Four of the nation's Top 25 teams lose, although two (USC and Michigan State) admittedly lose to other Top 25-ers. And the USC loss shouldn't really come as a surprise, since Stanford now has beaten them four straight years. Time for new UCLA coach Jim Mora, Jr. to proclaim Bruins to be the best team in L. A. In a week where our local restaurants begin offering their annual "Sampler" to offset the enormous budget deficits in our school district (like that's gonna leave a mark...), here's the scoop on Week #3.
Ithaca 27, Union 24 (OT). Heartbreak. Dutchmen lead 21-7 with less than three minutes left in the game. Suddenly Bomber QB Phil Neumann throws two TD passes within 70 seconds of each other, forcing overtime. Negates super-human Garnet defensive effort during the fourth quarter that
includes stopping Ithaca four straight plays from the Union 7 yard
line. Overtime is always risky, especially on the road. Pass interference penalty logged by Union when Ithaca has
3rd-and-5 from the 20 in overtime. UColl QB Connor Eck gets his team to the ONE and has first-and-goal but can't convert, forcing Union to kick the field goal. Neumann then throws a 4-yarder to WR Joseph Ingrao...game over. Thank goodness, non-conference schedule is over and this week's performance gives us Union Faithful hope that, even as a trip to the Stagg Bowl is out of the question, a Liberty League championship is within reach.
Northern Illinois 41, Army 40. A good time is had by all. Well, until the final drive of the game, after which the Black Knights and their fans leave with a fifth straight home opening loss, Both teams put on an offensive show, the hosts with three 100-yard rushers and the visitors QB Jordan Lynch living up to pre-game hype with four TDs including the game winner. The latter is redemption for a 3rd quarter fumble on the Army 4 which the Cadets convert into a score. Although Army holds a 25-minute advantage in time of possession, they're outgained through the air 342-8. Good thing they won't have to worry about Navy this year.
Penn State 34, Navy 7. Inspired performances give new head coach Bill O'Brien his first victory in Not-so-Happy Valley. And now that Silas Redd has taken his talents to Los Angeles (more about that later), the Nittany Lions have found a passing game. QB Matt McGloin throws four TD passes, while Navy's Trey Miller can muster only 17 yds. passing and 18 yds. rushing. PSU defense doesn't exactly shut down the Middies' running game, allowing 371 yds. on the ground. But what matters most is they only let Navy into the endzone once.
Utah 24, #25 BYU 21. Fighting for their BCS lives all day, Cougars have two late chances for game-tying field goal when Ute fans storm the field TWICE before time expires, costing their team 15 penalty yards and giving PK Justin Sorensen. BYU lives up to its reputation as the better team on paper, dominating every offensive category. But a lost fumble translates into a Utah score, and one of the final two field goal attempts is blocked. Utes' QB Jon Hays keeps pace with BYU's Riley Nelson, logging only ten fewer yards and matching his two TD passes. This makes exactly nobody forget Steve Young.
# 21Stanford 21, #2 USC 14. My mother-in-law Denise arrives early for onion dip and the pregame show, eats spaghetti and meatballs, then leaves before the end of the 3rd quarter with score tied. Hopefully, she was fast asleep and misses the final USC "drive" which crosses midfield only to be thrown back to the original line of scrimmage. Remember Silas Redd? Yuh, ummmm 13 carries, 17 yards. That's lower than Robert Hoover's GPA (1.6; never mind, it was only an Animal House reference). Cardinal defense is in QB Matt Barkley's grill all night, leading to forced throws, broken patterns, and 20-of-41 completions. Worse yet, Barkley registers minus-41 yards on 6 rushes, reflecting the anemic running game which piles up a whopping 26 yards total. Student section sports a sign saying, "LUCK had nothing to do with it." On this morning's ESPN Sports Reporters, New York Times contributor Bill Rhoden piles on by referring to Stanford players as "working on meaningful degrees".
Texas Tech 49, New Mexico 14. Finally New Mexico is showing why it's considered to be so bad. Game is only close before kickoff, and after the 2nd quarter begins Tech never leads by less than 7 points. Red Raider QB Seth Loege throws for 340 yards and SIX touchdowns. Final tally in total yards: Texas Tech 702, New Mexico 127. 100 of those Lobo yards result from a 2-yard touchdown run and a 98-yard kickoff return. Other than that, exactly nobody plays well. Welcome back to reality, Bob Davie. There goes that automatic birth in the Holiday Bowl.
Cheverus 42, South Portland "ZEE-ro." Two first-half fumble recoveries provide the only bright moments for the Riots, as they basically stand still watching Stags rumble to their 27th consecutive victory. Riot football faithful are upset as a Cheverus player by the name of "Fitzpatrick" intercepts QB Thomas Leddy in the first stanza. Fitzpatrick is a two-way player (QB and DB) and has the good sense to hand the ball to his running backs for 324 yards, led by Donald Goodrich who runs 21 times for 215 yards. OK, you've been waiting for it...the Steve Stinson "Wise Words of the Week": "We were able to get two turnovers off them for a plus-2 advantage." Of course, when pressed, reluctantly adds that the Riots gave that advantage right back on the next two series. Just shut up, Steve. Put more time into getting your players to do the talking on the field. The chant, "EIGHT MORE YEARS, EIGHT MORE YEARS!" is heard from no one...EVER.
Rogers 28, Emerald Ridge 17. Jaguars race to an early 10-0 lead, then fumble five times, the last of which leads to and Ram winning TD by Andrew Nelson. Key play in the game comes when Em Ridge speedster Ashanti Kindle has ball punched free as he approaches the goal line on a 38-yard run. Credit to Ram DB Damian Jackson, who denies Jaguar 10-point advantage while giving the ball to Rogers on their own one yard line. (P. S. I try hard to make an electronic reading device joke out of the name "Kindle" but am still in shock over Steve Stinson's quotability.)
But seriously, folks...who can top the performance of Aloha (OR) High School RB Thomas Tyner, who rushes 38 times for--get this--644 yards and 10 TDs? Unbelievably, the yardage total is "only" the THIRD largest in history. So, TT, what'll you do for an encore...pass your state's high school exit exam?
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