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.

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.

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.)

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).

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

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,

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.