Game 556:  No. 1 JMU’s ten takeaways, third quarter burst jolt South Dakota State, 51-16

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Game 556:  No. 1 JMU’s ten takeaways, third quarter burst jolt South Dakota State, 51-16

Harrisonburg, Virginia – No. 1 and defending FCS champ James Madison let South Dakota State (11-3) hang close in the first half of Game 556, an FCS semi-final game, but a burst of five consecutive scores in the third period put them on their way to 51-16 victory to head to Frisco, Texas on January 6 to face North Dakota State in the national championship.  JMU ‘s defense forced 10 turnovers, nine by QB Tarvyn Christion (six INTs, three fumbles) over the course of the game.  Of the first four in the first half, only one resulted in a score by the Duke’s offense, but late in the first half of Game 556, the offense got on track and became virtually unstoppable.

For collegefootballfan.com, it was our first game ever at James Madison’s Zane Showker Field at Bridgeforth Stadium, a beautiful setting near the Blue Ridge Mountains. The atmosphere and the spirit during the game was lively and energetic amongst its fans and its marching band.

One of three Christion fumbles. LB Kyre Hawkins  (9) recovers this one for the JMU Dukes.

Jack Rabbits stay close

The Dukes (14-0) totally dominated in the second half to say the least.  QB Bryan Schor completed 18 of 25 passes for 203 yards and two TDS, both to WR Riley Stapleton in the first half.  For his counterpart Christion, despite one INT and three fumbles early in the game, he tossed a nine-yard TD to WR Jake Wieneke.  PK Chase Vinatieri also added a 37-yard FG.  Narrowing the margin, 14-10 on the FG, it seemed to wake up the Dukes’ offense.  Marcus Marshall returned the next kickoff 38 yards to the 42.  Four plays and 47 seconds later, Schor plunged in from the one with just nine seconds left before the half.  With a 21-10 lead, the Dukes would receive the second half kickoff.  Look out!

JMU QB Bryan Schor (17) plunges in behind center Mac Patrick (73) before halftime. We got to meet Mac’s dad Dave in the parking garage before the game. Mac and his brother Tabb on specialty teams are both sophs at JMU meaning they are undefeated after two seasons.

Second half burst

On the second play from scrimmage, Marcus Marshall (15 carries for 203 yards, two TDs) broke through the middle for a 65-yard touchdown run.  On the third play of the next JMU possession, Marshall out did himself with and 85-yard TD jaunt.  The Dukes put more time into the next score as they drove 70 yards on seven plays culminated by Taylor Woods’ three-yard run.  Following Christion’s third fumble of the game recovered at the Jack Rabbit sixteen, Ethan Ratke’s 24-yard FG went through the uprights.  Next, the Duke defense picked off its third pass, but unlike the others, S Raven Greene took it 59 yards for the score and the home crowd frenzied with their Dukes up by a score of 51-10 in our game 556.

Marcus Marshall, top left, bolts through the line for his 66-yard Jaunt early in the second half.

In the fourth, HC Mike Houston pulled Schor and some other key starters as well as most of his defense to keep them healthy for the FCS finale on January 6. An SDSU INT of Cole Johnson by LB Chris Rozeboom to the JMU five resulted in a five-yard pass from Christion to TE Dallas Goedert to close out the game’s coring.

JMU Safety Raven Greene breaks up pass intended for Jack Rabbit TE Dallas Goedert.

Should I stay or should I go?  I stayed…

Christion stayed in the game until he tossed two more INTs in the final period.  After each turnover, he sat distraught by himself in the bench area.  Without conferring with his HC John Stiegelmeier, he eventually walked over to senior back-up QB Dalton Douglas, evidently told him he was finished, (some nearby fans and I wondered why he wasn’t pulled earlier), and Douglas went in to finish off the long day for the junior who hopefully has better days ahead of him his senior year at South Dakota State.  Final score of the FCS semi-final in game 556, 51-16.

WR Jake Wieneke (19) Hauls in TD pass for the Jack Rabbits in Q2.

Coming up…

JMU heads next to Frisco, Texas to “Defend the crown” as their placards read.  The interesting thing now is that they will be defending it from the program who held it five consecutive years before they won it.  North Dakota State, who fell in last year’s semi-finals to Youngstown State, will be just as anxious to bring the hardware back to Fargo after one year’s absence after a five-year championship streak.  The Bison show up in Frisco at 12-1.  Their lone loss – 33-21 at South Dakota State on November 4.  This should be a great game!  Maybe we should go there instead of Atlanta for which tickets are way out of our price range.

Blue Ridge setting.

As for Collegefootballfan.com, after seventeen straight Saturdays of College football games in 2017 dating back to August 26, we have our first BYE Week.  This must be a collegefootballfan.com record:

Merry Christmas!

On December 27, we will be back in Bowl action starting with Boston College (7-5) vs. Iowa (7-5) in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. Rutgers/Army fan Frank Scarpa will be joining us there.  The next day, back to Annapolis to see Navy (6-6) face Virginia (6-6) in the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman.  Virginia played on our slate this year beating Georgia Tech in a great game in Charlottesville.  The Mids didn’t fare as well under our watch this year as in more recent years.  We saw them start strong with two wins, but they later fell twice in Philly, to Temple and to Army.  We will be tailgating with most of our usual cohorts down at Navy -Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, home of the Mids.  From there, we head down to our first Belk Bowl in Charlotte, NC  to see Wake Forest (7-5) play Texas A&M (7-5). We will be joining up with friend and Wake alum Jim Harton along his WFU friends we tailgated with this year on October 28 when we watched the Deacs knock off Louisville.  We’ll hang out with Jim (aka “Bug”), One-Iron, Goober, and Earl among others for what should be a fun time. They’ve been there before and have a plan in place.

Happy New Year!

If we go to Frisco, we hope the weather will be warmer!

(We gotta think about this Frisco trip. Forget Atlanta.  Stay tuned.)

Game 555: Mt. Union shuts down Mary Hardin-Baylor for D-3 title, 12-0

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Game 555:  Mt. Union shuts down Mary Hardin-Baylor for D-3 title, 12-0

Salem, Virginia – On a cold, blustery evening with temps in the 30s and winds around 18 mph, two defenses dominated high-scoring offenses as the Purple Raiders of Mt. Union defeated UMH-B’s Crusaders, 12-0, for their 13th national title in our Game 555.  Defending D-3 champ, UMB-H, also known as The Cru (14-1), came in averaging 38.1 ppg on offense.  The Purple Raider defense allowed 13.8 ppg on the season and shut them down holding them to only 144 yards of total offense.

Not only did the two teams shake hands in a display of sportsmanship before the game, but unlike other games we attended this year, both came out to stand for the national anthem. Great job!

The offensive styles of both squads mirrored one another as both teams relied on their QBs to run as well as pass.  The Raiders (15-0) averaged 53.3 ppg, but the Crusader defense allowed 10 points – three points more than their seasonal average allowed.  MU gained 299 yards, 137 through the air on D’Angelo Fulford’s 12 of 21 passing for one TD and two INTs.  For Game 555 in Collegefootballfan.com history, we attended our second Stagg Bowl, our first since 2007, also won by Mt. Union in Salem.  With the Purple Raiders’ title intact, the possibility exists where we may have seen three 2017 NCAA college football champions play this season – if Clemson and James Madison win the FBS and FCs respectively.

The first quarter ended with no score and the second seemed headed for a deadlock as well.  Late in the period, CB Gabe Brown picked off UMB-H’s Paul Robinson to start a Mount Union drive from their 47.  With 1:15 left in the half, the Raiders put points on the board with Alex Louthan’s 31-yard FG to take a 3-0 lead into the warm locker rooms.

Mount Union defense closes in on Paul Robinson (30) for a short gain. No. 37 Nick Brish took home MVP honors.

At halftime, people from Salem, Virginia were honored at the 25th NCAA D-3 football championship game played in the small city near the Appalachians.  These honorees brought this game here 25 years ago and have managed it very well ever since.  The city of Salem has hosted 86 NCAA D-3 championships in several sports over the years.  Give these people a lot of credit.  Driving down through a snowstorm in Pennsylvania and sitting it the cold, windy confines of Salem Stadium in December to attend Game 555, it makes one wonder why the NCAA hasn’t considered moving this some place warmer with a variety of other attractions?  But the city thrives on it and evidently the D-3 schools are satisfied.  Before Salem, the games were played in Bradenton, Florida for three years.  Not bad, but not within driving distance for us despite the snow.  And take a look at ticket prices on-line for the CFP game in Atlanta!  Try $1500/each plus fees!  I paid 1000 times less for this ticket and parking was free.  What a bargain for a championship.  Prior to Bradenton, the championship game was played in Phenix City, Alabama.  On a sad note, the first featured Wittenberg defeating the Alma Mater dear, Juniata College, 41-0.

This wasn’t the NCAA Hockey Championship, but these Mary Hardin-Baylor cheerleaders could be the poster for “The Frozen Four.”

The score remained 3-0 through the third. The teams exchanged interceptions and Mount Union got stopped short on fourth and one which was so short, it amazed everyone in the crowd when the officials measured.   It looked like we may see a record-breaking low score in Game 555 for the annals of our history.  Both defenses held the other’s scoring machines in check.  Would either break?

Raider RB Josh Petrucelli sweeps left against tough MHB-H defense.

In the final period, a short punt on this windy night put Mount Union at the Cru’s 46.  QB D’Angelo Fulford fired a long pass from the 42-yard line close to the hands of two Cru defenders to WR Justin Hill who caught it and took it a few yards into the end zone for a 10-0 lead.  UMB-H started its next drive from its seven.  Defender Nick Brish, the game’s MVP, sacked Robinson in the end zone for a safety to extend the lead, 12-0.  The Purple Raiders could not mount any more scoring drives, but with the wind to his back, P Adam Snyder placed his punts away from dangerous return man Bryce Wilkerson and set the Cru back on their four and on the two on his subsequent punts.   On Mount Union’s next possession, they used the clock to hand the ball over on downs with only 49 seconds remaining.  As all night long, the Raider defense stuffed the Crusader offense in its tracks.

Mount Union starts 13th D-3 Celebration.

Congratulations to Head Coach Vince Kehres, his coaching staff, and all the Purple Raiders!  They go back to Alliance, Ohio with their 13th NCAA D-3 football championship since 1993 – the first ever played in Salem.  We at collegefootballfan.com stay overnight to drive up to Harrisonburg, Virginia Saturday afternoon to see James Madison (13-0) defend it 2016 National Championship in a semi-final game against the South Dakota State Jack Rabbits (11-2). We look forward to a great game and our first game ever at JMU.

Game 554: Army edges Navy 14-13 to take home Commander-in-Chief Trophy

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Game 554: Army edges Navy 14-13 to take home Commander-in-Chief Trophy

Philadelphia – As time expired, Navy’s Bennet Moehring field goal attempt of 48 yards missed to the left in Game 554 played during a snow storm with swirling winds at Lincoln Financial Field to give the Cadets of West Point (9-3) their second consecutive win over arch-rival Navy after 14 straight losses,  14-13.  Army took the lead with 5:10 left on QB Ahmad Bradshaw’s QB sneak and Blake Wilson’s PAT.

Moehring’s attempt for the win goes long enough but to the left to preserve the Army victory.

Navy QB Malcolm Perry ran for 250 yards and a 68-yard TD dash to give Navy a 10-7 lead at the half.  Both defenses tightened up in the second half.  Both teams ran their triple option throughout game 554. Army completed its only pass for 20 yards.  Navy completed one of its only two for two yards. On the ground the Mids out-gained the Cadets 294 to 221.  On the final Navy drive, Perry dropped a snap of fourth down at the Army 37, but he picked it up to get the first down.  Two procedure penalties set Navy back to the 31 making the game-winning attempt longer. Army scored first in Q1 on Darnell Woolfolk’s three-yard run.  Navy cut the lead 7-3 with Moehring’s 28-yard FG.

Navy QB Malcolm Perry picks up a first down in the game’s final drive.

Spoils and Bowl games

Army won its 51st game of this greatest of all rivalries in college football against 60 wins for Navy and seven ties.  For West Point, it gave them their first outright Commander-in-Chief Trophy since 1996 when they last defeated Navy and Air Force. The Cadets head next to Fort Worth, Texas to meet San Diego State (10-2) in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on December 23.  Navy (6-6, 4-4) will meet Virginia (6-6,3-5) in Annapolis in the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman. Collegefootballfan.com will be there for our second of three bowl games in three days.  We will sandwich it between the New Era Pinstripe Bowl (Iowa vs. Boston College) and The Belk Bowl (Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M).

However, before we go bowling over the holidays, we have Championship weekend coming up this Friday and Saturday. On Friday evening, we will be in Salem, Virginia for the D-3 National Championship between Mount Union and defending D-3 champs Mary Hardin-Baylor. Both teams weigh in at 15-0!   On Saturday right up Interstate 81, we will attend the FCS semi-final games when the South Dakota State Jack Rabbits (11-2) visit No. 1 James Madison Dukes (13-0), also defending national champs.  The winner will head to Frisco, Texas for the title game against the winner of North Dakota State and Sam Houston State. Check back with us as we’ll still be attending games as college football in 2017 heads into exciting championship action.

Cadets celebrate victory with their team.

Points After Tailgating

This past weekend, we ended the regular season on a high note for tailgating though our Game 554 was played in cold, snowy weather.  Thanks to Dan Donnelly of Dan from the tailgate, who treks out from California each year to attend this classic game, he coordinates a big get-together with friends from his alma mater, Frostburg State, primarily Ray Carlucci, to have a great grand finale for tailgating.  This year’s menu had everything: Taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwiches; Sausage and peppers; Long Island keilbasa, Morristown cheese steaks, South Jersey cheese steaks, Cousin Frank’s burnt end pork rounds, Pulled pork, Dino’s famous pot luck/road kill chili, Brian Donnelly’s Old Bay spice wings, Bubba burgers,  Cannoli’s from Cataldo’s Bakery in Parsippany, NJ,  Pop LeBlanc’s and friends’ lobsters direct from Boston, and more!  Bloody Mary’s, Fireball/Rumchata, Evan Williams Honey Bourbon,  and all kinds of beers were overflowing in Parking Lot P near Lincoln Financial (btw, they need more and cleaner port-o-potties in that lot).  A slight last-minute change in the meeting area delayed our start time a little later than planned, but we overcame and improvised starting around 9:30 am.  After the game, the grills got started and steak sandwiches tasted great before heading out around 8:30 pm as most of us we let traffic clear.  Great job by everyone organizing and participating for a great time at Game 554 with a lot of great and fun-loving people!

Post-game grilling!

Game 553: Coastal Carolina defeats Georgia Southern, 28-17

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Game 553: Coastal Carolina defeats Georgia Southern, 28-17

Conway, SC – In our Game 553 between two Sunbelt bottom feeders playing without the head coaches they started their seasons with, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (3-9, 2-6) defeated the Georgia Southern Eagles (2-10, 1-7), 28-17, at James C. Benton Field at Brooks Stadium near the Coastal Carolina campus.  The teams battled into the third quarter, but the Chants’ defense came up with big stops in the final period to clip the Eagle’s ability to soar when they had to.

Why the heck are we at this game?

For Collegefootballfan.com, Brooks became our 144th stadium ever attended as a college football venue, and we added Coastal Carolina as our 131st, soon to be 130th   (again) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team ever.  We can officially proclaim once again that, “we’ve seen ‘em all!”  Next season, the Idaho Vandals rejoin the FCS for all the right reasons to reduce total FBS membership by one, but Liberty University located in Lynchburg, Virginia, will take their place stepping up to play in the FBS.    Though our game 553 between the Chants and the Eagles featured two programs currently dwelling near the very bottom of the FBS rankings, as anticipated, they played in a competitive, evenly- matched game – our preference when planning out our schedules each season.

I was given a ticket voucher approaching the ticket office to get prime seat at the 50-yard line to see the opening kick off up close and personal.

Fast start for Chanticleers

Coastal took the early lead on the second play from scrimmage when QB Kilton Anderson (9 of 17 for 180 yards, two TDs, 1 INT) connected with his primary WR Malcolm Williams on a post pattern over the middle for a 67-yard touchdown.   GSU started its first possession from its own one as the return man slipped coming out of the end zone.  Later in the first, the Eagles notched their first score putting up three with Kevin Bass’s 48-yard FG.  Before the period ended, back up QB Dalton Demos, a grad transfer from Northern Iowa, tossed a pass to Ky’jon Taylor to put the ball at the three.

Two plays later, the first of the second period, RB Osharmar Abercrombie (19 carries, 133 yards, two TDs) took it over for the score to put the Myrtle Beach boys up, 14-3.     The Eagles sacked Anderson to stop the next Chant series on a fourth and two to take over from their 26 late in the second.  Bolstered by a nice catch for a key gain by RB Wes Fields at the CCU 46, the Eagles moved down to the one where TB L.A. Ramsby score to lower the margin, 14-10, before intermission.

GSU RB came down with this nice catch for a big gain on the Eagles’ first half touchdown drive.

Fellow college football fans

On the departure flight of my very affordable Saturday round trip from Atlantic City to Myrtle Beach on Spirit Airlines to add Coastal Carolina as FBS Team 130 in game 553, I sat with two other big college football fans, Larry and Pat, high school football coaches in Delaware, heading down to attend this clash between Sunbelt squads.  The give-away right off was Larry’s Navy football jacket.  His sons played at USNA under Paul Johnson. He has season tickets at Annapolis as well.    Larry himself played for Delaware back in the ‘70s, and Pat played for Ursinus, a D-3 nemesis of the alma mater, Juniata, when both schools played in the Middle Athletic Conference.  Both coaches played for CCU HC Joe Moglia early in his career.  They’ve maintained a close relationship with him ever since.  They filled me in on something that I hadn’t heard about.  Moglia, a very successful coach who had this program winning often at the FCS level to step up into the FBS, sidelined himself right from the start of the season due to an irritable lung infection.  That explained my surprise regarding Coastal’s poorer than expected start at 2-9 in their first season of FBS football.

Chauncey the Chanticleer mascot leads the halftime finale.

CCU’s Head Coach Joe Moglia

A little background here: Joe Moglia coached high school and college football successfully for 16 years.  In 1984, he made a career change by entering the MBA training program for Merrill Lynch.  After graduation, he became their most productive asset manager leading to a major career move to become CEO for the investment service, TD Ameritrade.  For seven years, he led that firm to great success increasing its client’s wealth to over $10 billion, a 500 percent return.  After that run, he stepped down and became Chairman of the Board for TDA.  After great success in business, here returned to coaching college football in 2009.  Moglia served as executive advisor to the Nebraska Cornhusker football program helping administer two Big 12 North championships. He left to take over the Chanticleer program in 2012.

Since he became HC at Coastal, his teams have racked up a record of 51-15.   At Brooks Stadium prior to the game, his recorded message on the video board confirmed what Larry and Pat told me.  He tells the Coastal Carolina fandom that his life is not in danger, but that he has to address his breathing problems.  He emphasizes that he wants to do this now to assure his health for the long-term so that he can continue as HC of the Chanticleers for many years to come.  In the meantime, he’s appointed offensive coordinator Jamey Chadwell, up until last year the HC of a successful Charleston Southern program, as his interim HC.  Joe Moglia plans to return to the sideline next season at full strength to continue to coach and make the Chants a competitive program at the FBS level.  Based on his success in his diverse endeavors over the course of his careers, we definitely want to attend more CCU games in the future to see the progress he can bring to this burgeoning program.

Chant’s’ Cheerleaders sideline action.

Plight of the GSU Eagles

As for the GSU Eagles, after an 0-5 start to this season, the school’s administration released HC Tyson Summers from the program and replaced him with interim HC Chad Lunsford.  Over the years, GSU has been ranked among the top programs in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).  They even got off to a great FBS start when they moved up in 2014 going 9-3 and winning the Sunbelt title with a record of 8-0.  For some inexplicable reason, they were not eligible to go to a bowl game despite winning the conference championship.  Over those years, they ran a very successful triple option offense under Paul Johnson who left after 2001 to turn Navy’s football fortune’s around before moving on to Georgia Tech.  When joining the Sun Belt, the Eagles success with the triple option continued with HC Jeff Moncken who learned the offense while at Navy working for Johnson.   Since leaving Georgia Southern, he left and has successfully turned the corner at Army leading the Cadets to two consecutive winning seasons for the first time in years.

Georgia Southern cheerleaders fire up Eagle fans.

Summers’s change in offensive strategy away from this offense that brought much success did not sit well with the school’s admin based on his very poor results.  The school will now be looking for someone to turn their program around using most likely that same offensive strategy that made them an FCS powerhouse.  In the annals of our history leading up to Game 553, Georgia Southern won one of four games we’d seen them play –  winning a 2001 playoff game vs. Appy State, losing twice to Delaware, one in a 2002 regular season game and then again in a 2010 playoff before losing to Navy in a 52-19 thrashing in 2014.

 Second half tease

Eagle QB Shai Werts looks for running room.

To start Q3, Miles Campbell returned the kick out to CCU’s 48.  The Eagles finished a scoring drive with an eight-yard pass from QB Shai Werts to TE Ellis Richardson to make this a competitive game by taking the lead, 17-14.  Werts, a redshirt freshman, led his team in passing (6 of 15 passes for 57 yards, one Td, one INT), in passing (28 carries for 108 yards) and even in receiving yards (one catch for 30 yards.  Despite the low number in the passing game, we can say that we can’t recall anybody else lay claim to that.  Whoever takes over this program as HC has an experienced triple option QB with some opportunity to get better over the next three years.  This turnaround seemed to that this game would be played fiercely to the end by two inspired teams looking to end bad seasons on a positive note for next year.  Next, GSU forced a CCU punt from their 43, but the turning point of the game occurred when Abercrombie took the snap directly in punt formation and powered for 19 yards for a first down to maintain possession.  Anderson connected with Williams (four receptions, 120 yards, two TDs) for a 37-yard TD pass to take back the lead, 21-17.  The Chants forced the Eagles to punt from their 27.  On the legs of Abercrombie, a 41-yard burst put the Chants at the one where Abercrombie finished off what he started to extend the home team’s lead, 28-17.

CCU’s Osharmar Abercrombie picks up big yards on a touchdown drive.

CCU rises to the challenge

The score stagnated in in the fourth primarily due to CCU’s defensive efforts.  The Chant’s stopped Werts on downs at their 37.   Two series later, CB Preston Carey picked off a Werts pass at his 24.  The Chanticleer D halted GSU’s final drive at their 29 on fourth down with 1:29 left to play to preserve their third victory of the season.  Both teams showed potential but have lot of work cut out for them as other teams in this conference are making great strides toward improvement.

Chanticleer’s defense stops Werts’ final effort on fourth down to end GSU’s chances.

Evidently, both teams are done for the season.  As Pat and Larry told me, if Moglia is feeling better, the Chant’s might be out practicing that evening.  I’m sure, however, that like most programs this staff is back out on the recruiting trail as we speak. As for Georgia Southern, there is probably a meeting with Lunsford and the rest of the coaches right away to determine their status in the short-term to continue some recruiting while planning to announce who their next HC will be.

More to come…

For CFF.com, our task following Game 553 is easier.  We are preparing for a tailgate next Saturday for the greatest rivalry in all of college football when Army (9-2) and Navy (6-5) clash for the 118th time.  The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy is at stake at the Linc in Philadelphia before both go on to play in bowl games against San Diego State and Virginia respectively.   These two teams have lot of pride and incentive heading into the now annual finale of college football’s regular season.   This will be our 12th time in attendance for this game.  We look forward to this and some playoff action at the D-3 and possibly FCS level the weekend after.  Check us out!

CCU’s Osharmar Abercombie breaks Eagles tackles for a gain.

Home of the Chants! We plan to go back when Joe Moglia’s back on the sidelines for CCU.

Game 552:  Penn State flattens Maryland Terrapins into “pizza turtles”, 66-3

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Game 552:  Penn State flattens Maryland Terrapins into “pizza turtles”, 66-3

College Park, MD – No. 9 Penn State flattened Maryland (4-8,2-7) leaving the Terrapins looking like squashed road kill on a paved road in Collegefootballfan.com’s Game 552, 66-3. This analogy comes from a vivid, childhood memory.  That’s what these Terrapins reminded me of at the end of Saturday’s game. The Nittany Lions (10-2, 7-2) dominated this game in every aspect from beginning to end never giving the Terps a chance to compete in the regular season finale for both.  The Lions tied a CFF.com record for our greatest margin of victory with a total point differential of 63 points set by Virginia Tech in their 63-0 win over Western Michigan in 2004.  If not for the Terp’s Henry Damstadter’s 42-yard FG late in the third to close the gap, 52-3, the Lions could have set our new record in Game 552.

On offense…

Penn State QB Trace McSorely completed 22 of 37 passes for 237 yards and two TDs.  He also ran for 36 yards and a touchdown.  His backup QB, Tommy Stevens, saw a lot of action as RB as well as QB during the course of the game.  The sophomore carried the ball 12 times for 113 yards and three TDs of 21, three, and six yards.  He also threw a five-yard TD pass to TE Tom Pancoast.  Saquon Barkley ran the football 16 times for 77 yards and two early TDs.  TE Mike Gesicki hauled in two TDs among his five catches. WR Juwan Johnson caught six passes for 63 yards.  Everybody on Penn State contributed on offense.  They never turned to ball over. Game 552 was a complete butt-whipping.

On defense…

Defensively, unlike a week ago where the Lions played a lot of second and third teamers in the rain during their 56-44 win over Nebraska, the first team played most of this game.  Maryland rushed for 124 yards and passed for 179. They fumbled the ball away twice.

The Lions totally dominated.  HC James Franklin’s team was driven to win this Game 552.  It may have to do with the disrespect shown the Lions three years ago at State College where Maryland team captains refused to shake hands under former HC Randy Edsall at the coin toss.  Now that the Lions have made vast improvements since, they may have decided to send a strong message.  According to GGA John Massimilla (PSU alum), it’s been decided this game will become the seasonal B1G finale for both programs for years to come.   However, I think James Franklin decided to stake a claim in the Delmarva peninsula to say that his program is going to continue to recruit the best players it can right from Maryland’s back yard.  He wanted to impress the local recruits paying attention to this outcome.

Double darn!

Regretfully, my camera was left in my care dropped off at the meeting point before heading in with Brian Donnelly and his fiancé Laurie on our way to meet the rest of our fellow tailgaters on the way to College Park.  No action shots or cheerleaders for Game 552.  I missed out on a lot of good photo ops.   We got to conduct the small portion of the Blue Band sitting right behind us wearing civvies in the upper deck of what is now referred to as Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium (formerly known as Byrd Stadium since we’ve been going here) while most members probably went home for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  Today, 49,680 were in attendance. Had Penn state not had the two losses against Ohio State and Michigan State, I’m sure  a lot more PSU faithful would have been here in attendance to send this team off to a CFP playoff spot, but, it’s been a great season.

Great reasons to be thankful

Brian and I are usually in sync attending Navy games together and partying before cheering on the Mids in Annapolis.  However, today he wore his red Maryland apparel while yours truly along with fellow PSU fans John Massimilla and his sons-in-laws Aaron and Dex wore traditional white and blue for PSU.  Fun times, good friends, great food from the grill, an assortment of enjoyable beverages, and great PSU football (for some of us) made it all a great tailgate party once again.  No matter who won though, all of us tailgating together along with a few new guys for the first time and some neighboring tailgaters from U of MD have a lot to be thankful for this time of year. You just can’t beat enjoying going to college football games and tailgating with other great people we meet along the way as much as we do!

Upcoming…

Penn State awaits a major bowl bid.  Most signs point to the Cotton Bowl.  Maryland HC DJ Durkins and staff hit the recruiting trail.  Good luck to them.  We wonder how many recruits for both teams may have been in attendance for both programs.

CFF.com heads to Conway, SC for the first time for our next to last regular season game of 2017.  We got cheap flights to and from Myrtle Beach on Saturday to attend a battle at the bottom of the Sunbelt at 1 pm between Georgia Southern (2-9, 2-5) and Coastal Carolina (2-9, 1-6).  The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers joined the FBS this season as the 130th team.  We’re going so that we can still say that, “We’ve seen ‘em all!”  GSU is on a two-game winning streak having defeated South Alabama, 52-0, and UL-Lafayette, in a mild upset, 34-24.  The Eagles fell to UMass midway through the season, 55-20.  CCU downed UMass to start the season, 38-28, at home.  The Chanticleers didn’t win again until last week defeating Idaho, who returns to the FCS next season, 13-7.

Go ahead and laugh at us.  This will be a competitive game and we are looking forward to spending another day attending a college football game.  “What better way to spend an Autumn afternoon?”  We’re running out of them this season.  Our college football weekends all go by too fast.  We’ll catch up on the conference championships at some local sports bar in Myrtle Beach before flying back home.

Come back and check out the upcoming action next week for not only this game, but for Army-Navy, division play-offs, and bowl action on our agenda.  We are going as deep as we can into this season.

Game 551: USC outlasts crosstown rival UCLA for cherished Victory Bell, 28-23

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Game 551: USC outlasts crosstown rival UCLA for cherished Victory Bell, 28-23

Fantastic sight lines for our first USC-UCLA Rivalry experience.

Los Angeles – The No. 12 Trojans of Southern Cal defeated crosstown rival UCLA, 28-23, in a game for nothing much more than for pride for their 47th victory in the 85th “official” meeting of this rivalry in our Game 551 (two Trojan wins were vacated in 2004 and 2005).  For that and for the Victory Bell Trophy that the Bruins have not enjoyed the pleasure of taking home over the last 19 years. The Trojans (10-2,8-1) move on as the PAC 12 South champs on December 2 while Bruins (5-6, 3-5) still need one more victory for bowl eligibility.  Bruin QB Josh Rosen out-passed USC counterpart Sam Darnold 451 yards to 264 yards, but SC’s ground game outgaining the UCLAns and Darnold’s ability to move his team when they needed inspiration the most made the difference in the final outcome. Neither QB played exceptionally well today as both are considered top prospects for April’s pro draft.  Neither team really impressed, but it turned out to be a somewhat competitive game.

Bruin QB Josh Rosen (upper left) looks down field for a completion.

 Glad to finally add this great rivalry to our history

For Collegefootballfan.com, Game 551 lived up to our expectations for our first experience in person attending a game at the LA Memorial Coliseum, the 140th venue at which we’ve attended a college football game.  Traveler the Trojan Horse, “Fight on!”, home jerseys on both teams, the Olympic torch at the venerable Coliseum, and the USC Song Girls made the long flights across the country and back worthwhile. Although I do have to say I appreciated my seat atop the UCLA student section because  I found I preferred the UCLA cheerleaders over the famed USC Songstresses. Also staying with my Boonton (NJ) HS classmate and Emmy Award Winner Jim Lewis and his beautiful wife Judy and their son Danny, and meeting up with my niece Emily and her boyfriend Tommy at “LA Live!” made the trip enjoyable and memorable as well.

Traveler prances behind SC Song Girls for his entry into the LA Memorial Coliseum.

The two teams played as equals through much of this game statistically in time of possession, turnovers, and total yards.  However, effective deception put the Trojans in the early lead.  UCLA punted from its 24.  Stefan Flintoft’s punt sailed down to the right sideline. All but one SC player moved to field the ball to the left sideline and the Bruins took the bait.  Trojan Mike Pittman fielded the punt on the right almost stepping out where only two Bruin defenders including the punter tracked the ball. Two blockers took them out and Pittman cruised 72 yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead.  Never saw anything like it.  UCLA responded more conventionally.  Rosen completed a pass 40 yards to Jordan Lasley (10 catches for 204 yards, three TDs) to get to SC’s 28. At the SC 13, the two hooked up again on the left side of the end zone to tie it up, 7-7.  USC TB Ronald Jones II returned the ensuing kickoff out to the 44.  He finished off the drive with a two-yard TD run to give SC a 14-7 lead heading into the second period.

USC TB Ronald Jones II plunges in from the two for a 14-7 Trojan lead in the first period.

The second period of game 551 went scoreless, but not without either side having chances to score.  The Bruins came up short on a 47-yard FG.  Bruin DB Jadeel Wadood picked off a Sam Darnold pass near the end zone and started UCLA from the six after a 15-yard penalty.  UCLA’s subsequent drive resulted in a sack and a fumble by Rosen recovered by ILB John Houston JR to put SC on its 40. The Trojans used up all their time-outs and Darnold picked up nine yards to the Bruin 14-yard line as time expired to end the half with neither team changing the scoreboard.

Hated Trojan starts pre-game.

Worth the trip for CFF.com

I couldn’t come up with any tailgate plans for this game though I contacted friends with LA connections, but my niece Emily suggested that she could meet me for lunch at the Yard House at LA Live!  for lunch and beers.  The place was packed with more LA King fans than college football fans for a 1 pm face off when we got there.  It worked out great though driving down from Jim and Judy’s in Burbank to LA Live which is near the Staples Center and other sporting attractions.  The Coliseum is located a little over two miles just south of there on a straight shot down Figueroa.  I considered taking the convenient Metro North bus line, but the walk was flat, straight, and safe and I needed the exercise besides after my long flights traveled and the two-and-a-half hour drive in the LA traffic congestion the day before from John Wayne Airport to Burbank.  Once down in the Exposition area near USC’s campus, I walked among the USC throngs priming for the rivalry.   Despite facing a crosstown foe, they significantly outnumbered the Bruin fans interspersed throughout. I wandered about looking for ticket deals, but found none worthwhile.

Great seats, hey buddy!

I got a real ticket, took a trip into the soon to be refurbished stadium, found no beer, settled on lemonade after my walk, and went to my seat in row 69 where my legs dangled in the walkway around the stadium to soak in the atmosphere and traditions as kickoff neared at 5 pm PST.    I moved down one row eventually since people constantly walked in front of row 69 blocking my view and ruining my much appreciated sight line.  Wearing my dark blue 119 jersey commemorating “seeing ‘em all” for Game 551, I was glad to find myself appropriately seated atop the UCLA student seats where I could cheer along for the upset I wanted.  Even better, I got a great sight line, especially through my binoculars, above the very fine UCLA cheerleading squad. I got a lot of great photo ops as you will see here.

Blended in fine among the blue pom-poms.

 Troy maintains the upper hand

UCLA received the second half kick and drove until S Marvell Tell III picked off Rosen in the end zone and returned the ball out to the 27.  Rosen (32 for 52, 421 yards, three TDS) out-passed Darnold, but he could not finish off key drives in the end zone as could his rival to get his team a leg up in this game.  USC sacked him on consecutive plays during his next possession forcing the Bruins to punt from their 15.  The Trojans started at the 44, and Darnold’s eventual two-yard run put Troy up, 21-7.  The Bruins heeded their wake-up call.  Rosen led the powder-blue clad visitors 79 yards to pay dirt with an 11-yard scoring pass to Lasley for their second TD drawing back to within seven.

WR John Lasley (2) somehow pulled this one in for the Bruins.

The Bruins started Q4 within striking distance, and forced the Trojans to punt at their 48.  Their next drive starting from their 14 for six fizzled at the Trojan nine resulting in a 26-yard FG by JJ Molson (from Canada appropriately).  Unlike Rosen, Darnold knew how to spark a sense of urgency into his teammates when they needed to score.  He led Troy on a 90-yard TD drive as TB Ronald Jones II (122 yards on 28 carries, two TDs ) broke over from the two for a 28-17 lead with 5:19 left.  UCLA fans hoped to see Rosen show leadership now to bring his team back to upset the Trojans with their eyes possibly focused ahead to their date for a PAC-12 championship.  However, USC HC Clay Helton seemed to have his team well prepared to face this bitter rival in a game for nothing more than pride.  Having a week off before the PAC-12 Championship probably helped his cause.

WR Deontay Burnettt (80) got this ball into scoring position for Jones’s second TD of the game.

With a 15-yard penalty setting the Bruins back to the 39 after a good kickoff return, Rosen led his team to within five with a 27-yard pass to Lasley for their third score though the air.  A pass attempt into the end zone for two failed.  The Bruins would need another TD to pull off the upset.  Recovering the onsides attempt, SC started from their 49 with 2:36 remaining.  The Bruins would have to get a three and out at best with only two time-outs left.  After using both, SC converted a first on a third and one.  Game over, closer than most expected despite a classic rivalry, 28-23.

Trojan defensive stop early in Q1.

Collegefootballfan.com was greatly satisfied in having the opportunity to add this historic, traditional rivalry as our game 551 to our list of other such rivalries attended over the 39 years of this great and unique adventure. It was good timing on our part also as this will be the last game to be played by the Trojans before refurbishing the LA Memorial Coliseum will take place starting in early 2018 to modernize the venerable facility for the 2019 season.  USC vs. Notre Dame is on our wish list, so maybe we’ll do it here.

Upcoming

USC will play the winner of the North Division to be determined next week for the PAC 12 championship on December 2.  They have a long shot chance to make the CFP ranked now at No. 11.  Former HC Tom Mora’s UCLA team hosts the Cal Bears next week still trying to get the sixth win for bowl eligibility.  Mora was fired on Sunday. OC Jedd Fisch takes over for him.   The Bruins continue to slip in this most local of rivalries having lost 15 of the past 19 encounters with the Trojans. CFF.com heads to College Park, Maryland to tailgate and to see the Penn State Nittany Lions (9-2, 6-2) on the road against the Maryland Terps (4-7,2-6). We hoped this game would be a celebration of the Lions winning the Big Ten East, but it should still be a great tailgate.

Points After Traveling

My flight got delayed on Sunday that would have missed my connection to Chicago.  I ended up taking a red-eye flight to get home late Monday morning.  Luckily, I had taken a vacation day.  Through all the agony of traveling, I looked forward to posting these pictures below of Game 551.

Game 550: Penn State Nittany Lions sleep walk through Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 35-6

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Game 550: Penn State Nittany Lions sleep walk through Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 35-6

State College, PA – After three consecutive weeks played by Penn State in games critical to put them into position to vie for the 2017 College Football Championship series – beating Michigan handily in front of a record crowd before losing late at Ohio State by one and then to Michigan State by three on the last play at East Lansing – our Game 550 resulted in the Lions sleep walking over B1G foe Rutgers (4-6, 3-4) despite a final score of 35-6.  The Lions spotted the Knights two FGs early into the second period to trail 6-0.  As my season ticket-holding neighbor seated in front of me said at about that point, “Somebody should tell them this is Rutgers.”  They must have heard her.

The Nittany Lion welcomes the Scarlet Knight to Beaver Stadium in Happy Valley.

Two years later, Game 550 already

For Collegefootballfan.com, this contest became our Game 550 of all time.  Though we hosted two busloads of friends, fans, and well-wishers at that November 21, 2015 celebration held at West Point where Army hosted this same Rutgers program to celebrate Game 500, Vince Gallo who attended that grand occasion joined me as GGA for this mile marker (Game 600 is a couple of years away).  Today, he attended his first game ever at Beaver Stadium, home of the Nittany Lions (8-2, 5-2).  What impressed Vince most was how just about every Penn State fan dressed in the school colors of navy blue and white adorned with some form of a Penn State logo.  He mentioned that he was happy to wear his Centenary (NJ) College ball cap which with the same colors helped him fit in somewhat. Next time, he said, he’ll buy a Penn State ball cap.

PSU LB Brandon Smith (47) puts the stop on Gus Edwards (13) during a second quarter drive by the Knights. S Nick Scott (4) moves in to assist.

Gotta have some Harte

After Andrew Harte’s second field goal of the day gave Rutgers a 6-0 lead early in Q2, the Lion offense woke up after starting a drive from the 35 since the RU kick drifted out of bounds.  After two long passes by QB McSorley (16 for 21, 214 yards, two TDs; 13 rushes for 44 yards, one TD) moved the Lions to the Scarlet Knights 15, he faked the handoff to RB Saquon Barkley who drew several Knights’ tacklers his way and McSorley swerved and dodged several remaining defenders up the middle for a 20-yard TD run.  PSU took the lead right then and there to never look back again.  The Lion defense bounced out of its early trance and forced Rutgers after that to punt seven straight times following three -and-outs.  Late in the second, McSorely’s 22-yard touchdown pass into the end zone to WR DaeSean Hamilton gave PSU a 14-6 lead heading into halftime of Game 550.

The Lions held RU QB Giovanni Rescigno (17) to 43 passing yards and the run game to 157 for total of 200 yards of total offense.

Veterans’ Day tributes on display

At halftime, The Penn State Blue Band and its Alumni band in town for their annual Homecoming festivities paid tributes to veterans of all our Armed Forces on this Veteran’s Day.  Before the game, Vince and I had perfect views of the pre-game flyover as we walked toward Beaver Stadium having hit major traffic delays on the way in.  As a matter of fact, we watched the three F/A 18 Hornet strike fighters practice over Happy Valley several times from our car.  State College requires early arrivals for noon kickoffs when 107,531 fans basically arrive en masse before the early start.  Some early morning changes to our original plans set us back, but to Vince’s point, despite our late arrival into our seats late in Q1, we didn’t miss a thing.

The Blue Band half time tribute to the Air Force as seen on the Beaver Stadium video board as part of their dedication performance on Veterans’ Day.

Penn State takes off…

Kicking off to start Q3 of Game 550, Penn State forced a fumble from returner Janarion Grant.   However, the Lions could not capitalize.  A sack of McSorley by CB Dacoven Bailey set back the Nittany Lions into punt formation at the RU 36.  Rutgers punted back three plays later.  Barkley, the key the Knights determined to stop offensively, carried 14 times for only 35 yards.  However, he finished off this series with a one-yard TD run for a 21-6 lead.  The big play on this drive was McSorely’s pass to WR DaeSean Hamilton in the right flat who pitched it to Barkley coming around the right side to get in to the one.   The visitors from The Birthplace of College football lined up to punt after its next thee plays, but their fake run through the middle by TE Jerome Washington resulted in a two-yard loss with the Lions taking back over on Rutgers 46.  Barkley ended the drive with a four-yard run to give the Lions a 28-6 lead into the remaining period.

Barkley (26) scores from the four-yard line in the third period to increase PSU’s lead, 28-6.

 …and lands.   

On a drive starting from its 38 in the final period, PSU scored on a 16-yard pass play to TE Mike Gesicki (Manahawkin, NJ) to finalize the score, 35-6, with 6:52 left.  The Lion’s second team defense came in off the cold benches (Kickoff temp at 26 degrees) to take over, and RU’s first team offense drove down to the PSU five before a sack and an incomplete pass put PSU into the victory formation to eat up the remaining 1:01 left.  The Happy Valley fans rejoiced with relief as the sun started to descend after Game 550. They didn’t display the exuberance we had all hoped for after the Michigan last time we were all there together for a huge celebration.

TE Mike Gesicki (88) on the way for his 16-yard TD catch and run to make the score final, 35-6.

Regular season winding down 🙁

Next up for PSU will be Nebraska (4-6, 3-4) at home for Senior Day festivities.  We plan to follow the Lions the following week to see them battle with Maryland in College Park the Saturday after Thanksgiving.   Rutgers stays on the road heading to Indiana who sports the same 4-6 overall record, but who has struggled to only 1-6 in the B1G.  Both programs are seeking two more wins in their final weeks of this season to become bowl eligible.  The Scarlet Knights will host Michigan State the week after they play the Hoosiers.

Frustrated Scarlet Knight sideline.

We add a new rivalry

We at Collegefootballfan.com head west all the way to Las Angeles for our first opportunity to go to the LA Memorial Coliseum to see the No. 12 Trojans of USC (9-2, 7-1) take on their cross-town rivals, the Bruins of UCLA (5-5, 3-4) for their 86th meeting. The game won’t mean anything more than pride as the Trojans have clinched the bid to represent the Pac-12 South for the conference championship, and the Bruins look for the opportunity to knock them off with an upset.  We’ll be seeing two outstanding QBs in USC’s Sam Darnold and in UCLA’s Josh Rosen.  We look forward to adding this rivalry to many others attended during our historical past, i.e. Army-Navy, Alabama-Auburn, Pitt-Penn State, Ohio State-Michigan, Clemson-South Carolina, Florida-Florida State, Harvard-Yale, Lafayette-Lehigh (the longest), and Rutgers-Princeton (the first) to name a few.  The LA Coliseum will be the 140th venue we’ve attended to attend a college football game.

Collegefootballfan.com got to tailgate with a lot of great friends from over the years at West Point for our 500th game on November 21, 2015!

Points After Tailgating

WR Juwan Johnson led the Lions in receiving with five catches for 78 yards while LB Jason Cabinda led the Lions with 11 tackles.  Johnson hails from Glassboro, NJ and Cabinda played for Hunterdon Central HS in Flemington, NJ.

RU’s Janarion Grant was seen limping late in the game.  The Lions kicked to him on every kickoff to the deep left corner of the end zone.  One time the ball sailed out of bounds for a penalty to start RU from the 35.  Another time, Grant looked to get around PSU’s left flank until a long gain was thwarted from behind after 29 yards as he almost broke free.  He is returning from a leg injury suffered last season.  The Lion strategy paid off holding him to only 82 yards on four returns, but look for him to be an exciting return man if he makes it to the pro level.

For CFF.com, this was our 105th Penn State game today with many thanks to our great PSU alum and friend, John Massimilla, who couldn’t make it today as he was under the weather as they say.  It was a rarity to be there without him.  John has seen many more PSU games than us as we roam the country “to see ’em all”.  Another landmark for us today was PSU’s 80th win that we attended.  As for Rutgers, we saw them fall for the 38th time.  They tied Army now for the most losses in the annals of our history.

Our late arrival actually put us in the last row of the yellow lot, but Vince (right) got a front row view of Mount Nittany during his first trip to Happy Valley before our post-game tailgate.

 

 

 

Game 549: Virginia drops Georgia Tech, 40-36

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Game 549: Virginia drops Georgia Tech, 40-36

Charlottesville, VA – Despite numerous dropped passes by the Virginia receivers in the first half and two quick Georgia Tech scores to start the third period for a 15-point lead, the Cavaliers, aka the Wahoos, came back twice from behind late to finally defeat the Ramblin’ Wrecks, aka Yellow Jackets, with 1:22 left to win this ACC Coastal confrontation, 40-36.  This game featured a little of everything – from a TD on a kick-off return, a pick-six, a safety, two-point conversions, lead changes, lightning-quick scores, effective punts,  and long scoring plays on the ground and through the air.  The game started off slowly in the first half as UVA receivers dropped at least seven clearly catchable passes despite the rainy conditions.  So much for wearing fashionable gloves. Take them off!

The Virginia Cavalier rallies his team!

 Special Guest

With this win, the Cavaliers improved to 6-3, 3-2 while Tech fell to 4-4, 3-3.  On a very rainy day, Collegefootballfan.com along with our Guest Game Analysts (GGAs) Brian Donnelly (Towson) and Eric Koreivo (USN, PO 2/c) lucked out with “discount” tickets under cover protecting us from steady to driving rains that continued throughout the game in central Virginia.  The rain did not prevent us from tailgating beforehand, however.  Dogfish Head brand brews, Brian’s Old Bay wings specialty, and Philly cheesesteaks imported from South Jersey heated upon the grill primed us for today’s game.   Game 549 was our first game ever at Scott Stadium, home of the Wahoos. We enjoyed having Eric come up from his command in Little Creek, Virginia for the weekend.  He hadn’t gotten a chance to attend a game this season until now, and he’s not sure if he’ll get to another before his deployment in 2018.    At least the one game he made it to turned out to be entertaining.

Georgia Tech cheerleaders had their ups and downs during a very rainy day.

 Slow start, exciting end to first half

Georgia Tech enjoyed a 14-13 lead at the half, but it could have been a significantly different story had UVA receivers not suffered a severe case of the “dropsies” over the course of three series.  Even worse, HB Olamide Zaccheaus (nine caches 98 yards) fumbled the football on his own 14 after which GT QB TaQuon Marshall (6 for 22, 129 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs; 29 carries for 143 yards rushing, 2 TDs) dove over from the one for a short-lived 14-6 lead.  On the ensuing kick-off, UVA’s Joe Reed slipped a tackler on the right, raced across field, dodged a tackler along the left sideline, and 92 yards later had the Cavs back within one again.

Joe Reed en-route to a 92-yard kick-off return for a touchdown!

Score, team , score

On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, if you count extra point conversions and not include the last kickoff, Marshall scored on the fifth play in a row as he bolted over the right side from his 22 for a 78-yard touchdown run. Like lightning which didn’t come from the sky on this rainy day, on the next play from scrimmage, Cav QB Kurt Benkert (21 of 43, 260 yards, 3 TDS, 1 INT), the passer of many dropped passes got picked by LB Bruce Jordan-Swilling who ran it back 27 yards for another GT TD to make the score 28-13. It seemed like the Yellow Jackets were about to ramble away with this game.  “Not so fast, my friend” comes that indomitable phrase to mind from college football sage Lee Corso.

TaQuon Marshall comes out of this pile with a TD for the Ramblin’ Wrecks from Georgia Tech.

Just as quickly as the Ramblin’ Wrecks buzzed off to a sudden 28-13 lead, the Wahoos came aback just as strong in the same period.  Benkert led the Cavs starting from his 22 on a scoring drive capped by his 34-yard TD pass to Andre LeVrone.  On GT’s next series, All-American FS candidate Quinn Blanding intercepted Marshall to set the Wahoos up at Tech’s 30.  Benkert spiraled a pass 28 yards to Doni Dowling in the right corner of the end zone to lead the offensive charge back to within one.  Second-year HC Bronco Mendenhall, formerly HC at BYU, opted for a two-point conversion, and Benkert zipped it to Zaccheaus who held on to it to tie the game at 28-all.

Punt, Wahoos, punt!

Late in the third and early in the fourth, the two teams traded punts.  UVA P Lester Coleman kept Tech deep in their territory. His first of 40 yards put Tech back at the two before a three and out.  He boomed the next from his 23 for 63 yards that rolled out at GT’s 14.  A sack by LB Chris Peace forced another Tech punt from there and the Cavs tool over at the Jackets’ 43.  UVA finally got its first lead off that drive, 31-28, on Mejia’s 28-yard FG.

Tech looked to come back quickly as Marshall heaved a long bomb to his receiver who looked wide open down the middle.  Eric noted that his receiver had to slow up and even come back for it, and because Marshall put a lot of air under it, FS Brenton Nelson swooped in to make the interception.  The Cavs went three and out, but once again, Coleman’s leg was an effective offensive weapon.  He boomed another spiral into the air for 58-yard punt that hopped sideways just once, and the ball died at Georgia Tech’s three.  On the next snap, LB Jordan Mack applied pressure and the ball fell loose from Marshall’s hands into the end zone.  He pounced on it to avoid a Wahoo touchdown, but the Cavs came away with two more points for 33-28 lead.

Marshall recovers his own fumble for a safety.

Final Countdown

Tech basically did away with the triple option at this stage to mount a comeback after holding the Cavs to two yards before forcing a punt.  Coleman once again put them deep back at their ten with 7:10 remaining.  Advancing to Virginia’s 33, Marshall connected with a wide-open Ricky Jeune over the middle at 3:10 to retake the lead.  For the two-point try to go up by three, Marshall race left and just hooked the ball around the pylon as he dove to give Tech the lead, 36-33.  The Wahoos took the kick out to their 36.  The dropsies epidemic amongst the orange and blue seemed to be over.  On three of four plays, Benkert completed three passes and added five more yards with a run to get his team to the 27.  With 1:22 left, Benkert lofted a pass toward the end zone down the left sideline where LeVrone caught the ball for a nice over-the-should catch as he crossed the goal line.

Marshall has a man wide open downfield.

UVA was back on top, 40-36.  Tech had three TOs left and used them over a nine-play drive to their 24 down to UVA’s 27 where Chris Peace broke up a pass on fourth down to take back over on downs.  One play in the victory formation and the Cavs are on their way to a bowl game. It was another greet game to enjoy in Game 549, our 17th of this great 2017 season.  The season winds down, but we have nine more and possibly a tenth to see as our fantastic season races to the end.

Brian and I thought the UVA band was one of the best we’d seen in a while.

Upcoming…

Virginia heads to Louisville (5-4, 2-4) next week whom we saw lose to Wake Forest last, 42-32.  GT hosts No. 17 Virginia Tech who fell to undefeated Miami last Saturday. Collegefootballfan.com goes disappointingly to State College since the Nittany Lions are out of the CFP picture now with consecutive losses to Ohio State by one and to Michigan State by three on a last second FG, 27-24.  They host surprising Rutgers with a 4-5 record in our 550th game since 1979.

Points After Tailgating: Game 549


UVA ILB Micah Kiser led all tacklers with 18 in this game.


Tech totaled only 220 yards on the ground while UVA could tally only 97.


We curtailed any post-game parking lot celebrations in the parking lot due to continuing rain and darkness.  Instead we found BJ’s Micro-brewery.  A chain with five brewing locations, but not this one in Charlottesville.

Virginia-style celebration.

 

Game 548: Temple shuts down triple-option and launches air attack to ground Navy, 34-26

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Game 548: Temple shuts down triple-option and launches air attack to ground Navy, 34-26

Philadelphia – Temple fell to Army West Point on October 21 and had not played since, but before and after the Army game, HC Geoff Collins’s team drilled against the triple-option since mid-October and used that to their advantage last Thursday night in our Game 548.  The Owl defense shut down the Mids’ potent option to hold them to 136 rushing yards on 52 carries to win, 34-26.  The Naval Academy fell for its third straight loss.  The Mids lost QB Zach Abey (25 carries for 60 yards) to an injury in the fourth quarter and went with back-up Garrett Lewis who was more effective passing the ball for USNA late in the game to mount a comeback that fell short.  On the other side of the ball, Temple had Navy’s secondary well scouted and took advantage as QB Frank Nutile (Wayne, NJ) threw four TD passes and hit on 22 of 30 passes, 289 yards, and one INT.  This was undoubtedly Temple’s best played game of the season.  For Collegefootballfan.com, our game 548 was the first of two slated for week ten of our 2017 season.

Battle flags

 Speed kills

WR Adonis Jennings took advantage with his speed against Navy’s slow secondary averaging 25.4 yards per his five receptions including two for touchdowns.  To break an early 3-3 tie in the first, Nutile connected down the right sideline with Jennings for a 40-yard score.

In the second period, the Owls finished off an 88-yard drive with Nutile firing an eight-yard scoring pass to Keith Kirkwood to go up, 17-3.  With 9:35 remaining in the first half, Navy methodically drove down field with short runs up the middle.  Rarely did Abey pitch out on the option as they had the offense pretty well diagnosed.  The Mids used all the time left in the first half before Keith Moehring booted a 24-yard FG as time expired to end the first 30 minutes.  Navy would get the ball to start the second half, but they were going to have to display a sense of urgency to catch up with the Owls who had the explosiveness for quick scores against a Navy defense that applied little pressure on the quarterback and loose coverage against their speedy receivers.

Temple’s Isaiah Wright nears goal line during early drive for a field goal.

Stadium fare

Guest Game Analysts Brian Donnelly and “Air Force” Jay met with CCF.com for game 548 at the local Holiday Inn Parking lot on Packer Ave. where we found a bottom rate parking fee for only $5 – a new CFF record low!  We snacked and drank while sharing tales around the tailgate before heading into Lincoln Financial Field for dinner.  I had promised both that the Philly cheesesteaks from the concession stands in the stadium tasted much better those we purchased in the past from the Philly tourist traps.  They came away very impressed to say the least.  We all ordered with the chopped onions.  The fresh bread and melted cheese combined with the delicious steak hit the spot.  Collegefootballfan.com rates this and Premio sausage sandwiches as the best stadium selections of all time in our history.  Brian and Jay might agree.  They confirmed that they had eaten great Italian sausage sandwiches in Philly before, but they were unsure of the brand.  I’m sure they were Premios.  We’ve enjoyed them at Citizens Bank Park in Philly, Citi-Field in New York, and Rutgers High Point Solutions Stadium.  They’ll both have to try them again for us to give us their feedback.  If not too full from tailgating when we go back to Lincoln Financial on December 9 to see Army play Navy, maybe Brian and Jay can go in and each order one to give us their approval once they confirm they tried and actual Premio Italian sausage sandwich.

We plan to see the Mids play again at the Linc on December 9 for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.

Widening the gap

Navy’s sense of urgency took a big setback to start the third.  We didn’t clearly see what happened, but the officials ruled returner Zack Fraade signaled for a fair catch at the four. It must have been inadvertent if anything.  Maybe shading his eyes in the bright lights of the Linc as he started to run up field after the catch, but we didn’t notice any evident signal.  It nullified any early momentum for the Navy to build on to start the second half.   Temple took over after the ensuing punt on their 41.  Nutile connected again with Jennings on they fly easily beating his defender for a 34-yard TD to go up, 24-6.  Without an effective option game thus far, things looked bleak for Navy.  However, the Mids came back with a 75-yard drive and scored on a trick play similarly executed by the Owls earlier.  At the TU five, Abey walked behind his linemen to his right apparently calling audibles.  While doing so, the ball was snapped direct to the tailback who rolled left and pitched it to Malcolm Perry on a reverse end around.  The third string QB passed it to Abey standing alone in the right side of the end zone for a Navy touchdown to pull to within 11.  Temple reacted a little more conventionally. An 81-yard drive was highlighted by a 35-yard pass to Jennings who got caught from behind at the Navy one.  Following a two-yard loss, Nutile threw his next TD pass to TE Jake Robinson to take a dominating 31-13 lead into Q4 of game 548.

Abey hauls in option pass for Q3 touchdown.

 Coming back, but…

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Navy HC Ken Niumatalolo finally decided that he needed more air in his game.  The Mids drove to the TU 28.  On fourth down, Abey got sacked.  The Owls took over from their 38.  A FG by Aaron Boumerhi from 32 gave the Owls a 34-13 margin.  Again, Abey took to the air, but this time the result was worse.  S Devlon Randle intercepted to give Temple the ball on its 33, and Navy’s training staff escorted Abey off of the field.  Navy returned the favor with S Micah Farrar picking off Nutile’s pass on a tip to give Navy the ball at the Owl 37.   Garrett Lewis took over for Abey.  He led the offense on its next series into the end zone with a 16-yard touchdown pass to WR Brandon Colon to make the score, 34-19.  Temple blocked the point after attempt.  After that, the USNA defense finally forced a TU punt.  Lewis completed a 48-yard pass to Perry to get to Temple’s 32. Again, the Mids got into the end zone through the air on an eight-yard scoring play to Tyler Carmona with 2:12 left.  Navy was within striking distance now down eight.  The onsides kick was recovered by the Owls and Navy never had another chance to catch up in game 548.

Malcolm Perry on the move for the Mids.

History lesson

Despite the late scores, GGA Brian Donnelly lamented that after having Navy season tickets for 12 years now, he had never seen Navy play so bad.  I had to think about this. Realizing he started attending Navy games back when Paul Johnson had this program on the upswing after his arrival from Georgia Southern back in 2002, I understood his perception.  After about seven years of not attending Navy games before 2006 because they struggled so often before and during these years, memories started to come back.  Navy teams had played a lot worse before then. Thankfully, the Navy football program has obliterated memories of some very futile years.  Hopefully, this is only a short blip on the screen after many successful years under Johnson and now HC Niumatalolo.  This program is still in the right direction, but it may be time for some tweaking to get this defense to be better prepared for teams that like to throw the football.

Coming up

After a 5-0 start, the three losses probably knocked the Mids out of consideration for the Military Bowl on December 28.  However, looking ahead, things may be looking desperate to be attending any bowl game at all.  Next up is improved SMU at 6-3, 3-2.  Talk about a passing team, QB Ben Hicks has 2,588 passing yards and 20 TDs.  After that, the Mids travel to No. 3 Notre Dame who has its sights set on a CFP bid.  Houston stands in the way next currently at 6-3, 3-2 when Navy travels for this clash in the Lone Star state.   Lastly, the Mids will be play archrival Army for the Commander in Chief’s Trophy.  The Cadets are 7-2, on a five-game winning streak, and just off a 21-0 shutout of Air Force in Colorado Springs.  Navy has its work cut out to get a bowl invite against these four foes.  Their defense needs to shape up quickly.

Temple heads to Cincinnati to play their AAC East foe Bearcats.  Collegefootballfan.com looks forward to our first trip ever to Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, VA after game 548 to see an improved but faltering Virginia Cavalier team (5-3, 2-2) host Georgia Tech (4-3, 3-2) running the triple option under aforementioned former Navy HC Paul Johnson.  Should be fun!  (It was a great game.  Come back to check out our story line this Tuesday morning)

Game 547: Demon Deacons leave Louisville trailing in wake, 42-32

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Game 547: Demon Deacons leave Louisville trailing in wake, 42-32

Winston-Salem, NC – Wake Forest enjoyed a 35-17 lead heading into the fourth quarter of Collegefootballfan.com Game 547 thanks to four TD passes from QB John Wolford to WR Greg Dortch.  However,  the result remained in doubt until the waning minutes against Louisville led by 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson for Wake to finally take this ACC Atlantic clash,  42-32.  Despite Wake’s early domination, Jackson became more elusive late in the game rushing for a total of 161 yards and three TDs while completing 22 of 44 passes for 330 yards and one TD.

The scoreboard operator at BB&T Stadium at Wake Forest displayed wishful thinking on the home team scoreboard in the third of our Game 547, but the Demon Deacons won nonetheless, 42-32.

For Collegefootballfan.com, we attended our seventh WFU game ever, but experienced our first at BB&T Stadium in Winston-Salem.  GGA George Lazarides (Johns Hopkins) and I had the great pleasure of staying with our good friends Jim Harton (WFU) and his wife Courtenay (UNC Greensboro)  who recently retired back in their native North Carolina and who now revel in being season ticket holders who meet and tailgate with a great group of their Wake Forest friends.   In the end, Collegefootballfan.com impressed the WFU fandom as we noted that their Deacs now stand at 7-0 in the annals of our Game 547 history.  We are invited back again already.

Demon deacon sideline action.

 Decisive Action

Trailing 35-17 early in the fourth, the Cardinals (5-4, 4-1) drove from their ten to the Demon Deacon six to attempt to score on fourth and goal.  Jackson’s pass fell incomplete to turn the ball over.  WFU looked to eat up the clock and lock this game up on the ensuing drive with RB Matt Colburn (24 carries for 134 yards) doing the brunt of running the football.  On fourth and one, Louisville looked to jump offsides from our angle, but no flag flew and Colburn got stopped for no gain. The ball went back on downs to the visitors from Kentucky on their 38.  From his 48, Jackson raced the length of the field to put up six and the PAT with 1:10 remaining.

Lamar Jackson breaks loose for 52-yard TD run on late comeback attempt to close the score, 35-25.

The ensuing onsides kick handled by WFU’s Jesse Bates gave the Deacs possession on the Cardinal 46.  With three time-outs left, Bobby Petrino’s LU defense stacked the box.  They stopped Colburn for on a two-yard gain and called their first time-out.  I called Wake Forest’s next play for Jim and George.  Sure enough, the call came from HC Dave Clawson’s mind to my lips.  Wolford, who had his best game ever according to die-hard Demon Deacon followers, faked a hand-off to the dive back and rolled right on an attempted option, stopped, stood, and fired the ball to wide open Chuck Wade who ran the rest of the 44 yards for a TD and a 42-25 Demon Deacon lead.  WFU fans breathed a little easier, but as Jim stated, he never believes the outcome of a Wake Forest win until he reads about it the next morning.  With :57 left, the game seemed to be in the bag, but…

QB John Wolford (10) led Deacons on two touchdown drives in the first  for a 14-3 lead.

Lasting Impressions

With only 14 seconds left, Jackson threw a touchdown pass of 20 yards, after having run for three earlier, to WR Charles Standberry to close the gap 42-32. The next onsides kick was gathered in by the Deacs’ Scotty Washington (six catches for 133 yards). Wolford (28 of 34, 461 yards, 5 TDs, and 0 INTs) finally took a knee in the victory formation just once as time expired.  Jim would check the internet at 5:30 am the next morning to confirm the Wake Forest victory and inform his friends.   Great game!  Exciting plays.  Impressive players.

Dortch hauls in a catch for a four-yard TD. He was injured on the play, but returned to score two more touchdowns after this.

Upcoming…

Next week, the Deacs travel to South Bend, Indiana to play No. 5 Notre Dame (7-1).  Louisville will host Virginia in two weeks, and we’ll have the scouting report if Bobby Petrino wants our play-calling expertise since we will see the Cavaliers (5-3,2-2) host Georgia Tech (4-3, 3-2) this Saturday at Scott Stadium, another first-time ACC venue for us.  However, before that game, we’ll be at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly Thursday night to see Navy (5-3, 3-2) try to get back on the winning track when they play AAC East foe Temple (3-5,1-3). As for Wake Forest, we told Jim and his friends that we’re willing to bring our 7-0 WFU record with us if the Demon Deacons make it to the PinStripe, Military, or Belk bowls this year.  We plan to be at all three and the ACC will be playing in each as well.

Points After Tailgating

In Jim’s pregame assessment of Game 547 for us, he said to keep an eye on red-shirt freshman WR Greg Dortch. He’s the most exciting player he’d ever seen.  His ten catches for 167 yards and four TDs proved what Jim had reported.  He made tacklers miss on kickoffs (two for 50 yards in total)  as well as pass receptions. The red-shirt frosh from Richmond, VA beat defenders badly on several patterns. His scores came on receptions from 32, 4, 25, and 52 yards out.  He also missed another TD scored as he lunged across the goal line on a 29-yard pass play in the third only to have the ball fall out of his hand as he extended past the pylon for what was ruled a touchback.   Dortch scored on his longest catch of the day after that.  We think we saw a potential Heisman candidate playing against a previous winner here.   However, Jim reported to us on Monday that on one of the TDs where he remained on the ground after in the second period, something must have happened because he is out for the season with some kind of stomach injury.  We’ll keep an eye out for him in the future.  We would have liked to see what he could do against Notre Dame next week.

Dortch torched the Cardinal secondary for 25 yards on this TD in the second period.

Lamar Jackson is an exciting, elusive player to watch. He ran for scores of 7, 4, and 52 yards.  I have to believe that the difference for him between this year and last was the experienced linemen he had a year ago.  Even with less experienced players in front of him this year, he still makes things happen on offense.

2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson on the move.

 Ramblings

George and I met Jim on Friday at the Foothills Micro-Brewery recommended to us by another Jim at our Delaware vs. JMU game on September 30.  We have to thank that Jim for the recommendation before our trek to game 547.  We enjoyed the Amber Ale. They ran out of the Oktoberfest.   The food there was very good as well.  Jim had their Hoppyum in his refrigerator at home and Wake Forest sells it at their stadium.

On Friday after lunch,  Jim took George and I for a tour of Wake’s campus. He toured us around like he owned the place which was great.  He takes great pride now in starting to set up a better rapport between the Chemistry department at WFU and the chemical industry where Jim retired from after 40 years in leadership positions.  He reminisced walking around about some of his greatest memories and great times while in school.  He told us of his friends we’d meet at the tailgate and told us no one would call him “Jim”. Instead he was known to his great fraternity friends he partied with at school as “Bug” and to his smart friends he studied with known as a “Boog-a-loo”, or something like that.  On Saturday at the tailgate, a lot of people called him “Bug”.  Tailgating is about having great times and sharing great friendships (and a lot of great eats and drinks, too).

“Ironman” George Lazarides on the far left and yours truly on the far right flank WFU alum “Bug”, “1-Iron”, and “Goober”. Picture taken by their fellow alum, “Wheels”.  She was wearing very high, fashionable hip boots.

We met a lot of Jim’s friends while tailgating by their nicknames. One die-hard Deacon alum among the group we met was Earl, but he claims to have 47 or 48 nicknames given to him by fraternity brothers over the years. Many would be unprintable here.  Earl insists that we get together again for some future Wake Forest games.  We look forward to doing that.

More Wake Forest sideline activity.

We met a lot of Bugs’ friends, had great food, enjoyed great drinks, heard lot of stories from their school days, and talked Wake Forest football for which many of them are excited about under fourth year HC Dave Clawson. We saw him coach Fordham in a playoff game against Northeastern in Boston back in 2002 on Thanksgiving weekend when his Rams won, 29-24.  Talk about memories – I can’t believe that that was 15 years ago already! All the little kids, nieces and nephews, are also college alumni now.  Northeastern also gave up football since.  Too bad.

This Isuzu Trooper was left in this parking spot by one of Bugs’ tailgate friends many years ago. It marks the spot they reserve for tailgating.