Ada High appears to be on the march to the playoffs. Ohio State is on the march to nowhere since they are on probation. The weather is marching toward Indian summer, or so we hope. Presidential debate "scoring" appears to make rudeness not only advisable but mandatory. I am so tired of this political campaign. Since Alex Rodriguez is probably finished as a Yankee, so perhaps he should run for president.
High School Division: Ada High was 8-0 going into this Friday night and faced an opponent with only 2 losses in Delphos Jefferson. The game started in the rain, and the wet field in Ada slowed down both teams. Ada got two touchdowns on screen passes and kicked their first field goal of the season on route to a 17-0 victory. Next weekend, Ada of division VI, smallest schools, faces Lima Central Catholic of division V, somewhat larger schools, for the Northwest Conference championship.
Division III: Ohio Northern's furious fourth-quarter rally fell just short 28-23 at John Carroll. Washington U celebrated their head coach's 60th birthday with an 18-13 victory at Denison. Guilford edged Randolph Macon 38-35, turning Randolph Macon's homecoming into a real downer.
Division FCS (I-AA): Michael Strauss threw four TD passes in his first college start to lead Richmond's waltz over James Madison 35-29. Villanova thumped Georgia State 49-24. Northern Colorado steamrolled Idaho State 52-14 for the second win of the season for the Bears.
Rivalry and Trophy Games: #20 Stanford outgained Cal 2-1 and otherwise dominated the Bears 21-3 to retain the Stanford Axe. Michigan kicked a late field goal to overtake Michigan State for a 12-10 win. Thus Michigan regained the Paul Bunyan Trophy that had resided in East Lansing for the past three years. As they usually do, Wisconsin trampled Minnesota 38-13 to retain Paul Bunyan's Axe. Duke scored the winning TD with 14 seconds to go to topple North Carolina 33-30 and win the Victory Bell.
Ranked vs. Ranked: Jeff Driskel threw for only 93 yards but completed 4 TD passes as #2 Florida walloped #7 South Carolina 44-11 to take command of the SEC Eastern Division. #18 Texas A & M led #6 LSU 9-0 at the end of the first quarter, outgained the Tigers for the game, and even had more time of possession than the hard-running Tigers, but the Aggies gave the ball away five times while the Tigers held onto it, so LSU was able to overcome a determined A & M challenge 24-19 in College Station. Seth Doege threw 7 TD passes to lead #17 Texas Tech to a 56-53 win at #23 TCU in three overtimes. #4 Kansas State beat #13 West Virginia in a landslide 55-14.
Our Teams Triumphant: Zac Stacy, already holder of the Vandy record for rushing for a season, became the career rushing leader as well as he led Vandy to a 17-13 win over an Auburn team that has only won one game this year. In a war of religion and strong defenses, Notre Dame edged Brigham Young 17-14 in South Bend.
Vale of Tears: In a game that will have great impact on who will play in the ACC championship game, Virginia Tech outgained #19 Clemson and held down the normally efficient Clemson offense. Unfortunately, Tech gave the ball away four times to one for Clemson and gave the game away as well 38-17. #3 Oregon scored 43 points in the first half against Arizona State and refrained thereafter, outracing the Sun Devils 43-21. Wake Forest came off a bye to dump error-prone Virginia 16-10. Matt Barkley threw six touchdown passes and claimed his school's record for career TD passes as#10 Southern Cal rendered the Colorado Golden Buffaloes extinct 50-10. North Carolina State kicked a field goal with 23 seconds left to take a 20-18 lead over Maryland, and the Terps managed an unsuccessful field goal attempt with two seconds left in a tense loss.
Say What??: Toledo led #21 Cincinnati throughout the game and held off an attempted last-minute comeback to upend the Bearcats 29-23 in Toledo. #11 Georgia underestimated Kentucky but managed to pull out a 29-24 victory.
Corrections Report: Ohio State's star QB, sophomore Braxton Miller, was injured in the third quarter and was taken to the hospital as the game continued with OSU down by a touchdown. Junior Kenny Guiton replaced Miller. Guiton had a rough start, but he led a last-minute drive and threw a TD pass with 3 seconds on the clock. Guiton then coolly completed a pass for the 2-point conversion to tie the game. Ohio State scored a TD on their overtime possession, and Purdue could muster neither a first down or a touchdown. #8 (ESPN) Ohio State 29-22 over the Boilermakers. (Incidentally, Braxton Miller was released from the hospital, apparently OK.) Penn State dominated Iowa in every category en route to clubbing the Hawkeyes 38-7 (early 4th quarter).
Pentagon Papers: New Mexico outgained Air Force by almost 100 yards, but the Falcons were able to slip past the Lobos 28-23. Navy squeaked past Indiana 31-30 for their first victory over a Big Ten team since 1979. Eastern Michigan won their first game of the season by overwhelming Army 48-38.
Undefeated and Untied This Week: Emory, Peabody Conservatory, William and Mary, Miami of Ohio.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
October 13, 2012
Fall has fully arrived in Ada. We have cool temperatures and changing leaves. The Halloween decorations are in place, even on the concrete geese. Meanwhile my TV schedule provided surprises today. Many of the teams we follow appeared on TV today. Missouri vs. Alabama and Florida vs. Vanderbilt was not a surprise, but William and Mary and Richmond both appeared on regional cable TV channels today also. If Ohio Northern starts making regular TV appearances, I will know that the end of the world is imminent.
High School Division: Undefeated Ada established a 28-7 lead in the first half and a goal line stand preserved their halftime lead. Allen East got a third quarter touchdown, but Ada pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 42-14 win over the Mustangs. MaxPreps ranks Ada #2 in Ohio Division VI in football.
Division III: Ohio Northern took out their season's frustrations on hapless Marietta by devastating 56-14 margin over the Pioneers. The victory was the one hundredth career coaching victory for Ohio Northern's Dean Paul. Washington & Lee ran for 473 yards in grinding down Randolph Macon 49-14. #15 Wabash took an early 20-0 lead and held on to defeat game Wash U 34-14.
Division FCS (I-AA): Richmond celebrated the nearness of basketball season by abandoning defense in a 44-40 loss at New Hampshire. Georgia State claimed their first victory of the season with a will, pounding Rhode Island 41-7 in the first victory for either team. William and Mary missed a conversion to succumb to James Madison 27-26 in double overtime. Cal Poly remained undefeated as they romped over Northern Colorado (1-5).
Rivalry and Trophy Games: In a hard-hitting defensive struggle, #7 Notre Dame kicked a last minute field goal to force #17 Stanford into overtime and then held the Cardinal out of the end zone on two shots from the one in overtime to defeat Stanford 20-13 for the Legends Trophy. In the Red River Rivalry, #13 Oklahoma slaughtered the #15 Texas Longhorns 63-21 to win the Golden Hat, the Red River Rivalry Trophy, and the Governors' Trophy. Maryland ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown and won the opening and closing quarters en route to a close 27-20 victory over Virginia to claim the Tydings Trophy. #24 Boise State ran for more than 200 yards and played great defense to stop Fresno State 20-10 to hold onto the Milk Can.
Ranked vs. Ranked: #3 South Carolina at #9 LSU outplayed #3 South Carolina on both sides of the ball. The Gamecocks' made a late charge, but it was too little and too late as the Tigers held on 23-21. #22 Texas A & M's SEC-level defense was expected to be able to handle #23 Louisiana Tech in the replay of the postponed season opener for both teams. A & M's quarterback Johnny Manziel threw six TD passes, and the Aggies needed all of them as they squeaked past Tech 59-57 in Shreveport.
Surprise Parties: Seth Doege threw six TD passes and Texas Tech stuffed West Virginia's high-scoring offense en route to a 49-14 pummeling of the #5 Mountaineers. Iowa upended Michigan State, which had been ranked earlier this year 19-16 in double overtime. Iowa State gave #6 Kansas State a real battle before succumbing 27-21. K-State got three touchdowns from star quarterback Collin Klein. Toledo, 6-1, edged Eastern Michigan, 0-6, 52-47 in a defensive struggle.
Our Teams Triumphant: Duke took a 20-0 lead over Virginia Tech in the first quarter in Durham, but the Hokies were able to begin the comeback with a touchdown late in the first quarter and continued to roll to a 41-20 victory over Duke. Miami lost both their first conference game and their starting quarterback in an 18-14 victory by North Carolina.
Vale of Tears: Colorado put on a scoring burst in the late second quarter to only trail 20-17 at halftime against Arizona State. Unfortunately, the Sun Devils returned the second half kickoff for a TD and never looked back. ASU 51, Colorado 17. The head coaches, Nick Saban and Gary Pinkel, had been teammates at Kent State, but there was little brotherly love as #1 Alabama visited Missouri. In a rainy game interrupted by lightning, Alabama's defense and running game were way to much for Mizzou. The Tide was a tsunami that swept over Mizzou 42-10. Denard Robinson ran for two TDs and threw for two more to lead #25 Michigan over Illinois 45-0. Zac Dysert passed for less than 200 yards and threw two interceptions as Bowling Green used a big second half to handle Miami 37-12. San Diego State dominated the second and third quarters to drop Colorado State 38-14. Vandy's defense played well, but neither their special teams nor their offense could equal #8 Florida as the Gators won 31-17.
Corrections Department: #8 Ohio State was well ahead in the fourth quarter, but they had to hold off a determined Indiana comeback. At the end, Indiana ran out of time as the Buckeyes held on 52-49.
Pentagon Papers: Navy swamped Central Michigan on Thursday night 31-13. Air Force's backup QB Kale Peterson played only one play against Wyoming, but he scored a TD on a 5-yard bootleg to complete the Falcon comeback to defeat the Cowboys 28-27 in Laramie. Kent State clubbed Army 31-17.
Undefeated and Untied this Week: Emory, Peabody Conservatory, Penn State.
High School Division: Undefeated Ada established a 28-7 lead in the first half and a goal line stand preserved their halftime lead. Allen East got a third quarter touchdown, but Ada pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 42-14 win over the Mustangs. MaxPreps ranks Ada #2 in Ohio Division VI in football.
Division III: Ohio Northern took out their season's frustrations on hapless Marietta by devastating 56-14 margin over the Pioneers. The victory was the one hundredth career coaching victory for Ohio Northern's Dean Paul. Washington & Lee ran for 473 yards in grinding down Randolph Macon 49-14. #15 Wabash took an early 20-0 lead and held on to defeat game Wash U 34-14.
Division FCS (I-AA): Richmond celebrated the nearness of basketball season by abandoning defense in a 44-40 loss at New Hampshire. Georgia State claimed their first victory of the season with a will, pounding Rhode Island 41-7 in the first victory for either team. William and Mary missed a conversion to succumb to James Madison 27-26 in double overtime. Cal Poly remained undefeated as they romped over Northern Colorado (1-5).
Rivalry and Trophy Games: In a hard-hitting defensive struggle, #7 Notre Dame kicked a last minute field goal to force #17 Stanford into overtime and then held the Cardinal out of the end zone on two shots from the one in overtime to defeat Stanford 20-13 for the Legends Trophy. In the Red River Rivalry, #13 Oklahoma slaughtered the #15 Texas Longhorns 63-21 to win the Golden Hat, the Red River Rivalry Trophy, and the Governors' Trophy. Maryland ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown and won the opening and closing quarters en route to a close 27-20 victory over Virginia to claim the Tydings Trophy. #24 Boise State ran for more than 200 yards and played great defense to stop Fresno State 20-10 to hold onto the Milk Can.
Ranked vs. Ranked: #3 South Carolina at #9 LSU outplayed #3 South Carolina on both sides of the ball. The Gamecocks' made a late charge, but it was too little and too late as the Tigers held on 23-21. #22 Texas A & M's SEC-level defense was expected to be able to handle #23 Louisiana Tech in the replay of the postponed season opener for both teams. A & M's quarterback Johnny Manziel threw six TD passes, and the Aggies needed all of them as they squeaked past Tech 59-57 in Shreveport.
Surprise Parties: Seth Doege threw six TD passes and Texas Tech stuffed West Virginia's high-scoring offense en route to a 49-14 pummeling of the #5 Mountaineers. Iowa upended Michigan State, which had been ranked earlier this year 19-16 in double overtime. Iowa State gave #6 Kansas State a real battle before succumbing 27-21. K-State got three touchdowns from star quarterback Collin Klein. Toledo, 6-1, edged Eastern Michigan, 0-6, 52-47 in a defensive struggle.
Our Teams Triumphant: Duke took a 20-0 lead over Virginia Tech in the first quarter in Durham, but the Hokies were able to begin the comeback with a touchdown late in the first quarter and continued to roll to a 41-20 victory over Duke. Miami lost both their first conference game and their starting quarterback in an 18-14 victory by North Carolina.
Vale of Tears: Colorado put on a scoring burst in the late second quarter to only trail 20-17 at halftime against Arizona State. Unfortunately, the Sun Devils returned the second half kickoff for a TD and never looked back. ASU 51, Colorado 17. The head coaches, Nick Saban and Gary Pinkel, had been teammates at Kent State, but there was little brotherly love as #1 Alabama visited Missouri. In a rainy game interrupted by lightning, Alabama's defense and running game were way to much for Mizzou. The Tide was a tsunami that swept over Mizzou 42-10. Denard Robinson ran for two TDs and threw for two more to lead #25 Michigan over Illinois 45-0. Zac Dysert passed for less than 200 yards and threw two interceptions as Bowling Green used a big second half to handle Miami 37-12. San Diego State dominated the second and third quarters to drop Colorado State 38-14. Vandy's defense played well, but neither their special teams nor their offense could equal #8 Florida as the Gators won 31-17.
Corrections Department: #8 Ohio State was well ahead in the fourth quarter, but they had to hold off a determined Indiana comeback. At the end, Indiana ran out of time as the Buckeyes held on 52-49.
Pentagon Papers: Navy swamped Central Michigan on Thursday night 31-13. Air Force's backup QB Kale Peterson played only one play against Wyoming, but he scored a TD on a 5-yard bootleg to complete the Falcon comeback to defeat the Cowboys 28-27 in Laramie. Kent State clubbed Army 31-17.
Undefeated and Untied this Week: Emory, Peabody Conservatory, Penn State.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
October 6, 2012
Fall is definitely here. The highs for this weekend will be in the 50s, and the leaves are turning. Ada is full of mums because it is homecoming for both Ada High and for Ohio Northern. Fall in Ohio.
High School Division: This season has presented a real weather challenge for high schools. This Friday night brought cold rain, but at least no interruption for lightning. Ada and Crestview were tied at 14 at halftime and at the end of the third quarter. Ada's Kellen Decker turned a screen pass into a 69 yard game-winning touchdown. Ada held off the Knights 26-21.
Division III Doings: Ohio Northern was a little too generous in hosting Baldwin Wallace for ONU's homecoming. BW outpointed the Polar Bears 22-20. Randolph Macon hosted their first night game against Catholic U, but the Yellow Jackets were not very hospitable, stinging Catholic 45-12.
FCS (Division I-AA) Stuff: Public Ivy William and Mary took a 24-7 halftime lead and then held on to defeat private Ivy Penn 34-28. Richmond got two late interceptions to hold off Villanova
28-17. New Hampshire dumped Georgia State 44-21. Montana devastated Northern Colorado 40-17.
Ranked vs. Ranked: #4 LSU scored two field goals, the only points, in the first half against # 10 Florida. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Florida scored the only points of the second half, two touchdowns, to defeat LSU 14-6 in Gainesville. Geno Smith threw four TD passes to lead #8 West Virginia in a successful trip to Austin in edging #11 Texas 48-45. #6 South Carolina clobbered #5 Georgia 35-7.
Grudge: Vandy traveled to Columbia to welcome Missouri to the SEC. Missouri lost its star QB James Franklin in the first half, gave up a safety in the first quarter, and took a close loss 19-15. North Carolina outrushed Virginia Tech by nearly 300 yards in thrashing the Hokies 48-34 in Chapel Hill.
Say What??: North Carolina State scored a fourth down touchdown with 16 seconds to go to upend #3 Florida State 17-16. #18 Stanford had to score two late TDs to force Arizona into overtime. Stanford stopped Arizona's overtime possession with an interception and then scored a TD to overcome Arizona 54-48.
Rivalry and Trophy Games: On Friday night, usually high-scoring BYU defeated normally high-scoring Utah State 6-3 to take the Old Wagon Wheel. The victory also gives BYU a leg up toward claiming the Beehive Boot, the reward for the best major college football team in Utah. The Sunflower Showdown was a little one-sided as Kansas State mauled Kansas 56-16 to grab the Governor's Cup. #2 Oregon outraced traditional rival #23 Washington 52-21.
Our Teams Triumphant: Maryland scored a touchdown with less than 6 minutes to go to overtake Wake Forest 19-14 for its third victory of the year. Maryland has already won one more game than it did all of last year. Hurricane lose power as they go north, which may help to explain #9 Notre Dame's domination of Miami 41-3.
Vale of Tears: Wisconsin dominated Illinois 31-14. Zac Dysert passed for over 300 yards, but he could not overcome a superior Cincinnati team that destroyed his Red Hawks 52-14. Fresno State completed its sacking of Colorado by pounding Colorado State 28-7.
Corrections News: Penn State upended #24 Northwestern 39-24 to bring happiness to Happy Valley. #12 Ohio State outplayed #21 Nebraska in all phases of the game, bulldozing the Huskers 63-38 in Columbus.
Pentagon Papers: Navy scored a late touchdown and two-point conversion to force an overtime against Air Force, and then scored a touchdown in the OT to torpedo the Falcons 28-21 in Colorado Springs. Army running back Brent Steelman scored his third rushing TD of the game with less than a minute to go as Army edged Boston College 34-31.
Undefeated and Untied This Week: Emory, Peabody Conservatory, Washington U St. Louis, Colorado U, (Thankfully) the Colorado Rockies, after only 98 losses.
High School Division: This season has presented a real weather challenge for high schools. This Friday night brought cold rain, but at least no interruption for lightning. Ada and Crestview were tied at 14 at halftime and at the end of the third quarter. Ada's Kellen Decker turned a screen pass into a 69 yard game-winning touchdown. Ada held off the Knights 26-21.
Division III Doings: Ohio Northern was a little too generous in hosting Baldwin Wallace for ONU's homecoming. BW outpointed the Polar Bears 22-20. Randolph Macon hosted their first night game against Catholic U, but the Yellow Jackets were not very hospitable, stinging Catholic 45-12.
FCS (Division I-AA) Stuff: Public Ivy William and Mary took a 24-7 halftime lead and then held on to defeat private Ivy Penn 34-28. Richmond got two late interceptions to hold off Villanova
28-17. New Hampshire dumped Georgia State 44-21. Montana devastated Northern Colorado 40-17.
Ranked vs. Ranked: #4 LSU scored two field goals, the only points, in the first half against # 10 Florida. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Florida scored the only points of the second half, two touchdowns, to defeat LSU 14-6 in Gainesville. Geno Smith threw four TD passes to lead #8 West Virginia in a successful trip to Austin in edging #11 Texas 48-45. #6 South Carolina clobbered #5 Georgia 35-7.
Grudge: Vandy traveled to Columbia to welcome Missouri to the SEC. Missouri lost its star QB James Franklin in the first half, gave up a safety in the first quarter, and took a close loss 19-15. North Carolina outrushed Virginia Tech by nearly 300 yards in thrashing the Hokies 48-34 in Chapel Hill.
Say What??: North Carolina State scored a fourth down touchdown with 16 seconds to go to upend #3 Florida State 17-16. #18 Stanford had to score two late TDs to force Arizona into overtime. Stanford stopped Arizona's overtime possession with an interception and then scored a TD to overcome Arizona 54-48.
Rivalry and Trophy Games: On Friday night, usually high-scoring BYU defeated normally high-scoring Utah State 6-3 to take the Old Wagon Wheel. The victory also gives BYU a leg up toward claiming the Beehive Boot, the reward for the best major college football team in Utah. The Sunflower Showdown was a little one-sided as Kansas State mauled Kansas 56-16 to grab the Governor's Cup. #2 Oregon outraced traditional rival #23 Washington 52-21.
Our Teams Triumphant: Maryland scored a touchdown with less than 6 minutes to go to overtake Wake Forest 19-14 for its third victory of the year. Maryland has already won one more game than it did all of last year. Hurricane lose power as they go north, which may help to explain #9 Notre Dame's domination of Miami 41-3.
Vale of Tears: Wisconsin dominated Illinois 31-14. Zac Dysert passed for over 300 yards, but he could not overcome a superior Cincinnati team that destroyed his Red Hawks 52-14. Fresno State completed its sacking of Colorado by pounding Colorado State 28-7.
Corrections News: Penn State upended #24 Northwestern 39-24 to bring happiness to Happy Valley. #12 Ohio State outplayed #21 Nebraska in all phases of the game, bulldozing the Huskers 63-38 in Columbus.
Pentagon Papers: Navy scored a late touchdown and two-point conversion to force an overtime against Air Force, and then scored a touchdown in the OT to torpedo the Falcons 28-21 in Colorado Springs. Army running back Brent Steelman scored his third rushing TD of the game with less than a minute to go as Army edged Boston College 34-31.
Undefeated and Untied This Week: Emory, Peabody Conservatory, Washington U St. Louis, Colorado U, (Thankfully) the Colorado Rockies, after only 98 losses.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
September 22, 2012
First Saturday of autumn arrives; the leaves are beginning to change color, and the temperatures are cooler. The atmosphere for Ada's football game was electric, particularly when the officials stopped the game in the second quarter for lightning. If this sounds familiar, this is the second time this season for a lightning storm to ruin Friday night football. Saturday afternoon brought another thunderstorm, this time with hail. Whatever happened to a calm transition to autumn?
High School Division. Ada's game at Bluffton had to be stopped in the second quarter on Friday night. The game continued at 1:30 PM on Saturday in Ada. Fortunately, they got the game finished before the hail came. Ada trampled Bluffton 53-29, and, according to an Ada assistant coach, the game was not that close.
Division III. Ohio Northern took a 14-0 lead at home vs. Capital, waited an hour for the weather to improve, and then finished a 28-14 win. An interception return for a touchdown put Washington U ahead in the third quarter, and the Bears were able to finish off Kenyon College 28-23 for the first win of the season.
Division FCS (I-AA). Richmond rolled to a 28-7 halftime lead and then tied the second half 7-7 in taking a 35-14 victory at Georgia State. Delaware carpet bombed William and Mary 51-21. Now that Colorado has won a game, William and Mary is now on "will they ever win" watch. Undefeated Montana clubbed Northern Colorado 41-16.
Ranked vs. Ranked. #4 Florida State scored four straight touchdowns in the second half to overtake #10 Clemson 49-37. #15 Kansas State avenged last year's 41 point blowout and upset #6 Oklahoma 24-19. #3 Oregon devastated #22 Arizona 49-0 behind a defense that stopped Arizona six times in the red zone. #11 Notre Dame's defense led by linebacker Manti Te'o intercepted five passes and recovered a fumble en route to frustrating Denard Robinson and #18 Michigan 13-6 at South Bend.
Upsetting, Isn't It. Colorado scored three touchdowns in the final 7 minutes at Washington State to upend Washington State 35-34. Quarterback Sean Mannion passed for 379 yards in leading Oregon State to a 27-20 upending of #19 UCLA. UCLA will not be catching up with USC at this rate. Central Michigan kicked a late field goal to edge home-standing Iowa 32-31. Northern Illinois rallied with seventeen points in the fourth quarter to overcome Kansas 30-23. In an unexpectedly low-scoring game, #24 Boise State edged BYU 7-6 on the Smurf Turf in Boise.
Our Teams Triumphant. #14 Florida had beaten Kentucky 25 straight times coming into today's game, and Florida chewed up and shut out the Wildcats 38-0. Ada's Zac Dysert threw three touchdown passes as Dysert's Miami Red Hawks spoiled the MAC conference debut of Massachusetts 27-16. Dysert also broke the Miami record for career completions, surpassing a fellow named Roethlisberger. In a cupcake game, Virginia Tech failed to score in the first quarter, but then rolled over Bowling Green 37-0. Arizona State scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and continued to steamroll Utah 37-7.
Hanging Our Heads. Tavon Austin, a native of Baltimore, caught 13 passes, including 3 for touchdowns, in leading #8 West Virginia to a 31-21 slow-motion victory over Maryland. Kenny Cain had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in leading #17 TCU to victory in their duel with the Virginia Cavaliers. QB Connor Shaw of #7 South Carolina completed his last 20 passes to lead the Gamecocks in a 31-10 ripping of Mizzou. #5 Georgia chewed up Vanderbilt 48-3 behind 250 yards and 2 TDs from quarterback Aaron Murray. Utah State dominated Colorado State 31-19 behind 205 yards rushing from Kerwynn Williams. Illinois turned the ball over six times on the way to submitting to Louisiana Tech 52-24 at Illinois.
What Game Are We Playing? Old Dominion's quarterback Tyler Heinicke threw for over 700 yards and five touchdowns in leading a huge second half comeback to defeat New Hampshire 64-61. New Hampshire's Andy Vailas only threw for five touchdowns in defeat.
Probation Report. Sixteenth-ranked Ohio State allowed a blocked punt for a touchdown and started very slowly, but QB Braxton Miller led the Bucks to a 29-15 victory over the 0-3 Blazers of Alabama-Birmingham. QB Matt McGloin threw for a career high in yards and rushed for two touchdowns to carry Penn State to a 24-13 destruction of Temple.
Pentagon Papers. Wake Forest played strong longer than Army to outflank the Black Knights 49-37. Navy shocked and awed the Keydets of division I-AA VMI 41-3. Air Force ran roughshod over UNLV in the first half, but the rebels came back in the second half to defeat the Falcons 38-35 in Las Vegas.
Undefeated and Untied This Week. Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Randolph Macon.
High School Division. Ada's game at Bluffton had to be stopped in the second quarter on Friday night. The game continued at 1:30 PM on Saturday in Ada. Fortunately, they got the game finished before the hail came. Ada trampled Bluffton 53-29, and, according to an Ada assistant coach, the game was not that close.
Division III. Ohio Northern took a 14-0 lead at home vs. Capital, waited an hour for the weather to improve, and then finished a 28-14 win. An interception return for a touchdown put Washington U ahead in the third quarter, and the Bears were able to finish off Kenyon College 28-23 for the first win of the season.
Division FCS (I-AA). Richmond rolled to a 28-7 halftime lead and then tied the second half 7-7 in taking a 35-14 victory at Georgia State. Delaware carpet bombed William and Mary 51-21. Now that Colorado has won a game, William and Mary is now on "will they ever win" watch. Undefeated Montana clubbed Northern Colorado 41-16.
Ranked vs. Ranked. #4 Florida State scored four straight touchdowns in the second half to overtake #10 Clemson 49-37. #15 Kansas State avenged last year's 41 point blowout and upset #6 Oklahoma 24-19. #3 Oregon devastated #22 Arizona 49-0 behind a defense that stopped Arizona six times in the red zone. #11 Notre Dame's defense led by linebacker Manti Te'o intercepted five passes and recovered a fumble en route to frustrating Denard Robinson and #18 Michigan 13-6 at South Bend.
Upsetting, Isn't It. Colorado scored three touchdowns in the final 7 minutes at Washington State to upend Washington State 35-34. Quarterback Sean Mannion passed for 379 yards in leading Oregon State to a 27-20 upending of #19 UCLA. UCLA will not be catching up with USC at this rate. Central Michigan kicked a late field goal to edge home-standing Iowa 32-31. Northern Illinois rallied with seventeen points in the fourth quarter to overcome Kansas 30-23. In an unexpectedly low-scoring game, #24 Boise State edged BYU 7-6 on the Smurf Turf in Boise.
Our Teams Triumphant. #14 Florida had beaten Kentucky 25 straight times coming into today's game, and Florida chewed up and shut out the Wildcats 38-0. Ada's Zac Dysert threw three touchdown passes as Dysert's Miami Red Hawks spoiled the MAC conference debut of Massachusetts 27-16. Dysert also broke the Miami record for career completions, surpassing a fellow named Roethlisberger. In a cupcake game, Virginia Tech failed to score in the first quarter, but then rolled over Bowling Green 37-0. Arizona State scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and continued to steamroll Utah 37-7.
Hanging Our Heads. Tavon Austin, a native of Baltimore, caught 13 passes, including 3 for touchdowns, in leading #8 West Virginia to a 31-21 slow-motion victory over Maryland. Kenny Cain had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in leading #17 TCU to victory in their duel with the Virginia Cavaliers. QB Connor Shaw of #7 South Carolina completed his last 20 passes to lead the Gamecocks in a 31-10 ripping of Mizzou. #5 Georgia chewed up Vanderbilt 48-3 behind 250 yards and 2 TDs from quarterback Aaron Murray. Utah State dominated Colorado State 31-19 behind 205 yards rushing from Kerwynn Williams. Illinois turned the ball over six times on the way to submitting to Louisiana Tech 52-24 at Illinois.
What Game Are We Playing? Old Dominion's quarterback Tyler Heinicke threw for over 700 yards and five touchdowns in leading a huge second half comeback to defeat New Hampshire 64-61. New Hampshire's Andy Vailas only threw for five touchdowns in defeat.
Probation Report. Sixteenth-ranked Ohio State allowed a blocked punt for a touchdown and started very slowly, but QB Braxton Miller led the Bucks to a 29-15 victory over the 0-3 Blazers of Alabama-Birmingham. QB Matt McGloin threw for a career high in yards and rushed for two touchdowns to carry Penn State to a 24-13 destruction of Temple.
Pentagon Papers. Wake Forest played strong longer than Army to outflank the Black Knights 49-37. Navy shocked and awed the Keydets of division I-AA VMI 41-3. Air Force ran roughshod over UNLV in the first half, but the rebels came back in the second half to defeat the Falcons 38-35 in Las Vegas.
Undefeated and Untied This Week. Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Randolph Macon.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
September 15, 2012
Ada presented the Harvest and Herb Festival today. We had a parade, and Main Street was lined with craft booths and food booths. Today's Festival was markedly than that of previous years because Ada First United Methodist Church no longer marks the north end of the festival area. Instead, the church served meals in rented space, and church members sat at the vacant lot that marks where the old church stood to talk to citizens and residents who have thoughts or prayers to offer there. The building may have burned down, but the congregation continues to "proclaim Christ and make disciples." The day concluded with Punkin Chunkin (catapults and trebuchets throwing pumpkins for distance) at the Ada Park.
High School Division. Ada faced traditional rival Upper Scioto Valley. The rivalry is not the same since USV had to give up football a few years ago and left the Northwest Conference, but it is still a game between close neighbors. Ada, 4-0, slaughtered the Rams 42-0 behind 150 yards rushing plus long punt returns from running back Kellen Baker.
Division III. Ohio Northern honored our veterans at today's home opener. Unfortunately, the game did not go as well as the celebration. The Heidelberg Student Princes ruled over ONU 43-7. Washington U. turned the ball over 5 times en route to a 20-14 loss to Coe College. Randolph Macon unleashed a powerful running game to outscore Bethany 49-33.
FCS (Division I-A). William and Mary, 0-3, pushed #12 Towson but lost 20-17 at Towson in its conference opener. Richmond shocked and awed in-state rival VMI 47-6. Richmond returned the opening kickoff for a TD and never looked back. Texas San Antonio dominated Georgia State 38-14 in Atlanta. Sacramento State, having already beaten Colorado, defeated Northern Colorado 28-17 in Sacramento.
Trophy and Rivalry Games. Holy War: Utah vs. #25 BYU
They Did What?? Pitt had played very badly in its first two games, but the Panthers rose up to take the ball away from #13 Virginia Tech 4 times and to outplay a misfiring Hokie team for a 35-17 upset in Pittsburgh. Louisiana Monroe, coming off an upset of a top-10 Arkansas team, pushed Auburn to overtime before losing 31-28 at Auburn. Pretty soon, no SEC team will want to play Monroe. Either Utah State is much stronger than we thought, or Wisconsin is a lot weaker, because the Badgers needed Utah State to miss a last-second field goal to claim a 16-14 victory over the Aggies.
Ranked vs. Ranked. #21 Stanford's defense held down the offense of #2 Southern Cal and upended the Trojans 21-14 in Palo Alto. #18 Florida trailed #23 Tennessee 14-10 at halftime, but the Gators scored the final 24 points of the game and pulled away from the Volunteers 37-20 at Knoxville. #20 Notre Dame made the offense of #10 Michigan State ineffective and scored repeatedly on the vaunted Spartan defense in a 20-3 whipping.
Our Teams Triumphant. Illinois, missing a few players with injuries, bullied an overmatched Charleston Southern squad 44-0. Vanderbilt also visited the cupcake store, pummeling the Presbyterian Blue Hose 58-0. #17 Michigan pulverized visiting the Massachusetts Minutemen 63-13, in another major power versus victim matchup. #9 West Virginia plundered James Madison 42-12. Missouri had to play without injured starting QB James Franklin, but his redshirt freshman replacement, Corbin Berkstresser, helped by four takeaways by Mizzou's defense, managed a close victory over Arizona State 24-20 in Columbia.
Sighing and Crying. Connecticut got some revenge against their old coach, Randy Edsall, and the Maryland Terps, 24-21. Boise State controlled Miami's passing attack and ran for nearly 300 yards in trampling the Red Hawks 39-12. Ada's Zac Dysert completed 20 of 27 passes for less than 200 yards and no touchdowns. #19 Louisville piled up a 36-7 halftime lead and held off North Carolina's second half comeback to win 39-34. Georgia Tech used long runs and a long touchdown pass to establish a big early lead and then coasted to a 56-20 blowout of Virginia. San Jose State overwhelmed the Colorado State defense and dominated the Rams 40-20. Fresno State scored five touchdowns in the first quarter and never looked back in a 69-14 roasting of Colorado.
On Probation: #12 Ohio State took an early lead, but Cal came back with a vengeance in the second half. Buckeye QB Braxton Miller completed a 72-yard pass with about 3 and a half minutes left and then the Bucks intercepted a Cal pass to end Cal's last threat. The Buckeye defense needs to play better as the year goes on. Penn State took an early lead over Navy and never looked back, claiming their first victory of the season 34-7.
Pentagon Papers. Northern Illinois squeaked past Army 41-40.
Undefeated and Untied This Week. Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Air Force
High School Division. Ada faced traditional rival Upper Scioto Valley. The rivalry is not the same since USV had to give up football a few years ago and left the Northwest Conference, but it is still a game between close neighbors. Ada, 4-0, slaughtered the Rams 42-0 behind 150 yards rushing plus long punt returns from running back Kellen Baker.
Division III. Ohio Northern honored our veterans at today's home opener. Unfortunately, the game did not go as well as the celebration. The Heidelberg Student Princes ruled over ONU 43-7. Washington U. turned the ball over 5 times en route to a 20-14 loss to Coe College. Randolph Macon unleashed a powerful running game to outscore Bethany 49-33.
FCS (Division I-A). William and Mary, 0-3, pushed #12 Towson but lost 20-17 at Towson in its conference opener. Richmond shocked and awed in-state rival VMI 47-6. Richmond returned the opening kickoff for a TD and never looked back. Texas San Antonio dominated Georgia State 38-14 in Atlanta. Sacramento State, having already beaten Colorado, defeated Northern Colorado 28-17 in Sacramento.
Trophy and Rivalry Games. Holy War: Utah vs. #25 BYU
They Did What?? Pitt had played very badly in its first two games, but the Panthers rose up to take the ball away from #13 Virginia Tech 4 times and to outplay a misfiring Hokie team for a 35-17 upset in Pittsburgh. Louisiana Monroe, coming off an upset of a top-10 Arkansas team, pushed Auburn to overtime before losing 31-28 at Auburn. Pretty soon, no SEC team will want to play Monroe. Either Utah State is much stronger than we thought, or Wisconsin is a lot weaker, because the Badgers needed Utah State to miss a last-second field goal to claim a 16-14 victory over the Aggies.
Ranked vs. Ranked. #21 Stanford's defense held down the offense of #2 Southern Cal and upended the Trojans 21-14 in Palo Alto. #18 Florida trailed #23 Tennessee 14-10 at halftime, but the Gators scored the final 24 points of the game and pulled away from the Volunteers 37-20 at Knoxville. #20 Notre Dame made the offense of #10 Michigan State ineffective and scored repeatedly on the vaunted Spartan defense in a 20-3 whipping.
Our Teams Triumphant. Illinois, missing a few players with injuries, bullied an overmatched Charleston Southern squad 44-0. Vanderbilt also visited the cupcake store, pummeling the Presbyterian Blue Hose 58-0. #17 Michigan pulverized visiting the Massachusetts Minutemen 63-13, in another major power versus victim matchup. #9 West Virginia plundered James Madison 42-12. Missouri had to play without injured starting QB James Franklin, but his redshirt freshman replacement, Corbin Berkstresser, helped by four takeaways by Mizzou's defense, managed a close victory over Arizona State 24-20 in Columbia.
Sighing and Crying. Connecticut got some revenge against their old coach, Randy Edsall, and the Maryland Terps, 24-21. Boise State controlled Miami's passing attack and ran for nearly 300 yards in trampling the Red Hawks 39-12. Ada's Zac Dysert completed 20 of 27 passes for less than 200 yards and no touchdowns. #19 Louisville piled up a 36-7 halftime lead and held off North Carolina's second half comeback to win 39-34. Georgia Tech used long runs and a long touchdown pass to establish a big early lead and then coasted to a 56-20 blowout of Virginia. San Jose State overwhelmed the Colorado State defense and dominated the Rams 40-20. Fresno State scored five touchdowns in the first quarter and never looked back in a 69-14 roasting of Colorado.
On Probation: #12 Ohio State took an early lead, but Cal came back with a vengeance in the second half. Buckeye QB Braxton Miller completed a 72-yard pass with about 3 and a half minutes left and then the Bucks intercepted a Cal pass to end Cal's last threat. The Buckeye defense needs to play better as the year goes on. Penn State took an early lead over Navy and never looked back, claiming their first victory of the season 34-7.
Pentagon Papers. Northern Illinois squeaked past Army 41-40.
Undefeated and Untied This Week. Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Air Force
Saturday, September 8, 2012
September 8, 2012
Friday night in Ada reminded all of us that football and our other pursuits must yield to forces beyond our control--lightning in this case. Lightning in the area interrupted the high school football games in the area, and so Friday night football was continued on Saturday afternoon or evening. The officials stopped the Ada game between a Collumbus Grove touchdown and Grove's extra point with about 5 minutes to go in the second quarter. Ada led 28-6. Our thunderstorms might have been a bad omen for the Big Ten, who ranked teams did not shine on this weekend.
High School Division. Ada's Bulldogs kept up their momentum in the Saturday night continuation of Friday night's game, biting the Columbus Grove Bulldogs 55-21. Ada's head coach, Mike Fell, had a 75-25 record at Columbus Grove earlier in his career.
Division III. Randolph Macon opened their newly renovated stadium with a 21-6 victory against Averett. Rhodes College, playing at home, overtook Washington U and forced their game into overtime. Rhodes kicked a field goal on their overtime possession, but Washingon committed penalties that made any scoring attempt impossible.
Trophy and Rivalry Games. Cincinnati, led by quarterback Munchie Legaux, dominated Pitt in the River City rivalry 34-10. Because Pitt is leaving the Big East for the ACC, this rivalry will end after this year, joining an illustrious list of ended rivalries like Texas vs. Texas A & M, Pitt vs. Penn State, and Missouri vs. Kansas. I guess that Cincinnati gets to keep the Paddlewheel Trophy. Utah State got a leg up on the Beehive Boot among Utah schools by squeaking past Utah in overtime 27-20. Iowa State smothered Iowa 9-6 to claim the Cy-Hawk Trophy.
Our Teams Victorious. Ohio State's quarterback, Braxton Miller, ran for three touchdowns and threw for a fourth as the # 14 Buckeyes rolled over Central Florida 31-16 in Columbus. #15 Virginia Tech pounded Austin Peay 42-7. Maryland built up a big lead against Temple and then held on for a 36-27 win. Zac Dysert of Ada completed more than 75% of his passes in leading Miami U. to a 30-14 win over Southern Illinois. Second-string QB Tommy Rees led #22 Notre Dame on a late fourth-quarter drive that finally overcame Purdue 20-17. #24 Florida trailed at halftime but stormed back to spoil the first SEC game for Texas A & M 20-17 at College Station. Taylor Kelley capably replaced Bronco rookie Brock Osweiler at QB and led Arizona State to a 45-14 romp over Illinois.
Division FCS. Richmond's Spiders stung Gardner Webb 41-8 in Richmond. William and Mary was unable to overcome both the rain and Lafayette, losing 17-14 at home. Northern Colorado overcame 148 yards of penalties and Mesa State of Colorado 40-3.
Sighs and Tears. Wake Forest scored a TD with about two minutes to go and held on to defeat North Carolina 28-27. A walk-on kicker for Sacramento State earned a scholarship by kicking a game-winning, last-second field goal to stun Colorado 30-28. (Will Colorado manage to win a game this season?) Georgia State got steamrolled by Tennessee 51-13. North Dakota State over Colorado State. Northwestern saved all its touchdowns for the fourth quarter and used a late Vandy fumble to humble the Commodores 23-13.
Oops. #8 Arkansas lost its lustful coach, Bobby Petrino, in the offseason to off field indiscretions, but they figured that they had scheduled a safe opponent in Louisiana Monroe. Arkansas took a big early lead, but Louisiana Monroe came back to take the game to overtime and then scored a touchdown on a broken play to upend Arkansas 34-31. UCLA's freshman quarterback, Brett Hundley, threw four TD passes, and the UCLA defense scored a safety en rout to puncturing the bubble of #16 Nebraska 36-30. Oregon State's aggressive defense stopped Heisman candidate Montee Ball of Wisconsin and dumped the #13 Badgers 10-7 at Corvallis. How rude!
Unhappy Valley. Virginia scored a late touchdown and needed four missed field goal attempts from Penn State to slip past the Nittany Lions 17-16.
Pentagon Papers. #19 Michigan got 426 yards of total offense and four touchdowns from quarterback Denard Robinson, but they needed all of it to hold off Air Force 31-25 in Ann Arbor. San Diego State blitzed Army.
Undefeated and Untied This Week. Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Ohio Northern.
High School Division. Ada's Bulldogs kept up their momentum in the Saturday night continuation of Friday night's game, biting the Columbus Grove Bulldogs 55-21. Ada's head coach, Mike Fell, had a 75-25 record at Columbus Grove earlier in his career.
Division III. Randolph Macon opened their newly renovated stadium with a 21-6 victory against Averett. Rhodes College, playing at home, overtook Washington U and forced their game into overtime. Rhodes kicked a field goal on their overtime possession, but Washingon committed penalties that made any scoring attempt impossible.
Trophy and Rivalry Games. Cincinnati, led by quarterback Munchie Legaux, dominated Pitt in the River City rivalry 34-10. Because Pitt is leaving the Big East for the ACC, this rivalry will end after this year, joining an illustrious list of ended rivalries like Texas vs. Texas A & M, Pitt vs. Penn State, and Missouri vs. Kansas. I guess that Cincinnati gets to keep the Paddlewheel Trophy. Utah State got a leg up on the Beehive Boot among Utah schools by squeaking past Utah in overtime 27-20. Iowa State smothered Iowa 9-6 to claim the Cy-Hawk Trophy.
Our Teams Victorious. Ohio State's quarterback, Braxton Miller, ran for three touchdowns and threw for a fourth as the # 14 Buckeyes rolled over Central Florida 31-16 in Columbus. #15 Virginia Tech pounded Austin Peay 42-7. Maryland built up a big lead against Temple and then held on for a 36-27 win. Zac Dysert of Ada completed more than 75% of his passes in leading Miami U. to a 30-14 win over Southern Illinois. Second-string QB Tommy Rees led #22 Notre Dame on a late fourth-quarter drive that finally overcame Purdue 20-17. #24 Florida trailed at halftime but stormed back to spoil the first SEC game for Texas A & M 20-17 at College Station. Taylor Kelley capably replaced Bronco rookie Brock Osweiler at QB and led Arizona State to a 45-14 romp over Illinois.
Division FCS. Richmond's Spiders stung Gardner Webb 41-8 in Richmond. William and Mary was unable to overcome both the rain and Lafayette, losing 17-14 at home. Northern Colorado overcame 148 yards of penalties and Mesa State of Colorado 40-3.
Sighs and Tears. Wake Forest scored a TD with about two minutes to go and held on to defeat North Carolina 28-27. A walk-on kicker for Sacramento State earned a scholarship by kicking a game-winning, last-second field goal to stun Colorado 30-28. (Will Colorado manage to win a game this season?) Georgia State got steamrolled by Tennessee 51-13. North Dakota State over Colorado State. Northwestern saved all its touchdowns for the fourth quarter and used a late Vandy fumble to humble the Commodores 23-13.
Oops. #8 Arkansas lost its lustful coach, Bobby Petrino, in the offseason to off field indiscretions, but they figured that they had scheduled a safe opponent in Louisiana Monroe. Arkansas took a big early lead, but Louisiana Monroe came back to take the game to overtime and then scored a touchdown on a broken play to upend Arkansas 34-31. UCLA's freshman quarterback, Brett Hundley, threw four TD passes, and the UCLA defense scored a safety en rout to puncturing the bubble of #16 Nebraska 36-30. Oregon State's aggressive defense stopped Heisman candidate Montee Ball of Wisconsin and dumped the #13 Badgers 10-7 at Corvallis. How rude!
Unhappy Valley. Virginia scored a late touchdown and needed four missed field goal attempts from Penn State to slip past the Nittany Lions 17-16.
Pentagon Papers. #19 Michigan got 426 yards of total offense and four touchdowns from quarterback Denard Robinson, but they needed all of it to hold off Air Force 31-25 in Ann Arbor. San Diego State blitzed Army.
Undefeated and Untied This Week. Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Ohio Northern.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Labor Day weekend
These days, school begins in August, as does high school football. For everyone except astronomers, though, fall arrives no later than Labor Day.
High School Division. This week Ada faced the mighty ground attack of the Spencerville Bearcats. Ada's defense was up to the challenge, limiting the Cats to around 100 rushing yards on the way to a 35-0 shutout of Spencerville.
Trophy Games. Colorado State upended Colorado 22-17 to claim the Centennial Cup. West Virginia captured the Governor's Cup by crushing Marshall 69-34. #25 Louisville drove 99 yards for a touchdown to open the game and never looked back as they dominated Kentucky to grab Kentucky's Governor's Cup.
Division III. Johns Hopkins spoiled the season opener for Randolph Macon 36-13. Washington U. St. Louis foolishly scheduled #1 and defending national champion Wisconsin Whitewater for their season opener and paid for their folly by suffering a 34-0 thrashing at home. North Carolina Wesleyan kicked a 40 yard field goal in overtime to slip past visiting Ohio Northern 16-13. Ohio Northern threw four interceptions.
Ranked on Ranked. Le'Veon Bell ran for 210 yards and two TDs to lead #13 Michigan State over #24 Boise State 17-13 in East Lansing. Second-ranked Alabama apparently succeeded in rebuilding their defense, because the Tide completely dominated #8 Michigan 41-14 at Jerry Jones's theme park in Dallas.
International Dept. Notre Dame whipped Navy with a shillelagh 50-10 in Dublin, Ireland, in a home game atmosphere for the Golden Domers.
Say What? California played Nevada (Reno) to reopen their remodeled stadium. They should have chosen a weaker opponent, as Nevada shocked the Golden Bears 31-24.
Our Teams Triumphant. Illinois ate their season opening cupcake, Western Michigan, 24-7. Arizona State also plundered the bakery shelves, burning Northern Arizona 63-6. #24 Florida overcame Bowling Green's first quarter lead to overawe BG 27-14. Virginia stepped on the Richmond Spiders 43-19. North Carolina annihilated Elon 62-0. Missouri had two early defensive touchdowns and two punt returns for touchdowns as the Tigers pulverized Southeast Louisiana 62-10. #16Virginia Tech kicked a last minute field goal to force overtime and kicked another in overtime to defeat Georgia Tech Monday night.
Losses and Moral Victories. On Thursday night, Vandy gave #9 South Carolina all they could handle before succumbing 17-14. The refs, probably replacements, missed a serious pass interference violation on the play that ended the Commodores' final drive. In a less glorious effort, Northern Colorado was crushed by Utah 41-0. Maryland edged William and Mary 7-6 at Maryland.
Pentagon Papers. Air Force bombed Idaho State 49-21.
On Probation. Penn State, before a home crowd of 108,000, had a 14-0 lead early, but could not hold the momentum. Final score, Ohio U 24, Penn State 14 in (un)Happy Valley. Ohio State hammered Miami of Ohio 56-10. Former Ada Bulldog Zac Dysert passed for 300 yards and 3 TDs for the Red Hawks.
High School Division. This week Ada faced the mighty ground attack of the Spencerville Bearcats. Ada's defense was up to the challenge, limiting the Cats to around 100 rushing yards on the way to a 35-0 shutout of Spencerville.
Trophy Games. Colorado State upended Colorado 22-17 to claim the Centennial Cup. West Virginia captured the Governor's Cup by crushing Marshall 69-34. #25 Louisville drove 99 yards for a touchdown to open the game and never looked back as they dominated Kentucky to grab Kentucky's Governor's Cup.
Division III. Johns Hopkins spoiled the season opener for Randolph Macon 36-13. Washington U. St. Louis foolishly scheduled #1 and defending national champion Wisconsin Whitewater for their season opener and paid for their folly by suffering a 34-0 thrashing at home. North Carolina Wesleyan kicked a 40 yard field goal in overtime to slip past visiting Ohio Northern 16-13. Ohio Northern threw four interceptions.
Ranked on Ranked. Le'Veon Bell ran for 210 yards and two TDs to lead #13 Michigan State over #24 Boise State 17-13 in East Lansing. Second-ranked Alabama apparently succeeded in rebuilding their defense, because the Tide completely dominated #8 Michigan 41-14 at Jerry Jones's theme park in Dallas.
International Dept. Notre Dame whipped Navy with a shillelagh 50-10 in Dublin, Ireland, in a home game atmosphere for the Golden Domers.
Say What? California played Nevada (Reno) to reopen their remodeled stadium. They should have chosen a weaker opponent, as Nevada shocked the Golden Bears 31-24.
Our Teams Triumphant. Illinois ate their season opening cupcake, Western Michigan, 24-7. Arizona State also plundered the bakery shelves, burning Northern Arizona 63-6. #24 Florida overcame Bowling Green's first quarter lead to overawe BG 27-14. Virginia stepped on the Richmond Spiders 43-19. North Carolina annihilated Elon 62-0. Missouri had two early defensive touchdowns and two punt returns for touchdowns as the Tigers pulverized Southeast Louisiana 62-10. #16Virginia Tech kicked a last minute field goal to force overtime and kicked another in overtime to defeat Georgia Tech Monday night.
Losses and Moral Victories. On Thursday night, Vandy gave #9 South Carolina all they could handle before succumbing 17-14. The refs, probably replacements, missed a serious pass interference violation on the play that ended the Commodores' final drive. In a less glorious effort, Northern Colorado was crushed by Utah 41-0. Maryland edged William and Mary 7-6 at Maryland.
Pentagon Papers. Air Force bombed Idaho State 49-21.
On Probation. Penn State, before a home crowd of 108,000, had a 14-0 lead early, but could not hold the momentum. Final score, Ohio U 24, Penn State 14 in (un)Happy Valley. Ohio State hammered Miami of Ohio 56-10. Former Ada Bulldog Zac Dysert passed for 300 yards and 3 TDs for the Red Hawks.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
August 26, 2012.
High School football began Friday night with Ada's Bulldogs dining on Hardin Northern 55-0. New QB Mason Acheson threw 3 TD passes, and running back Kellen Decker added 185 yards rushing and 4 TDs. According to observers, Hardin Northern only suited up 19 players against the juggernaut. Apparently, Ada's first four touchdown drives averages more than 60 yards and also took an average of less than 60 seconds. We expect much more challenge once Ada begins conference play.
High School football began Friday night with Ada's Bulldogs dining on Hardin Northern 55-0. New QB Mason Acheson threw 3 TD passes, and running back Kellen Decker added 185 yards rushing and 4 TDs. According to observers, Hardin Northern only suited up 19 players against the juggernaut. Apparently, Ada's first four touchdown drives averages more than 60 yards and also took an average of less than 60 seconds. We expect much more challenge once Ada begins conference play.
College football begins Thursday night with Vanderbilt. Conferences have been reconstructed and rivalries have disappeared. Texas vs. Texas A & M? Mizzou vs. Kansas? The rivals are now in different conferences and so these rivalry games may not be played again. There is something tragic about the death of rivalries that have taken many years to build and that have been at the heart of universities' football traditions. At least Colorado and Colorado State still begin their seasons with their annual rivalry game.
Another sad note is the imminent death of the WAC as a football conference. The Western Athletic Conference has a long history of good football. A few years ago, it was a super conference that encompassed just about all of the schools in the current Mountain West Conference, among others. Unfortunately, the super WAC proved to be unmanagable, and schools fled in all directions. Instead, now we have a super SEC, and that conference, I am sure, will prove to be quite managable, wealthy, and unimaginably powerful.
Here's to the players and coaches at Penn State. Let's hope that they can maintain some semblance of quality play amid the wreckage of their near "death penalty" experience.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
October 15, 2011
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.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
October 8, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
September 17, 2011
It's a lovely fall day in Ada. The Harvest and Herb Festival has filled Main Street with booths, and the parade begins a day of live music downtown. It's a great small-town event.
High School Dept.: Ada's rivalry with Upper Scioto Valley High in Alger, the next town south, had been discontinued when USV had trouble keeping their football program going and had to leave the Northwest Conference. The two renewed the rivalry last night, but USV probably wished they hadn't, because Ada shocked and awed the Rams 69-7 in Ada.
Division III: #12 ONU stopped a two-point conversion in overtime to edge Otterbein 34-33 in Ada, the D-III Game of the Week in Ohio. #21 Wittenberg continued its 23 game winning streak in defeating Washington U 20-17. Randolph Macon scored a touchdown and two-point conversion with less than 5 minutes to go to defeat Shenandoah 36-29.
Division FCS (I-AA): Richmond had early success against VMI and kept on the pressure to defeat the Keydets 34-19. Northern Colorado gave up over 500 passing yards to Idaho State and got bombed 50-20. #4 William and Mary may have difficulty keeping their rank after barely beating New Haven 14-10 in Williamsburg. Jacksonville State controlled the game by running the ball and trampled Georgia State 37-21.
Divided Loyalties: Illinois bent but did not break in edging #22 Arizona State 17-14. The Champaign is now open! Wyoming edged Bowling Green 28-27.
Rivalry and Trophy Games: Tyler Hansen accounted for all of Colorado's points by running for two touchdowns and throwing for the other two in a 28-14 drubbing of Colorado State for Centennial Cup. Louisville's running outpointed Kentucky's passing allowing the Cardinals to claim the Governor's Cup 24-17. #18 West Virginia took an early lead and held on against a Maryland comeback to triumph 37-31. In the South's Oldest Rivalry, Virginia outgained North Carolina but were unable to take advantage of their opportunities in a 28-17 loss to the Tar Heels. Running back Chris Rainey and a stifling defense powered #16 Florida over Tennessee 33-23 in the Swamp. Utah met BYU in the Holy War, and the winner will be in the best position to claim the Beehive Boot (for being the best division I football team in Utah).
Our Teams Triumphant: After a scoreless first quarter, Vandy scored 3 TDs in the second quarter including an interception return for a TD and defeated Ole Miss 30-7 at Nashville. Vandy intercepted five Rebel passes. Duke QB Sean Renfree completed 40 passes and led the Dukies to a 20-19 squeaker over Boston College. Notre Dame finally held a halftime lead, and they upended #15 Michigan State 31-13 in South Bend.
Bridge of Sighs: Minnesota coach Jerry Kill had suffered a seizure near the end of last week's game, but he returned to the sideline, and Minnesota returned to the winning column in defeating Miami (Ohio) 29-23. Zac Dysert threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
Ranked Teams: #4 Boise State snuffed the Toledo Rockets 40-15. #3 LSU outlasted #25 Mississippi State 19-6 on Thursday night. #1 Oklahoma vs. #5 Florida State.
Prison Riot: #17 Ohio State's quarterback problems and offensive deficiencies were on full display as the Hurricanes of Miami blew over the Buckeyes 17-6.
Washtenaw County Championship: Michigan defeated Eastern Michigan 31-3 to establish themselves as the county champions.
Eating Cupcakes: #13 Virginia Tech played only well enough to slip past Arkansas State 26-7. Missouri dominated Western Illinois in all phases and pummeled them 69-0. Purdue 59 South East Missouri State 0.
Upsets, Anyone?: Clemson gained over 600 yards and upended defending national champion and #21 ranked Auburn 38-24.
Pentagon Papers: Army rolled over Northwestern 21-14 at West Point. Marcus Lattimore of #10 South Carolina ran for 246 yards against Navy, and Navy's wishbone only produced 275 yards rushing. Lattimore enabled the Gamecocks to overcome the Middies 24-21.
Undefeated and Untried This Week: Peabody Conservatory, Emory, Air Force.
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.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
September 10, 2011
This weekend is full of memories of ten years ago, and also memories of the consequences of that fateful day. May we remember to mourn the victims and celebrate the many heroes of those days.
High School Division: Ada and Columbus both showed the tenacity of their bulldog mascots in a 34-33 thriller won by Columbus Grove. Three players for Columbus Grove each rushed for 100 yards. CG won the game by being able to make conversions after touchdowns and by intercepting Konnor Baker with about 1 minute to go to clinch the victory.
Division III: Randolph Macon used a strong defensive effort to come from behind to defeat Averett 15-7. Washington U St. Louis clobbered visiting Rhodes 48-21. Apparently, Rhodes is not a colossus this year.
Which One Do I Root For Again? Homestanding Arizona State led #21 Mizzou 30-16 early in the 4th quarter, but Mizzou came roaring back to tie the game with 2:50 left and force overtime. Arizona State then scored a touchdown in the overtime and held Mizzou scoreless to clinch the win.
What a Battle: Notre Dame scored a TD to take a 3 point lead with 30 seconds to go, but Michigan scored a TD to win the game with 8 seconds to go in a 35-31 barn burner. #12 South Carolina barely beat a determined Georgia team 45-42 in a game that went back and forth all afternoon. #24 Texas edged BYU 17-16.
Our Teams Victorious: #11 Virginia Tech used strangling defense to edge East Carolina 17-10. North Carolina had to stop a determined Rutgers comeback to top the Scarlet Knights 24-22. #5 ranked (in I-AA) William and Mary used a strong defense and powerful running to trample the Keydets of VMI 24-7. Virginia trailed Indiana 31-23 with 6 1/2 minutes to go, but the Cavaliers scored a touchdown and two-point conversion with a minute and a half to go and a field goal at the whistle for a 34-31 victory. Vandy made five sacks and took the ball away four times on the way to a 24-21 come from behind victory over U Conn. Vandy is now 2-0! Richmond stung the Seahawks of Wagner 21-6.
Eating Cupcakes: Illinois rolled over the Jackrabbits of I-AA South Dakota State 56-3. #19 West Virginia pulverized I-AA Norfolk State 55-12. Florida shut out Alabama-Birmingham 39-0.
Ranked vs. Ranked: #23 Penn State used 2 quarterbacks at home, but neither could make much of a dent in the defense of #3 Alabama as the Tide rolled over the Nittany Lions 27-11 in Happy Valley, PA.
Trophy Games: In a hard fought battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy, Iowa State (of the incredible shrinking conference) defeated Iowa 44-41.
Sighing: Colorado outgained Cal by 200 yards and forced Cal into overtime before losing 36-33 in a matchup of Golden Buffaloes against Golden Bears. Air Force outgained #25 TCU but the Horned Frogs turned their gains into touchdowns, winning 35-19. Colorado State led Northern Colorado 28-0 at halftime and coasted to a 33-14 victory. #6 Stanford hammered Duke 44-14. Old Dominion thumped Georgia State 40-17 in Atlanta.
Upsets: Defending national champion Auburn upset #16 Mississippi State 41-34. New Mexico State upended Minnesota 28-21. Rice had not beaten a team from a BCS conference in 10 years, but they edged Purdue 24-22 on a last second field goal.
Criminal Court: Toledo nearly upset #15 Ohio State but gave up an interception with 1 minute to go to extinguish their last hope. Had Toledo not killed themselves with penalties, special teams errors and other mistakes, they might have been the first Ohio school to beat OSU since 1921.
Pentagon: San Diego State 23, Army 20. Navy at Western Kentucky. Navy torpedoed Western Kentucky 40-14.
Undefeated and Untried This Week: Peabody Conservatory, Emory, #13 (D-III) Ohio Northern, Maryland, Miamis (both of them).
Other Sports News: Ohio Northern's men's soccer team is ranked #4 nationally. #3 Wash U St. Louis women's volleyball dominated Ohio Northern 3 games to 0.
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.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Labor Day weekend
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.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Championship Game weekend, December 4, 2010
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.
Friday, November 26, 2010
November 27, 2010
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.
Friday, November 19, 2010
November 20, 2010
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.)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
November 13
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).
Saturday, November 6, 2010
November 6, 2010
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
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Halloween
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,
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Weekend of October 23
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)