College Football 2007 - Week 9: Love and Happiness (Oct 21 - Oct 27)

[JohnBM01]

This is Week 9 of college football. I've entitled it "Love and Happiness." Some teams lack happiness because of bad seasons. We have a game tonight, but first, an Intro.

Introduction
I ask during Rivalry Week: "who do YOU hate?" It's obvious college football fans love their favorite team and want to spread some happiness about how well they are doing. With love comes happiness. Many college football fans are married to believing in their favorite colleges and universities. Most non-biased college football types love their college football and couldn't be any happier to enjoy all the great action. Teams would love nothing more but to be National Champions. Throughout the course of this season, there have been several heartbreaks- Appalachian State defeating Michigan, Stanford defeating USCal, South Florida beating West Virginia, Wofford College beating Appalachian State, Kentucky beating LSU, and just recently... Rutgers beating South Florida. Much like any relationship, the measure of success of a loving bond relates to overcoming rough moments to stay united longer. Some teams need some love because of lackluster seasons.


Last Week...

South Florida's Unbeaten Streak Ends
Nobody said South Florida was going to finish unbeaten. The Scarlet Knights of Rutgers knocked off the South Florida Bulls in New Jersey. Some say South Florida's overrated. For those who think so, you got your wish.

Kentucky Beats LSU in a Close Fight, but Lose to Florida
The emotional high of Kentucky was brought back down to earth when Florida basically hit the gas and motored away to a great win. Kentucky gets Mississippi State this Saturday, and I'm sure the Wildcats have the line in their favor. Whether or not Kentucky avoids losing two straight will remain to be seen later this week

Michigan Looks Strong Since Losing to Appalachian State and Oregon
This is just a great story for Joey D's Wolverines. They are back to their usual, winning selves. They will host Minnesota this weekend. And speaking of Minnesota...

North Dakota State Remains Unbeaten
North Dakota State may well play in FBS after beating Minnesota. Goes to show how pathetic Minnesota has been this season and last. It won't get any better because Minnesota will play at a resurgent Michigan Wolverine squad.

Other Unbeatens
Here are some other unbeaten teams:
Boston College, Arizona State, McNeese State, San Diego, Yale, Grand Valley State, Mount Union College

I didn't know Yale and McNeese State were such great teams.


SEC East Race Looking Tight
Tennessee lost miserably Alabama (SEC West). Kentucky lost to Florida. Vanderbilt beat a good South Carolina team. So who's tops in the SEC East?


I normally give you the BCS standings after my look back on last week. But I'll have the latest BCS rankings sometime Monday afternoon or Monday evning. But Ohio State is tops along with Boston College.




--- Division 1: Bowl Subdivision Scores ---

Marshall's Thundering Herd Look for First Win
* Southern Mississippi {Golden Eagles} at Marshall {Thundering Herd}
We begin Week 9 action in Conference USA as a potent team meets a once-potent team. I didn't see all of it, but the Golden Eagles of Southern Mississippi led strong. Despite Marshall making a game of it, the Thundering Herd played like my Houston Texans- stumble early, come back, still lose in the end. (33-24; Southern Mississippi)

Now you know one of my NFL Focus scores.





(no FCS scores)





(no Division 2 scores - starts Thursday)





(no Division 3 scores - starts ???)





--- NFL Focus ---
Here are only a few NFL matches I can tell you about.

Can Houston Beat Tennessee?
* Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans --- RIVALRY GAME: T-N-T Rivalry ---
The Texans trailed terribly through three. But Sage Rosenfels drove the team to a massive comeback after an injury to Matt Schaub. The Texans got it to within 36-35. However, the Texans lost in a heartbreaker as the Titans' kicker made not only a 29-yard, game winning field goal; but also an NFL record for most made kicks in an NFL game. It was a heartbreaker for the Texans who came back so far only to lose by 2. Vince Young did not play, and the Texans go below .500 for the first time this season at 3-4. They take a West Coast trip next two weeks as they'll meet the San Diego Chargers next week and the Oakland Raiders the week after. (38-36; Tennessee Titans)

Those Who Predict New England Going Unbeaten May be Right... At Least for This Game
* New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
Tom Brady's Patriots did all the work as they motored away to a win. (49-28; New England Patriots)

Other NFL Games
Instead of highlighting only a few games with full reports, I may just start giving out quick scores. So take a look:

* Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints (22-16; NEW ORLEANS SAINTS)
* Arizona Cardinals at Washington Redskins (21-19; WASHINGTON REDSKINS)
* Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills (19-14; BUFFALO BILLS)

* SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: Pittsburgh Steelers at (-; Pittsburgh Steelers)





--- John's Student Lounge ---

Cities and Teams Constantly Hounded
I'm willing to make a thread in the general Sports and Fitness forum with this related topic. So consider this a preview. People, does it seem like certain teams and cities constantly get hounded in the media when they lose? Take me. I'm a Texans fan. I know they aren't an impressive team, but especially when watching ESPN, I keep saying: "STOP SHOWING THE TEXANS GETTING BEAT!" It's been one of the reasons why I never really liked ESPN and such in team highlights. Almost sort of East Coast bias. Or at least, non-big market. I usually complain that Houston teams usually lose all the time on ESPN-televised games. And when a Houston team loses, we're marketed in sports highlights... getting BEAT by the other team. It's okay if the Houston team is Rice University or Texas Southern University ('cause they stink, except Rice baseball), but most others is usually bad. Like ESPN could do a bad omen for Houston (and some Texas) teams. Ever feel that way sometimes about certain teams that get hounded in media?

And the 2007 Formula 1 World Champion Is...
...Kimi Raikkonen of Finland. I'll offer many more comments in the Formula 1 forum. So be sure to take a look. The quick comment is that I congratulate Kimi for his win. Early speculation was that two drivers ahead of Lewis Hamilton (was running seventh) had illegal fuel cell deals. There were no penalties, so Raikkonen won it all. No longer a "bridesmaid" to the championship.

Colorado vs. ...
...Boston. The Boston Red Sox beat down the Cleveland Indians 11-2. The bigger story was that Paul Byrd admitted to purchasing as much as $25,000 in HGH shipments.



Welcome to Week 9. Let's reply away, people!

 

[High-Test]

I replied in the "old thread to a post of yours, John.

Apparently, I'm supposed to abhor SDSU. there has been a border battle between the two schools for a long time, and NDSU has won a majority of the "Border Battles".

I'm still Bitter at being screwed over by the U of Minnesota. They didn't read a single thing that was in my application. I had a 3.75, a 31 ACT, community service, and heavy involvement in Activities. (Choir, Theater, Science Knowledge Bowl) They put me on a waitlist, screwed me around with a game of phone tag, put me on a nother waitlist, deleted me fro their application status records, and finally denied me. When I got home from Fargo for a visit to NDSU on June 15th, two weeks later, there was a Manila envelope with a Maroon circle and a gold M on the corner in the mail. Inside was an acceptance letter to the same college I just got denied to. Then the counselors tried to tell me I couldn't read when I told them my two letters from them contradicted each other. I'm denied to College of Liberal Arts, and then accepted to the college of liberal arts. I was far beyond Irate. I'm still Irate. NDSU accepted me over the phone in may, gave me eight thousand dollars, and a single room. after the way I was treated by the U, I just took it as a sign that maybe me being a Bison was meant to happen. But I'm pretty lonely here. Most of the friends I've made are either always away somehere studying, or they just disappear. I need more reliable friends. I'm derailing my own post.. wow.

So.. I think that the University of Minnesota is a fine establishment. But, I am still backlogged with Ire for their administration, and their football team is guilty by association. So, I laugh at their misery.

Thundar trampled Goldie. Neat. And the damn student union does not resemble a Gopher at all. I think that the administration gives tour guides angel Dust to tell prospective students that the union building resembles a gopher head. The only damn way that building would ever look like a gopher in the first place is f the observer had ingested enough Lysergic acid diethylamide. Then it would look like a gopher's head, and promptly explode into a cloud of flaming Scorpions.

I also abhor the Raiders. I'm from Kansas City. (well, the greater metro area) The raiders lost. All is well. I'll always be a RaiderHater.

 

[Joey D]

It's not like you even need to ask a Michigan fan...

"Oh how I hate, Ohio State"

 

[JohnBM01]

There was something I forgot to mention in my NFL Focus. We lost Max McGee, who was 75 years old. He died when he was working on his house as he fell from the roof of his house. His significant acheivement was when he caught the first touchdown pass in Super Bowl history. He was a running back in college playing for the Tulane Green Wave. I'm not sure, but I think Tulane was in the SEC then.

Yeah. Very sad news. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who known and loved him.

 

[JohnBM01]

As promised, here is your BCS Top 25:

01 - Ohio State!
02 - Boston College!
03 - LSU
04 - Arizona State!
05 - Oregon
06 - Oklahoma
07 - West Virginia
08 - Virginia Tech
09 - Kansas!
10 - South Florida
11 - Florida
12 - Southern California
13 - Missouri
14 - Kentucky
15 - Virginia
16 - South Carolina
17 - Hawaii!
18 - Georgia
19 - Texas
20 - Michigan
21 - California
22 - Auburn
23 - Connecticut
24 - Alabama
25 - Penn State

! = unbeaten (as far as I know)


Kentucky is #14 for FoolKiller, and Michigan is #20 for Joey D. My home state's best team is the University of Texas, and they are #19. TwinTurbos94 and studentdriver love the Gamecocks, and South Carolina is #16 with a very good season. Two things surprise me:

* Kansas still unbeaten
* Connecticut in the Top 25

Connecticut's usually a lock in basketball to be among the 25 best in men' and/or women's basketball, but don't discredit the job the Huskies have done this season. Finally, there was an upset I didn't report. That was Pittsburgh upsetting Cincinnatti. The Bearcats are now unranked.



I'm going to call the match of Ohio State at Penn State as my GAME OF THE WEEK this week. I can remember the OhSU/Penn State game from two or three years ago in Happy Valley. This will be a test for the Ohio State Buckeyes. People say the Buckeyes haven't been truly tested yet. Well, we'll see if Ohio State will be money at Penn State.

 

[Joey D]

Sweet, Michigan is movin on up! I was expecting a jump in the rankings but not by 5 spots!

 

[High-Test]

Having grown up 35 miles from KU, Kansas being unbeaten is a shock to me.

I get to go to the KU vs. MU game at Arrowhead.

 

[JohnBM01]

Kansas (if they could) can be unbeaten in men's (and maybe women's) basketball. Kansas is going down because I don't see them being Cinderella. The clock will strike Midnight soon, and Kansas in a gorgeous dress with glass slippers will turn into a torn potato sack with bare feet. I had an extra lined up, but let me ask you all:


Assuming Kansas doesn't go unbeaten, what are the chances (out of 100% percent) that Kansas will at least be Big XII North champions?

 

[High-Test]

Hmm... The same chances that my Biscayne will spontaneously start in the building it's sitting in in Marceline, MO. I'm a ray of sunshine right now. Kansas is doing pretty darn well this year. I'd like to see my home-state school do well this year.


NDSU plays Southern Utah this week. It would REALLY suck if we lost to them at home. The Fargodome will be a sea of yellow come Saturday.

Random o/t fact: of 63,088 people in attendance at the Metrodome last saturday, 30,000 were estimated to be Bison fans. The Herd = Game equalizer.

 

[JohnBM01]

The wildfires in greater San Diego County have rampaged. This week's match between Brigham Young University and San Diego State University will be postponed to December 1. I am not sure of if the University of San Diego will have to play a game elsewhere. The University of California-San Diego doesn't have a football team, but I'm sure even the Tritons will have to go someplace else until the wildfire situation is resolved.

As a brief NFL focus, this also affects the game between the San Diego Chargers hosting my Houston Texans. There will be an idea as to where the Texans/Chargers game will be sometime tomorrow. Candidates include the Los Angeles Coliseum(?), Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ; Texas Stadium in Irving, TX; or... make it a home game (for my Texans) at Reliant Stadium. Stay tuned for some of the latest details.

May God be with all parties affected or may be affected by the wildfires in California.

 

[JohnBM01]

I'd like to do this just to pass the time. Here is a little review of my Winners and Losers so far. Consider this a small look back on the season as we delve further into the season:



BIGGEST WINS SO FAR
(Wk. 1) California Gets All of Their Retribution Efforts Against Tennessee
(Wk. 2) Washington Snaps Boise State's 14-Game Winning Streak; South Florida Shows Their Strength in Beating Auburn at Auburn
(Wk. 3) Michigan Has a 1-Game Winning Streak!
(Wk. 4) Michigan Regains Their Stride with a Statement Win
(Wk. 5) Auburn's Field Goal Kicker Beats Florida Twice
(Wk. 6) Notre Dame Ends Winning Futility
(Wk. 7) Iowa Picks Up a Massive Win Over #18 Illinois
(Wk. 8) LSU Makes Gutsy Call to Win a Tight Game



MOST DISAPPOINTING LOSSES SO FAR
(Wk. 1) Notre Dame Tries Three Quarterbacks... Fail Miserably; Michigan Loses More Than a Game
(Wk. 2) Michigan Only Gets a Touchdown as Oregon Whitewashes the Wolverines
(Wk. 3) -tie- Northwestern Can't Even Beat Duke at Home; Unranked Utah Overrated #11 UCLA
(Wk. 4) -3 way tie- Notre Dame Goes 0-4; Louisville Loses a Football Game Against Another Basketball Power; Pittsburgh Off-Key Against Connecticut
(Wk. 5) Kansas State Made Texas Look Overrated
(Wk. 6) #12 Georgia Shows Very Little Effort at Tennessee
(Wk. 7) #2 California Beat Themselves with Poor Clock Management
(Wk. 8) Tennessee's Volunteers Didn't Volunteer Enough to Prevent Alabama Rout


UPSETS SO FAR (and there are PLENTY)
(Wk. 1) Appalachian State Knocked off Michigan in Ann Arbor
(Wk. 2) #6 Nebraska-Omaha Stuns #2 Northwest Missouri State
(Wk. 3) -tie- Two Road Stunners: Kentucky Shows Louisville Who the Real Kings of the Bluegrass State are; Wisconsin-Whitewater Stunned on the Road at St. Cloud State
(Wk. 4) [Appalachian State] Mountaineer Nation in Shock
(Wk. 5) South Florida is for Real... Just Ask #5 West Virginia
(Wk. 6) Stanford Stuns #2 Southern California
(Wk. 7) #19 Kentucky Prolongs Fight into Triple Overtime and Against #1 LSU and Win Big at Home
(Wk. 8) Georgia Southern Hands #1 Appalachian State an Upset Loss



OWNAGES SO FAR
(Wk. 1) Mount Union Slapped Around Averett 75-7; Oklahoma Thrashes North Texas 79-10
(Wk. 2) Big Red Celebrates at Western Kentucky Pulverizes West Virginia Tech 89-0
(Wk. 3) Southeastern Louisiana has Kentucky Wesleyan for a 79-7 All-You-Can-Beat Buffet
(Wk. 4) Eureka Handed a 70-0 Beating to Concordia (of Wisconsin)
(Wk. 5) Southeast Baptist Still Picking Up Missing Teeth After an 86-13 Beating by #8 Northwestern State
(Wk. 6) Edinboro Blows Lock Haven's Doors Off with a 70-19 Embarassment
(Wk. 7) -tie- Mount Union and Mary-Hardin Baylor Cash in Convincing Wins
(Wk. 8) Everything's Bigger in Texas... even 73-6 Beatdowns (TAMU-Kingsville beaten by #22 Midwestern State)




Pretty cool season so far, eh? As I made my Winners and Losers, which of these still surprises you... impresses you... angers you to this day, if any? I also posted these Winners and Losers through a Myspace bulletin.

Action continues this Thursday.


EXTRA: Collegiate Architecture
Please note that I'm not talking about architecture colleges at colleges and universities. When you get to see certain universities and such featured on television, you begin to notice some of the many different elements of the school's design. What's your favorite kind of university style? Is it that of a contemporary and modern facility? Or is it that of a private school with lots of Old World style? If you could construct your own university, how would you create it? I'm not going to play favoritism and only focus in on popular universities mentioned by GTPlanet faithful. Instead, I'll just select some universities and give you some perspective on the design of such universities and colleges.

* Contemporary Examples
I will define contemporary as a university with completely modern structures and not much of the classic Old World structures. I was looking for some contemporary universities. The one I selected was the University of Pittsburgh (http://www.pitt.edu/). Try this link: < http://www.umc.pitt.edu/tour/tour-firstmap.html >. Perhaps the most magnificent structure on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh is the Cathedral of Learning. It is a 42-story building and the second-largest educational structure in the world. There are lots of contemporary and urban structures with the University of Pittsburgh. Have a field day checking out some of the links there.

I chose another school as a contemporary university. I selected UNLV as another modern school. Just look at any of these buildings at random: < http://maps.unlv.edu/ >. Go to the building information by list and randomly select any of them. < http://maps.unlv.edu/buildingsList.html > is a much better link to use since you can actually the name of the buildings rather than simple names. You college football fans know that Sam Boyd Stadium is where UNLV plays their football. So play around with this deal.

Finally, I'll offer you St. John's University in Jamaica, NY (Queens borough). Here you go (Java and Flash required): < http://archive.stjohns.edu/images/sjuimages/sju_v_tour/flash.html >.

Here are some other Contemporary Campus tours:
Lamar University (my former school - Flash required): http://140.158.64.247/virtualtour/tourfiles/flash/index_fs.html
University of Cincinatti: http://www.uc.edu/virtualtour/quicktour/campusquicktour.html
University of the Pacific: http://www.uop.edu/admission/flash/onlinetour.html


* Old World Campuses
I will define an Old World campus as one that doesn't have a lot of contemporary buildings, but some that offer extravagant, classically-styled buildings. For the purose of this extra, I will select the University of San Francisco < http://www.usfca.edu/ >. The tour of the U. of San Francisco can be found here: < http://www.usfca.edu/acadserv/admission/vr_tour/ >. I selected this one because it is a private religious school. In fact, it's one of the many Jesuit colleges and universities. There are some contemporary buildings in this beautiful city, but a lot of it is a private Catholic school. Plus too, I'm such a sucker for San Francisco. Notice the style of St. Ignatius Church there.

A better example of classical architecture for American colleges and universities lies in another non-football school: Providence College ( ). The campus tour is here: ( http://www.providence.edu/tour2007/tour.html ). Saint Dominic(?) Chapel was completed in 2001, but features some Old World styling. Harkins Hall is the main admissions office, but it is beautiful. It was the first building built by Providence College. Providence College is truly a lovely place. Make sure you click on the "Explore Our Campus" section. So go check it out.

Check out some other schools with a lot of Old World style:
University of Portland: http://www.up.edu/tour/tour.html
Villanova University: http://www.villanova.edu/enroll/admission/includes/intro.html

I recommend getting the last editions of Flash and Java as well as broadband access. Thing about me is that I usually think of religious-type schools as more serious schools that aren't much like the big public universities. I don't think of religious colleges and universities to be just as fun or just as interesting as public and metropolitan universities. So that's why I don't really think of most religious schools as being some of the most state-of-the-art facilities. It's just me. I take religious schools seriously and think of most of them as schools more focused on religion than in being an exceptional university that are just as great as larger public schools. I know that's true, but that's the way I usually think. Just about every school in the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference and the West Coast Conference mostly are comprised of private religious institutions. This even includes Seattle University (non-football) returning(?) to Division 1.



EXTRA: The 20 Most Beautiful Colleges in the USA (as of August 10, 2007)
Find out if your school made the cut courtesy of: http://www.thinkfinancial.com/blog/college-admissions/the-20-most-beautiful-colleges-in-the-usa/

20. Wagner College - Staten Island, NY
19. City College of New York-Brooklyn - Brooklyn, NY
18. Rhodes College - Memphis, TN
17. University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa, AL
16. Flagler College - St. Augustine, FL
15. Mercer University - Macon, GA
14. New College of Florida - Sarasota, FL
13. College of the Atlantic - Bar Harbor, ME
12. University of Hawaii/Hawai'i at Manoa - Honolulu(?), HI
11. Swarthmore College - Swarthmore, PA
10. Elon University - Elon, NC
9. Scripps College* - Claremont, CA
8. Kenyon College - Gambier, OH
7. Sewanee - Sewanee, TN
6. Agnes Scott College* - Decatur, GA
5. Mount Holyoke College* - South Hadley, MA
4. Sweet Briar College* - Sweet Briar, VA
3. Loyola Marymount University - Los Angeles, CA
2. Princeton University - Princeton, NJ
1. Pepperdine University - Malibu, CA

* = single-sex schools; all women-only schools

Isn't it a bit funny how this list has some women-only schools in the Top 10? A lot of schools in the American Southeast were included. Travelling the nation to see some beautiful schools? You found 20 of them.


Maybe I'll talk some more stuff later tonight.

 

[JohnBM01]

Tonight's big match will be #2 Boston College at #8 Virginia Tech. I'm not sure what Doug Flutie would say about the 2007 B.C. Eagles apart from his 1984 Boston College Eagles. With the game at Blacksburg, Virginia Tech will go all-out to hope that they can take down the Eagles like they're playing Duck Hunt. Oh... and did you notice Boston College's rank number? Teams ranked #2 have been completely unlucky. Southern California, California, and South Florida were among some of the #2 teams to take a nasty fall from grace. So if you see this as a talking point, then it's likely VT will take down BC in Blacksburg. It's a battle of two former Big East schools in this ACC showdown at Lane Stadium. I'll have this report and others when I have completed my report. See you around, and have a great day!

 

[JohnBM01]

I entitled this thread as "Love and Happiness." Some teams are happy with how their seasons are going. Some teams need some love because they can't seem to get anything going this season. You are about to meet some teams looking to make some magic happen. So let's get this weekend series started.





--- Division 1: Bowl Subdivision Scores ---

Can a #2 School FINALLY Get Some Love this Month?
* #2 Boston College {Eagles} at #8 Virginia Tech {Hokies}
I believe it's been a while that I covered VT and perhaps BC as well. Why don't we see what these two teams are up to? Something's in the air for sure. But it ain't love... it's rain. PLENTY of rain. Winds of about 10-20 mph. Sucks to be Boston College and have to deal with a hostile crowd at Lane Stadium. Even though Lane Stadium's fans doesn't want to see its fans boo the other team since the VT Massacre in April, VT wants to win and keep winning. Believe it or not, Virginia Tech has NEVER lost a game except for that whitewashing they took at LSU. Blacksburg, VA is home to Virginia Tech. It's also home to a band of united and hardened Hokies ready to take down a #2 team. You probably think that Virginia Tech would win because #2 is such an unlucky number in FBS. Let's meet the #2 boys. Don't let the name fool you. Don't call them Boston University. Boston University is a non-football school. Boston College is not in Boston. Instead, it can be found in the suburb of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Most people don't know that Boston College is one of over 28 Jesuit colleges and universities. Few Jesuit schools have football. You could say that Boston College is the most famous and largest Jesuit school. The Eagles will have a chance to fly through the nasty and windy conditions to try to maintain their unbeaten status. This isn't the 1984 Boston College Eagles under Doug Flutie, but this year's team is been pretty damn impressive. So let's get it on in this battle between former Big East schools! The rain was coming down for this game. This would be a sad night if you were going on a date or something with weather like this. The teams remained scoreless through the first quarter. The guys in the booth described it best- an offensive stalemate. The half ended with a lone Hokie touchdown. It had to be reviewed, but it counted. It's the first time BC trailed all season so far. The game was suspended a bit at 11:15 left in the Third Quarter because the ESPN Skycam was stuck. At 5:33 left in the third, VT went up 10-0. Boston College's 17 graduates will have to play hard to prevent being yet another #2 to go down. At 2:11, Matt Ryan drove his team down the field 92-yard to a wicked touchdown. So it's 10-7. Boston College needs great defense to secure the win. Boston College picked up the onside kick. It didn't travel 10 yards, but it hit a VT player. A fumble happened... now BC has a second chance. It's a second chance that takes just over two minutes to prevent being upset. Matt Ryan evaded tackles and threw a wicked pass into the end zone for the touchdown. Hokie Nation finally goes silent with 11 seconds left. Now VT needs a miraculous touchdown a la[/B] Matt Flynn (LSU) to beat Boston College. It was a great play, but I still have that LSU game-winner last Saturday in my mind. Matt Lynn's arm late in the game stunned the Virginia Tech Hokies. It was all that was needed for Boston College to remain unbeaten. And somewhere, sometime... Doug Flutie must be smiling from ear to ear. See? No. 2 teams can win. Other #2's just aren't trying hard enough. ^_^ (14-10; #2 Boston College) *** big win ***

SIDE NOTE
The VT touchdown didn't look like a completed catch for a touchdown. Had it not counted, the final score would have been 14-3.

OFF-TOPIC
Boston College is 8-0 for the first time since the 1942 Boston College Eagles.



Mountain West Action on Versus out of Albuquerque
* Air Force {Falcons} at New Mexico {Lobos}
These are two of the sharpest Mountain West teams in the conference. You got the second-best service academy in football going up against one of the most potent teams in almost any NCAA-sanctioned sport. Even New Mexico's Formula SAE program is highly potent. New Mexico's field goal kicker cashed in his 18th-successive field goal for a school record Air Force failed to tame the Lobos. It was a feeding frenzy for them mangy Lobos. The Falcons' three-game winning streak is kaput. (34-31; NEW MEXICO)





--- Division 1: Championship Subdivision Scores ---

A Carolinas Clash in the Southern Conference (SOCON)
* #11 Wofford {Terriers} at Western Carolina {Catamounts}
This is a match of South Carolina at North Carolina. But not the USCar Gamecocks at the UNC Tar Heels, it's some dogs from South Carolina ready to meet some cats. Let's meet the two in this southern game. Wofford College stunned Appalachian State earlier this season. They are from Spartanburg, South Carolina. These Terriers are ranked and ready to take on a SOCON foe. That would be Western Carolina University. You may have seen Western Carolina play some FBS teams and get their butts handed to. Yes, these cats need some love. Don't call the Humane Society. Call on the angels in Heaven to bless Western Carolina with love. The Catamounts probably already know they aren't going to have a winning season. So they need to play for pride and stay strong. Which team will get the love they need? Find out along with me. Wofford College led 21-0 with 4:10 left in the First Quarter[/B]! The half ended in a 37-3 beatdown. Wofford's looking like a true upper-tier team. WCU found the endzone finally later in the third quarter. The 6+1 makes it 37-10. At 4:09 left in the game, an offensive flurry ensued as WCU made the score 44-31 with Wofford still leading. They got it to 44-37 with 3:11 left. Two-point conversion pending. The 1-7 Catamounts want to get a significant win. The spread is still 10 after it failed. Credit Western Carolina for making a game out of it, but this was Wofford's night. (47-44; #11 Wofford)





--- Division 2 Scores ---
All going well for me so far. Don't have to rush so much to give you scores. Let me give you a score in some American Southeast action.

* Arkansas-Monticello {Boll Weevils} at West Alabama {Tigers} (44-36; Arkansas-Monticello)





[B}[(no Division 3 Scores reported)[/B]
Believe it or not, as many as five games will be played in Division 3 for Friday. I'll give you all of them when my report is complete.





The big match for Friday will be in the WAC as Boise State will travel to Fresno State. Fresno State is a good team... just that this year's team isn't too interesting. While the Boise State/Hawaii match is still to come, get ready for a real character game between these two schools. Stay tuned for my next report!

 

[JohnBM01]

Good Friday afternoon to all of you! Here are some news and notes from me to you:

* Mark Sanchez Will Start Saturday
Mark Sanchez will lead his USCal Trojans into Oregon to take on the Ducks. He'll be starting in place

* North Dakota Gets a Legal Victory
The University of North Dakota's sports teams are known as the Fighting Sioux. A victory was claimed as the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education had a lawsuit settled over the Fighting Sioux nickname. What this means is that the University of North Dakota has up to three years to get tribal approval to use this nickname, or they must retire the nickname.

Just to give you an example of some modified nicknames, here are a few examples:
Louisiana-Monroe: were the Indians... now the Warhawks
Midwestern State: were the Indians... now the Mustangs

Some schools, however, still retain their Native American nicknames including the Alcorn State Braves, Utah Utes, (non-football) Bradley Braves, Central Michigan Chippewas, and things of that nature.



Tonight's action will take place in the WAC for FBS. It will be the Broncos of Boise State going up against the Fresno State Bulldogs. Then, I have an FCS battle about to take place in Princeton, New Jersey as the Cornell Big Red go up against the Princeton Tigers in an Ivy League battle.

My report will be ready once I take down all the day's action. So come around sometime past Midnight to see my report.

 

[JohnBM01]

A beautiful weekend of weather is expected here in Houston. I'm going to get to enjoy this Saturday as best as I can. I can't enjoy it too long, however. I still have to give you scores the way only I can. Enjoy the college football experience. Friday night football for collegiate players is basically an appetizer to the big meal of Saturday football. It still doesn't mean that Friday action can't still be amazing. I'll prove to you that Friday football can be just as intense as Saturday football. Don't believe me? Here are some scores below:





--- Division 1: Bowl Subdivision Scores ---

The WAC Going Out of Whack is Nothing Unusual
* Boise State {Broncos} at Fresno State {Bulldogs}
The Breeders' Cup is going on this weekend out in New Jersey. However, some horsies want to play with some puppies. Take it easy, girls. I'm not talking about the My Little Pony dolls you may have. I'm talking about some horses that stampede and usually eviscerate the other team's secondary. It's Boise State and Fresno State. These two schools produce some of the toughest, most hard-nosed football anywhere. So what if they aren't national powers? This is just a mid-major conference where great action is never in scarce supply. Let's meet Boise State first. Boise State University has the only blue turf in college football. They come out of potato country, and ready to make potato chips out of Fresno State... and bogart that bag of chips. The Broncos are on a stampede. They've lost only one game (at Washington), and I'm sure they'd love to add Fresno State to their hitlist before the much-anticipated match at Hawaii later this season. The main story in California has been the wildfire situation in or around San Diego County. I hope everyone will be alright and be able to rebuild anything lost. Thankfully, Fresno, CA is in central California, so they are completely unaffected. No evacuations, no delays... not affected. Fresno State is usually a great football team. This year, not as interesting as Hawaii and Boise State. Still, the Bulldogs are not trying to win popularity contests. They have one goal on their minds- chew up Boise State like a delicious doggie bone. Nick-nack paddy-wack... get a dog a bone! Fresno State had a bone to pick with Boise State, but the Broncos weren't having that. (31-24; Boise State)


I have two extras regarding FBS. Have a look.


EXTRA: Can You Imagine if Arkansas Leaves the SEC for the Big XII?
Collegesportsinfo.com hasn't been truly updated in some time. One of the real caveats of future conference realignment is that the Big XII could consider adding Arkansas in about maybe 2012. Traditionally, the Big XII has been the conference that generally serves the middle portion of the nation. This is a conference where schools in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado, and Iowa all compete for glory in the Big XII conference. Arkansas is a pretty good SEC school in all of its sports. Thing is, if you add Arkansas as a Big XII school, I have my doubts about if Arkansas can take on the four Texas Big XII schools or even the two Oklahoma Big XII schools. You could make a new sort of rivalry since Arkansas and Missouri are close by. Nothing's been set in stone, but if Arkansas actually does become a part of the Big XII and away from the SEC, the SEC will need to find a school in a decent American Southeast market to fill in for Arkansas, if at all possible. And I'm not sure if you're going to find a decent sports market in the American Southeast to focus on in the abscence of Arkansas. There would have to be a great team in the American Southeast in order for the SEC to thrive in Arkansas' abscence if this deal actually pulls through in the long run.


Now get ready for a long read. I've broken it up into sections based on locations here in America.

EXTRA: How Important are Major Cities in College Sports Markets?
An aspect of college basketball has been about representation of major cities and major city areas. This is even if the school or schools represented are cupcake teams. There are still a number of cities without a major college football team call their own (I'm talking mostly about FBS teams in this circumstance). For example, think of New York City. Most people are going to say that there is Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey basically represents the New York City area since there's no major school to actually represent NYC. Now look at college BASKETBALL. The big school in New York City is none other than St. John's University. I know there's Fordham University and Columbia University in NYC, but most people think of St. John's when it comes to college sports in New York City. St. John's would have to reinstate football, play in the Big East (meaning a move to FBS), and play in a larger stadium. St. John's still has their football field for the Queens school, but they'd need a massive renovation to make it able to have lots of people in the stands as recruiting players to make a potent football team. What does this mean for other markets? And how does college basketball do better in college sports markets compared to other cities?

Something I don't have for you are amazing numbers. * During conference realignment in 2005, the Big East acquired a whole lot of teams that jumpshifted to the Big East from other conferences. The Big East is a major conference. As a major conference, some big victories were scored when DePaul and Marquette became part of the Big East. DePaul is one of over about three or four Division 1 inner-Chicago schools. Marquette represents Milwaukee quite well. I've heard many a story about Marquette football before the full NCAA team shut down the football program. There is no Milwaukee-area school that I know of that has football. If Marquette still had its football program and playing in the Big East for football, then the Milwaukee area would be represented quite well. Still, the University of Wisconsin is the ONLY football school in Division 1 in Wisconsin. Not Marquette. Not Wisconin-Milwaukee. Not (you'd probably imagine the school having a team) even Wisconsin-Green Bay. Just UW-Madison... unless you step down to Divisions 2 or especially 3. * The University of North Carolina-Charlotte would represent the Charlotte area. A plan for this school was to perhaps join FBS with its program. It could realistically fall into FCS if football came to form. The Charlotte market is already accounted for if you count North Carolina A&T, a historically-black university. One report in 2004 indicated that it would cost about $7.1M to fully fund a football program at UNCC. * Cleveland has no representation. You could go to Akron or Youngstown State, but no major school in Cleveland. The only major school I know in Cleveland is Cleveland State University. There isn't too much of a market in Cleveland. But imagine if the Cleveland State Vikings had some pigskin action? You got Cleveland for the Indians, Browns, Cavaliers, and plenty of other programs. Yet, no college sports market outside of Cleveland State. * Another unrepresented metropolitan team is with Detroit. While close by, Ann Arbor is actually not a part of metropolitan Detroit. Hope for a college sports market in Detroit would have to come in the form of the University of Detroit-Mercy College (or just Detroit or even Detroit-Mercy) fielding a college football team that does very well. The Detroit Titans make a great basketball team, though this past season wasn't all that amazing. No doubt about it- Detroit is a true major city. I'm guessing that Detroit football fans would want to venture out to Ann Arbor to play bigtime college football. But if Detroit had their own team and maybe played at Ford Field or an on-campus stadium, Detroit would be buzzing. Then again, nothing wrong with a little pigskin at Michigan's largest Catholic university in Jesuit and Mercy tradition.

Let's move to the central section of America now. Cities such as Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Wichita, Omaha, Mobile, and Denver aren't represented in college sports. Only Denver is a city that has an abundant number of profesisonal programs. And only the University of Denver is the only true program there. The University of Denver and its Pioneers would be able to play in the Sun Belt at best. Football at the University of South Alabama is still a mystery. Mobile is growing, and if Mobile wants to really grow, maybe USA needs to have a football team so "Home Game" can be associated with the South Alabama Jaguars at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Football at the University of New Orleans isn't likely, but it would mean that the Tulane Green Wave and UNO Privateers would be the two key schools in metropolitan New Orleans. The final Sun Belt possibility would be the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Even still, it's weird to see Denver part of a conference usually associated with southern and southwestern schools.

My final stop is with western representation. One western school without college football representation is Portland, OR (unless you count Portland State). Portland doesn't really have a true prescence in pro sports outside of the Portland Trailblazers. It's the making of a major city that seems to be unique to the NBA in terms of pro sports. There's no pro baseball, pro hockey, pro soccer, or even pro football. Maybe this is one of the cities that would be great for a college sports market from perhaps the Portland Pilots if the Pilots had football. Thing is, I don't know if the City of Roses would be a thriving ground for college football unless you go to either one of Oregon's Pac-10 schools. * There are schools in cities around San Francisco for football, but never a metropolitan school to represent San Francisco. Sure, California (as in UC-Berkley) rules the bay area. However, think of the University of San Francisco. They've had one of the most historic teams in college football until the controversy they endured in 1951. This was an unbeatable school. There was also the Santa Clara Broncos that were hammering out wins and being very successful. Still, people wished the program would last longer than 1993. San Francisco is used in college football, but only just for the Emerald Bowl at beautiful [San Francisco] Giants Stadium. Imagine if Monster Stadium (49ers country) was torn down, then built a brand-new stadium to maybe host some college football action or bigtime high school games. Would a school in San Francisco take up the offer to play football there? By the way, the S.F. 49ers will play their home games to Santa Clara in 2012. Most other western cities are represented nicely including Seattle (Washington), Los Angeles (USCal), Salt Lake City (Utah), even Las Vegas (UNLV).

Not enough major city involvement. Then again, it's up to the colleges and universities to put together deals to make college football happen in metropolitan-area schools. Possibilities can be endless.





--- Division 1: Championship Subdivision ---

An Ivy League Battle Takes Place in New Jersey with one of College Football's Oldest Teams
* Cornell {Big Red} at Princeton {Tigers}
In 1869, Princeton played at Rutgers for the first-ever college football game. The score was 6-4 with Rutgers(?) winning. Then, college football was more like soccer. You know, it's real funny how there isn't too much college football among some New Jersey schools. About 138 years later in Princeton, New Jersey... the Ivy League is ready for some football action. The Ivy League is traditionally a conference consisting of first-class learning institutions. Let's meet one of them. Cornell, to be exact. The city of Ithaca, New York is where you can find Cornell University. The Big Red has nothing to do with Western Kentucky University's mascot. Instead, these are some boys who love red. These boys look to be red hot in taking on Princeton. Princeton University has been through a whole lot, including a current 2-4 season. The team running away with the Ivy League honors is undefeated Yale. While Princeton may not be facing the Bulldogs, the Tigers are ready to eat away at Cornell. Princeton's intellects were able to outwit the Cornell boys at home. (34-31; PRINCETON)





(no Division 2 scores reported)





--- Division 3 Scores ---
I spent a lot of time making that extra regarding college football in major city markets. So let's breeze through these scores. We got a Saturday of football, you know! There were no ranked teams, but there were about 12 teams in action. Check it out.

* Trinity Bible at Principia (47-20; Trinity Bible)
* Minnesota-Morris at Maranatha Baptist (48-20; Minnesota-Morris)
* Crown at Blackburn (42-35; BLACKBURN)
* Martin Luther at Westminster (of Missouri) (51-36; Martin Luther) <<< has nothing to do with Martin Luther King
* Delaware Valley at Widener (13-10; Delaware Valley)
* Northwestern (of Minnesota) at Rockford (27-26, OT; ROCKFORD)





I'm looking to have a wonderful Saturday here in Houston as beautiful weather (for a change) is on tap here. Remember, my GAME OF THE WEEK will be Ohio State visiting Penn State. It's a #1 vs. #25(?) battle. * Michigan will be looking to keep Minnesota frowning in the Little Brown Jug rivalry game. Joey D will hope Minnesota goes 1-8 when they leave the Big House. *he Trojans will look to Trojan Horse Oregon on the road. See if they can get it done. * Don't call it the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. As of last year, Georgia president, Michael Adams wanted to do away with calling this game "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party." Call it what you want- it's still the Florida/Georgia game taking place in Jacksonville. * Kentucky didn't beat Florida, so maybe the Wildcats can take their frustration out on Mississippi State. Find out if they do. * South Carolina and Tennessee will go at it. The Gamecocks may be in for a bruising if Tennessee has their way.

This and more in my Saturday report. Have an amazing Saturday, everyone! Just remember to come around here sometime after Midnight or so when my report is complete. At least you know I'll have it before sunrise Sunday morning. So you can go party all or most of Saturday night, then visit the Football forums to see if your favorite team won and if your least favorite team got beat. Have a great one, everyone!

 

[High-Test]

I'll hope for Joey's sake that the U of M (Minnesota) spirals further down. Hey, I've gotta have a team to boo..

Tomorrow will be good fun in the Fargodome. Monday will be better, as There will Be Ozzy.

It's nifty that Morris has to do the football winning for the entire University of Minnesota system.

 

[Joey D]

I'm predicting another Michigan win, but not by a lot. 21-14 maybe.

 

[High-Test]

I'm a failure of a fan. I thought the game was later.. So I went to the Fargo Air museum at 2:30. The game started at 1:05pm. Oops.

We won, 52-17 vs. Southern Utah.

 

[High-Test]

Wow. Minnesota Lost 10-34. So much for that close game, Joey.

 

[JohnBM01]

Congratulations to Michigan and North Dakota State. I'm still working on my report as of right now. Consider this a teaser post of things to come. Still to come...

* one game sets an all-division record for most total points scored in a game
* a wild finish in Knoxville, TX
* a comeback win in the Lone Star State
* an unbeaten falls
* a Jacksonville frag-fest

...and much more. ...y mucho mas. I'll have my report ready whenever I complete it and correct any errors. So stick around!

 

[JohnBM01]

Sunday football can be fun. You got some of the best in the business who played football all or most of their lives. But then, you have your fair share characters, hard-asses, overpaid drama queens, and all that. You have your controversial characters in pro sports. So why not come to a place where there are fewer celebrities and more sport? Welcome to college football! And welcome to Saturday!





SATURDAY SYNOPSIS: Week 9
Some statement matches were on the docket for today and tonight. A number of big wins, disappointing losses, and some upsets outlined a wild Saturday of college football in FBS. One game had to be decided in double overtime in the Big Ten. The University of San Diego were all out to beat Dayton. However, it wouldn't be easy even after wildfires in San Diego have been the news topic just about all week long. Division 2 saw a number of games decided rather closely as there were few upsets in Division 2... until a match occured in Georgia involving the #2 team in the land. One high scoring game was reported in FCS, but an upset occured in another offensive shootout. This time, in Texas. A relatively upset-free Division 2 gave way to a crazy weekend in Division 3 including... believe it or not... two Top 10 upsets. No, Mount Union is not one of the ones upset. You all are going to see a lot of highlighted and colored summaries to wrap up Week 9.

PLEASE NOTE: Upset relates to a higher-ranked team being beaten by a lower-ranked team. By ranking, it's an upset. Don't forget that colored summaries of games relate to a big win or a disappointing loss. My own personal criteria.





--- Division 1: Bowl Subdivision Scores ---

Happy Valley? Or Un-Happy Valley?
* #1 Ohio State {Buckeyes} at #25 Penn State {Nittany Lions} --- GAME OF THE WEEK ---
Ohio State drew first blood as the scarlet and gray cashed in a money 50-yard field goal from the right hash. The halftime score was 17-7 in favor of Ohio State. Halftime can change a lot of things. We'll see if the Nittany Lions could possibly stun the Columbus boys. Penn State wanted a white out of Ohio State. Unfortunately, the blue and vanilla white were basically vanilla to Ohio State. The game ended as Ohio State didn't need to punt. Ownage of the highest degree as Pennsylvania State (and I need to verify this) never led the Buckeyes all game long. (37-17; #1 Ohio State)


Don't Call it the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, but it's Party Time for Sure
* #20 Georgia vs. #9 Florida {Gators} --- Alltel Stadium: Jacksonville, FL, USA ---
I don't know what they call the stadium, so I'll go by the name I best know- Alltel Stadium. Come and get your SEC football love! There's love in the air, but definitely NOT between Georgia and Florida. Georgia hates Florida about as much as they hate Georgia Tech and Auburn. It's Athens and Gainesville.Despite a lot of disorder, this nasty SEC battle ended up a gritty win for Georgia. The Georgia Bulldogs beat some Gators. (42-30; #20 Georgia) *** upset! ***

EXTRA: Do You Think This Game Should Have Alternating Neutral Sites?
The location of Texas Stadium in Irving is unique to the Texas/Oklahoma rivalry. Could you imagine if the game was alternating between Alltel Stadium and the Georgia Dome? It still wouldn't be on anybody's home field, but it wouldn't really be a home state advantage with a neutral site game.


A Win Over Mississippi State is Only Automatic if you Make it Automatic
* Mississippi State {Bulldogs} at #?4 Kentucky {Wildcats}
Let's look to Lexington, Kentucky for a college football match. Kentucky's reeling after losing to Florida last weekend. My buddy Foolkiller had been telling me about how October was going to be rough for his felines this season. Let's see if Kentucky gets any love and acheive happiness in beating Mississippi State. Let's meet Kentucky first. Kentucky needs some love. They need some because of their loss at home to Florida. The Wildcats never gave up even in a losing effort. Kentucky has to think that they have a break when they meet Mississippi State. Let's face it. Mississippi State isn't getting much love in football except people from Starksville, Mississippi (where the school is located). Mississippi State can acheive loads of happiness if the Bulldogs can rub out some cats. When I came home from being on the road with my parents, I was stunned to learn the result. Those cupcakes at Mississippi State went into Kentucky a la Appalachian State and stunned Kentucky and the 70K fans in attendance. Judging on the score alone, it was a terrible effort against a team they could easily beat. (31-14; Mississippi State) *** upset! and disappointing loss ***

SIDE NOTE:
Andre' Woodson cashed in two touchdown passes for this game. There was a lot of talk about Woodson's amazing streak of completed passes without being intercepted. I'm sure Kentucky would love a rematch even after Woodson got picked off three times. His Heisman hopes may well be over with this performance.


The "Little" Brown Jug Will be on the Line in a BIG Way
* Minnesota {Golden Gophers} at #20 Michigan {Wolverines} --- RIVALRY GAME: The Little Brown Jug ---
The Little Brown Jug is on the line. It's Minnesota at Michigan. Any other year, this would be an amazing match. This season, unfortunately, isn't a very good one on paper. The revenge-seeking Minnesota Golden Gophers though Michigan was North Dakota State, and just like last week (only worse this week), they fell on their faces and lost. Michigan wins the game and the jug. Enjoy, boys! Minnesota is going to have to fire some people and find people and players that can WIN games for this once potent team. (34-10; #20 MICHIGAN)

"South Florida Should Win This One EASILY," but Did They?
* #10 South Florida {Bulls} at #23 Connecticut {Huskies}
South Florida's Bulls may well be overrated. Connecticut lands their first football upset of an FBS team. (22-15; CONNECTICUT) *** upset! and big win ***

DID YOU KNOW...
...that this is Connecticut's first-ever football win over a ranked team?


Never Travel to Eugene Without Fully-Healthy Players
* #12 USCal at #5 Oregon
Injuries caught up with USCal. Now the Trojans are out of National Title contention as the Oregon Ducks stunned the Trojans. (24-17; OREGON) *** big win ***

Anything North Dakota State Can Do, Delaware Could do Better
* Delaware {Blue Hens} at Navy {Midshipmen}
Let's go to Annapolis, MD to see if Navy could take down Delaware. In an offensive shootout, the Blue Hens of FCS' Delaware took down the Midshipmen of the Navy, leaving the Midshipmen with a goose egg on their fence. (59-52; Delaware) *** big win ***


A Potentially Long Day for the Longhorns
* Nebraska {Cornhuskers} at #19 Texas {Longhorns}
Texas beat Nebraska, but the bigger story was that the Longhorns had to come from a 17-3 defecit at the half to win over the Cornhuskers. (28-25; #19 TEXAS) *** big win ***

A Pack of Wolves Look to Protect Raleigh from Cavaliers
* #15 Virginia {Cavaliers} at North Carolina State {Wolfpack}
At the 1:30 mark, NCSU led Virginia 29-24. That's how it ended. The Wolfpack stunned the Virginia Cavaliers (29-24; NORTH CAROLINA STATE) *** upset! and big win ***

Will FSU Croak at Doak Against Duke?
* Duke {Blue Devils} at Florida State {Seminoles}
If Mississippi State could beat the 2007 Kentucky Wildcats, anything can happen. So let's see what madness will be cooked up at Doak Campbell Stadium. I usually say that Kentucky has a nice blue color. Well, I like Duke's blue a little more. More of a rich color. The richer, the better. Well, Duke is rich with losing football games. It isn't going to get any easier since they have to travel to Tallahassee and hope they don't get owned. The Florida State Seminoles took the Blue Devils to school in a blowout. (25-6; FLORIDA STATE)

Texas A&M Wants to Make Kansas Overrated and Irrelevant
* #9 Kansas {Jayhawks} at Texas A&M {Aggies}
The fourth quarter began with a 13-0 Kansas shutout over Texas A&M. The 12th Man Advantage isn't working for Texas A&M. They finally... and I mean FINALLY score when Texas A&M hit a field goal with 7:20 left in the game. Still, it's a 19-3 blowout at this point. At least Texas A&M tried to stage a comeback. But at this point, who really cares? Texas A&M has done absolutely little to try to upstage Kansas. Pathetic. (19-11; #9 Kansas) *** disappointing loss ***

Knoxville's Ready for a Shootout
* #16 South Carolina {Gamecocks} at Tennessee {Volunteers}
I only saw this game at about 1:44 left in the game. It's a 21-21 deadlock. Succop wasn't sucking up when he cashed in a 49-yard field goal on the right hash in Neyland Stadium's 100K+ in attendance. Tennessee were celebrating a beatdown earlier. But now, Tennessee was now seeing South Carolina's taillights. Tennessee fumbled the ball with around 46 seconds left, but Tennessee got it back. The comeback effort continues for the Vols. At five seconds left, Tennessee cashes in a long field goal after a False Start. The score is now a deadlock with the score being my age- 24. WE'RE GOING TO OVERTIME! Funny thing about Overtime? This is South Carolina's SECOND-EVER OVERTIME! They either win or lose in the long history of South Carolina football. Their last overtime was coincidentally at Tennessee in 2003. In the end, South Carolina shanked a kick BADLY as Tennessee celebrated greatly. The Volunteers volunteered to beat down South Carolina. South Carolina's Gamecocks are now like my Houston Texans in overtime- winless. The SEC East may well be Tennessee's to lose. (27-24, OT; TENNESSEE) *** upset! and big win ***

Don't Forget West Virginia
* West Virginia {Mountaineers} at Rutgers {Scarlet Knights}
Blue and gold meets scarlet and white. The Breeders' Cup Classic was taking place in Monmouth, New Jersey. Piscataway was hosting a college football match. Horses? Or guys beating each others' brains out on the gridiron. Your call. West Virginia U. is ready to tell you that they are for real in the Big East. Maybe West Virginia didn't get the memo that the Big East is wide open. Maybe their answering machine doesn't work. Maybe their bulletin board is full. Regardless, the West Virginia Mountaineers made sure the Scarlet Knights didn't get into the end zone. (31-3; West Virginia)

A Texas Showdown- East Meets West
* Houston {Cougars} at UTEP {Miners}
Finally, I bring you my hometown's finest team. The University of Houston. The Cougars represented Southeast Texas with class as the Miners were minor in this game against good, but not great, Houston team. (34-31; Houston)





--- Division 1: Championship Subdivision Scores ---
I'm going to start by showing you a team that's no longer unbeaten.

The FCS Pride of San Diego Meets Some Flyers
* San Diego {Toreros} at Dayton {Flyers}
The University of San Diego is the only school in the non-football West Coast Conference that has a football team. USD is ready to keep their winning streak alive. To do this, they must take down and take out Dayton. The Toreros are playing with some heavy hearts since they want to return to USD with a big win over an impressive football team.
It's almost (35-16; DAYTON) *** upset! and big win ***[/COLOR]


Now time to talk football with High-Test.

NDSU's Transistioning Quite Well
* Southern Utah {Thunderbirds} at North Dakota State {Bison}
Let's see if Thundar will be dancing tonight. Southern Utah University is pathetic in Division 1. Sure, they've been around for not very long, but they haven't done a whole lot to constitute some love. North Dakota State, however, beat a very good (used loosely) FBS team. Okay, they beat Minnesota. Minnesota sucks this season. Southern Utah has thunder, but the NDSU Bison had the thunder and lighting to make the Thunderbirds extinct. 8-0. North Dakota State may as well play in FBS if they keep up this performance. (52-17; NORTH DAKOTA STATE)

Welcome to a Basketball on Grass Shootout
* Weber State {Wildcats} at Portland State {Vikings}
Here is an early synopsis of this game... little, if any, defense. Don't look at the score just yet. This is a Big Sky battle involving Weber State and Portland State. The city of Ogden(?), UT presents Weber State Univerity. The right pronounciation is "wee-ber State." Not Weber like in men's basketball coach Bruce Webber. The Wildcats are ready to pounce on their opposition. So let's get it on. See? I told you this was a basketball game on grass because this game's final score looked like a competitive basketball game. Weber State left Oregon with a win. (73-68; Weber State)

SIDE NOTE:
This game result makes for the most all-time, all-division record for most points scored in a game.


RAPID FIRE
Since I was preparing a post for another message board, I went ahead and decided to go RAPID FIRE here. See if your favorite FCS school won.

* Monmouth at Central Connecticut State (51-36; Monmouth)
* Georgetown at Lehigh (45-0; LEHIGH)
* Presbyterian at Liberty (48-14; LIBERTY)
* VMI at Coastal Carolina (42-35; COASTAL CAROLINA)
* Sotheastern Louisiana at McNeese State (-; McNEESE STATE) <<< McNeese State still unbeaten at 8-0
* Nicholls State at Central Arkansas (49-42, OT; CENTRAL ARKANSAS)
* The Citadel at Georgia Southern (21-17; GEORGIA SOUTHERN)
* Yale at Columbia (28-7; Yale) <<< Yale is 7-0 with this win
* Delaware State at South Carolina State (17-16; Delaware State)
* Bethune-Cookman at North Carolina A&T (24-20; Bethune-Cookman) <<< longest FCS losing streak extended for NCAT
* Chattanooga at Elon (38-28; ELON) <<< Elon University is 6-2
* Morehead State at Valparaiso (16-14; Morehead State) <<< Morehead State, a Kentucky school, is 6-2
* Indiana State at Missouri State (63-7; MISSOURI STATE) *** ownage *** <<< Indiana State is winless at 0-9





--- Division 2 Scores ---
Now let's delve into the magical world of Division 2. So let's get this started!

RAPID FIRE
* Ferris State at Grand Valley State (34-7; #1 GRAND VALLEY STATE) <<< GVSU located in Allendale, MI
* #2 North Alabama at #9 Valdosta State (27-24; #9 VALDOSTA STATE) *** upset! ***
* #10 Abeline Christian at #19 Tarleton State (70-63; #16 Abeliene Christian) *** upset! and big win ***
* #3 Nebraska-Omaha at St. Cloud State (13-3; #3 Nebraska-Omaha)
* Eastern New Mexico at Texas A&M-Kingsville (38-35; TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE)
* Faulkner at North Carolina-Pembroke (43-22; NORTH CAROLINA-PEMBROKE)
* Washburn at #5 Northwest Missouri (28-27; #5 NORTHWEST MISSOURI)
* #22 Midwestern State at Southeastern Oklahoma State (41-19; #22 Midwestern State)
* #8 California at Slippery Rock (22-13; #8 California)
* Minnesota State at #23 South Dakota (34-23; #23 SOUTH DAKOTA)
* Stonehill at Southern Connecticut State (41-6; SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE)
* St. Joseph's at #12 West Chester (34-20; #12 WEST CHESTER) <<< St. Joseph's is not the Philadelphia school here
* Western Oregon at Western Washington (35-7; Western Oregon)
* #21 Mesa State at #4 Chadron State (7-6; #4 CHADRON STATE)
* #16 Tuskegee at Kentucky State (49-10; #16 Tuskegee)
* Central State at Kentucky Wesleyan (28-21; Central State)





--- Division 3 Scores ---
One more batch of scores before Week 9 officially ends. I'm going to make it worth your while here.

RAPID FIRE
* #1 Mount Union at #12 Capital (37-0; #1 Mount Union)
* #2 Mary-Hardin Baylor at #3 Wisconsin-Whitewater (41-14; #3 WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER) *** upset! and disappointing loss ***
* St. Thomas at #4 St. John's (51-34; #4 ST. JOHN'S) <<< St. John's in Collegeville, MN
* #9 Salisbury at #10 WESLEY (20-13; #10 WESLEY) *** upset! ***
* #11 Alfred at Hobart (41-22; HOBART) *** upset! and disappointing loss ***
* California Lutheran at #14 Occidental (43-25; California Lutheran) *** upset! and big win ***
* Baldwin-Wallace at #17 Ohio Northern (21-18; Baldwin-Wallace) *** upset! and big win ***
* #25 Cortland State at #18 New Jersey (30-0; #18 THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY)
* #21 RPI at Worcester Polytechnical (21-14, 2OT; #21 Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute) <<< RPI known as the Engineers
* #22 Wisconsin-Stevens Point at Wisconsin-Oshkosh (27-10; WISCONSIN-OSHKOSH) *** upset! ***
* Hardin-Simmons at Sul Ross State (46-36; Hardin-Simmons)
* Illinois College at Monmouth (26-23, OT; MONMOUTH OF ILLINOIS) <<< Monmouth in Illinois
* Wisconsin-Platteville at Wisconsin-River Falls (42-36, OT; WISCONSIN-RIVER FALLS)
* Concordia (IL) at Lakeland (56-7; LAKELAND)
* Concordia (WI) at Greenville (44-14; GREENVILLE)





--- John's Winners and Losers ---
This one's tough to call. I'll make some decisions not a lot of people may agree with. Don't agree? Make your own winners and losers. But here's mine:


BIGGEST WIN(S) OF THE WEEK
Boston College Earns a Big Win in a Massive Comeback - I had plenty of choices, but the Thursday Night performance at Virginia Tech for Boston College was amazing. They say rain is the great equalizer? Well, rain and a rowdy stadium in a late comeback. Matt Ryan reassured his Heisman hopes with a win like this.

OTHER NOMINEES:
* Texas Comes From Behind to Avoid Embarassment
* Connecticut Acheives First Win Over a Ranked FBS School
* Oregon Eliminates National Title Aspirations for USCal
* Abeliene Christian Upsets Tarleton State in a Basketball-on-Grass Game


MOST DISAPPOINTING LOSS(ES) OF THE WEEK
Texas A&M Shows Very Little Effort Against KANSAS of All Teams - I know Kansas is good this year, but Texas A&M could have done a lot more to silence Kansas. Even worse was that this was at Texas A&M. So the 12th Man Advantage didn't mean crap with an Aggies squad that was blanked for about three quarters.

I was going to give this to Kentucky losing in a blowout to Mississippi State, but this was much worse.


UPSET(S) OF THE WEEK (if any)
#2 in Divisions 2 and 3 Go Down to D2's #9 Valdosta State and D3's #3 Wisconsin-Whitewater Respectively - #9 Valdosta State in Division 2 and #3 Wisconsin-Whitewater in Division 3 really shook up the landscape a great degree. The Division 2 upset of #2 was much closer than the disappointing beatdown by Wisconsin-Whitewater over Mary-Hardin Baylor. Seems like the unluckiest of numbers is #2. So be #1, damn it!

Other Nominees:
* Dayton Hands San Diego First Loss
* A Bad Kick by South Carolina Made Tennessee Go Home Happy


OWNAGE(S) OF THE WEEK
Missouri State Chopped Down Some Sycamores 63-7

The Bears of Missouri State (formerly Southwest Missouri State) slapped around Indiana State and their pathetic football program. So sing-a-long, everybody!

Indiana State = OWNED by Missouri State 63-7





That would be all from me to you. Week 10 will be called "Tricks and Treats." So check it out once the new week's thread is ready. As usually, I'll have the NFL Focus and latest BCS standings.

One last note... New Mexico State lost at Hawaii 50-13. The Warriors are now 8-0.


Thank you for reading! See you in next week's thread!

 

[Joey D]

Michigan played ok yesterday, I was expecting something a bit more from my Wolverines though. As far as I'm concerned Chad Henne is a bum and I think he should be benched the rest of the season, he was not that badly hurt and could have played yesterday. Also if it's your senior season why would you not just play through the pain? You are trying to prove yourself worthy of the NFL, frankly I be surprised if he gets drafted now. Mallet is doing good for being a freshman and I'll cut him some slack (although the guys on ESPN weren't), I mean yes he's a bit rough around the edges but he's fresh out of high school, I don't expect him to be a Heisman contender yet.

 

[FoolKiller]

So, when's basketball start?

Kentucky just looked tired and beat up from the start of the game. I think the LSU and Florida one-two punch just took too much out of the team. I know earlier in the week I was thinking that if I were on the team the last thing I would want to do right now is play another game while beaten and bruised.

If our bye week had been one week earlier I think we woudl have ended the season with only two losses. But that isn't the case so a team that was only half interested showed up this past weekend.

 

[JohnBM01]

You know, this is part of the beauty of college football. You have better control of your schedule as opposed to pro football. I think if I were scheduling, I'd have (and I agree) the Bye week after LSU and Florida. Those two games are meat grinders, no doubt. As a friend, I wanted your team to win. The deal I was going for is that Kentucky pulls out of mediocrity and proves doubters wrong. Believe me... when a football team is having a great season even with the history of the school's football team, it's definitely worth some love. I think Kentucky football understands they've been under mediocrity the past few years. They know they aren't the toughest in football. But this season is going great for them. I knew Kentucky's win over Clemson during last season's Bowl Season would re-energize Wildcats' football. They just have to pull it together. But it's not easy when you're playing in the toughest conference in all of college sports- the SEC. I credit Kentucky for doing their best since they've caught fire. Their primary color is blue, but they've been red hot. Question is, can they keep up the good work as the season draws to a close? That remains to be answered. We'll see in Kentucky's next game.

 

[JohnBM01]

Here are some college football injury and team notes.

* This is sad news if you are a Cornhusker fan... Sam Keller is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Nebraska's already falling off the map.

* Xavier Lee of Florida (offensive lineman, I believe he is) has been suspended for two games for violating team rules.

* The Saturday matchup between LSU at Alabama will see two Tigers not be expected to start. Those two would be backup QB Ryan Perrilloux and linebacker Derrick Odom. The two got into a brawl at a nightclub. You can read some of the accounts courtesy of Yahoo! Sports here: < http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news;...VSOZ4cvrYF?slug=ap-lsufight&prov=ap&type=lgns >.

* USCal QB, John David Booty, is on track to start for the Trojans again.

More news and notes from Yahoo! Sports can be found here: < http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf >.


Have a great day, everyone.