Steveo’s Salvos! Happy Bowl Season -December 27, 2015

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Happy Bowl Season everybody!  Nineteen games have been played already and we at Collegefootballfan.com are just getting started  We will attend four pretty good, competitive, significant games during the next five days.  Seven of the eight teams we will see are ranked in the current Top 25.  Among other  teams that we saw play during the regular season, three have already won and three have already lost.  Seen some pretty good ones on TV and avoided the earlier ones we had no interest in.  As to be expected though there have been some good ones and some total blow-outs.  What we hate seeing, however, are all the empty seats at so many games.  Travel is expensive to warmer climes and in general during Christmas vacations.  The games are played during family oriented holidays when people like to finally spend times with their families, so it’s time to relax instead of travel. Some family members still have to work while kids or spouses have time off from school and work.  And generally day time television during weekdays stink!   If TV sponsors are willing to foot the bill, we now believe more than ever that every team should get an extra game.  However, let’s separate the good ones as “bowl” games from what the others really are – “consolation games”.  These games at least give everyone, not just the top rated teams,  a chance to get some extra practice and an additional game at the end of the season.  We’re contemplating sponsoring The Collegefootballfan.com Commode Bowl (much more positive than “Toilet”).   We’ve got some great sponsor ideas that work well during day time television.  The game would be played between the two teams with the fewest wins at the FBS level.  Hopefully both would finish 0-12 so one of them could be able to end the season with a victory.  Our slogan, “In the end, someone feels good after leaving the Commode Bowl”. I think if a school finishing the season at 0-12 played an opponent with the same record ,I think quite a few would tune in to see who would win.  Sounds like an offseason project for us… Among the teams that we saw during the regular season that have  won bowls so far this year, San Diego State last lost back on September 26 when we watched them lose to Penn State, 37-21.  They then ran the table in the Mountain West thereafter and clobbered Cincinnati 42-7 in Hawaii to finish 11-3…  Washington State beat Rutgers, 34-27 on our schedule and the went all the way to the Sun Bowl to beat Miami (F) 20-14, to finish 9-4. While we in the Northeast watched games on TV indoors as mild temps pervaded the outdoors, we watched snow fall on TV in El Paso, Texas…   Duke who lambasted Army, 44-3, during the regular season while we were at West Point,  won over Indiana, 44-41, in OT as a questionable call was made on the Hoosier’s FG attempt to tie it up on their last play.  I didn’t watch the game but heard there were “about a thousand people ” in attendance.  They would have had ten times that if the two schools were playing basketball instead over at Madison Square Garden instead of football Yankee Stadium, a horrible football venue…South Florida, Utah State, and Temple were the three teams we saw that lost their bowl games.  Most surprising to us was not that Temple lost to a very good Toledo team, but we were surprised to see their offense sputter to lose that game without much of a fight, 32-17. The Owls will lose all of their defense next year.  We are considering to see their opener next season on Labor Day weekend  against an improving Army team next season…Our first 2015 bowl game we will be attending this Monday will be Pitt (8-4) of the ACC playing No. 21 Navy (10-2)  at the Military Bowl sponsored by Northrop Grumman at Navy- Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.   The Mids won’t have the entire Brigade of Midshipmen there to support them as they are all away on Christmas leave.  Both teams lost to No. 8 Notre Dame this season and Pitt’s other losses were to No. 5 Iowa, No. 10 North Carolina, and aforementioned Miami.  Navy’s other loss was to No. 18 Houston.  So both teams have played but fallen to some top competition. Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi has improved the Panther defense and has had three weeks to prepare of Navy’s vaunted triple option averaging 319.2 rushing yards per game. Pitt allows 126.1 rushing yards per contest.  Navy QB Keenan Reynolds enters having  85 career touchdowns (all rushing) before joining the Navy’s Cyberspace Warfare program as an Ensign next spring.  Already the NCAA record holder for career rushing touchdowns, he needs two touchdowns to tie and three to break Kenneth Dixon’s (Louisiana Tech) record of 87 for NCAA career total touchdowns.  He needs just 81 yards rushing to set the career NCAA record for rushing yards by a quarterback held by Michigan’s Denard Robinson, who rushed for 4,495 yards in his career. He’ll have his work cut out for him against Pitt, but being the unselfish player that he is, he’ll be focusing on the win rather than his personal stats to be sure.  This game should be a memorable one and great one to start our 2015 whirlwind, five-day bowl tour!  Meeting Brian Donnelly, “Navy Al”, Jay, and some other fellow Navy fans for a tailgate…  The next day, we fly to Orlando to attend the Russell Athletic bowl in a great matchup between No. 10 North Carolina (11-2)  and No. 17 Baylor (9-3). The game kicks off at 5:30 pm.  UNC lost its first game of the season, 17-13, to South Carolina on some questionable play calls to get into the end zone for a win, and it lost its last game of the season to No. 1 Clemson, 45-37, on a game put out of reach on a questionable onside kick recovery by the officials for the ACC Championship. QB Marquise Williams has thrown for 2,829 yards and 17 TDs. Five receivers have 250 or more receiving yards as he spreads the field. He’s also run for 867 yards and 11 TDs.   RB Elijah Hood does the bulk of the groundwork for the Heels as he’s rushed for 1,345 yards and 17 scores.  The Baylor Bears, who we’ll see play for only the second time, were a top team most of the season under HC Art Briles until his QB corps dropped off along the way due to injuries. The Bears lost three of their last four to Oklahoma (before beating Oklahoma State) and losing their last two to TCU and Texas. We figure HC Briles has been working closely with third string QB Chris Johnson these last few weeks to get him up to par with QBs who have gone down to get him prepared to lead this high-powered passing offense.  Briles has always seemed to develop QBs since his days at Houston and seems to do it on the fly as his starters move on due to graduation or injury.  We expect his offense that averaged 48 ppg to come out firing.  The Heels only allowed 22.6 on defense.  With some ball control by Williams’ passing and Hood’s running , a key will be for them to keep the Bears’ offense off the field. I’m hoping to get Cousin Anthony Cavalli who just finished his Air Force career to join me as he’s back home in Orlando for the holidays… On Thursday,  I will be at the CapitalOne Orange Bowl to see No. 1 Clemson (13-0) and No. 4 Oklahoma (11-1) battle to get to the national championship game in Glendale, Arizona to meet the winner of No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Michigan State on January 11. QBs DeShaun Watson of Clemson and  Baker Mayfield of the Sooners should make this an exciting game.  We look forward to it. It doesn’t get better than this to see our first CFP in person. The last time Clemson won a national championship back in 1981, we saw them beat Maryland in their last game of the 1980 season before running the table the following year to win the national championship. We saw them start a 13-game winning streak to get there under HC Danny Ford.  We saw Oklahoma play in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona back in 2011, but it was a letdown seeing them play Big East champ UConn who was only 8-4 that year, and the Sooners with QB Sam Bradford clobbered the Huskies in a yawner, 48-20.  We also attended the Discover Orange Bowl in 2012 where Clemson started off competitively, but then fell in an onslaught to West Virginia on the short-end of a record breaking Orange Bowl score, 70-33.  We don’t expect a yawner this time for sure, and we don’t expect a blow-out by either team.  This one should be high-scoring and not decided until the last quarter.  We can’t wait for this encounter on New Year’s Eve. It’s only the third time we get to see OU play…The very next morning, we will be on our way to Tampa to finish off our fourth bowl game when we head up to Raymond James Stadium. No slouches here a day after the highly anticipated Playoff game.   We’ll see the No. 23 Tennessee Vols (8-4)  meet the No. 13 Northwestern Wildcats (10-2) .  Funny, we ended last season seeing the Vols hammer Iowa in the TaxSlayer, 45-28, after leading 45-7.  Hopefully the same won’t happen this year.  The Wildcats’ two losses were by wide margins to Iowa (40-10) and to Michigan (38-0).  Most of their wins were by close margins. Among UT’s four losses by seven points or less, one was by seven to Oklahoma in two OTs and one was to Alabama by only five. The Wildcats win close ones and UT loses close ones, but if Tennessee starts off like they did against Iowa last season, the result could be big for the Vols.  HC Pat Fitzgerald’s Wildcats will have to be at the top of their game to hold off Tennessee whose QB Josh Dobbs (2,125 passing yards for 15 TDs and 623 rushing yards for nine TDs) and RB Jalen Hurd (1,158 yards and 11 TDs) got off to fast starts last bowl season. Fitzgerald looks for his defense that only allowed 16.4 ppg to hold tightly against a Tennessee offense that scored 34. 3 ppg this season under HC Butch Jones.  This will be the fourth bowl game for us involving the Vols. In addition to last season’s TaxSlayer Bowl, we saw them defeat Wisconsin, 28-21, in the 1981 Garden State Bowl and we saw them fall in 2007 to Penn State, 20-10, in this same venue.  It will be their fourth Big Ten opponent among all the bowls we’ve seen them play in.  We predict that either UT will win big or lose this one close. Tennessee is already on our slate next year when they will meet Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 10 so we can help establish the record for the largest attendance ever at a college football game…Stay close to this site during our bowl season. We plan to have our game reviews to you pretty quickly though we are on the road this week.  Happy Bowling!  We think we have some great games to wrap up our 2015 season!

 

Steveo’s Salvos – December 21, 2015

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Does this statement bother anybody else? : “Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze has suspended All-American defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche for the Allstate Sugar Bowl matchup with Oklahoma State. The suspension will end Nkemdiche’s college career, as he announced that he will enter the NFL draft.” For one thing, crime evidently does pay. Secondly, pro football once again demonstrates disdain for the schools that develop their players. It rewards rather than supports the disciplinary problems that the colleges face with the players they attract to get them a shot at playing professional football. There are other points to be made here in depth as well, but in reality, the NFL is really starting to bore me with their indifference to everything except for making money…According to the ESPN.com all-American team this year, we’ll have seen an eyeful of some of the best talent anywhere in the nation by the time this season comes to an end. This includes players seen a year ago, during this regular season, and also while attending the upcoming bowl games we plan to see when we get back on the road for four great games next week. On offense, we’ll get to see Soph QB DeShaun Watson, one of this year’s top Heisman candidates, lead the Clemson Tigers against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Capital One Orange Bowl. RB Leonard Fournette of LSU ran for over 100 yards in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl we attended last season in a 31-28 loss to Notre Dame…

LSU Frosh RB Leonard Fournette (7) scored on a 100-yard kickoff return and on an 89-yard run in last year's Music City.

LSU Frosh RB Leonard Fournette (7) scored on a 100-yard kickoff return and on an 89-yard run in last year’s Music City.

Speaking of Notre Dame, OT Ronnie Stanley helped pave the way to ND’s 24-20 win we attended against Temple. We have two guys to keep an eye on when we see the Baylor Bears (9-3) play in the Russell Athletic Bowl when they will face a tough challenge against the North Carolina Tar Heels (11-2). WR Corey Coleman and OT Spencer Drago will be lining up on offense for the Bears who averaged 48 points per game. Their schedule early on was somewhat questionable, but we’ll see what they can do against UNC who averaged 40+ themselves on offense, but only allowed 22.6 per game over the course of the season. .. On defense, Clemson and Baylor come in with some All-Americans as well on the defensive line. Shaq Lawson is a stalwart for the Tigers and Andrew Billings is a key stopper for the Bears. S Jayron Kearse will be looking to stop the Sooners passing attack when we’re at Miami Lakes for the CFP opener… We saw the entire defensive front four of ESPN.com’s All-American team as Penn State’s Carl Nassib, winner of the Lombardi Trophy, and Joey Bosa of Ohio State, who we saw play this year and last against Michigan and Navy respectively, both made big plays from their DE positions this season. Temple LB Tyler Matakevitch, First-Team All-American, Nagurski and Bednarik award winner, and the AAC Defensive Player of the Year, led the Owls to their first win over Penn State since 1941 and kept the Notre Dame offense in check including an INT near his goal line in a hard fought loss when we saw him play this year. We think he’s going to make a name for himself at the next level. Florida State CB Jalen Ramsey had a good game against Syracuse when we saw the ‘Noles win up at The Carrier Dome last season. CB Desmond King starred for the much improved Iowa Hawkeyes this year, but when we saw his team play Tennessee in the Taxslayer Bowl last season, well, we couldn’t say that we were impressed by anyone on the Hawkeye team, but things changed this year evidently. Jeremy Cash, Safety at Duke, played in the Blue Devils’ drubbing of Army, 44-3, that we attended this season. We certainly got to see a great cross section of All-American talent this season at West Point…South Florida opened the bowl season among all the teams we saw play this season and got handed a 45-35 defeat against Western Kentucky (11-2) to finish 8-5. We’re looking forward to seeing probably the best bowl matchup (on TV) among the non-Power Five conferences on Tuesday night when Temple and Toledo meet in the Marmot Boca Raton Bowl. Don’t miss this one. Watch Matakevitch if you haven’t seen the Owls play this year. Junior RB Jahad Thomas is a key cog in the Owl running game…

The Owls swarmed the Lions defensively from the second period on when the defeated PSU for the first time in 74 years.

The Owls swarmed the Lions defensively from the second period on when they defeated PSU for the first time in 74 years.

Shepherd University fell to Northwest Missouri State in the D2 championship game, 35-7, nixing our chance to have seen two national championship teams this season. We had an eye out on this game for a while at a dinner in New York City at a restaurant on Eighth Avenue called the “Houndstooth Pub”. Auburn grad Carlie Miller who joined us was a little perplexed that it may be the fall Saturday hangout for local Crimson Tide alum. But no proof of that. Great food and service… We think Rutgers new head Coach Chris Ash is going to learn quickly that the media in the New York –New Jersey metropolitan area is going to be completely different than what he’s anticipated based on his limited experience as a HC and what he’s seen his former mentor, Urban Meyer, tolerate. The pressure pot is brewing already. The Newark Star Ledger alone has three beat writers covering Rutgers football every day, and they won’t be playing again until September 3 (at Washington). Ash is still coaching the Ohio State defense going into the Battle Frog (?) Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame while hiring his new staff, recruiting players, wooing New Jersey high school football coaches, moving his young family, and just getting the lay of the land while back and forth to Columbus and then on to Arizona for New Year’s Day. With no current Jersey connections and recruiting against the likes of Jim Harbaugh (who’s got four top Jersey schoolboy commitments already), Urban Meyer, James Franklin, Mark D’Antoni , and Matt Rhule of Temple (seriously) who has a roster full of Jersey and Pennsylvania kids, among others, he’s not only got his work cut out for him, but people in good old NJ are going to want to see results quickly. For 35 years since RU joined the ranks of the majors, people have said, “If Rutgers could keep all the best players in New Jersey coming to Rutgers, we’ll have a great team.” It hasn’t happened. Greg Schiano (former RU HC and Ash’s replacement to be at Ohio State as defensive coordinator) came closest in 2007. Even students not playing sports from New Jersey want to go someplace else to live and learn for four years. With a new head coach with no head coaching experience and a new AD with no football background (Chris Hobbs from Seton Hall), I don’t see much improvement coming to RU’s football program any time soon. The press is playing nice now, but if the results don’t come fast and furiously to compete among the Big Ten mainstays, they and the fans will all be asking why not. I already know the answers…

Rutgers played without suspended HC Kyle Flood against Michigan State and played a close game, losing 31-24.

Rutgers played without suspended HC Kyle Flood against Michigan State and played a close game, losing 31-24.

Mount Union returned to the Top of D3 for the 12th time after two years as runner-up. In the semifinal, they defeated six time champ and nemesis Wisconsin-Whitewater, 36-6. In the final, they defeated St. Thomas of Minnesota, 49-35. Congratulations to HC Vince Kehres and the Purple Raiders (15-0) who will most likely be in the D-3 hunt again next season…Former UW-Whitewater HC Lance Leipold, winner of six D-3 national championships there, finished his first season at Buffalo with a 5-7 record, 3-5 in the MAC. Not bad for a guy who had no time to recruit on the short notice he had to make things happen in upstate New York. Especially for a guy whose entire roster at UWW came primarily from just the “Cheesehead” state. We now look forward to what he can do more than ever. With more opportunity for recruiting and more offseason coaching to be done from his side, he’ll put the Bulls in the thick of the MAC race in short period of time. He had a good win over Ohio U, 41-7, and some tough losses against some solid conference foes like Bowling Green and Northern Illinois. His team was beaten the worst by Central Michigan. Overall, it shows that he prepares his team well and can coach a team effectively during a game. I think he’s going to do well here at UB and end up with something even more significant later on where his program to be will be challenging for the FBS championship.

We can't believe how the Iowa Hawkeyes improved so much after one season. They had no speed when we saw Tennessee crush them in last season's TaxSlayer Bowl.

We can’t believe how the Iowa Hawkeyes improved so much after one season. They had no speed when we saw Tennessee crush them in last season’s TaxSlayer Bowl.

Steveo’s Salvos – December 16, 2015

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Usually I start off this time of year telling readers the teams I saw during the season that made it to a bowl game. A bowl invitation used to be a reward for a team having a winning season. Now, that’s not even a prerequisite. I saw 19 different FBS teams play this season, several multiple times. Only six teams are not going to bowl games – Rutgers, Army, Old Dominion, Charlotte (first year in FBS), Georgia Tech, and Colorado. Rutgers was even under consideration before it lost to 2-9 Maryland in its finale to finish 4-8. Ridiculous! It’s not about the teams, the players, the fans, tradition, winning, pride, fun, rewards for a mediocre season, or anything worth putting the time and effort aside from maybe some extra practice to keep up with the winning teams. It’s all and only about selling TV commercials to fill in air time to compete with 500 other stations that have nothing else on worth watching. I used to watch all the bowl games. Now for most of them, I could care less. And this is coming from a guy who enjoyed going to see 0-6 Louisiana-Monroe defeat 0-6 Louisiana-Lafayette back in 2006, 45-42. Granted, it turned out to be a surprisingly exciting game, but I know that game wasn’t televised. Now, it’s a prime timer that will be stretched out 210 minutes until the next clunker comes on to where it’s getting to the point that attending is getting so painful. I might eventually only go to any game at any level only if it’s not televised. I don’t understand how many Geico commercials can one person watch over three and a half hours? I’m very happy with my car insurance and they never do TV commercials. I get a rebate for being a good driver who puts lot of miles on my car driving to games. Probably crushed a few geckos along the way that crawl across the road at night when I couldn’t see them…

Of the six non-bowl teams we attended this year, four played against each other. We saw ODU beat Charlotte above. The other such game was between Army and Rutgers. At least we saw them in competitive games.

Of the six non-bowl teams we watched play this year, four played against each other. We saw ODU beat Charlotte above, 37-34. The other such game was between Army and Rutgers. At least we saw them in competitive games.

Some observations of teams in bowls who we saw play this year (underlined): one of the best bowl matchups – Temple vs. Toledo. Owls are up and coming. Toledo has been rising the last few years. We expect his to be a good game between two well-coached teams; our friend Tom Ables met us for his 761st San Diego State game when his Aztecs ventured out this season to play Penn State. It was the last game they lost this season before running the table in nine straight games since including the Mountain West Championship over Air Force, 27-24. Tom will attend his alma mater’s 772nd game when his Aztecs travel to the Hawaii Bowl to take on Cincinnati. Since 1946, Tom has only missed two SDSU games. Ironically, one was at Hawaii early on because he couldn’t afford to go;  Duke vs. Indiana in the Pinstripe bowl at Yankee stadium. Usually during the Christmas season, if you saw these two schools playing in New York City, it was in a basketball game at the Holiday Festival in Madison Square Garden. Will they draw as many fans? ; We’ll be at Navy (10-2) vs. Pitt (8-4) in the Military Bowl in Annapolis on December 28, another good game. Of Pitt’s four losses, three were to Top 10 teams- North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Iowa. Under first-year HC Pat Narduzzi who came from Michigan State where he was defensive coordinator, the Mids’ offense will have its work cut out for them as the Panthers have three weeks to prepare for the triple-option…Air Force plays California in the Armed Forces Services bowl. We saw this exact same matchup in the same bowl in 2007. Cal won in a game down to the wire, 42-36. It was HC Troy Calhoun’s first season there. He’s still there.; Southern Cal vs. Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl. Some people earmarked these two to be playing against one another in the Rose Bowl; Michigan State plays Alabama in the College Football Playoff in the Cotton Bowl. We are two for two seeing at least one team during the regular season make it to the CFP. Last year, we saw two – eventual National Champ Ohio State and Florida State; Ohio State and Notre Dame meet one another in the Fiesta Bowl. We saw the Irish win at the Music City a year ago in a last second 31-28 thriller over LSU and Leonard Fournette. However, on the big stage, the Irish usually don’t play so well. We were at the Orange Bowl for the BCS Championship the lost to Alabama, 42-14, in 2013. I may miss this game as I plan to be out the Outback. Both games start at 1 pm…

The Irish and the Temple Owls both fought their way to very competitive bowl games both against teams from Ohio.

The Irish and the Temple Owls both fought their way to very competitive bowl games both against teams from Ohio.

Of the four bowls we’ll be attending, I’ll see only one team we’ve already seen play this year, Navy. So by the end of the season, we’ll have seen 29 FBS teams compete this year…Among those new teams will be Northwestern. Last season, I finished the season seeing the team they will play, Tennessee, wallop Iowa in the TaxSlayer bowl, 45-28 (45-7 at one point). I only bring this up because the Big Ten announced its All-Conference team today. This amazes me: of the 25 players named to the first team, we saw seventeen of these players compete since the TaxSlayer played on January 2 of this year. When we see Northwestern at the Outback, LB Anthony Walker will be the 18th among these players we will see. It helps that the majority of the players are from Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, and Penn State of whom we all saw play this year. I don’t think we ever came close to doing something like this…

WR Aaron Burbridge (16) of Michigan State had nine receptions among his 80 against Rutgers to be named First TEam Big Ten.

WR Aaron Burbridge (16) of Michigan State had nine receptions against Rutgers  among his 80 for the season to be named First Team Big Ten.

At the end of this season, we may be able to say we saw the FBS National Champion play again this year. If Michigan State knocks off Alabama in the CFP Cotton Bowl, it’s definite. That’s because we will be seeing the Spartans play the winner between Clemson and Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl…However, we may be able to way that we saw a National Champion play after this weekend. That is because Shepherd U. whom we saw defeat Slippery Rock in the D-2 quarterfinals, won the semi-finals beating Grand Valley State. This Saturday, the Rams (13-0) will play the NW Missouri Bearcats (14-0) in Kansas City’s Sporting Park for the D-2 National Championship. NW Mizzou won it all two seasons ago. They also won it in 2009. This will be their ninth trip to the finals. Shepherd will have a tough task ahead of them, and we’re rooting for them so we can say we’ve seen two of the four NCAA national champs play this year. We thought about Friday night’s D-3 championship in Salem , Virginia when Mount Union and St. Thomas of Minnesota square off. The two purple D-3 teams should be fun to watch, but our son Eric is home on leave from the Navy, and we’re going to hang close to home this weekend before Christmas. What the heck, we got four games planned after he goes back…

Shepherd carries its colors to the D-2 national Championship against NW Missouri State this Saturday.

Shepherd carries its colors to the D-2 National Championship against NW Missouri State this Saturday.

Speaking of Slippery Rock, a week after the loss to Shepherd, SRU HC Georg Mihalik announced his retirement after 44 years at the The Rock, the last 28 as head coach finishing with a 197-110-4 record. His teams won eight PSAC West titles and moved on to the playoffs six times including the last three years. His teams had been one of the tops academically in the PSAC over the years. He was one of few coaches that got to coach in a stadium named for him. On September 8, 2011, SRU’s stadium was renamed “Mihalik-Thompson Stadium” in his honor. He will be missed at The Rock, but he’s given the school many great years of service and exemplified a lot of class while doing it….Looking at next year’s schedules among the FBS, we’re impressed by Independent BYU’s slate: Home- UCLA, Toledo, Mississippi State; Away – Arizona, Utah, WVU (at Landover, MD), Michigan State, Boise, and Cincinnati. However, they are still looking for a coach to lead them against this group. Bronco Mendenhall left BYU to take over at Virginia. HC Ken Niumatatolo of Navy was their first choice but turned them down (thankfully as far as we are concerned). Despite his son playing LB for the Cougars, he admits he loves the Naval Academy. It shows. We hope he keeps winning there for a long time.

Navy and CFF.com are very happy that HC Ken Niumatalolo will be staying in Annapolis to lead the Mids to many more winning seasons.

Navy and CFF.com are very happy that HC Ken Niumatalolo will be staying in Annapolis to lead the Mids to many more winning seasons.

 

 

Game #503: Navy halts Army late to win 21-17 for 14th consecutive win in 116th game of rivalry

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Navy Blue Angels pre-game flyover.

Navy Blue Angels pre-game flyover before kickoff at the 116th Army-Navy game.

Philadelphia – The No. 21 Midshipman of Navy (10-2) overcame a spirited, well-prepared Army underdog and kept them from scoring the entire second half to take the lead and won their 14th game in a row of this annual rivalry dating back to 1890, 21-17. Navy senior QB Keenan Reynolds ran for two TDs and threw for the third while Army freshman QB Chris Carter (9 of 15 completions for 208 yards, 1 TD/ 1 INT) gives hope to Army’s future. Army’s defense held Navy to 199 yards rushing. The Mids are the third top rushing offense in the nation averaging 319.2 yards per game. For both teams and for collegefootballfan.com, this was the final regular season game of 2015. Navy and CFF.com will both continue on to bowl games. Played in Philadelphia on the second weekend of December when and where we’ve endured sub-freezing temperatures over the years, the unseasonable 60 degree temperatures made the game feel more like the start of the college football season rather than the very end.

Unbelievable tailgating in Philadelphia in the middle of December!

Unbelievable tailgating weather in Philadelphia in the middle of December!

With three weeks to prepare against an offense, the triple option, the Cadets are very familiar with running it themselves; they forced Navy to punt after its first possession from their 47. A 21-yard return started Army from its 40 and they drove to score on Dan Grochkowski’s 32-yard field goal to put Army on the scoreboard first, 3-0. Navy flexed its offensive muscle on its next series. Reynolds (21 carries for 136 yards and 2 TDS; 6 for 14 passing for 113 yards and 1 TD) broke loose on the second play from scrimmage around the right side and dashed 58 yards for a 7-3 USNA lead. Army showed they came to win despite being a heavy underdog.   Seven plays of an 82-yard drive were finished off by Tyler Campbell’s 29-yard TD run before the first period came to an end. The game seemed to be shaping up as a high –scoring affair if the defenses did not catch up.

Army limited Navy's triple option to 199 yards on the ground.

Army limited Navy to 199 yards on the ground with stops for short gains like this.

Reynolds’s run of 36 yards set up his one-yard TD run not only to give the Mids the lead once again, 14-10, but it marked the 85th rushing touchdown of his career, the most for any player in the history of FBS/FCS football. Later in the second, Army retook the lead with 2:08 left as Carter connected with WR Edgar Poe for a 39-yard TD pass. The half ended with the 23-point underdog unexpectedly ahead, 17-14. The Secretary of Defense switched from the Navy to the Army side in the tradition of supporting both armed services during this historic rivalry.

Keenan Reynolds puts navy in the lead and his name in the record book with his 85th rushing touchdown of his career.

Keenan Reynolds (19) puts Navy in the lead and his name in the record book with his 85th rushing touchdown of his career.

Guest Game Analyst Frank Scarpa and I attended the Third Annual Army-Navy Boxing Classic the night before held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Both squads each won four bouts to end in a tie. Navy’s two women boxers won their bouts. No knockouts, but a lot of punches thrown throughout the evening. It was entertaining and the Army contingent cheered loudly echoing through the center loudly to beat Navy at something. The Mids won the first four bouts and the Cadets came back to win the last four. We definitely plan to do it again if held the evening before next year’s football game. This evening we finished up at the Philly Sports Bar and Diner in Runnemede, NJ close to our hotel. About six hours later, we were back for breakfast. On the way to our 10 am tailgate start, Frank and I stopped in south Philly to pick up four Philly Cheese Steaks from Geno’s, a South Philly original, to share with our fellow tailgaters partying at Lot N at The Linc. We met up with Brian and Dan Donnelly, Brian’s girlfriend Laurie, and their sister Eileen along with many other friends of theirs we met in recent years at previous Army-Navy games. It was difficult to recognize many at first without parkas, heavy coats, and hoods over their heads. An hour later, everyone was basically down to t-shirts on this very warm December Saturday. Brian was grilling hot wings with Old Bay spice on the grill, a Maryland staple. Eileen brought her “cheesey” potatoes. Dan brought extra additions for the Bloody Mary’s we were all mixing. The general consensus seems to be that everyone is using Tito’s Vodka now. Dino made a venison chili with the meat off the first deer his son ever got this hunting season. It was great feast shared by everyone, Army and Navy fans alike. Mike from Bergenfield, NJ brings his kids and nephew every year now as an annual family tradition. We met one of Dan’s fellow Frostburg State alum from Garrett County, Maryland introduced to me as “Shockey”. I asked him Northern or Southern High? One of my Juniata friends, Dave “Poindexter” Bender lives and teaches out there. Of course Frank Scarpa went into shock once again how I can meet so many people who are friends of friends from a college of 1,200 students. We also had the honor of meeting two Marine pilots attached to the air wing performing the pre-game flyover before the game. Frank and I even had time to fire the football around for a while. Our friend Joe Rogers of the College Football Bowl report showed up, first time we got together this year since last year’s Music City Bowl. Next year, we hope to be attending the 117th edition of Army-Navy when held in Baltimore again.

Midshipmen and Cadet sideboys salute Secretary of defense Ashton B. Carter and his wife as they switch sidelines during the traditional ceremony at halftime.

Midshipmen and Cadet sideboys salute Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter and his wife as they switch sidelines during the traditional ceremony at halftime.

The third period started with both defenses dominating and forcing punts. Reynolds, who finished fifth in the Heisman voting announced later that evening, threw a 50-yard TD pass late in the third to WR Jamar Tillman (5 catches, 102 yards, 1 TD). The period ended with the Mids in the lead, 21-17. As the final period approached, the Black Knight offense was on the move.

The Navy defense bent but it didn't break during the second half of play as the Mids shut out army's offense.

The Navy defense bent but it didn’t break during the second half of play as the Mids shut out Army’s offense.

Army drove to the Navy twelve, but it ended with a FG attempt wide left. Once again though, Army halted Navy’s vaunted offense to force a punt. Carter’s pass to DeAndre Bell went 39 yards to the Navy 33, but on the next play Carter fumbled and Navy LB Ted Colburn recovered. Army forced another punt after stopping Reynolds on two consecutive carries for no gains. After a touchback, Carter attempted a sideline pass, but FS Lorentez Barbour picked it off at the 44. Army held again and took over from the 20 with one time-out left. The Cadets moved to Navy’s 29, but an end around option pass by Bell was intercepted by S Daiquan Thomasson at the Navy three thwarting another Black Knight threat. Navy was forced to punt again, but time was eroding. Army took over with eleven seconds left. Two incompletions later, Navy won for the 14th time in a row to finish 10-2, tying the USNA record for its most wins in one season. The Mids also won back the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for 2015 having defeated both Air Force and Army this season.  The traditional celebration was on. The teams gathered on the field for their respective alma maters, and for the 14th straight year and the 60th time since 1890, “Navy Blue and Gold” was sung second. Keenan Reynolds became the first QB in the 116-game series to go 4-0 as starting QB, a record that will never be exceeded in the record books of this classic rivalry.

"Now colleges from sea to sea..."

“Now colleges from sea to sea…”

Army finished its season at 2-10 with wins over Eastern Michigan and Bucknell. Six losses were by a touchdown or less. The three weeks of prepping for this game and working with frosh QB Chris Carter may make Jeff Moncken’s third year as Head Coach in 2016 the charm. We’ll be watching. We hope to see the Black Knights play at least once next season before Navy in Baltimore. No. 21 Navy will meet Pitt (8-4) in the Military Bowl to be held in the friendly confines of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. For collegefootballfan.com, it will be the fourth time we will see the Mids and the Panthers square off. The first was in 1974 when Pitt came to Annapolis with sophomore RB Tony Dorsett and took home a hard-fought 13-11 win. In 2007 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on a Thursday night, the Mids upended the Panthers, 48-45, in 2 OTs. And in 2013, we saw Reynolds and company top Pitt, 24-21, in Annapolis. All three games were won by three points or less. This game should be similar as Pitt probably has been working to stop the option since their last game lost to Miami (F.) on November 21. Their other three losses were to Iowa, North Carolina, and Notre Dame who had only five losses among them and all ranked in the Top Ten. For CFF.com, the Military Bowl will be our first of for bowls followed by the Russell Athletic (Dec. 29, UNC vs. Baylor), Orange Bowl CFP (Dec. 31, Clemson vs. Oklahoma), and Outback Bowl (Jan. 1, Northwestern vs. Tennessee). Happy Bowl Season!

Army Apache Helicopter pre-game flyover.

Army Apache Helicopters pre-game flyover.

 

 

Army-Navy weekend- Game #503

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Collegefootballfan.om travels to Philly this weekend for the 116th football game between Army and Navy. This is the officially the final regular season game in college football in 2015.  The Midshipman lead this series 59-49-7 and the No. 21 Navy football team (9-2, 7-1 in the AAC) will be playing for its 14th straight win over its archrival.  Army enters this game a big underdog with a 2-9 record. This will be the 11th Army-Navy football game Collegefootballfan.com has attended since 1972.  In addition this year, on Friday night we will attend the seven-bout Army-Navy boxing match to be held at The Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.  Army leads this series now, 2-0.  Tailgating will start early on Saturday morning.  Click here at around 9:45 am to hear us live on “Spadora on Sports” on WNER 1430 in Watertown, NY with our favorite sports jock, Pete Spadora.

Collegefootballfan.com has seen Army lose two games at West Point this season to Duke (44-3) and to Rutgers (31-21),  when we attended our 500th college football game since 1979.  We went to Annapolis this year to see the Mids win two games as they defeated Air Force (31-11) and South Florida (29-17). A win by Navy over Army wins the Mids the cherished Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for supremacy in football among the three major service academies.

Senior Navy QB Keenan Reynolds plays in his final regular season game before he goes into the Navy next year as an Information Warfare officer. His 64 career touchdowns are the most in school history and the most by a quarterback in NCAA history. Collegefootballfan.com will see Reynolds and the Mids play one more game when  they will face the Pitt Panthers in the Military Bowl to be held in Annapolis on Monday, December 28 at 2:30 pm. Here are some pictures taken at this season games held at West Point and in Annapolis.

Flyovers were cancelled, but the tradition of Navy and Air Force exchanging "prisoners" (exchange students) was not affected by the weather.

Flyovers were cancelled, but the tradition of Navy and Air Force exchanging “prisoners” (exchange students) was not affected by the weather.

 

Navy defense stops Air Force on a fourth and goal at the one in the first period.

Navy defense stops Air Force on a fourth and goal at the one in the first period.

Army's offense started deep in its own territory on its first two possessions.

Army’s offense started deep in its own territory on its first two possessions.

That's not a block attempt of Dan Grochowski's 22-yard FG by "The 50-foot Woman" of '50's movie fame. That's one of many fans who blocked our sight line watching today's game!

That’s not a block attempt of Dan Grochowski’s 22-yard FG by “The 50-foot Woman” of ’50’s movie fame. That’s one of many fans who blocked our sight line watching today’s game!

FB Chris Swain gives Navy the power in their triple-option attack.

FB Chris Swain gives Navy the power in their triple-option attack.

Before the game for a little tailgating with Barney, Patsy, myself, Dan with his Navy ship hat, Laurie, and Eileen.

Before the game for a little tailgating with Barney, Patsy, myself, Dan with his Navy ship hat, Laurie, and Eileen.

Cadet 2nd class Matthew McKee of Kansas City met with me and Bob Jones during the second half. Bob worked with Matt's father in the past and he came by to say hello. He is considering the Infantry as his service when he makes his choice his First Class (senior) year.

Cadet 2nd class Matthew McKee of Kansas City met with me and Bob Jones during the second half. Bob worked with Matt’s father in the past and he came by to say hello. He is considering the Infantry as his service when he makes his choice his First Class (senior) year.

Army QB Chris Carter held to a short gain by RU defense.

Army QB Chris Carter held to a short gain by RU defense.

Game 502: Slippery Rock at Shepherd

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Shepherd Rams advance to D2 semi-finals with 28-16 win over Slippery Rock

Shepherdtown, WV – The Shepherd University Rams (12-0) used a balanced offensive attack and outgained Slippery Rock 352 yards to 320 total yards, and applied a high-pressure defensive rush to defeat The Pride in the quarterfinals of the D2 playoffs, 28-16. The Rams now move on to the National semi-finals.  QB Jeff Ziemba of the Rams threw two TD passes and RB Allen Cross scored two touchdowns on the ground while DT Elijah Norris recorded three of the Rams’ seven sacks to key the victory to now host Grand Valley State of Michigan next weekend.   It was a balmy, unseasonably nice December Saturday for Collegefootballfan.com to enjoy this playoff game with SRU alum Bob Jones and Dan’s Tailgate Blog “reporter” Brian Donnelly.

Slippery Rock QB Dante Nania scrambles out of the pocket against the Shepherd Ram defense that sacked him seven times.

Slippery Rock QB Dante Nania scrambles out of the pocket against the Shepherd Ram defense that sacked him seven times.

The visiting Rock, who demonstrated a good following filled the visitors stands at Ram Stadium, started the scoring with a two-yard run through the middle by RB Shamar Greene on a fourth and two in the first to a take a 7-0 lead. Their next possession terminated in a 41-yard blocked FG attempt.  The Rams could not capitalize on that though either as their following series resulted in a missed 43-yard FG.  The defenses dominated early against offenses averaging 45.2 points per game (SRU) and 40.3 ppg (Shepherd).

In the second period, The Rock started to drive but a long pass attempt was intercepted by the Rams’ DB Keon Johnson who went to the ground on his own one-yard line. “A good punt!” noted some Slippery Rock fans we sat amongst.  Not so fast!  The Rams drove the length of the field. At The Rock 16, Ziemba (15 for 26 passing, 255 yards, two TDs, one INT) threw a pass to the left pylon where WR Tony Squirewell made a diving grab for the tying touchdown.  The defenses continued to keep the offenses in check for the rest of the half, and the teams retired to the intermission with the score knotted at 7-7, much lower than the high-scoring, offensively dominated battle we were anticipating.

The Rams' Keon Robinson positions himself to make an interception at his one-yard line.

The Rams’ Keon Robinson positions himself to make an interception at his one-yard line.

For Bob, it was his first SRU game in quite a while.  Before kickoff in the bleachers among the Slippery Rock faithful, he met a fellow alum from his graduating class of ’83.  When Bob introduced himself, he made mention that when he was a student there that he was the SRU mascot, “Rocky the Rock.” Undoubtedly impressed, his classmate insisted on having a few photos taken.  Bob is currently having discussions with the Slippery Rock administration to bring back “Rocky” in some form.  Currently the Rock teams are referred to as “The Pride”, and it uses a Lion as its mascot, but Bob and his fellow alum point out that there is already a Lion mascot in the state of Pennsylvania and that to bring back Rocky as their mascot would be appropriate and unique.  Bob still has the original mascot outfit and he is planning on a way to re-present it back to the school.  He came up with the mascot idea while he was a student, and with the help of his Mother, they designed and created it after his idea was initiated in a conversation with his late father.  Bob told me the story of an incident when he walked to a Slippery Rock game on campus in the outfit when he suddenly heard some yelling from the SRU student section before its game against it prime rival, Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He didn’t know it until he turned around to see that he was being snuck up upon by some IUP students when suddenly, Slippery Rock All-American DE Jack Muller had broken rank from among his teammates and chased Rocky’s would be attackers away.  Muller told his cherished mascot to follow him, and he led him to the bench along the sideline where “Rocky” took his rightful place by his team along the sideline before the game.

The Shepherd University Marching Band performs its Christmas show for our halftime entertainment.

The Shepherd University Marching Band performs its Christmas show for our halftime entertainment.

The Rock defense tipped a Ziemba pass on the first drive of the third period and LB Bob Vernick picked it off to give the offense possession at Shepherd’s 45, but the Rams forced a punt at the 46 and took over from its 26. Ziemba connected with his WR Billy Brown on a crossing pattern over the middle for a short pass before the big TE broke a tackle and streaked 74 yards for the Rams’ second score. The PAT was missed and the 13-7 lead remained intact.  It got worse for The Rock, however.   Its next drive started from the 11, and there the ball was recovered by Robinson for his second turnover of the game.  Cross (13 carries for 82 yards, two TDs) went right up the middle for a quick score.  Another missed PAT put Shepherd up, 19-7.  Later in the period, Cross finished off another Ram scoring drive with a 27-yard TD run. This time, the two-point conversion was stopped by The Rock defense.  There still seemed to be some hope though for the visitors with 5:15 left in the third. It felt like their high-powered offense despite missing RB Julian Durden who was sidelined with a leg injury would start cranking and take advantage of the missed Ram extra point conversions trailing, 25-7. Things began to swing that way when QB Dante Sania (27 for 53, 253 yards, one TD, one INT) completed consecutive passes down the left sideline to LeRoy McClain for 39 yards and then to Marcus Johnson for 32 before connecting on a nine-yard bench pattern to the right pylon with WR Jaimre Dutrieulle (10 catches, 61 yards, one TD) on a diving snare to cut the score to 25-14.   A punt by SRU put the Rams back on their one.  Instead of a second 99-yard scoring drive, this possession ended differently. Ziemba took a step back and turned to make a quick handoff, but no RB was within reach.  He was tackled for a safety. The Rock closed the gap to 25-16 and was getting the ball back.   Dutrieulle returned the kick to the Shepherd 44 before the game entered its final period.

LB Bob Vernick (52) comes up with the interception for The Rock early in the third period.

LB Bob Vernick (52) comes up with the interception for The Rock early in the third period.

Once again, the Ram D stopped a drive and forced a punt.  Neither team moved the ball effectively on their ensuing possessions.  SRU punted again from its 47.  Robinson fielded the punt, broke several tackles, to get into the clear to go one on one against Rock punter Andrew Huska.  Huska took a few steps back but then somehow managed to wrap his arms around Robinson’s shoulders to bring him down at the 15. It could have been a game-saver for Slippery Rock had they been able to get back into the end zone again.  Three plays later, Shepherd settled for a 27-yard FG.  With 8:47 left on the game clock, Shepherd led, 28-16. The Rock still seemed to be within striking distance.   They started next deep from their 15, but an eight-yard sack by Shanell Jenkins forced a punt once again.   The Rock could not generate any necessary offense to mount a comeback as the Shepherd defense remained unyielding to preserve the score and advance the home team to the Division 2 semi-finals.   Congratulations are also in order to Shepherd HC Monte Cater in his 29th season leading the Rams’ football program. His 250th win this day includes victories won at both Shepherd and at Lakeland College of Wisconsin.

Billy Crocker rambles 74 yards for a score against The Rock.

Billy Crocker rambles 74 yards for a score against The Rock.

Shepherd hosts Grand Valley State of Michigan next Saturday. GVSU soundly defeated defending D2 champ Colorado State-Puebla, 31-7.  The other bracket has NW Missouri hosting West Georgia. Collegefootballfan.com will attend the final regular season game of the college football season when No. 21 Navy plays Army in Philadelphia. The Mids will be going for their 14th straight win over Army and for CFF.com, it will be our 11th time in attendance at this great rivalry.  We are not sure what we will do the following weekend, if anything, depending on FCS matchups or the possibility of attending the D-3 national championship game in Salem, Virginia. We do know this about that one, however. It won’t be Mount Union against Wisconsin-Whitewater this year because the two will be playing one another in the semi-final game this weekend.  The other semi will be between Linfield of Oregon and St. Thomas of Minnesota.  We also know who we will now be seeing in the Military Bowl (Navy vs. Pitt) and the Russell Athletic (UNC vs. Baylor). We are still deciding between the Citrus (Michigan vs. Florida) and the Outback (Northwestern vs. Tennessee). We do know that we will be seeing No. 1 seed Clemson playing No. 4 Oklahoma in the CFP semi-final at the Orange Bowl!  We love college football.

Brian Donnelly of Dan's Tailgate blog, SRU alum Bob "Rocky" Jones, and yours truly attending D-2 playoff action at Shepherd's Ram Stadium.

Brian Donnelly of Dan’s Tailgate blog, SRU alum Bob “Rocky” Jones, and yours truly attending D-2 playoff action at Shepherd’s Ram Stadium.

 

 

Heading to Shepherdtown, WV

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Heading to D2 playoff tomorrow between Slippery Rock (12-1) and the Shepherd Rams (11-0) for a quarter final division playoff game! Meeting up with Slippery Rock Bob Jones and Brian Donnelly, an affiliate of Dan’s Tailgate blog.  The Rock under Head Coach George Mihalik in his 28the season, comes off a 41-39 win over Assumption College. The home team Rams got by Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 17-13.  IUP fell to PSAC foe SRU during the regular season, 40-39.  This looks to be a good, competitive, entertaining game,  and we’re looking forward to minimum TV commercial interruptions!  Rock QB Dante Nania has passed for 2,868 yards and 30 TDs.    WR Shamar Greene has 1,476 of those yards and 13 TDS.  RBs Julius Durden and Cornelius Ray have combined for over 1,500 rushing yards and 19 and 8 rushing TDs respectively.  The Rams, winners of the Mountain East conference, are led by QB Jeff Ziemba with 3,017 passing yards and 27 TDs.  WR Billy Brown has 72 receptions for 1,176 yards and six TDs.  Ziemba’s fellow high school mate from St. Mark’s in Delaware, Jabre Lolley has 603 yards and 14 six-pointers.  Fellow backfield mate Allen cross has 750 yards and six rushing scores.   We really look forward to watch this clash, our first ever at D2 Shepherd…The current CFP Bowl lineup looks to possibly to have Clemson hosting Iowa, and Oklahoma playing Alabama. We think Michigan State will get the win over Iowa this weekend.  Our take based on our bowl history if things remain status quo after the championship games this weekend. we were hoping for Alabama vs. Oklahoma at the Orange Bowl we’ll be at.  In our bowl history, we watched Alabama crush Notre dame in the CFP championship of 2012, and the previous year, Oklahoma obviously destroyed UConn.  Because of proximity, Clemson gets to play in the Orange Bowl if they beat North Carolina this Saturday.  Don’t be surprised if UNC surprised though.  We saw Clemson on the short end of an Orange Bowl loss to West Virginia in the same venue, 70-33. As for Iowa, we’re shocked after we saw their stale performance last season against Tennessee in the Taxslayer Bowl. Slowest team afoot we’d ever seen.  How they improved that much in one year, we didn’t see it coming.  Though the fell only 45-28, UT was ups in the third period 45-7 before they emptied the bench and got everyone in the game.  We think the Spartans will be in the mix.

Ohio State douses Michigan in one-sided “blood bath”, 42-13

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Ohio State douses Michigan in one-sided “blood bath”, 42-13

Ann Arbor, Michigan (Nov. 28) – In what collegefootballfan.com predicted would be a “blood-bath” in the first ever meeting between Ohio State and its Head Coach Urban Meyer and Michigan and first-year HC and alum Jim Harbaugh, turned out to be a one-sided blood-bath as the No. 8 Buckeyes overwhelmed the No. 10 Wolverines, 42-13. The Buckeyes racked up 369 rushing yards to the 57 gained by the Wolverines. Unlike the previous week when TB Ezekiel Everett carried 12 times for 33 yards in State’s first loss of the season to Michigan State, he was the workhorse carrying 30 times for 214 yards and two touchdowns against the Wolverines. QB J.T. Barrett carried 19 times for 139 yard and three TDs while passing for 113 yards and throwing for a score. For collegefootballfan.com, the trip from Detroit to Ann Arbor and on to Chicago morphed into an adventure to be entitled, “Trains, Planes, Buses, and ‘Ubermobiles’”. With an unexpected bus cancellation to Ann Arbor from Detroit, I landed on my feet thanks to a couple of football fans and their Michigan buddies who not only got me to the game on time, but hosted me at their pre-game tailgate party – another chapter in the growing tales of unique adventures that has now afforded us to attend 501 college football games since 1979, or should I say the first of our next 500?

Buckeye's Damon Webb sends Jehu Chesson a message.

Buckeye’s Damon Webb sends Jehu Chesson a message.

OSU started the scoring late in the first quarter on a drive kept alive by a roughing the kicker penalty at their own nine-yard line. Two plays later, Elliott hauled it 66 yards to the U of M ten. Barrett finished off the drive with a seven-yard run for seven. It was the only score of the first quarter.

Michigan drew closer on a 25-yard FG by Ken Allen early in the second, but Ohio State pieced together a 25-yard drive mostly on the ground as Elliot capped it off with a five-yard touchdown run. The Buckeyes had the ground game clicking, but starting its next possession from the eight, the Wolverines had its passing game going as QB Mike Rudock, who started at QB for Iowa in the Taxslayer Bowl we attended as our last game of last season, connected with Jehu Chesson for a five-yard TD as he dove past the pylon. Michigan seemed ready to keep pace with the Buckeyes now trailing, 14-10, going into halftime.

Jehu Chesson nears the goal line for Michigan's only touchdown of the game.

Jehu Chesson nears the goal line for Michigan’s only touchdown of the game.

 

Both bands, which probably play two of the greatest fight songs in college football (I included both in my give-away CD’s of “Collegefootballfan.com’s Favorite Fight Songs” as raffle prizes during the Game 500 bus rides) performed at intermission. Ohio State Scarlet was interspersed among the Michigan Blue throughout the Big House (which needs more restroom facilities by the way). Several Michigan fans told me their stories about their second loss of the season they attended against Michigan State back on October 17. MSU returned a misplayed snap to the punter resulting in a Spartan touchdown as time expired for a shocking 27-23 loss. Tom an Albion grad I met at the impromptu tailgate I got invited to, told me that he exited the Big House with his MSU brother with ten seconds remaining in the game figuring they’d seen the final score. As they walked out of Michigan Stadium, there was sudden, inexplicable silence. Tom said it was like being in some sci-fi movie. Time seemed to stand still. Finally, they heard loud screams coming from a lone Spartan fan quite a distance from them also leaving the stadium. Tom, a Michigan fan, turned to his brother and said, “I guess we lost.” A U of M fan who sat next to me, Chris, I believe, a season ticket holder, told me that a sixty-something year-old fan sitting up behind our location (great seats in Section 17, row 27) suffered a heart attack right after the play and died. It’s a true testament and a scary one that some fans really do take their teams to heart. The intense loyalty is real among college football fans, probably even more so than amongst other sports fans. The relationships are intense, life-long, and inseparable.

I just can't picture my old friend and work colleague Dave Imrick actually used to be able to throw nice looking women into the air at The Big House like this!

I just can’t picture my old friend and work colleague Dave Imrick actually used to be able to throw nice looking women into the air at The Big House like this!

 

OSU took possession of the opening kickoff in the second half. The Buckeyes rolled the length of the field culminating in a diving catch by Jalin Marshall for a 5-yard scoring play. Following a Michigan punt, on their second possession of the half, the Buckeyes killed a lot of time advancing 84 yards on 16 plays before Barrett ran it over from the 13 to give the Buckeyes a 28-10 lead heading into the final period.

Ezekiel Elliot (15) scores from the ten in the final period.

Ezekiel Elliot (15) scores from the ten in the final period.

Despite the score, there was still an inkling that Michigan could get back in this game with a few quick scores as Rudock kept his team moving through the air (19 for 32 passing for 263 yards and one TD). U of M got into position for Allen to boot a 27-yarder early in the final period. However, the Buckeye offense covered 75 yards on six plays, 38 covered on a pass to Michael Thomas before Elliott carried it in from the ten for a 35-13 lead. Time waned but there still seemed to be some hope left for the Wolverines until a sack of Rudock by OSU DE Joey Bosa, hobbling and seemingly non-existent for most of the game, put a big hit on Rudock from behind which sent him to the sideline for the rest of the game. With Wilton Speight in at QB, Michigan turned it over on downs, and OSU put the game away with 8:43 left with Barrett’s 17-yard TD run. That was it, 42-13. The Scarlet conquered the Maize and Blue for the 11th time in the last 12 games of this heated rivalry. I headed back to the car to catch up with my new distraught U of M friends who had my travel bag in their car and who were anxious to get out of Ann Arbor after such a letdown.

 

With Michigan State’s trouncing of Penn State, 55-16, the Spartans will represent the Big Ten East against undefeated Iowa of the West in the conference championship with the winner most likely to play in this year’s College Football Playoff. Ohio State (11-1, 7-1) could end up in the Rose Bowl and Michigan (9-3, 6-2) will also await a bowl bid for New Year’s Day most likely. We may see one of them at this year’s Outback or Citrus bowl. We’ll wait until things are actually announced before we decide. As for our plans next Saturday, the originals were destroyed when Navy lost to Houston and Houston moved out ahead of Temple in the ratings this week to annul a chance to see the American Athletic Championship at either Annapolis or in Philly. Looking over the FCS, D2 and D3 choices amongst games within driveable distances this Saturday, we’re leaning to the D2 playoff clash between Slippery Rock (12-1) and the Shepherd Rams (11-0) in Shepherdsville, WV in the D2 quarterfinals. I was reminded of Slippery Rock leaving Michigan Stadium. A U of M favorite, the announcer came over the PA as most were heading toward the exits that Slippery Rock led Assumption College, 41-39. It was the loudest cheer of the day for Big Blue’s crowd, a record-setting 111,829. The Rock has played in the Big House before large crowds twice in the past. They are a Michigan small school favorite. I have three other close fans also interested in attending this one, so it looks like a go!

 

 

Extra points: As for “Planes, Trains, Buses, and Ubermobiles”’ here’s the great part of the story: I met some great college football fans. I had booked a flight out of Trenton, NJ for only $70 to Detroit one-way, a great bargain on Thanksgiving weekend. I could not get the return route back for less than $400, but after, I was able to find another flight on Frontier returning Sunday for only $140, but back from Chicago. To get from Detroit to Ann Arbor to Chicago or to rent a car for the entire weekend and drive all the way back to Trenton (ugh!), the rental car plus gas plus hotel plus time driving alone was just too much! For $40, I could get from Detroit to Ann Arbor to Chicago all by Greyhound bus (I blew it though on the taxi from the airport to Greyhound in downtown Detroit. Thought I had a bus route much cheaper, but the timing was inadequate). I got to the Detroit Greyhound station by 7 am to wait for the 7:45 from Detroit to “points west.” However, after a 7:30 bus, the 8 am bus to “points elsewhere” started to load its passengers. By 8:15, those of us waiting for Ann Arbor/Chicago hadn’t been told anything. The bus hadn’t shown up yet. A station manager finally told us the bus was running late, and the driver called to say he’d be there any minute. We were told to get on line so we would be ready to go when the bus arrived. It finally arrived, but the driver showed up only to tell the station manager he needed to take the bus in for needed repairs and he left. No plan, no word for how long, no back up bus. Maybe the next bus at 2 pm? Kickoff was set for 12 noon! It’s been 40 years since I last took a Greyhound Bus (and this will be the last), and I booked a bus to nowhere. Great! I saw a few people in Michigan garb scurry over to the ticket window. I didn’t have an option in the world I could think of without blowing my budget to get to Ann Arbor and on to Chicago that evening while still getting to the game. I broke out of the bus boarding line and approached the U of M fans talking to the woman at the ticket window with no success for vital information. I asked what they were considering as options. Turned out that Adam and Matt could get an Uber car and I asked if I could go with them if I paid cash for my share of the ride. “No problem,” they said.   Rhonda, also wearing Michigan garb, had to get to Ann Arbor to go to her work. She joined us, too. A small Honda pulled up and the driver was reluctant to take us all at first, but then he agreed. He had gotten stiffed by two previous callers, and we were going to be his last run of the morning. Rhonda sat in front and Adam, Matt, and I piled in on the back seat with me sitting in the middle on the hump. Adam, a Western Michigan grad, was going to meet his U of M friends at a tailgate. Matt, a Delaware grad now living in Detroit in the same building as Adam was going along with him. I, of course, had to tell Adam my one WMU story when I saw them get clobbered by Virginia Tech down at Blacksburg, 63-0, the largest margin of victory or defeat I had ever witnessed. He said VT was one of the few major schools to return the favor of playing a game against WMU in Kalamazoo. I told Matt about the time I’d seen UD play with Joe Flacco play against Towson and lose a shoot-out after his transfer from Pitt. Matt was at Delaware back in those days. During the 40-mile trip, we began to hit some game traffic on I-94. The driver was caught by surprise and wondered what was going on this day that was so big. Evidently not a college football fan any way. Rhonda explained it to him. I asked Adam that rather than drop me at the bus depot where I was planning to get a locker to stow my bag for the day, if he thought I could possibly tag along and eventually leave my travel bag in his friend’s car when we went into the game. He thought it would be more convenient and save time as well so he invited me to join him and Matt. We all got dropped off at the corner of Stadium Boulevard and South Main Street by the Big House from where we treaded over the muddy lawns of Pioneer High School looking for Adam’s friends. Because of heavy rains the previous few days, parking was prohibited on the U of M Golf Course where general game day parking usually is. I was introduced to Tom (Albion College), another Matt (a Michigan fan who services concession stands at numerous stadiums throughout the country), another Matt (Michigan grad who had the car), and other guys Chris and Ben among them. We had a few beers, talked Michigan football, college football, and about some of my other adventures. We were basically sharing stories “Tales from the Tailgate.” I eventually had to walk away to do my radio interview with “Spadora on Sports” at 10:30 am. On the show, I regretfully predicted an upset feeling pretty good that Michigan would be fired up under Harbaugh looking to upset Ohio State’s season. Matt, the driver, told me that they probably wouldn’t tailgate after the game so I told him I’d be back ASAP after the game to get my travel bag out of the car so they could get going. I had really lucked out meeting with Adam and Matt after the fiasco at Greyhound. Not only did I meet a great bunch of guys to hang out with before the game, but I lucked out finding someone with a car to leave my bag with which I would have been prohibited to get into the game with because of heightened security measures as such were announced approaching the gates of the stadium. I also later found out that the Greyhound terminal in Ann Arbor was an unmanned window with a bus schedule posted on it. No ticket manager, no lockers, no restrooms, nothing Greyhound. When I saw this, I decided not to hang around Ann Arbor for a while after the game to wait for the 7:50 pm bus. I was able to get on board the 5:05 to avoid any possible mishaps or cancellations like the one faced in the morning. It was also good because I found out other things, like the bus was only going to one station in Chicago and not all four shown on the Greyhound website. So on the bus I asked a young passenger beside me from Chicago the best ways to get to O’Hare Airport to catch a free shuttle bus to my hotel. Luckily, the Blue Line Subway which I knew went direct to O’Hare had a convenient station near the bus depot in downtown Chicago. I took it to O’Hare, and when I got the gate three where the Days Inn shuttle made pick-ups, it had gotten there for another customer pick-up when I arrived.  After that morning at the Detroit Greyhound station, things just seemed to get better regarding my travels. It was quite a travel weekend for one disappointing game, but everywhere I went things turned out well during the most heavily traveled holiday weekend of every year in the U.S. Even my flight back to Trenton arrived 30 minutes early. That has never happened to me before! I just wish Michigan could have made this chapter of this long storied rivalry more memorable than a 42-13 loss I travelled a long way out to witness. Thanks to Adam and Matt and all the other guys for making my trip run more smoothly than I could have hoped for under the initial, unexpected, bad circumstances. Good thing they were there for my sake. I told Adam to send me his address so I could send those copies of Tales from the Tailgate. Matt asked if they would be in the next edition. This is basically a great tale to tell among so many, so I’d have to include it!

Speaking of its storied past, Michigan honored careers of eight Michigan great whose jersey numbers had been retired: one for brothers Alvin, albert, and Francis Wissert; for former President Gerald Ford who played center and linebacker; Heisman winner Desmond Howard who made an appearance on the field; QB Bernie Osterbaan; TE Ron Kramer who played many years with the Green Bay Packers, and RB Tom Harmon, also known as Mark’s (TV actor and former UCLA QB) father.

In Trenton airport at the bar watching a game, I overheard one woman say she was going to the game to meet her father to attend her first college football game ever. Of course I had to tell her this was my 501st. I don’t know if she believed me or not, but another woman from the other end of the bar joined in as well. Turns out her boyfriend is Chris Partridge, former Paramus Catholic HS Coach who is now the Director of Player Personnel at Michigan. She told us about his original opportunity with Rutgers and that when Jim Harbaugh came calling, he couldn’t refuse. I was familiar with this history. She looked at me and asked me what my feelings were about that. I said I am a Penn State fan and that I was glad he at least didn’t go to Rutgers. She laughed and said that she was glad he avoided that situation as well. He’s going to play a significant role this off-season as he’s recruiting several top NJ High school football players for the Wolverines. That’s why Harbaugh didn’t go easy on Rutgers. More leverage We’ll see what happens.

Several other coaches among Harbaugh’s staff we are very familiar with from their playing days. Tyrone Wheatley is his running backs coach. The first time we saw Michigan play at PSU, Wheatley had a monster game running for the most yards ever against a Penn State defense in their win at State College. Secondary coach Michael Zordich was an All-American safety for Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions back in the 80’s. Michigan’s Strength Coach is Kevin Tolbert played for Navy back in the early 80s.

 

 

 

 

History is made! Collegefootballfan.com attends its 500th game!

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Rutgers outlasts Army at Collegefootballfan.com’s 500th game, 31-21

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West Point, NY – Rutgers (4-7) jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead, but Army fought back to close it to 24-14 by halftime, and the Scarlet Knights held off the Black Knights along the Banks of the Hudson during the second half to win it, 31-21. Along the banks of historic West Point, Collegefootball.com and about 120 guests celebrated the 500th NCAA college football game we’ve attended since we started keeping count of all the games starting back in September of 1979. It was a gala celebration on a “too beautiful to be asked for” November Saturday.. The game was played between two teams that have struggled all season, but our crowd among the 30,113 enjoyed the festivities and gathering of friends in the magnificent setting.

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Surprisingly, Army (2-9) on a fourth and one at RU’s 25 attempted a field goal on its first series and Rutgers recovered at the 40. I say surprising because Army’s triple option brethren, namely Navy and Air Force, would have considered this as fourth down territory and gone for the first down to play for a touchdown. Rutgers drove 60 yards after the block and Paul James ran it in from seven yards for the Scarlet Knight lead. Two series later, James (18 carries, 116 yards, 3 TDs) went in from the one. Army needed an answer to avoid what looked could be a blow out. Even the Corp of Cadets seemed to have lost interest in the contest on the field. I have to say that I’ve been disappointed in the spirit shown by the Corps this season – no organized cheering, chanting, singing, pride, or genuine spirit displayed whatsoever. Granted the team is not very competitive (yet), but we used to see even the top brass get out in front of the Corps to lead cheers. They used to have a head cheerleader on a microphone rousting the Corps at critical times. The spirit that Army always had even when their teams struggled in the past like this one has seems completely non-existent. They need to get that back. And I don’t mean just when they play Navy despite the underdog role they will be playing on December 12.

Army QB Chris Carter held to a short gain by RU defense.

Army QB Chris Carter held to a short gain by RU defense.

Led by third string QB, Freshman Chris Carter (20 carries, 111 yards, 1 TD/ 4 of 6 passes, 1 TD, 1 INT), the Cadets hacked away at the Scarlet Knight defense until RB Aaron Kemper broke through the middle for a 38-yard TD run to give the Black Knights a boost. The Scarlet Knights put together a subsequent scoring drive as QB Chris Laviano used his two RBs James and Robert Martin (17 carries, 99 yards, 1 TD) efficiently with runs and short passes until the latter rushed the final five yards to extend Rutgers lead, 21-7. The Black Knights needed to pull that dagger out and fight back. Carter gave his Knights a needed jolt as he ran 45 yards on Army’s next possession to get to RU’s 35. The option plays chipped away at the RU defense and on fourth and goal at the one, Carter got the Army back to within seven, 21-14, with 1:08 remaining.   RU QB Chris Laviano (13 of 21 passing for 105 yards) passed for short gains using the clock well enough to set up Kyle Federico for a 40-yard FG as time in the first half expired and Rutgers enjoyed a 24-14 lead at the half.

Rutgers' Robert Martin (7) scores from the five for a 21-7 lead.

Rutgers’ Robert Martin (7) scores from the five for a 21-7 lead.

As the second half was coming to a close, the shadows formed by the pre box over us made our seat section in the upper deck ( U-14) somewhat chillier. Our friends and fans joining us from SEC country had a difficult time not being used to that. Al lot of the crowd overall seemed to disperse after halftime because of the chill had headed to sunnier spots in Michie Stadium or even back out to tailgate. The U.S. Army band and Rutgers Marching Band combined at halftime for a musical tribute. As the game would draw to an end, once again drastically drawn out by lengthy commercial time-outs killing momentum and interest for many in the stands, it seemed like by the end of the game it would be a small contingent of our tailgate party, the beleaguered Corps of Cadets and the Rutgers band as among the last in the stands remaining.

United States Army and Rutgers Marching bands perform together at halfime.

United States Army and Rutgers Marching bands perform together at halftime.

Rutgers started after the second half kickoff from their 32 where James got them off to a quick start with a 54-yard jaunt to the Army 14. He took it in for his third TD of the day from the one to extend the Scarlet’s lead, 31-14. Army’s team did not give up despite the uninspiring spirit of the Corps. Army later forced Rutgers to punt. On a play worthy of Sport Center’s Top Ten plays of the day which I predicted and became true at Number Five, Army WR Edgar Poe hauled in a pass from behind his defender’s helmet, turned up field, stiff-armed his would be tackler who tried to force him out of bounds, and fought his way down field to keep his feet in bounds for a 65-yard TD. Of course, TV had to stop to review what was clearly a touchdown for several minutes before confirming. That process is also abusing the game for the spectators. Army closed the gap to 31-21 with a quarter left to play. They seemed ready to make a game of it.

Rutgers Vance Johnson catches a pass in the flat for a nine-yard gain.

Rutgers Vance Johnson catches a pass in the flat for a nine-yard gain.

Army’s defense forced Rutgers to punt from their 26 to hopefully get good field position to try for another scoring drive, but a roughing the kicker penalty kept the Scarlet offense on the field. RU’s eventual punt later went for a touchback before taking time of the clock, and the Army offense started from the 20.   Carter had his offense clicking getting down to RU’s 21. On second down to change things up from the triple option, Carter threw a pass over the middle and into the end zone where RU’s converted RB Josh Hicks made the move to safety to help the depleted Scarlet Knight secondary and out fought the Black Knight receiver for the football for an interception in the end zone to kill the Army rally. With 7:20 remaining, Army took over and effectively ran the ball and eventually ran out the clock. HC Jeff Moncken’s futile time-outs toward the end event seemed to rankle the Corps of Cadets who didn’t seem to want to agonize there any longer. RU took a knee at the 29 as time expired and our 500th game was recorded in the books with a Scarlet Knight victory over the Black Knights, 31-21. Our remaining stalwarts in the cold shadows of Michie gathered afterward an walked up and down hills on the beautiful campus as the sun began to set to get back to our tailgate. It didn’t take us much longer than had we waited to get on school buses to take us back instead.

Cadet 2nd class Matthew McKee of Kansas City met with me and Bob Jones during the second half. Bob worked with Matt's father in the past and he came by to say hello. He is considering the Infantry as his service when he makes his choice his First Class (senior) year.

Cadet 2nd class Matthew McKee of Kansas City met with me and Bob Jones during the second half. Bob worked with Matt’s father in the past and he came by to say hello. He is considering the Infantry as his service when he makes his choice his First Class (senior) year.

Rutgers (4-7, 1-6) next hosts Maryland (2-9, 0-7) to finish off an unspectacular season to say the least, and yet they still hope to attain a bowl bid with a win and a losing record. This bowl system stinks. Don’t ever let a team measure its competence by saying how may bowl teams were on its schedule. Being a bowl team is no longer the mark of competence. As for Army, it has three weeks to practice for No. 15 Navy on December 12 while the Mids play for the American Athletic Conference West Championship this Friday at Houston. If the Mids triumph, they will be hosting Temple or South Florida in their quest to represent the Conference of Five champs to play in one of the Big Six Bowl games. And if it does, don’t think the Midshipman will be looking past Army. They may want to beat them more than ever for the 15th straight time. As for CFF.com, we thought Game # 501 would be between Toledo (9-1, 6-1) and Western Michigan ( 6-5, 5-2) for a Mid-American head knocker until we found out that this game is now on at noon instead of a night game as we anticipated. Instead, we’ll go right into the fire as game # 501 will be a bloodbath with some if its luster was lost after Ohio State fell to Michigan State on Saturday, 17-14. Game No. 501 will be one of the most intense rivalries we’ll be attending when No 12 Michigan (9-2, 6-1) hosts No. 8 Ohio State (10-1, 6-1). If Penn State upsets division leader Michigan State in East Lansing on Saturday; these two will be playing for the Big Ten Eastern division title. If not, we may see one of them on New Year’s Day in Florida.   What a crazy football season! Urban Meyer coaching against Jim Harbaugh? It’s going get crazier this weekend! What a way to start our second 500 games!

West Point scene from our seats in the upper deck of Michie Stadium.

West Point scene from our seats in the upper deck of Michie Stadium.

 

Extra Points: Special thanks to our two Lakeland Bus Drivers this weekend, Sean and Marvin. Nice guys who did a great job for us! Sean even came back to the hotel to bring back a phone one of our friends left on the bus.

The West Point parking attendants we very accommodating giving us some extra space alongside our two buses to set up tables and coolers for our tailgating experience. They also had extra buses come to pick us up in time to get us to Michie Stadium for the pre-game ceremonies which are great to see. Cousin Vickie Scarpa provided two excellent banners made by her students at Passaic Tech High School in Wayne, NJ. One depicting our gala 500 celebration which I’m going to present to our Knights of Columbus Council 1954 in Boonton, NJ to celebrate the game played between Knights and as a Knights of Columbus fundraiser. The other one was for signatures to commemorate the event as a keepsake for yours truly. It was great day (Thank the Lord for the great weather at West Point in November)! Thanks to everyone who brought great stuff to eat and special thanks to Grill Master Frank Scarpa who barbequed the pork and re-heated it at the game for spectacular sandwiches. It was all enjoyed by everyone as it was finished before we went to the game. Everyone there that attended had a great time meeting with others – friends old and new, tailgating, attending the game, watching the pre-game festivities, seeing some of West Point as some of us walked back overlooking the Hudson River after the game, tailgating some more after, the bus rides to and from, hanging around the bar at the Hilton that evening. Bob Jones, a friend of about 20 years, a fellow Penn State fan, and a former Slippery Rock mascot when he attended SRU, presented me with trophy of sorts found by his mother who got it when she thought of me specifically when she saw it. Tremendous! See below. It was a fantastic celebration with a lot of fun that brought back memories and started some fantastic new ones!

Bob Jones presents my with a great gift to celebrate Game 500 !

Bob Jones presents me with a great gift to celebrate Game 500 !

One of my cousins, David Schember, a big fan of pro football, was a little confused about my celebration. In a conversation with Sharon Klein –Duggan, he called me over to settle a debate. He thought he was there to celebrate the 500th game played by Rutgers! He even told his boss, an RU grad, that that was why he was going to the game this weekend. He now knows why he never received a response back for his text he sent him. He couldn’t believe it was for MY 500th game. I told him to check out this web site. I hope he does.

The Knights of Columbus had such a great time. They already suggested doing Syracuse versus Notre Dame at the Meadowland next fall .- a venue reminiscent of huge tailgate parties we held back in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Sounds like a plan!

Santa sent one of his Elves to West Point to deliver the game ball for the last home game of the season. Three weeks now to get ready for Navy in Philadelphia.

Santa sent one of his Elves to West Point to deliver the game ball for the last home game of the season. Three weeks now for Army to get ready for Navy in Philadelphia.

We ran 50/50s on both buses for tips for our great bus drivers and for a K of C contribution. Thanks to Les and Don Di Vite for collecting on Bus 1 and to Bob ‘”Cat” Marcello and my cousin Kathy Graper for doing the same on Bus 2. It went very well. Kim Reigel (the most worthy Pitt alum I know because she at least married Darryl, fellow Juniata alum) was the winner on our bus as my wife, known as St. Laurie, Patron Saint of College football fans picked out the winning ticket on our bus. Afterward, we raffled off prizes on both buses including Collegefootballfan.com baseball caps, copies of my book, and a few CDs my daughter Alex helped organize and burned entitled, “Collegefootballfan.com’s Favorite Fight songs!”

Those who gathered at the Hilton/Hampton bar in Parsippany, NJ where many stayed over for the evening after such a great day, watched games, and saw the football season unravel as five undefeated teams fell. Like I said, it’s been a crazy season, and it’s going to get crazier! We are thrilled to have a front row seat of sorts to all this madness and I realize it no longer waits until March. I don’t know if it’s totally by design, but most of the conferences seem to have saves their best game for last except for the SEC. Come on! Alabama versus Charleston Southern, Auburn versus Idaho, Florida over Florida Atlantic in a squeaker, Kentucky over Charlotte, and South Carolina losing to the Citadel (thanks for the memories Steve Spurrier)? Those are supposed to e early season opponents to get the team ready for the tough games a the end. These seem like patsy games to get these teams over the hump if a winning record is out of reach. They might learn something from Rutgers. Winning seasons don’t matter anymore if you want to get to a bowl game. So you might as well pick on somebody your own size.

SEC fans and alum who joined us at our Game 500 celebration!

SEC fans and alum who joined us at our Game 500 celebration!

 

 

Steveo’s Salvos – November 20, 2015

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It’s here!  This is it!  It’s the weekend we’ve been waiting for and we’re PUMPED!!!  It’s not Ohio State at Michigan (yet) or a Conference championship with Navy in it (yet), or a CFP Bowl game (yet), but it is the 500TH GAME IN COLLEGEFOOTBALLFAN.COM HISTORY!!! I started this back in September 1979 visiting my sister Mary Kay and future brother-in-law Gunther at the University of Rhode Island.  We watched URI host Delaware that day, coached by the Legendary Harold “Tubby” Raymond, to lose, 49-14.  UD went on to win the D-2 National Championship that year.  QB Scott Brunner of the Fighting Blue Hens went on to play for the NY Giants.  The most memorable play was an onsides kick by URI to start the second half.  It was kicked as a perfect spiral and the left end caught it down field over his shoulder for the most perfect onside kick I’ve seen until this day.  On the next play, the URI TB ran over 40 yards for a TD, but like I said, they got clobbered.  I bought a Meadowlands season ticket package that season with Bob “Cat” Marcello and Kenny Gallagher to see two Syracuse home games while the Carrier Dome was being built on their campus way upstate. SU assistant coaches included Tom Coughlin and Nick Saban.  I wonder what ever happened to those two?   I saw them play Penn State for what turned out to be my first of 96 games now played by the Nittany Lions. Who knew I would meet John Massimilla, a recent PSU grad at the time, working out at the same YMCA and end up getting together with him, his wife Kelle, their kids, and a lot of good friends to continue to do this right up to this year.  I also saw the Orange  face West Virginia whose QB was a guy named Oliver Luck.  His son now happens to play QB for the Indianapolis Colts.  I  went down South on vacation from my first job for Thanksgiving week to visit my Auburn buddy, Charlie Murren. I also met Charlie at the same Y near home where I met John.   I had been down to “The Plain” the year before to see the Tigers host Georgia in the only tie, 22-22, that I ever witnessed at the D-1 level (now FBS).  This vacation though was centered around the Iron Bowl – Auburn vs. Alabama at Legion Filed in Birmingham.  I got to sit in the student section with Charlie and  watch the Bama players stroll down the field in civvies to check out the turf. The Auburn voices were in fine shape. “If you can’t go to college, go to Alabama!”  From across the field, the Crimson Tide band played and their fans cheered and sang in unison, “Hey Auburn!  Hey Auburn! We’re gonna beat the hell out of you!”  Oh yeah? The retort was fired back musically as well, ” Around the bowl and down the hole, roll, Tide, roll”  I was hooked. Then as the Tide players strolled back the other way down the field, one loan figure stood with his hands behind his back leaning against the goal post with his trademark Houndstooth hat on.  He seemed to watch his players with pride and with anticipation of how he would expect them to play against their hated rival that afternoon.   Finally, a voice from the Auburn student section rose above all the others, “Hey look at him! He’s so drunk he has to lean up against the goal post!”   War Eagle!  Large schools, small, whatever, that season motivated me to do what the great ABC Sportscaster Chris Schenkel always used to say and I always loved to hear him say it, “College Football!  What better way to spend an Autumn afternoon!”  Since that first game in 1979, I’ve been to 499 college football games, 120 + stadiums, big ones ,small ones, neutral sites, and going with friends or meeting new ones across the country, it’s been a fantastic trip.  My book, Tales from the Tailgate, captures the first time I had seen each of  the 119 FBS teams in existence up to 2007 play for the first time.  I take pride in that I started the project and I finished it. I just wish I had had the time to promote it, but a career  to support my family was the priority.  Now I’m up to all 129 FBS teams with the addition of Charlotte when they played at Old Dominion this year.  The games are exciting most of the time, the fans are great to be around, the tailgating is good wherever I go, the spirit and passion is fantastic, travel experiences are an  adventure, getting to visit various parts of the country for the first time are awesome,  and the memories are worth all the time, effort, and money I’ve put into this, and I don’t have one regret.  Of course, I’ve had great support from my wife Laurie to continue this adventure that I started before I knew her.  She’s had some great experiences and some laughs along the way with me and at me.  And my kids grew up enjoying the game and traveling to places a lot of kids haven’t gotten a chance to see while growing up.  There were a lot of side trips along with going to games.  Alex even selected the University South Carolina where she went to college with the admission one day that I had actually influenced her to go to a school with a big football program. She wouldn’t have it any other way.  Our son Eric, now in the Navy, played four years of high school football, and though I continued to go to college games, I never missed one of his.  And he had a great experience playing in the high school program at Lenape Valley Regional here in NJ. That experience taught him things like working hard and how to be part of a team which is making him successful in what he does today.   Saturday will not be comparable to any of the aforementioned games we also cannot wait to attend later this season.  This one will be played between two disappointing teams:   3-7 Rutgers and 2-8 Army.

I think I'm rooting for Army this weekend.

I think I’m rooting for Army this weekend.

The irony of this is that my two favorite teams are Penn State and Navy!  However, I will still enjoy this one. This is the type of game I generally look for, two comparably skilled teams who will play a close game for three or four quarters. I enjoy that and the diversity of college football.  There  are so many teams, so many campuses, different style offenses , rosters the change completely almost every four years, new coaches the come on board, some who figure out how to survive, new teams on schedules every year.  For coaches it’s work. For me it’s a lot of fun.  The seasons go fast, and it seems like it takes forever for each fall to get here, but it’s all worth the anticipation and planning and the fun it all brings.  That fun in particular comes along with the many friends I’ve brought to games and even made along the way.  It’s a tribute this Saturday that I actually have two busloads of friends coming up to West Point to celebrate with me. It means more than anything to me as many come from long distances for this unique celebration of a 500th football game.   I wish I could have had enough for two more busloads, but for various reasons other couldn’t make it.  No problem. Bob Marcello and Charlie Murren and my sister Mary Kay and Gunther will be there to enjoy the festivities.  John Massimilla and company are excused. Penn State hosts Michigan tomorrow.  I won’t quit doing this for as long as I can, and if there’s a chance to go meet up with a friend who lives some place near a game I want to see, we’ll hopefully be able to get together. I’ve know some of my friends since I was in grade school, and others I’ve met the past few years.  This is going to be a great time.  I’m really looking forward to it.  This is the true highlight of my season.  You’ll probably read a brief Game Review here on Sunday, but I hope what I’ll really have  a lot of pictures of memories not only for this weekend , but also a lot of good memories about all the good times I’ve had doing this for the past 36 years.  What a great ride this has been…Navy has to win this week and next to host the AAC Championship…D3 starts its playoffs this weekend. 32 teams. And the Big Boys can’t get eight spots for the 129 competing at their level.  Something’s wrong here.  I got a feeling it won’t be the traditional Mt. Union – Wisconsin -Whitewater Invitational this year.  We’ll be checking the results on Sunday.

Would the Knights show up this evening to give the No. 4 Spartans a real challenge?

How can you root for a guy who looks like this?