip Holtz headed for greater things that East Carolina?

MAC: Central Michigan quarterback Brian Le Fevour set an NCAA record for career touchdowns en route to leading his team to a 20-10 victory over Ohio U to take the MAC crown in a championship game sponsored by Marathon Oil.

Division IAA Playoffs: William and Mary routed Southern Illinois 24-3. Appalachian State staged a big fourth quarter comeback against Richmond, and App. State scored a touchdown in the last few seconds to creep past the Spiders, 35-31.

Our Teams in Non-Rivalry Games: #24 West Virginia defeated Rutgers 24-21. In a game in which both teams were apparently defenseless, Fresno State squeaked past Illinois 53-52. (I had to check to make sure that this was not a basketball score.)

Say What? #20 Southern Cal finished an unsatisfactory season with an upset loss to Arizona 21-17. Washington astonished #20 Cal 42-10.

Next week is the United Methodist choir cantata--the Vivaldi Gloria and Army vs. Navy.

Football Report, November 28, 2009

2009-11-27T17:32:00.000-08:00

The weekends before and after Thanksgiving Day are the weekends for traditional rivalry games, and lots of those odd trophies that make college football such fun. A selection of trophy games are listed by their trophy:

Peace Pipe: Bowling Green turned the Rockets of Toledo into duds 38-24 in the I-75 Rivalry.

Lone Star Showdown Trophy: #3 Texas took over their battle with Texas A & M late 49-39. As a result, Texas earned a point toward the Lone Star Showdown Trophy, awarded annually on the basis of all sporting contests between the two schools.

Commonwealth Cup: The Virginia vs. Virginia Tech matchup was close at halftime, but Virginia Tech gradually pulled away in the second half to triumph 42-13.

Indian War Drum and Lamar Hunt Trophy: The Border War turned out to be a real barn burner this year. Mizzou trailed by 3 late in the fourth quarter, but a late punt to Kansas to the 3 yard line turned into a safety for Missouri. Mizzou then took the ensuing kickoff and moved the ball into position for a last second chip shot field goal to beat Kansas 41-39.

Territorial Cup: In the Duel in the Desert, Arizona dominated the first half, and Arizona State had tied the game in the fourth quarter before Arizona won with a last second field goal, 20-17.

Beehive Boot: #19 BYU had to go to overtime to overcome #21 Utah 26-23 in the Holy War. This should make BYU the best college football team in Utah and the winners of the Boot.

Bedlam Bell: Oklahoma dominated #12 Oklahoma State 27-0 in the Bedlam game.

Legends Trophy: Notre Dame vs. Stanford

Bronze Boot: Wyoming edged Colorado State 17-16 to win the Border War.

Our Teams in Rivalry Games that Lack a Trophy: #1 Florida started fast against Florida State in Sunshine Showdown and never looked back to win 37-10. Florida's victory made them the winners of the Florida Cup. Colorado was clearly outmanned against Nebraska, but the Buffs gave the Huskers a good game in Boulder before succumbing 28-20.

Our Teams in Non-Rivalry Games: Illinois ran into a buzzsaw at #5 U of Cincinnati, losing 49-36 to the Bearcats. Maryland fought hard but finished a disappointing season with a loss to Boston College, 19-17.

Upsets: West Virginia kicked a last minute field goal to beat #8 Pitt 19-16 in the Backyard Brawl. South Carolina quieted rumors of the demise of head coach Steve Spurrier and upended #15 Clemson 34-17. North Carolina State, who will not be going to a bowl game, blocked a last second field goal to edge #24 North Carolina 28-27. Mississippi State claimed the Golden Egg laid in the Egg Bowl by #25 Ole Miss 41-27.

Ranked Biggies Not Mentioned Above: In the Iron Bowl, #2 Alabama came back to narrowly beat Auburn 26-20 take the Foy ODK Trophy game. #6 Boise State remained undefeated 44-33 over Nevada. #4 TCU blew past New Mexico 30-10 to remain undefeated and take the Mountain West championship.

Playoff News: In the first round of the Division I Football Championship Series Playoffs, William and Mary clobbered Weber State 38-0. Richmond edged Elon 16-13. All four of the teams from the Colonial Athletic Association won their games in the first round of the playoffs.

Dept. of Defense: Navy vs. Hawaii way too late for me.

Undefeated and Untied This Week: Ohio Northern, Army, Emory, Peabody Conservatory.

A Reason to Give Thanks: Denver Broncos 26, New York Giants 6 on Thanksgiving night.

Football Report, November 23, 2009

2009-11-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

Today is complicated in Ada. Ada High's show choir, the Varsity Singers, is hosting their annual competition, the Music Feast. Also, Ada High's football team is in the third round of the playoffs in Findlay, Ohio, and it is, of course, the day of the Big Game--Ohio State vs. Michigan.

High School: Tonight, the Ada Bulldogs took on the #1 Blue Jays of Delphos St. John, last year's state champions in Division VI. Ada never trailed in regulation time, but Delphos scored a touchdown in overtime to overcome Ada's OT field goal and take the game 34-31. The loss to St. John was the only Ada loss for the season.

Division III: #18 Hampden Sydney ended the season for Randolph Macon College by swatting the Yellow Jackets 34-27 in a game that decided the conference championship.

Division IAA: Richmond, playing at home, scored a late field goal to take the first Capital Cup game over William and Mary, 13-10.

The Game: #9 Ohio State overcame a stubborn Michigan team in Ann Arbor to take the outright Big 10 championship and the Rose Bowl bid 21-10. Harvard beat Yale 14-10.

Trophy Games: It's a big weekend for trophy games, particularly in the Big 10. Purdue whipped Indiana 38-21 for Old Oaken Bucket. #13 Penn State ripped Michigan State 42-14 for Land Grant Trophy. #15 Iowa shut out Minnesota 12-0 to take Floyd of Rosedale, a statue of a pig. Sacramento State edged UC Davis 31-28 to claim the Causeway Carriage. Appalachian State took a close game from Western Carolina, 19-14, to retain the Old Mountain Jug. New Hampshire rallied to defeat Maine 27-24 and take the Brice-Cowell Musket. Cal chopped #14 Stanford 34-28 to claim the Stanford Axe.

Eating Cupcakes: #1 Florida 62, Florida International 3. #2 Alabama 45, Tennessee Chattanooga 0.

Great Wins: Missouri ended a three-game home losing streak by overcoming Iowa State 34-24. #16 Virginia Tech thrashed N.C. State 38-10.

Our Teams, Sadly: Colorado gave #12 Oklahoma State a game, taking the ball away four times, but Oklahoma State came back in the second half to edge Colorado 31-28. Florida State tried to give their game to Maryland, but the Seminoles drove for the winning touchdown in the last two minutes to pull out a 29-26 victory. Connecticut's touchdown overmatched Notre Dame's field goal in the second overtime to take their match 33-30. Is it the end for Charlie Weis? #18 Clemson clinched a spot in the ACC championship game by whipping Virginia 34-21. Clemson will face Georgia Tech in the ACC championship game. Arizona State turned the ball over 6 times in a 23-13 loss to UCLA. Tennessee became bowl eligible as Vandy ended an unsuccessful season with a 31-16 loss on Rocky Top.

Aren't You Upset: Syracuse upended #25 Rutgers 35-13. Northwestern built an early lead against #17 Wisconsin and then held on to win 33-31. Ole Miss resurrected their season when #10 LSU ran out of time in Oxford 25-23. Texas Tech could run the ball and Oklahoma could not, explaining the 41-13 margin of the Red Raiders over the Sooners.

Big XII News: Nebraska grabbed the Northern championship by beating Kansas State 17-3. #3 Texas is rolling over Kansas, so Texas will face Nebraska in the Big XII championship game.

Dept. of Defense: #19 BYU ambushed Air Force 38-21. Army edged North Texas 17-13. Army can even its record at 6-6 if it can beat Navy.

Undefeated and Untied This Week (In Some Cases Because Season Over): Navy, West Virginia, Northern Colorado, Ohio Northern, Washington U, Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Smith College.

Football Report, November 14, 2009

2009-11-14T17:17:00.000-08:00

If you checked the blog last weekend, or if you discovered the blank entry for last week, I'm sorry. We returned from dinner Saturday evening to discover that our home had been burglarized. There was no time, or interest, in blogging last weekend.

High School Playoff report. Ada won their first round game last weekend over Columbus Grove 34-0. Today's opponent was Carey High, and Ada won again, this time 14-7 in Findlay.

Division III: The Wilmington Quakers provided only passive resistance to the #13 Ohio Northern Polar Bears, losing to ONU 52-14. ONU finished their season 8-2 and has an outside chance to make the Division III playoffs. Washington U. finished their season with a 28-8 loss to #9 Case Western Reserve. Randolph-Macon whipped Bridgewater 33-23 and will finish their season next weekend vs. Hampden-Sydney. The winner of Randy Mac vs. H-S wins their conference and a spot in the Division III playoffs.

Division I-AA. #5 William and Mary edged #8 New Hampshire 20-17 with a late field goal to run their record to 9-1 for the first time since 1947. William and Mary plays #4 Richmond next weekend for the (newly named) Capital Cup and, perhaps, the Colonial Athletic Conference Championship. William and Mary has already clinched a spot in the playoffs. #4 Richmond clobbered helpless (0-10) Georgetown 49-10. The undefeated Montana Grizzlies clawed Northern Colorado 38-10.

Our Teams Triumphant: #10 Ohio State secured a trip to the Rose Bowl and clinched a share of the Big Ten title with a 27-24 overtime victory over #15 Iowa. Ohio State has won or shared the last 5 Big Ten titles. #1 Florida overcame a tough South Carolina defense to beat their old coach 24-14. Danario Alexander caught 10 passes for 200 yards and 3 TDs to lead Mizzou to a 38-12 defeat of Kansas State. With their victory, Mizzou became bowl eligible and severely damaged Kansas State's chances to win the Big 12 Northern division. #20 Virginia Tech drowned Maryland 36-9. #24 Clemson knocked off NC State 43-23.

Our Teams in Mourning: #5 Cincinnati edged West Virginia 24-21 to keep their undefeated season going. Kentucky scored late to put their game with Vandy out of reach 24-13. Colorado helped Iowa State to become bowl-eligible by losing their matchup 17-10. Boston College came from behind with a 70-yard touchdown drive to overcome Virginia 14-10 in a defensive struggle.

Trophy Games: Northwestern claimed the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk by beating Illinois 21-16.

Decided in the Bottom of the Ninth? Louisville 10, Syracuse 9.

The Unexpected: #14 Miami lost to North Carolina 33-24. #25 Stanford clobbered #11 Southern Cal 55-21. (Troy really fell this time!) Central Florida held off a comeback by #13 Houston to defeat the Cougars 37-32. Rutgers stomped #23 South Florida 31-0. Cal stunned #18 Arizona 24-16.

Department of Defense: The Cadets of Army beat the Keydets of VMI 22-17. Navy fried the Delaware Blue Hens 35-18. Air Force put down the Rebels of UNLV 45-17.

Too Late For Me: Arizona State vs. #14 Oregon. Notre Dame is trailing #8 Pitt 27-9 in the 4th quarter. #4 TCU is thumping #21 Utah 48-21 in the 4th quarter. If TCU remains undefeated, it will be interesting to see if they are selected to play for the national championship. Certainly they deserve to play in a BCS game.

Football Report, November 7, 2009

2009-11-07T11:43:00.001-08:00

Football Report, October 31, 2009

2009-10-31T12:46:00.000-07:00

High School Division: In an unusual Saturday night matchup, Ada visited Lima Central Catholic for the Northwest Conference championship. Both teams have clinched spots in the playoffs that begin next weekend. Ada defeated LCC 31-24 to complete an undefeated, untied regular season. Ada clinched the conference championship with the victory.

Division III: #19 Ohio Northern swatted the Yellow Jackets of Baldwin Wallace 49-6 in Ada. Sports Time Ohio carried the game late on Saturday night. Guilford upset favored Randolph Macon 20-13, despite a late comeback by Randolph Macon. Carnegie Mellon won their homecoming match with Washington U, St. Louis, 21-13.

Division IAA: #1 Richmond continued their unbeaten streak by demolishing Towson 42-14. #5 William and Mary easily overcame Rhode Island 39-14. Rhode Island ran for a negative 46 yards in the game, a William and Mary defensive record. Northern Colorado edged South Dakota 21-17.

National Games: #10 Oregon whipped #4 Southern Cal 47-20 at Oregon to end Southern Cal's national championship hopes. #3 Texas crushed #13 Oklahoma State 41-14.

Are You Upset? North Carolina's defense controlled the game as #14 Virginia Tech lost to the Tar Heels 20-17. South Florida, which had dropped out of the national rankings earlier in the season, upended #20 West Virginia 30-19. Auburn thumped #24 Mississippi 33-20. #21 South Carolina got rocked by Tennessee 31-13.

Nationally Rank: #7 Iowa, playing at home, tried very hard for three quarters to hand their game to Indiana. Their quarterback, Ricky Stanzi, threw 5 interceptions, including 4 in the third quarter, but Indiana finally collapsed and handed the game to Iowa 42-24. #18 Miami squeaked past Wake Forest 28-27.

Trophy Games: Air Force easily overcame Colorado State 34-16 to take the Ram-Falcon Trophy. In the game that both schools no longer want referred to as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, #1 Florida trounced Georgia 41-17 behind 4 touchdowns by Tim Tebow to retain possession of the Okefenokee Oar.

Our Teams: Mizzou's defense produced 8 sacks and grabbed 4 turnovers in mopping up Colorado 36-17. Mizzou was one of only two Big 12 North team to win, because the other four teams played to Big 12 South opponents, and only Nebraska was able to win (over Baylor, 20-10.) The South has risen again. Duke came from behind to beat Virginia 28-17. Duke is in the ACC title hunt, while Virginia will be home for the holidays. Cal narrowly defeated Arizona State 23-21. Former Ada Bulldog Zac Dysert ran for two touchdowns and passed for another to lead Miami to its first victory of the season over Toledo 31-24. Downtrodden Illinois surprised Michigan 38-13. The game turned in the first half when an Illinois defensive back ran down a Michigan wideout who was about to score at the Illinois 1 yard-line, and Illinois held Michigan off for 4 tries from the Illinois 1. Vandy stayed with Georgia Tech into the third quarter, but Georgia Tech pulled away 56-31. #25 Notre Dame bashed Washington State 40-14.

Eating Cupcakes: Clemson walloped Coastal Carolina 49-3. #17 Ohio State jumped on New Mexico State 45-0.

Department of Defense: Temple swamped Navy 27-24.

Undefeated and Untied This Week: Army, Peabody Conservatory, Emory.

Football report, October 24, 2009

2009-10-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

This week, we have a guest co-blogger, Hannah. We are staying at her house.

High School Football: #3 Ada High continued their undefeated season, beating Delphos Jefferson 33-6, primarily by passing the ball. Next week, Ada will travel to Lima Central Catholic for the game that will decide the Northwest Conference championship.

Division III: #20 Ohio Northern clobbered John Carroll at Ada 35-14. Washington U (St. Louis) used a strong defensive effort to overcome the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan, 26-14 in Delaware, Ohio.

Upset Alert: Iowa State rearranged the Big 12 North standings by upending Nebraska 9-7 at Lincoln. Nebraska helped the Cyclones by turning the ball over 8 times, including 4 times inside the Iowa State 5. Unranked Clemson upended #8 Miami of Florida 40-37 in overtime in Miami. Unranked Texas A & M overwhelmed #21 Texas Tech 52-30. Unranked Tennessee had two field goals blocked that could have beaten #2 Alabama, so the Vols lost 12-10. #7 Iowa barely escaped from Michigan State unscathed, 15-13.

Our Teams Triumphant: #1 (or #2) Florida remained undefeated by beating Mississippi State 29-19 in Starkville, Miss. #18 Ohio State righted the ship by whomping Minnesota 38-7. Pryor played better, and Minnesota helped the Buckeyes with serious mistakes on both sides of the ball. #22 West Virginia overcame a Connecticut team that was still mourning the stabbing death of their cornerback, Jasper Howard, 28-24. #5 William and Mary outperformed James Madison 24-3 at homecoming in Williamsburg. #1 Richmond whipped #14 U of Massachusetts 34-12.

Unfortunate Happenings: Kansas State took over the lead in the Big 12 North by defeating Colorado 20-6 in Manhattan (the Kansas one). Purdue, made more confident by last week's beating of Ohio State, whipped 1-6 Illinois 24-14. Illinois has now lost 5 straight games by double-digit margins. Duke evened its record at 3-3 by beating Maryland 17-13. #11 Georgia Tech wrecked Virginia 34-9 in the rain at Charlottesville. (Hannah napped as we watched this one.) Weber State overcame Northern Colorado 28-20 in Greeley. #13 Penn State completed four touchdown passes in downing Michigan 35-10 in Ann Arbor. San Diego State outdistanced Colorado State 42-28 behind 6 TD passes from the quarterback, Lindley. #23 South Carolina beat Vandy 14-10 in a defensive struggle. Vandy's only TD came on a kickoff return. #3 Texas led Mizzou 41-7 late in the 4th quarter in Mizzou's homecoming game. Texas scored 3 touchdowns in the first quarter and never looked back.

Ranked vs. Ranked: #10 TCU dominated #16 BYU 38-7 in Provo. #25 Oklahoma defeated #24 Kansas 35-13.

Odd Trophies: This blogger has become aware that the game for the Little Brown Jug (Minnesota vs. Michigan) will not be played this year. Even worse, the game will also not be played next season. Alarming! In the Keg of Nails game, #5 Cincinnati hammered Louisville 41-10. In the Holy War, Notre Dame edged Boston College 20-16 for both the Frank Leahy Trophy and the Ireland Trophy. Tiger Bowl (no trophy): LSU 31, Auburn 3 late in the 4th quarter.

Department of Defense: Rutgers 27, Army 10. #19 Utah edged Air Force 23-16 in overtime. Navy 13, Wake Forest 10 in a mild upset.

Too late: Arizona State trailed Stanford 7-0 in the first quarter.

Undefeated and Untied This Week: Randolph Macon College, Virginia Tech, Emory, Peabody Conservatory. So are the Denver Broncos, who are undefeated and untied for the season so far.

Football report, October 17, 2009

2009-10-17T06:39:00.000-07:00

If the thinking in the blog today seems a little crisp, it is because temperatures have been 20 degrees below normal here for a week (highs in the 40's), and we are all a little cold in Ada.

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.

Football Report, October 10, 2009

2009-10-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

High School Division: The Ada Bulldogs have lost their all-star QB, Mitchell Faine, for the season with a torn ACL. Their parade keeps marching, though, as they spoiled the homecoming of the Crestview Knights with a 48-15 beatdown on a rainy night in Ohio. The Bulldogs ran more than they passed from their spread formation to get the win. Ada is 7-0 and is ranked #4 in Division VI Ohio H.S. football. (As really dedicated Bronco fans will remember, former Bronco Kory Lichtensteiger was a Crestview Knight.)

Division III: In the homecoming game, #17 ONU assassinated the Student Princes of Heidelberg 38-7. Anne Lippert, recently retired Academic Vice President, was grand marshal of the homecoming parade. Randy Macon overcame Frostburg St. 23-19. Wash U lost at #11 Wabash 31-12.

Game of the Week: Tim Tebow returned to action after his concussion, leading #1 Florida against #4 LSU in Baton Rouge. The Florida defenders were the real leaders, though, as Florida beat the Tigers 13-3.

Victorious: #5 Virginia Tech crushed Boston College 45-14. The defense and special teams of #9 Ohio State overcame a previously undefeated Wisconsin squad 31-13. Wisconsin held the ball for more than twice the time Ohio State had it but still lost. Arizona State beat Washington State comfortably 27-14. Richmond 21, James Madison 17. William and Mary took advantage of winless Northeastern 34-14. Virginia treated Indiana roughly, 47-7, in Charlottesville.

Goofy Trophy Games: Troy claimed the Paladium Trophy by beating Middle Tennessee 31-7. West Virginia comfortably overcame Syracuse 34-13 to capture the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy. Fresno State beat Hawaii 42-17 for Golden Screwdriver in Hawaii.

Untoward Happenings. At the end of the third quarter, #24 Mizzou led #21 Nebraska 12-0 in a rainy game in Columbia. Mizzou should have quit while they were ahead, as Nebraska rode two interceptions to a 27-12 comeback win. Their 27 point outburst was the largest 4th quarter comeback in Nebraska history. Nebraska claimed the Victory Bell in this matchup. Army outgunned the Commodores of Vanderbilt 16-13 in overtime at West Point. Illinois changed starting quarterbacks, then gave up on the new starter and lost to Michigan State 24-14. Illinois has only won 1 game this year. Hapless Northern Colorado lost to Portland State 23-18. On the upside, UNC Women's volleyball leads their conference. Utah defeated Colorado State 24-17 in frosty Fort Collins. Maryland gave up 35 points in the first half and could not overtake Wake Forest, losing 42-32. Colorado led #2 Texas 14-10 at halftime, but the Longhorns overpowered the Buffs in the second half to win 38-14.

Upsets: Arkansas outpointed a defenseless #17 Auburn team 44-23.

Squeaked Past: #16 Kansas 41, Iowa State 36. Kansas has Colorado next week and should return to form. Bowling Green slipped past Kent State 36-35, scoring the winning touchdown with 5 seconds to go. #25 South Carolina 28, Kentucky 26. #15 Oklahoma State 36, Texas A & M 31. In a great game, #12 Iowa held off Michigan 30-28 to keep alive Iowa's hopes for a Big 10 title.

Other Stories of Interest: Sam Bradford returned to the lineup to lead #19 Oklahoma over Baylor 33-7. #3 Alabama defeated #20 Ole Miss 22-3.

Dept. of Defense: Navy overwhelmed Rice 63-14. #10 TCU overcame three turnovers and the weather to beat the stubborn Air Force Falcons 20-17.

Florida Weather Service: The Florida State vs. Georgia Tech game was delayed for more than an hour by lightning. The game itself was a barn burner with Georgia Tech outscoring Florida State 49-44. The Georgia Tech QB Nesbitt made the play of the game. Florida State had forced a GT fumble and a Florida State defender had scooped up the ball to return it. Nesbitt stole the ball back from the Florida State defender and allowed the Georgia Tech drive to continue.

Undefeated and Untied this week: Southern Cal, Georgia State, University of Cincinnati, Smith College, Peabody Conservatory, and Emory.

Brrrr. The National League Division Series game between the Rockies and Phillies at Denver had to be postponed because of snow flurries and cold temperatures. Is the baseball season too long?

The Other Football: The United States clinched a spot in the World Cup by beating Honduras 3-2. The US team overcame political instability, a hostile crowd, and a determined Honduras team to claim the victory.

Presidential: The United States leads the President's Cup golf match 12 1/2 to 9 1/2 with the singles matches to come. Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have played like champions to lead the US team. Eight points are yet to be determined, so the US cannot relax.

2009-10-08T19:41:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday to Hannah Marie Tanner, daughter of Matt Tanner and Kristina Lobenhofer Tanner. Today's your day, kid, and you are the ideal size, 7 lbs., 14 oz. Congratulations to the proud parents. I understand that you have blue eyes and lots of dark hair. Rest well, little one.

Football Report October 3, 2009

2009-10-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

High School Division: Even without their injured star quarterback, Mitchell Faine, the Ada Bulldogs were way too much for the Paulding Panthers, 55-6. Substitute QB Heath Jackson returned the opening kickoff for a TD, and away they went.

Division III: Washington U (St. Louis) walloped Rhodes 23-0 at home. Randolph Macon wideout Earl Peoples caught a conference record 20 passes for a school record 295 yards as the Jackets beat Washington & Lee 21-13 on Parents' Day at R-M. Proud Peopleses. #16 Ohio Northern edged Muskingum 37-34. Former Ohio Northern All-American Jason Trusnik was AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his play for the NY Jets against the Tennessee Titans last week.

Important Victories: Maryland broke through in the second quarter and then held on for a 24-21 victory over Clemson at home. Virginia Tech, in a down performance after beating Miami, overcame a determined Duke team 34-26. In the oldest rivalry in the South, Virginia won its first game by beating formerly nationally ranked North Carolina 16-3 at Chapel Hill. #9 Ohio State downed the Hoosiers 33-14 in Bloomington. Notre Dame outscored the Washington Huskies 37-30 in overtime.

Games of the Week: Miami's back. #17 Miami defeated #8 Oklahoma 21-20 in Miami. After beating each other senseless for 57 minutes, Georgia and LSU scored 3 TDs in the last 3 minutes as #4 LSU squeaked by #18 Georgia 20-13. #7 Southern Cal whomped #24 Cal 30-3.

Tough Days: In the oldest rivalry west of the Alleghenies, #10 Cincinnati overcame Miami 37-13. According to the recap, former Ada High star Zac Dysert, in his second start kept Miami in the game with a performance reminiscent of Findlay resident Ben Rothlisberger's. Despite recovering 4 WVU fumbles, Colorado lost to the Mountaineers 35-24 in a sloppy game by both teams. Undefeated #2 Villanova dumped #5 William and Mary 28-17 in Philly. Northern Arizona was more north than Northern Colorado 35-27. #15 Penn State handled Illinois 35-17. #21 Ole Miss outplayed Vandy 23-7. Oregon State beat Arizona State in Tempe for the first time in 40 years, 28-17.

Oddball Trophies: Michigan State takes the Paul Bunyan Trophy 26-20 over #22 Michigan in overtime. Wisconsin edged Minnesota 31-28 in a two for the price of one game, winning both Paul Bunyan's Axe (notice a theme here?) and the Slab of Bacon. In the matchup for the Old Wagon Wheel, #20 BYU comfortably outpointed Utah State 35-17. Brown took the Governor's Cup over Rhode Island 28-20. In the Battle for the Iron Skillet, #11 TCU was beat SMU 39-14. Nevada (Reno) killed UNLV 63-28 in the game for the Fremont Cannon.

Department of Defense: Tulane 17, Army 16. In the first matchup leading to the Commander-in-Chief Trophy, Navy overcame Air Force 16-13 at Annapolis.

Matchless This Week: Florida, Mary Washington U., Mizzou, Richmond, Peabody Conservatory, and Emory.

Rocktober: The Rockies have clinched a playoff spot and have a chance to take the Western Division title from the Dodgers.

Blogging season

2009-10-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

In case you were seeking a blog with a consistent theme, this is probably not it. This project began with college football, and during the season, there will be college football reports. Other thoughts on a variety of other topics will probably creep in too, and I will probably be as surprised as you when they do.