Weekend of Sept. 25, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weekend of September 18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

College Week 2, Sept. 11

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010 Football Season, Labor Day weekend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010 Football Report, Week 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Big 10 Expansion

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

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

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

Enjoy!

December 5 Football Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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