Seen 'em all – 133 FBS teams in action. Three new members to be added the next two years. All divisions: 695 games attended since 1979! Get my new book now available on Amazon.com in Kindle and in Paperback: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly! Follow our 31-game schedule in 2024.
The going is tough and the next few weeks don’t look too promising to bring life back to normal yet. We just got to keep working together with most of us standing down – a way of fighting back that we’re not used to. Pray for those who are sick, for the caregivers at the front of the fight, for all the efforts of support being made, for the deceased, and for those in mourning. And like the memories below, let’s cheer for a victory against the invisible foe we have to unite against to defeat! Enjoy and let’s hope life returns to what we all want it to be for us and for generations ahead.
Air Force Dance Team excites the Falcon crowd in Colorado Springs.Cincinnati Bearcats get their fans up at Navy!Mizzou Golden Girls celebrate Buffalo Wild Wing Bowl win over Minnesota.2019 National Champs – LSU Tigers!Wake Forest rallies their faithful alum at their pregame tailgate party!Rutgers cheerleader wonders if Collegefootballfan.com is at this game today.Kutztown U. Dance Team (KUDT) performs at Andre Reed Stadium at the half.North Dakota State cheerleader flips for her 2019 FCS National Champion Bison.Boston College cheerleader gets up for her Eagles against Rutgers.In Boone, NC, The Appalachian State squad cheers for their team in an October snowstorm.Down big to Penn State at the half, the grim-faced Maryland Terp dance team danced despite a lot of empty seats at The Byrd.The Temple spirit shone for the student body before the Owls wrecked Georgia Tech.Pre-game Harvard huddle brainstorms.Georgia Tech girls didn’t know which way to turn as their team throttled Mississippi State and Dak Prescott at the Orange Bowl.The Irish were up for Stanford, but they lost, 17-10.Navy sideline action keeps fans up on Gold Side of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.It was worth going to see Old Dominion play in Norfolk when they stepped up into the FBS a few years ago.Baylor impressed us on and off the field with their win over North Carolina in the Russell Athletic Bowl.We’ve seen the Tennessee Vols win in bowl games four times. We’re not complaining. The Delaware State Dance Team brings the sting of their Hornets to the First State Game when they play UD in Newark to kickoff the season in the First State.Syracuse cheer, “Go Orange!”We’re just going to sneak away with the Sun Dolls of South Florida until the next time we chase away these Coronavirus blues.
Among 24 games attended in 2020, we have to say that we saw some tremendous quarterback performances. This season deserves to be recognized as our year among the first 40 as our “Year of the Quarterback.” QBs dominated not only through the air, but on the ground as well. Shoot-outs were attended as well as blow-outs. The performances witnessed shown through all levels of NCAA football, not just the FBS.
Louisville QB Micale Cunningham go off to a hot start in the first period completing 5 of 6 for 99 yards and 2 TDs vs.Wake Forest, but he had to leave in the second period due to a leg injury to be replaced by Evan Conley. He could have made our Top Ten otherwise.
Our selection process
With so many outstanding performances indicated by impressive stats and leadership we witnessed, we pared these down to our Top Ten. Some blowouts could be set aside because of inferior competition. We also favored winning performances over losing performances, but we’ll recognize these as Honorable Mentions in the end. In reverse order, here are our Top Ten Quarterback performances during our 40th season, 2019.
10-6
10. Mike Hnatkowsky, Muhlenburg, 24-8 D-3 quarterfinal win over Salisbury (11-1) – 24 for 38, 264 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
9. Collin DiGalbo, Kutztown, 54-16 opening win over Assumption (6-4) – 16 for 23, 263 yards, 4 TDs, 5 for 89 rushing, 2 TDs
Collin DiGalbo rolling right against Notre Dame of Ohio in D-2 playoff action.
8. Sean Clifford, Penn State, 45-10 win over Buffalo (8-5) – 16 for 22, 279 yards, 4 TDs, 11 for 51 yards rushing
7. Anthony Brown, Boston College, 35-28 opening win over Virginia Tech (8-5) – 15 for 26, 275 yards, 2 TDs, 17 rushing yards, 1 TD
BC’s Quarterback Anthony Brown (13) beats VA Tech defense into the end zone.
6. Sam Howell, North Carolina, 55-13 Military Bowl win over Temple (8-5) – 25 for 34, 294 yards, 3 TDs, 24 yards rushing
Military bowl MVP Sam Howell (7), only a Frosh, looks down field on a touchdown drive against the Temple Owls in a romp at Annapolis.
5-1
5. Sean Clifford, Penn State, 59-0 win over Maryland (3-9) – 26 for 31, 398 yards, 3 TDs, 7 carries for 54 rushing, 1 TD
4. Malcolm Perry, Navy, 35-28 win over SMU (10-3) – 9 for 16, 162 yards, 1 TD, 38 carries for 195 yards rushing, 2 TDs
Malcolm Perry unleashes a pass down field against Air Force in one of his four wins we attended. He finished the season second in the nation in rushing with 2,017 yards.
3. Roland Reese III, Slippery Rock, 37-35 PSAC Championship win over Kutztown (11-2) – 28 for 44, 302 yards, 4 TDs, 15 for 61 rushing
Slippery Rock QuarterbackRoland Reese III got great blocking up front all season on the way to Division 2’s Harlon Hill Award .
2. Malcolm Perry, Navy, 31-7 win over arch rival Army (5-8) – 0-0 passing, 304 yards rushing, 2 TDs, only fourth QB ever to run for over 300 yards
1, Joe Burrow, LSU, 62-28 CFP Peach Bowl win over No, 4 Oklahoma (11-2) – 29 for 39, 493 yards, 7 TDs (bowl record), 1 TD rushing
Heisman winning quarterback JoeBurrow’s long range accuracy proved deadly with good protection in front of him versus the Oklahoma Sooners in the 62-28 semi-final victory in The Peach Bowl.
Honorable mentions
Daniel Smith,Villanova vs Colgate; Anthony Caserta, FDU-Florham vs. William Paterson; Trey Lance, North Dakota State vs. Delaware; Art Sitkowski, Rutgers vs. Boston College; Ken Davidson, Princeton vs. Butler; Donald Hammond, Air Force vs. Navy; Tanner Morgan, Minnesota vs Rutgers; Jamie Newman, Wake Forest vs. Louisville; Justin McMillan, Tulane vs. Navy; Sam Ehringer, Texas vs. Kansas State; Skylar Thompson, Kansas State vs. Texas
NDSU QB Trey Lance (5) brings his Bison closer to the end zone , another FCS championship, and the Walter Payton Award. Against Delaware here, he completed 18 of 23 for 195 yards and 3 TDs. He carried the ball six times for 23 yards. This freshman led the Bison to a collegiate record of 16 wins and 0 losses. He completed 192 of 287 passes for 28 TDs. He was never intercepted. Maybe we’ll see him play again.
No sports on TV. Gyms are closed. Bars closed. Theaters shut down. Take-out only at the least. No spring games this year. No March Madness! No MLB openers in April. When does this solitude and uneasiness end? College football, hopefully, will kick off in August. Can’t wait. Here’s some reminisces of our games past to beat these coronavirus blahs blues.
Something to cheer about at No. 1 LSU! Sideline Sounds for CBS TV sports at Colgate last year looked like a lonely job, but somebody’s got to do it!Not the Crimson Tide – the Crimson of Harvard!Texas cheer: Hook ’em Horns!Temple’s Starting line-up! Wake up for Wake Forest!Wake Foresters have been smiling a lot the past few years with a lot to cheer about.Every time her No. 1 NDSU Bison scored, she rushed for over 100 yards! Who says Harvard can’t compete at this level? Colgate brings out the brightest smiles!Rutgers is ready! RU?These Alabama cheerleaders were all smiles after the CFP win over Oklahoma in 2018. Even cute, cuddly Aubie, Auburn’s mascot, has to be careful with his come-ons these days!For our Lady fans,“First Down Freddie” leads a cheer to celebrate another for the Mids of Navy! A Happy Homecoming dance in 2018 at UMass! Boston College pom-poms!Rutgers cheer-leading squad – Sing-around the campfire Jersey Girls!At Northern Illinois – the worst thing about college football in 30 degree temps – cheerleader uniforms.Still happy times to cheer these days in Baton Rouge!Cornhuskers cheer in the Music City.Delaware cheerleaders perform at the 2018 Elon game. That looks like our pal Navy Al in the baseball cap who always prefers his front row seat no matter where he goes! Houston Courgettes!Despite the rain, this Navy cheerleader keeps us smiling along with her.Temple’s marching units always seem to enjoy putting on an energetic halftime show!Get used to it. We may be seeing a lot more Vanderbilt cheerleaders in the future.Why these Notre Dame cheerleaders let us in the picture, I’ll never figure.Collegefootballfan.com’s No. 1 cheer squad of all time – UCLA!Coastal Carolinas Chant’s’ Cheerleaders – another reason to go back to Myrtle Beach!Pitt Panthers prowl their sideline.With no spring game this year, we already look forward to heading back to Beaver Stadium in the Fall!Come back and cheer with us again soon for some more Coronavirus Blues beaters!
In 2019, Collegefootballfan.com attended 24 NCAA football games. Among the competitors, we attended games played by 22 FBS programs, six FCS teams, four D-II’s, and four D-III’s. In games played by the 22 FBS teams, 17 made it to post-season bowl games (“everybody gets a bowl game”). We made it to only two of those contests this season, both blow-outs.
We saw the best, No. 1 LSU, and the worst, UMass, 1-11. In between, teams featured on our schedule fell well interspersed among the existing 130 FBS teams competing for bowl games. Teams who competed on our schedule finished 10-7 in bowls, but three of these bowls featured teams we saw play on this year’s schedule against one another. In the end , we saw some of the best of the best of 2019. Seven teams finished in the AP Top 25. So based on our summary of teams we saw play this year, our Top Ten for 2019 finished as follows:
LSU, 15-0, National Champs, saw them decimate No. 4 Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl CFP
Minnesota, 11-2, No. 10 in AP defeating No. 9 Penn State and impressively over No. 14 Auburn in the Outback Bowl
Penn State, 11-2, No. 9 defeated No. 15 Iowa, No. 18 Michigan, and No. 17 Memphis in the Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma, 12-2, No. 7 Big Twelve champs beat No. 13 Baylor twice and No. 25 Texas
Navy, 11-2, No. 20 won close, exciting competitive games we attended this year against No. 22 Air Force, Tulane, and SMU before doing the same vs. Kansas State (who beat Oklahoma) in The Liberty Bowl
North Dakota State, 16-0, FCS National champs, watched them whip Delaware, but this team can match up with most Top 25 FBS teams
Air Force, 11-2, No. 22 lost close games at No. 23 Boise and at No. 20 Navy, but manhandled most of their schedule including Washington State in the Cheez-It Bowl
Texas, 8-5, No. 25 beat Kansas State in our game, whipped No. 16 Utah in the Alamo Bowl, and gave No. 1 LSU a tussle early in the season.
SMU, 10-3, unranked lost to AAC foes No. 17 Memphis and No. 20 Navy by six and seven respectively before falling to FAU (11-3) in Boca Raton Bowl
Louisville, 8-5, unranked defeated Wake Forest in our game 62-59 and beat Mississippi State in Music City Bowl
It’s only February and most FBS and FCS schedules are complete and posted. Our plans are already formulating starting next August. We’ve set up our matrix of schedules and peruse it diligently to determine where we want go, who we want to see, and what we can afford to do. Planning each season is as much fun as getting to these games. Times are not announced until much later. Some games will be moved for the benefit of television schedules from Saturdays to weekday nights. So up until the season actually starts, we may still have some options to weigh, and we’ll continue refer to our slates up until the very beginning as “tentative”.
In Stone
However, certain games loom already that we’ve establishes as priorities, and no matter what other game(s) may be scheduled in conflict with these, or if possibly moved to another date, unless it just doesn’t make sense in respect to timeliness, we plan to definitely attend.
Can’t miss Ohio State at Penn State, of course!
We can say that the ones listed here are “chiseled in stone.” Other dates are being planned. As a matter of fact, we may be relocating our current base in the state of the “Birthplace of College Football” to another state where we will have some options that we never had before. Nothing is definite regarding that yet, so this scheduling season, we work on two plans until we know what’s definite. However, relocation or not, these games listed here are definite. You’ll be reading more about plan updates after we figure out where we will be dwelling this fall. Check us out for this and other updates including our Collegefootballfan.com 2019 All-American teams, draft pick analysis, and other Collegefootballfan.com extra points!
2020 Collegefootballfan.com Schedule
We don’t ever plan to see another Notre Dame game in South Bend, but we’ll go all the way to Ireland to see the Irish play the Midshipman.
The season of 2019 gave us a mark that we’ve never achieved in 40 years despite having attended 610 college football games. We didn’t even plan for for this one. Though we made an effort to see all four NCAA champions as reported previously, we stepped into it though with this effort as we did get to see three players earn the highest award in their respective divisions as the Player of the Year.
Three out of four “ain’t” bad
Three divisions award a trophy to their top player every year named after an individual honored pretentiously for playing in each of those respective levels. Division III names Offensive and Defensive Players of the year, and the prowess of this year’s award winner at that level did not appear before us in person, QB Broc Rutter of D-3 Champ North Central, but having witnessed a competitor he performed against, Muhlenberg, his team’s final result speaks volumes of his talent. In D-III, 247 teams compete making it probably the hardest to achieve with so many players involved throughout the land.
Every college football fan knows that the Heisman Trophy recognizes the top player from among the 130 programs that compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS). On the other hand, fewer fans realize that the highest award bestowed on the best player of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) consisting of 126 teams honors former Jackson State and Chicago Bear running back Walter Payton. Another former Chicago Bear player who played college ball at Florence State Teachers College (now the University of North Alabama) from 1950 to 1953, Harlon Hill, honors the Player of the Year at the Division II level. One hundred sixty-seven football teams compete at this level.
The Heisman
In the FBS, Joe Burrow, QB from LSU, led No. 1 Tigers over No. 4 Oklahoma as we attended The Peach Bowl to see their 63-28 CFP semi-final win. He passed for 493 yards and seven TDs all in the first half. The Tigers led at intermission, 49-14. He also ran for a TD in the second half. He displayed amazing accuracy. We noted one particular play that evening which made him stand out. On a third and two from his 22, under heavy pressure, Burrow rolled right. Nearing the sideline, in one motion falling out of bounds, he fired a submarine pass down field 24 yards to Terrace Marshall hitting him right in the chest for a first down. The drive resulted in his second of four TD passes to Jefferson for a 28-7 lead. That play stands out among all plays we witnessed in that performance, probably the best we’ve seen among all twenty Heisman performances we’ve seen on display over 40 years.
Joe Burrow looks to pick apart Sooner secondary in first period.
To dominate the 2019 Heisman voting, Burrow completed 76.3% of his passes for 5,671 yards, 60 TDs, and only six INTs. He led LSU to the CFP Championship in a win over Clemson and a 15-0 record overall. The senior, who sat on the bench at Ohio State for three years, will most likely be the top pick in the NFL in this April’s draft.
The Walter Payton Award
Freshman QB Trey Lance of North Dakota State stepped up in 2019 to not only take the Payton Award, but he led the Bison to their eighth FCS national championship in nine years while setting a modern NCAA record with a 16-0 record. We saw him lead his team in a dominating road win at Delaware Stadium where the Bison defeated the Fighting Blue Hens who finished at No. 25, 47-22.
NDSU QB Trey Lance (5) was effective running as well as passing for the Bison.
That afternoon, Lance completed 18 of 23 passes for 195 yards and three TDs as the Bison got off to a fast start for this win. For the season, he completed 192 of 287 passes for 2,714 yards and 28 TDs. Most impressive, no foe intercepted any of his passes. He kept defenses off balance rushing for 934 yards and 13 TDs. His QB ranking for the season finished at 182.80. Lance became the first frosh to ever win the Payton Award in its 33-year history. NDSU defeated James Madison in the FCS final, 28-20.
The Harlon Hill Award
Slippery Rock senior QB Roland Reese III led the Rock to a 13-1 record. He tied a D-II record this season being responsible for 370 of his team’s points. In eleven of 14 games, he threw three TD passes or more tossing 61 in total for the season. We saw Rivers III perform to his utmost capability completing 28 for 41 passes for 302 yards, four TDs, and one INT in a 17-point come back win over Kutztown in the PSAC title game, 37-35. The victory catapulted the Rock to the No. 1 seed in Super Region One of the D-II playoffs. They fell in the national semi-final game to Minnesota State.
D-II Harlon Hill Trophy
For the season, he completed 322 passes for The Rock, 52 for touchdowns. In voting for the Hill Award, he beat out runner-up RB Jaleel McLaughlin from Notre Dame of Ohio. We also got to see McLaughlin play against the same Kutztown team in a last second 20-17 victory on the second round of the D-2 playoffs. KU QB Collin DiGalbo was also recognized as on of the top QBs in D-II. We saw a lot of great talent at this level in 2019 in three games played at Andre Reed Stadium at Kutztown. Like the Buffalo Bill WR and Kutztown alum for whom the KU Stadium is named for, we may see some of the players from those games making it to the next level. Rivers III received an invitation to play in the Hula Bowl this past January.
Rivers III (14) hands off to DeSean Dinkins in action against tough Kutztown.
We have to wonder, how many college football fans like us got to see some of the best teams of the 2019 season in all four divisions of NCAA football? Our effort toward the end of the season with the addition of one major bowl and several playoff games gave us hopes to see the top team in each. Regretfully, we came up short. Only two national champions ended up in our final tally among 15 nationally ranked teams on our final slate, but how many other fans can say they saw two No. 1 teams this season? We did.
Took a shot to see national champ #2 and won
Our dream to see four national football champs in one year died with losses by Slippery Rock and Muhlenberg when they fell in their respective playoffs. When the decision was made to possibly see the top four, we followed through on our effort by attending the CFP semi-final at The Peach Bowl in Atlanta to see No. 1 LSU play No. 4 Oklahoma. With an affordable game ticket, a round trip plane ticket down and back from Baltimore the morning after The Military Bowl in Annapolis, and the blessing of St. Laurie, the opportunity presented itself to us. We knew it didn’t guarantee us that we would see the national champs with defending champ Clemson and No. 2 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl in the other half of the bracket, but we made the right move.
Burrow’s accuracy proved deadly with good protection in front of him versus the Sooners.
As you all know now, LSU 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow led No. 1 LSU over No. 4 Oklahoma in The Peach, 63-28, throwing for 493 yards and seven TDs all in the first half. The Tigers led at intermission, 49-14. Burrow tied the all-time bowl record for TD passes in a game, and WR Justin Jefferson (14 catches for 227 yards) tied the all-time bowl record with his four touchdown receptions, again all in the first half. Burrow ran for another TD in the second half to punctuate his performance.
No guarantee to see No. 1 until the CFP championship
Burrow showed accuracy for sure (click here for our game review), but the Sooner defense rarely challenged him with a rush nor his receiving corps with tight coverage by their secondary. Clemson, winners of the Fiesta Bowl would surely contest the Bayou Bengals with wily Dabo Swinney and his defensive coordinator Max Venable. What we saw from the comfort of our couch that evening, the Orange Tigers provided tight coverage on the White Tigers totally unlike Boomer Sooner. However, Burrow came up just as accurate as he was against tight coverage as he was against lackadaisical coverage. Of course, Ed Orgeron’s team won the national championship in impressive fashion, 42-25.
LSU’s first half Peach Bowl stats tell all there was to know.
We at collegefootballfan.com saw two national champs play by the end of 2019 – LSU (15-0) and North Dakota State (16-0). In addition we saw two national Semi-finalists who finished No. 7 (Muhlenberg) and at No. 9 (Slippery Rock) in their respective divisions. Can any other true college fan lay claim to something better than that in 2019? Will we ever have shot to pursue that again? Not without a lot of luck, but it was a fun pursuit and if the opportunity ever comes up again, we’ll give it our best shot. We love this great game of College Football!
Come back for more best of our 2019 season coming up, including best players, best teams, best games, and other insights about college football before we start focusing on our plans for the 2020 season. To be honest, we’re working on it already, but we don’t want to get too excited yet.
Going for it – D-3
Well since we’d seen North Dakota State play in September knowing they could go all the way, and having seen Slippery Rock and or Kutztown on their way into the D-2 playoffs, we hankered to see a CFP playoff if possible figuring the Peach Bowl CFP could offer us the best of the FBS. Hey, wait a minute! How about D-3? We noted that two schools within reach of us making their moves at that level – Delaware Valley and Muhlenberg – both in eastern Pennsylvania to the 2019 Stagg Bowl for the D-3 title. We paid attention.
Neither team hosted a quarterfinal game on December 7. So DVU traveled out to play North Central of in Naperville, Illinois who conquered perennial D-3 champ Mount Union in the second round in a shoot-out , 59-52. The Mules didn’t have to venture as far and headed to play Salisbury in Maryland where Brian Donnelly, fellow Navy fan living in Frederick, Maryland, joined me. The home team Sea Gulls of the NJAC came in with their high-powered triple option overwhelming SUNY-Maritime in the opening round, 83-0. In the second, they overcame tough Union of New York, 62-41. On the other hand, the Mules dominated defensively blanking MIT, 38-0, in the first game and Brockport State of New York in the second, 42-0. The match-up pitted the unstoppable offense against the unyielding defense. We looked forward to it.
Devastating defense
The Mules stop Salisbury QB John Lanham for a short gain.
In the classic match-up, the Mules’ defensive strategy shut down the Gulls triple-option offense that averaged 343 rushing yards per game to just 127. The Sea Gulls, second nationally in passing efficiency, completed only four of 17 pass attempts. The quick, stifling, well-coached Muhlenberg defense held Salisbury (12-1) to only eight points after averaging 51.1 points per game coming into this game at home. Through the second and third periods, the Mule defense moved well laterally on run plays to either side the offense veered to to quickly plug holes for dive plays. They adequately covered the ends tightly on pitch-outs to keep the Sea Gull running game in check.
Most impressively, Muhlenberg QB Michael Hnatkowsky completed 24 of 38 passes for 264 yards. His three TDs boosted his career school record to 96 passes for touchdowns with another full season ahead of him. The Mules triumphed, 24-8. They advanced to the semifinals to fall to eventual national champ North Central who defeated them 45-14 before taking down another perennial D-3 finalist, Wisconsin-Whitewater, 42-14. Talk about a high-powered offense, Central averaged 45.4 points in five playoff games. Not only did they score 100 points against two programs who won the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl 15 times in the past 20 years, they defeated a very formidable Muhlenberg defense we watched play shutdown defense in person. The Mules finished No. 7 in the final poll. Salisbury trailed at No. 9.
Added the Bison for the first time
Prior to the season, we targeted North Dakota State in September coming east. Our expectation figured they would be shooting for their eighth FCS Championship in nine years. They didn’t let us down in that respect. However, we like Delaware football and hoped they had a chance for an upset. The Bison handled the Fighting Blue Hens easily with a dominating 47-22 victory on September 14.
No. 1 Bison bull-rushed over and through the Delaware defense early in our season.
Eventual Walter Payton Award winner, Frosh QB Trey Lance, completed 18 of 23 passes for 195 yards and three TDs. Kobe Johnson carried 11 times for 101 yards and one TD. This victory under new HC Matt Entz gave NDSU its third straight win of the early season. For the program overall, the Bison recorded their 24th straight victory. They finished undefeated at 16-0 (a modern NCAA D-1 record) by season’s end defeating James Madison in Frisco, Texas, 28-20, taking their eighth title in nine years. JMU had interrupted their streak in 2016. The Bison carry a 37-game winning streak heading into the 2020 season. Call it a stampede!
D-2 Conference championship
This scenario doesn’t get any better than this at any level of the college football regular season. When this opportunity came up, we abandoned our idea of attending a big Ivy league game on November 16 (7-1 Princeton hosting 7-1 Yale) for a championship game arranged last minute in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The PSAC does this every year to determine its Conference champ. With 16 teams, they determine two top teams among all and establish a legitimate championship game.
This season, Slippery Rock and Kutztown both finished undefeated and ranked in D-2 having never played one another. The title game was slated at Andre Reed Stadium, home of the KU Golden Bears who we had seen open their season there against Assumption of the NEC who they pummeled, 54-16. The two opponents originally on their respective schedules to end their PSAC regular seasons on the final week rescheduled to play one another to leave the two best PSAC teams to in it on the field. We love this plan!
Roland Reese III takes it close to the goal line against the Kutztown Golden Bears.
Sorting out our best among D-2
The game was a battle. No. 8 Slippery Rock bested No. 15 Kutztown University with 26 seconds left to win the conference title, 37-35. With 2:06 remaining, Slippery Rock started from their 35 . QB Roland Rivers III (28 of 41, 502 yards, four TDs, one INT) got to work running and passing. On a third and ten he completed a pass to WR Jermaine Wynn at the 17 followed by an eight-yard pass to Qaadri Dixon. From there, RB Charles Snorweah took it over to gain SRU the 37-35 lead. Chapla’s conversion failed to lead by only two.
With seconds left, Kutztown HC Jim Clement opted for a 51-yard FG attempt into the wind with his struggling kicker instead of attempting a long pass as time expired. KU had taken a two-touchdown lead into the final period and also opted out of a FG attempt to extend their lead while The Rock (11-0) scored 17 unanswered points to take the title and gain a bye week in the opening round of the upcoming playoffs. Rivers went on to win the Harlon Hill Award that goes to the outstanding player of the year in D-2 football.
Jaleel McLauglin (32 carries for 163 yards) of the Notre Dame Falcons plugged away against Kutztown up until the end of this second round playoff game to defeat the Golden Bears, 20-17, on a last second 30-yard field goal by Tanner Harding.
Final D-2 rankings
Both The Rock and Kutztown entered D-2 playoffs the following week. In a game we attended, Golden Bear QB Collin DiGalbo struggled unlike the two previous games we’d seen him play. The Bears fell to Notre Dame of Ohio at home on a last second field goal, 20-17. SRU advanced past another PSAC team, newcomer Shepherd, 51-30. In the semi-finals, The Rock got slammed my Minnesota State, 58-15. State fell in the D-2 final to national champion, West Florida, 48-40. In the final D-2 poll, Slippery Rock ranked the highest among D-2 teams we’d seen in 2019 at No. 9. The D-2 Falcons of Notre Dame (12-2) came in at No. 11 while Kutztown (11-2) fell in at No. 16. We got to see great, fun, competitive games played among these three in 2019.
Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49’ers seen in action in college make it to this year’s Super Bowl
DE Kevin Givens (30) zeros in on Maryland QB in 2018 in Penn State’s 38-3 win over Terps. In his rookie year for the 49ers, he’s second team DL.
One night in South Bend, Indiana
San Fran OT Mike McGlinchey (68) captains his Fighting Irish on to the field in the November 2016 game versus Stanford where the Irish fell, 17-10. He now leads the ‘Niner offensive charge into the Super Bowl wearing jersey No. 69. DT Solomon Thomas played for the Cardinal against the Irish that evening to make this solid stop here. He’s now McGlinchey’s teammate, second on the DL depth chart.
And in Nashville, in an SEC clash
Speaking of collegiate foes, DB Rashad Fenton of South Carolina Carolina (16) squared off against Vanderbilt and OT Justin Skule (58) last year with the Gamecocks coming out on top, 37-14. They can meet again as Fenton is second on the KC secondary depth chart while Skule stepped into a starting role as OT this season for San Fran.
Then a team from Murfreesboro visited Minneapolis
KC DB Charvarius Ward (2) was seen in action here for Middle Tennessee State against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in 2017 where U of M triumphed , 34-3. Now, he may get a chance to pop former MTSU teammate and WR Richie James in the Super Bowl. James also returns punts and kickoffs for the Niners.
And in Bowl action…
Now with San Fran, WR Dante Pettis made this tight rope catch for Washington’s only score in its 2016 CFP Peach Bowl loss to Alabama, 24-7. Iowa LB Ben Nieman (44) made it from the 2017 New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium to the the Super Bowl in Miami in 2020 as a second-teamer for the Chiefs.
Down to the wire!
Georgia Tech’s Harrison Butker, now with the Chiefs, kicked a 35-yard field goal with 54 seconds left to tie FSU, 16-16, in 2015. Tech went on to win this game on the return of a missed FG to pull the upset on the final play. We hope this year’s Super Bowl is as “super”!
To celebrate the 150th anniversary in 2019, ESPN.com selected the first and second greatest teams of all time. With the last 40 years under our belts having attended 610 games thus far, we at collegefootballfan.com got to see our fair share of some of the greatest players in all of college football history play during those years. Below, we remember what we can about those we saw over these many years and some stuff we had to look up, too.
First team, all-time defensive players
DL Reggie White, Tennessee, 1980-1983
In the fourth and final edition of The Garden State Bowl in the Meadowlands in 1981, the most vivid memory of that game until this day was Tennessee’s Olympian WR Willie Gault streaking down the right sideline for an 87-yard kickoff return to give his Vols a 10-7 lead over Wisconsin. The Vols and Badgers drew to a 21-point tie going into the final period, and the Vols scored with 8:43 to take the lead to win the game. On the defensive side of the ball for Tennessee, soph DL Reggie White ended his stalwart season with eight tackle to earn the award as Defensive Player of the game.
About this time, White studied theology and became a Baptist Minister while at UT earning him the name “Minister of Defense” before going on his professional career. His 293 stops over four years in Knoxville including 32 sacks propelled him into the USFL where he played for the Memphis Showboats. He payed there for two season before the league shutdown. He moved on to the Philadelphia Eagles who had drafted him at of Tennessee as the fourth pick of the 1984 draft. White played 15 years in the NFL with the Eagles, Packers and Panthers. The totaled 221.5 sacks in both leagues making him the all-time pro sack leader. In 2005, he passed away too early from cardiac arrhythmia, and in 2006 the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined him on his first ballot. The University of Tennessee, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers all retired his “92” jersey in his memory.
DB Charles Woodson, Michigan, 1995-97
In his junior season, we saw Woodson and his fellow Wolverines bring their 8-0 record to Happy Valley in State College, PA to face 7-0 Penn State in 1997. Working on his second straight season earning first-team All-American honors, the full-time DB and part-time offensive weapon and punt returner left the denizens of the Valley very unhappy decimating the Nittany Lions, 38-3. The dominating Michigan defense held all their opponents that season to a 9.75 ppg average heading to a 12-0 record and the National Championship following their Rose Bowl victory. In 1996 and 1997, Woodson earned Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year Award. In 1997, he garnered the Heisman Trophy award outpacing QB Peyton Manning of Tennessee by 282 votes. He left the college ranks with 18 INTs over three seasons to be taken fourth in the 1998 draft by the Oakland Raiders. Over 15 years with the Raiders and Packers, he picked off 65 passes and scored 11 TDs on returns. His 13 career defensive touchdowns leave him tied with two other players for most ever.
First team, all-time offensive players
WR Larry Fitzgerald, Pitt, 2002-2003
In 2003, I grabbed a few tickets to take my eight year-old son Eric for two late season night games to see the Pitt Panthers play key opponents in the final season of Big East football. Fitzgerald was only a sophomore, but it was one of only two seasons he performed for the Panthers (8-5,5-2). For Pitt fans, his time forged tremendous memories before heading to the NFL.
We got to see an exciting 31-28 win over Virginia Tech with him hauling in a five-yard TD pass early in the game. In their last regular season game, the Panthers fell to eventual No. 2 Miami, 28-14, when he caught an 18-yarder in the third period to finalize the score. He completed his soph season with 92 catches for 1,672 yards, and 22 TDs. Putting a stamp on his very short collegiate career, he finished No. 2 in the Heisman balloting before being drafted No. 3 overall by the Arizona Cardinals.
OT Orlando Pace, Ohio State, 1994-1996
Pace became a leader in the term “pancakes” during his career as a Buckeye. We got to see him play in a key game in 1995. The memory goes back to expecting to see a good game and to see this junior throw his weight around against the Nittany Lions at Penn State. However, the game turned out to be a one-sided affair as the Lions stormed past the Buckeyes , 63-14, on their way to the Big Ten Championship and a Rose Bowl win over Oregon to finish undefeated, but only No. 2 in the country.
As for Pace and Ohio State, they finished 11-2 that season. In 1996, his senior season, Orlando received Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Outland Trophy winner among other awards. In 1997, the St. Louis Rams drafted him as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. He finished fourth in the Heisman balloting his senior season, quite indicative of how dominant a lineman he reigned as during his collegiate career.
OT Bill Fralic, Pitt, 1981-1984
A starter at Pitt coming out of Penn Hills High School, we got to see Fralic compete for the Panthers during six games in three of his seasons at Pitt. His team finished No. 4 at 11-1 his first season as we saw the Panthers led by QB Dan Marino defeat Syracuse at home and Rutgers and Temple on the road. During Fralic’s Soph season, we attended the big Pitt-Penn State game which the Lions won 19-10 before going on to defeat Georgia for the National Championship in the Sugar Bowl. Pitt finished 9-3 ranked No. 10.
We didn’t see the Panthers his junior season when they finished 8-4-1. Surprisingly, we watched the Panthers fall to Temple at the Vet his senior season, but they defeated the Nittany Lions in State College. Though they fell on hard times his senior season, Fralic garnered Consensus All-American accolades in both of those season. He also got Heisman consideration finishing eighth and sixth respectively in ’83 and ’84. The Atlanta Falcons selected him at No. 2 overall in the 1985 draft.
Come back to see our 2019 Collegefootballfan.com season in review!
Game 610: LSU humbles
Oklahoma on way to CFP championship, 63-28
Atlanta – 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow led No. 1 LSU
over No. 4 Oklahoma, 63-28, throwing for 493 yards and seven TDs all in the first
half. The Tigers led at intermission,
49-14. Burrow tied the all-time bowl
record for TD passes in a game, and WR Justin Jefferson (14 catches for 227 yards)
tied the all-time bowl record with his four touchdown receptions, again all in the
first half. Burrow ran for another TD in
the second half to punctuate his performance.
Joe Burrow looks to pick apart Sooner secondary in first period.
Take what we can get
We at Collegefootballfan.com achieved what we had hoped for despite not seeing a close, well-fought game that we always prefer to see. First, we sought to see the potential national champ although LSU still has tough, experienced Clemson ahead. It will be a great game, and the Bayou Bengals certainly have a shot against their fellow feline Tigers. Secondly, among 20 performances by Heisman Trophy winners seen over the past 40 years, we just witnessed the best and probably most memorable performance among all winners in games we’ve seen them play in since 1974.
What a play!
Despite the extraordinary stats achieved this evening by Burrow, one play stands out more than any other. On a third and two from his 22, under heavy pressure, Burrow rolled right. Nearing the sideline, in one motion he dove falling out of bounds, but he showed his accuracy to submarine a pass down field 24 yards to Terrace Marshall for a first down. The drive resulted in his second of four TD passes to Jefferson for a 28-7 lead. Jefferson caught this one from 35 yards out to add to his previous score from 19 and soon to be followed by two more from 45 and 30 respectively before the half.
LSU had lots to cheer about in Atlanta from beginning to end in the CFP at the Peach Bowl!
Thanks for the memory
The last scoring pass for Burrow came in a connection for 62 yards on a nice, over the shoulder catch by his TE Thaddeus Moss. No disrespect to Thaddeus, but in 1997, we watched his Daddy, Randy, torch Army twice on short passes for an electrifying 80-yard score and another 90-yarder in one game (LOL! as we say nowadays) for Marshall in a 35-25 regular season win. Both plays appeared in highlight films shown of him on draft day into the NFL by the Minnesota Vikings.
Thaddeus Moss (81) follows in his old man Randy’s footsteps.
Live and learn
CFF.com came away
with two new take-aways from this game.
Last year, we decided not to attend any more CFP semi-finals if Alabama
or Clemson played unless Penn State turned out to be the competition. The same now goes for Oklahoma, but for the totally
opposite reason. The two formers
dominated (guess against who). OU doesn’t
show up.
This bowl
featured our fourth with Sooner Schooner on the field. Our first, the 2011 Fiesta Bowl, was a farce
resulting on a dominant Sooner win over an out-matched 8-4 Big East champ
Connecticut, 48-20. Don’t count this
one. In 2015, Clemson defeated the
Sooners in the CFP Orange Bowl, 37-17, on the way to their first championship
match against Alabama where they fell, 45-40.
Last year, we watched Alabama take a big lead on the Sooners before
taking the CFP Orange Bowl, 45-34. Bama
went on to fall to Clemson, 44-16. Here
we are this year seeing Jalen Hurts, former QB of Alabama, now with Oklahoma
getting held to two rushing TDs among 43 yards rushing and to only 15 of 31 for
217 passing yards and no TD passes. No
more Oklahoma CFP games for us.
LSU put the hurts on Jalen Hurts all night.
Our other take-away
Coincidentally,
in all four bowl games involving OU, CFF.com saw four Heisman Trophy winners
perform at quarterback – the Sooners’ Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield (before he
won it), and Kyler Murray. Now we’ve
seen Burrow from LSU pick them apart. The
other take-away from this game for us, we can see why Saban made the transition
from Hurts to Tua Tagovailoa long term.
We watched Tua against OU last year and he impressed us with his very
strong and accurate arm. Hurts has
skills to lead and run and pass effectively, but as a pure passer, Tua is
definitely head and shoulders above.
First play last Orange Bowl – Tua (13) to Smith for 50 yards vs Sooners.
Sad note
Before the game,
we met up with our friend and LSU fan Joe Rogers, formerly of the Bleacher Report,
who drove to Atlanta from Pennsylvania to see his beloved Tigers play. Meeting for a few beers before the game at the
Atlanta Braves All-Star Bar and Grill on Peach Tree Street, Joe remorsely
noted a small plane with six passengers on board had left Louisiana that
morning but crashed moments later, killing all aboard. Little did anyone know then that among those
that perished included local sports reporter Carley McCord, daughter-in-law of
LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger.
Subsequent reports came out that Steve learned of this from HC Ed Orgeron
before the game and coached his offense from the press box above the field with
a heavy heart, to say the least. The team
found out after the game. Our condolences
to Carley McCord’s family and friends.
What a season!
The 2019 season
over for us. We’re relegated for TV for the
championship game on January 13 between LSU and Clemson. Despite our two blow-out bowl games to finish
this year, we attended a lot of exciting college football games this year
including six straight determined in the final minute – five of them on the very
last play! And in the 150th
anniversary season of college football, we got to celebrate our 600th
game ever at The Birthplace of College football, New Brunswick, NJ, home of
Rutgers, with about 100 friends and fans including 26 who came out from the University
of Minnesota for a great tailgate party during their great season.
Our Game 600 tailgate party’s “before” picture.
On top of all
this, we got close to seeing all four NCAA national champs play in the 150th
anniversary season of college football. We
attended games featuring Slippery Rock (D-2) and Muhlenberg (D-3) who both
remained undefeated until losing in their respective national semi-finals. We saw North Dakota State (FCS) play and of
course LSU (FBS) who both remain undefeated and will play for national
championships against James Madison and Clemson on January 12 and 13th
respectively. We’ll settle for two of
four champs and call it a fantastic season.
Team and Individual honors
We have to give notice to a great season of Navy football we followed closely. Finishing 11-2 and heading to the Liberty Bowl ranked No. 21, we watched the Mids win exciting last-minute victories against No. 24 Air Force, Tulane, and previously ranked SMU. In their finale against arch-rival Army, they triumphed 31-7 ending their three-game losing streak against the Cadets. Their record setting QB Malcolm Perry ended a fantastic career with 304 rushing yards in the win, and with over 200 in six games inclining their 20-17 win over Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl. Fantastic season!
SB CJ Williams trails QB Malcolm Perry on the option in a win over Tulane.
In addition to
seeing the Heisman Trophy winner of 2019 in Joe Burrow, we also had the opportunity
to see this year’s Harlon Hill Award winner – D-2’s version of The
Heisman. QB Roland Rivers III of
Slippery Rock set records including responsibility for 370 points and 52 touchdown
passes for fourth best in D-2 history. He led the nation in passing yards and
total offense while he ranked second in passing efficiency. He became only the fourth to put up total offense
of 5,000 yards in a season in D-2 history.
Harlon Hill winner Roland Rivers III (14) gets great blocking up front on this pass attempt in PSAC championship game against Kutztown.
More post season
analysis to come from our great season!
Already planning for next year.
Check us out to find out more during the off-season.
Next!
LSU plays Clemson for all the marbles on January 13 against Clemson, of course. Oklahoma opens next season on September 5 at home hosting Missouri State. Collegefooballfan.com is already planning our vacation in Ireland in August of 2020 to attend the game in Dublin between Navy and Notre Dame to begin our season on August 29. Counting down the days now! Thanks for following us and Happy New Year!
