Camel Foe – Week 5, Drake
Posted: September 28, 2012 Filed under: Camel Foe | Tags: Campbell, Drake, Fighting Camels Leave a comment »The Fighting Camels fell to 1-3 with a 35-14 loss at Butler last week. In his second start, QB Dakota Wolf was 17-23 passing for 159 yards and ran for 111 yards on 31 carries. Kurt Odom provided the scoring with 2 short touchdown runs. Jordan Hildreth had 4 catches for 58 yards and Chad McMichael 6 for 45 yards. The Camels rushed for 206 yards but the defense allowed 452 yards and the 35 points. Paul Pizzuti had 12 tackles and a fumble recovery for the defense. After two consecutive road losses, they return to the friendly confines of Buies Creek this week to face Drake University.
Drake University
Location: Des Moines, IA (population: 203,433 as of 2010 census, the largest city in Iowa)
Established: 1881 by Francis Marion Drake, who lead a group of staff members from Oskaloosa College to form the new institution.
Enrollment: ~5,200
Nickname: Bulldogs
Mascot: Spike is Drake’s mascot. Spike is on Facebook and has an “army” for Drake students to join.
Affiliation: Drake is a football-only member of the Pioneer Conference. Except for women’s crew, the rest of its teams compete in the Missouri Valley Conference. The crew team is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Random Fact #1: On September 17, 1969 the Drake student newspaper, The Times-Delphic, published what appears to be the first documented account of the famous Paul is dead hoax, written by Tim Harper.
Random Fact #2: Drake’s law school is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the nation, tracing its history to 1865. It is a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools, has been accredited since 1923 when accreditation first began, and is one of only seventy-five ABA-approved law schools to have a Chapter of Order of the Coif.
Random Fact #3: The athletic teams received their nickname of Bulldogs in 1904 from a sportswriter who noticed that John L. Griffith, who coached every sport, was bringing his pet bulldogs to the practice fields. The teams had previously been known as the Ducklings and Ganders. (I, for one, am sad they are not the Drake Ducklings.)
Random Fact #4: In 1928 Drake defeated Simpson College 41-6 in what is believed to be the first night football game west of the Mississippi River. Perhaps the most famous incident in Drake’s football history is known as the Johnny Bright Incident, where Pulitzer-Prize winning photographs in the Des Moines Register proved an intentional attack on the African American quarterback by Oklahoma State Cowboys football players. Drake withdrew from the Missouri Valley Conference in protest of the lack of disciplinary action taken against those responsible. Today, Drake’s football field is named Johnny Bright Field in memory of the incident.
Random Fact #5: The university hosts the Drake Relays during April. This track and field event has been held since 1910, and is the second-largest collegiate track and field event in the United States. The 1961 Drake Relays was the first sporting event televised on ABC’S Wide World of Sports anthology show.
Notable Alumni:
- comedian Steve Allen, the first host of the Tonight Show
- Terry Branstad, former and current governor of Iowa
- NFL kicker Billy Cundiff
- Michael Emerson, Emmy-winning actor as Ben Linus on Lost
- PGA golfer and 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson
- actor Jeremy Piven (did not graduate)
- actor Sam Wanamaker (Private Benjamin, Raw Deal)
- WGN TV producer-director Arne Harris (if you watched Cubs games on WGN, you instantly remember that name)
We’ll expand the list t0 10 this week. You can never list too many notable Iowans.
- Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins of TLC, Grammy winning R&B Singer
- actor Stephen Collins, the dad from 7th Heaven
- Peter Hedges, writer of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
- multiple Emmy-award winner Cloris Leachman
- Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Shawn Johnson
- Track & field world champion LoLo Jones
- NFL quarterback Kyle Orton
- former MLB player Casey Blake
- 7 of the 9 members of the band Slipknot
- former NFL quarterback and league & Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner
Oh yeah, the Football Team:
- Drake is 2-2 (1-0 in the PFL), with both losses coming to FCS scholarship programs (Montana State & Indiana State)
- Drake defeated conference foe Morehead State 28-25 in Des Moines last Saturday.
- Drake leads the series between the two school 4-0.
- In the teams’ only previous game at Campbell in 2010, Drake eked by with a 14-12 victory.
- Drake trailed Morehead State 17-7 in the 4th quarter last week before scoring 3 TDs in a span of 9:40
- Senior QB Mike Piatkowski, the reigning PFL Offensive Player of the Year, threw for 268 yards and 3 TDs and became the school’s all-time leader in passing yards. Gary Scott added 125 yards on the ground and 1 TD.
- The defense was paced by John Hugunin’s 16 tackles and 1 sack while Travis Merritt added 14 tackles.
- Drake leads the PFL in sacks with 14, which ranks them sixth in FCS. They have ranked in the Top 10 nationally in each of the past three seasons.
- The Bulldogs are looking for their 6th consecutive PFL victory and their fourth straight 2-0 start in conference play.
- Piatkowski also holds the career record for completion percentage (62.2) and needs just 7 TD passes to become the all-time leader in that category as well. He ranks 5th all-time in the PFL in passing yardage. With 7 games remaining he must average 228 yards/game to pass current San Francisco 49ers QB Josh Johnson for 2nd all-time in the conference.
- In last season’s meeting Piatkowski set an FCS record for completion percentage by a QB with at least 30 completions, going 30-33 (90.9%) in a 31-14 Bulldog victory.
- Stat Leaders:
- Passing: Piatkowski – 110-178, 1179 yards, 7 TD, 3 INT
- Rushing: Scott – 64-285, 3 TD
- Receiving: Kevin Marshall 23 receptions (198 yards); Joey Orlando 219 yards (21 catches, 1 TD); Nick Rosa 3 TD (13-208)
- Defense: Hugunin 46 tackles; Brandon Coleman 8 TFL; TylerMoorehead 4 sacks; Drew Ormseth 2 INT
- Best Name Nominees:
- Neko Graf, Naser Hannoon, Paddy O’Connell, Ezekiel Okeleye, Zach Zlabis & Caz Zyks
- The winner – Caz Zyks
Prediction:
Drake has not yet lost to the Fighting Camels in four tries and were picked to finish 2nd in the league by the coaches in the preseason poll. Campbell has still yet to score in the first quarter this season (outscored 45-0) and seeks a better start than the past 4 weeks. The defense is allowing 466 yards per game to opposing offense, including more than 10 yards per pass attempt and will be severely tested by Drake’s all-time leading passer, Mike Piatkowski. Drake’s defense has allowed 215 yards per game on the ground this season, which may be an opening for the Camels’ ground based offense. Dakota Wolf is the first Camel QB to top the 100-yard mark in back-to-back weeks and may find #3 against the Bulldog defense. However, poor starts and a weak defense have the Achilles heel’s for the Camels this season and again portend doom against Drake. I will boldly predict that the Camels dent the scoreboard in the opening stanza for the first time this season and that Dakota Wolf again manages 100+ yards rushing, but Piatkowski, Scott and the rest of the Bulldogs recover and will celebrate a 28-14 road victory.
CFB Week 5 “Previews”
Posted: September 27, 2012 Filed under: CFB Weekly Picks | Tags: Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Grand Valley State, Lebanon Valley, Michigan Tech, Widener, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Wisconsin-Stout Leave a comment »Widener @ Lebanon Valley – Saturday, September 29 @ 12:00 pm CDT
Author: Ryan
After squeaking out a 90-0 victory over Wilkes last weekend, we need to take a look at how Widener stacks up against this week’s opponent, Lebanon Valley. A few quick notes on Widener’s win last week and their year thus far. The 90 points was a school record but fell shy of the D-III record of 105 by Rockford in their 2003 victory over mighty Trinity Bible College. Widener put up 651 yards of total offense (which is actually less than I would have expected), and in fact had more yards in their 67-0 victory over Misericordia the week before. Starting QB Chris Haupt had 6 TD tosses, 4 of 50 yards or more. Even Junior Backup QB Tevin Campbell got in on the act with 69 yards rushing and a TD. In 4 games this year Widener has outscored their opponents 261-23. But we are going to preview this game anyway.
Mascot
Widener – Pride. The new mascot was chosen in 2006 or 2007 (it’s a little unclear), when they retired the old mascot, Pioneer. Pride was chosen over a few options, one of which was Keystones. That would be a failure folks. Their logo is many Lions, and these two like to hug like Turk & JD.
Lebanon Valley – Flying Dutchmen. Lebanon Valley is located in the center of Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and they were named for that reason, and not after the Ghost Ship. Or this Ghost Ship. Their mascot is the Flying Dutchman, which can terrify children while pooping in both costume and cartoon form. In his free time he enjoys wrestling lions, which should come in handy this week.
Advantage – Lebanon Valley. Even the Flying Dutchman is pissed they didn’t go with Keystones at Widener. And because I saw him on Saturday, I can tell you Keith Stone is also less than pleased.
Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)
Widener – Safeties/Co-Special Teams Coach Colin Hitschler. Not a lot going on at Widener, but Hitschler worked for the Chiefs in 2010 as a player personnel assistant and in spring training with the Eagles in 2009. Oh yeah, and he looks like this. And apparently wrestled at Penn in college.
Lebanon Valley – WR Coach Greg Drake got consideration for his lengthy bio and general disposition, as did Secondary coach Corey Wenger for really liking getting his picture taken, but the winner here is TE/OL/Strength & Conditioning Coach Guy Bennardo and his flattop. Guy served as the S&C Coach for Pitt for one season in 1991-92 and as the Assistant Coordinator of Corporate Fitness for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1992-94
Advantage – Lebanon Valley. Anyone who may have given Jim Leyland health tips is a winner in my book.
Best Name
Widener – Other than the aforementioned R&B superstar Tevin Campbell there is Freshman RB Couve LaFate, and Senior TE Dom DePasquale, who I hope makes another Cannonball Run someday.
Lebanon Valley – Senior WR Yahya McIntyre.
Advantage – Lebanon Valley. I let Prince make the call one this one as he had a player in both, and he chooses Yeahhhhh.
Location
Widener – Chester, PA. Chester is located directly between the cities of Philadelphia, PA and Wilmington, DE. I just spent three days in Wilmington and I can tell you that Chester seems quite awesome. Chester is right next to the Philadelphia International Airport, and is home to a Harrah’s Casino that overlooks a prison (things I learned while driving through). Chester was named after the English city of Chester by William Penn on his first visit to the city (it had previously been called Finlandia and Upland). Chester was a very large ship building hub, and two ships in the US Navy have been designated the USS Chester in its honor. Chester claims the title, as do a few other places, as Birthplace of the Hoagie. In case you wanted to drive to New Jersey, Chester is home to the Commodore Barry Bridge. Chester’s newest arrival is PPL Park, home to the MLS’ Philadelphia Union. PPL Park is a soccer specific stadium at the base of the Commodore Barry Bridge that opened in 2010. PPL Park, which looks pretty cool, has also served as the host of the Collegiate Rugby Championship the last two years and has hosted college football games, including The Battle of the Blue between Villanova and Delaware, and quarterfinal matches in the NCAA D-I Men’s Lacrosse Championship. PPL Park will serve as the host for the Army-Navy soccer match in 2012 and 2013, a game that had traditionally been played on-campus. Basically, lots of MB happens at PPL. Bill Halley & His Comets (Rock Around the Clock) formed in Chester in 1952. Famous people whose mouths are open right now that were born in Chester include Bo Ryan. NBA star Tyreke Evans also grew up in Chester.
Lebanon Valley – Annville Township, PA. Annville itself is very small (4,000), but is home to former WWE Wrestler “The Lethal Weapon” Steve Blackman (you may remember him from his use of nunchucks). Annville is basically a suburb of Lebanon, PA, where former NFL QBs Frank Reich and Kerry Collins both played HS football.
Advantage – Widener. This one wasn’t really a fair fight, even with Bo Ryan’s mouth dragging them down, while dragging on the floor.
Notable Alumni
Widener – Director Cecil B. DeMille (Cleopatra, The Ten Commandments – back when known as the Pennsylvania Military College), NFL Star Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, St. Joe’s Basketball Coach Phil Martelli, and Matthew McGrory – The World’s Tallest Actor (Bubble Boy, Big Fish, The Devil’s Rejects).
Lebanon Valley – A bunch of major city Orchestra members, and Quarterback Henry “Two Bits” Homan, one of the smallest players in NFL history, who is rumored to be the first person to celebrate a touchdown.
Advantage – Again, it’s Widener in a landslide. If the Giant Guy from Bubble Boy went there, they win.
Decision
My research tells me Lebanon Valley is going to win this one, but my brain says otherwise.
Franklin & Marshall @ Dickinson – Saturday, September 29 @ 12:00 pm CDT
“Conestoga Wagon / Battle for the Wagon”
The series started on October 30, 1889, with a 10-0 Dickinson win. The teams gathered again on November 28th of that year, with F&M posting a 22-0 shutout. Since 1963, the F&M Diplomats and Dickinson Red Devils have played for a model of the wagon that transported both teams to play each other in the two 1889 meetings. A gift of F&M Athletic Director J. Shober Barr and Dickinson A.D. Dave Eavenson, the trophy, created by Amish craftsmen in 1963, is meant to symbolize the friendly gridiron rivalry between the two institutions. F&M holds a 25-21 advantage since the inception.
Author: Bristol
Mascot
Franklin & Marshall – Diplomats. There is a long-winded web page that explains why they are the diplomats. To make a long, boring story short, some dude in the 30’s called them diplomats either before or after a game and the name stuck.
Dickinson – Red Devils. Basically the exact same story as F&M, but the writer called them Red Devils instead of Diplomats.
Advantage – Red Devils. At least that makes it sound like they played hard. Diplomats makes it sound like they got their asses kicked but raised everyone’s taxes later on in revenge. And their explanation was a paragraph instead of a full page.
Best Player Name
Franklin & Marshall – Tie – Freshman DB Hannibal Robinson, a member of the A-Team, and Junior LB Leo Chubinishvili, who is from Georgia. The country. Peter Gumas is at least 35 years old.
Dickinson – Senior RB Bligh Cassidy.
Advantage – F&M takes it this disappointing category by virtue of the A-Team reference and Chubs.
Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)
Franklin & Marshall – All the coaches are on the same page. The winner is defensive coordinator Craig Sutyak (2nd coach listed), who was very surprised by the camera. Before F&M, he coached at Allegheny, Bowdoin (Polar Bears!) & Fordham. He was a three-year letterwinner at Dickinson and is second in the school’s history in kickoff return yardage. He’s now on the other side of the Battle for the Wagon. Traitor!
Dickinson – Offensive backs coach Scott Shank. Coach Shank is back for his 23rd season at Dickinson and has also served as head coach at Carlisle and Boiling Springs High Schools. He earned All-ACC academic honors as a member of the Maryland football team in 1970.
Advantage – Dickinson. They will Shank the traitor.
Location
Franklin & Marshall – Lancaster, PA. Pronounced LANK-iss-ter, the city is one of the older non-coastal towns in the United States and is known as the Red Rose City. It was originally called Hickory Town before being renamed for the city of the same name in England. The Lancaster County Prison was built in 1737 and remain in use to this day. Fun fact – it housed public hangings until 1912. The first paved road in the United States, opened in 1795, was for the former Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, which is now part of U.S. Route 30. Two of the most common products needed by pioneers in settling the Frontier were manufactured in Lancaster – the Conestoga Wagon (tie-in!), named for the Conestoga River which runs through town, and the Pennsylvania long rifle. The retail chain Woolworth’s was opened in Lancaster by F.W. Woolworth and was one of the most successful chains for most of the 20th century. The name disappeared in the late 90’s and the company now focuses solely on sporting goods as Foot Locker. Inventions credited to Lancaster residents include the battery powered watch and Peeps, the disgusting marshmallow candy. Natives include James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States; Congressman and abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens; and former MLB player Tom Herr.
Dickinson– Carlisle, PA. The name is locally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable as apparently Pennsylvanians need to be different. (Note: You already are.) The town motto is “Excellence in Community Service”. Carlisle is home to the U.S. Army War College, which caters to high-level military personnel and civilians and prepares them for strategic leadership responsibilities. An army of the Confederate States of America led by General Fitzhugh Lee, shelled the town on July 1, 1863 during the Gettysburg campaign of the Civil War. One can still see evidence of destruction caused by cannonballs on one column of the historic county courthouse. The town was home to the Carlisle Indian school from 1879 to 1918. The school was operated by the U.S. Government to teach Indian children to reject their heritage and adapt to white society. (Still offensive, but better than small pox blankets.) The school gained fame in 1911 and 1912 as Jim Thorpe led the football team to wins over powerhouses Harvard, Army & Penn. Other notable people include former NBA player Billy Owens; East Carolina men’s basketball coach Jeff Lebo; and James Wilson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a major force in the drafting of the U.S. Constitution.
Advantage – Tie. Too close to call – a lot of great history in both cities and I will not choose between James Buchanan and Jim Thorpe.
Notable Alumni
Franklin & Marshall – Michael Dee, CEO of the Miami Dolphins; Ed Flesh, art director who designed the wheel for Wheel of Fortune; Bowie Kuhn, MLB Commissioner from 1969-1984; Spliff Starr, rapper and hypeman for Busta Rhymes; and actor Roy Scheider (Jaws).
Dickinson – Sports agent Leon Rose; Alfred du Pont, head of the du Pont Company (class of 1818); Judy Faulkner, CEO of Epic, who once hired yours truly; MLB executive Andy MacPhail; actor Stuart Pankin (Fatal Attraction, Arachnophobia); Rosie O’Donnell (did not graduate); the aforementioned James Buchanan; and MLB Hall-of-Fame pitcher Chief Bender.
Advantage – Dickinson. Another good category, but I have to go with Jaws, Wheel of Fortune and Busta Rhymes over Rosie, du Pont, and my former boss.
Decision
Dickinson takes this one 3-1-1.
Grand Valley State @ Michigan Tech – Saturday, September 29 @ 5:00 pm CDT
We step outside the state of Pennsylvania for the first time in three games to take a look at our D-II Game of the Week.
Author: Bristol
Mascot
Grand Valley State – Lakers. Lakers won out over Bruisers, Warriors, Bluejays, Ottawas, Archers and Voyagers. Louie the Laker has his own web page.
Michigan Tech – Huskies. But not just any husky, Blizzard T. Husky, who is clearly a crack hound.
Advantage – Lakers. Louie has biceps and sails ships. Blizzard has two teeth and an obvious drug problem.
Best Player Name
Grand Valley State – Tie – Junior DB Suave Lavallis and sophomore DB Bobby Wunderlich, who according to his bio, enjoys sports. He needs this Scrubs homage t-shirt. Shockingly, this guy is a kicker.
Michigan Tech – Tie – Senior WR Ethan Shaver, junior OL Buddy Poljan and freshman DL Conor Cocking.
Advantage – Michigan Tech. They give the Wunderlich test a good Cocking.
Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)
Grand Valley State – Running backs coach Eddie Brown had a stellar 13-year career as a WR/DB in the Arena Football League, winning titles in 1991, 1993 and 1995. He was named team MVP for three different organizations and the Buffalo Destroyers renamed their Big Hit Award to the Eddie Brown Award. Collegiately, he played two years at Michigan State after transferring from Grand Rapids Community College. He was a starting WR as a junior in 1989 and a starting DB as a senior in 1990. He coached at Mansfield University before joining GVSU. Honorable mention goes to head coach Matt Mitchell. Mitchell played at Cornell College in Iowa and I am 75% sure he hosted me on a recruiting visit.
Michigan Tech – Head coach Tom Kearly spent 19 years at the D-I level at Central Michigan (too soon!) and offensive line coach David Sartin won three national championships as a player at Mount Union, but the winner is defensive line coach Chuck Klingbeil. Klingbeil starred at Northern Michigan and for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL before spending five years with the Miami Dolphins. He played in 78 games, starting 65, for the Dolphins from 1991 to 1995. He recorded 242 tackles and 7.5 sacks. On September 22, 1991, he recovered a Green Bay Packer fumble in the end zone for his lone career touchdown. After his TD tied the game at 13 in the 4th quarter, the Dolphins won 16-13 on a Pete Stoyanovich field goal as Dan Marino outdueled Don “Majik Man” Majkowski.
Advantage – Michigan Tech. Even though I think I stayed with GVSU’s head coach on a visit, that doesn’t outweigh Klingbeil’s clutch fumble recovery to help defeat the Majik Man.
Location
Grand Valley State – Allendale, MI. Malta was initially chosen as the name for the township; however when the township was organized in 1849, a state senator changed the name to Allendale, after Agnes Allen, the first person on the tax roll in the area and the widow of Hannibal Allen, who was the son of Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen. The town is an exurb of Grand Rapids. The town was originally settled in 1842 on the Grand River. Not much information on Wikipedia or the township website, although if you want to be a part of the town’s Planning Commission, call Candy Kraker.
Michigan Tech – Houghton, MI. Houghton is a town on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and is very isolated from the more populous areas of the state. It is farther to drive from Houghton to Detroit than it is to drive from Detroit to Washington, D.C. The town has been named one of the “100 Best Small Towns in America”. Copper has been mined in area for centuries. When Horace Greeley famously said, “Go West, young man”, he was referring to the Copper Rush in the western part of the Upper Peninsula. The last mines closed in the 1960s, but Michigan Tech, originally known the Michigan College of Mines, remains. The town was the birthplace of professional hockey in the United States when the Portage Lakers were founded in 1903. The town’s sits on the south shore of Portage Lake, hence the name.
Advantage – Houghton in a landslide.
Notable Alumni
Grand Valley State – former MLB pitcher Greg Cadaret; former NFL wide receiver Jeff Chadwick; Dallas Cowboys CB Brandon Carr; screenwriter and director Patrick Sheane Duncan (Mr. Holland’s Opus, Courage Under Fire); Chicago White Sox P Matt Thornton; and Miami Dolphins LB coach Bill Sheridan. It is also worth noting that Michigan head football coach Brady Hoke spent a year on staff at GVSU and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was GVSU’s head coach from 1991-2003.
Michigan Tech – former NHL player Tony Esposito; former St. Louis Blues head coach Davis Payne; David Hill, former chief engineer of the Chevrolet Corvette; and Richard Robbins, whose company built 5 of the 6 machines used to dig the Chunnel between Great Britain and France.
Advantage – Michigan Tech. Quality (the Corvette and the Chunnel) over quantity (a bunch of random pro athletes). Plus, Brady Hoke and Brian Kelly are douchebags.
Decision
Michigan Tech is hoping Saturday’s game turns out the same way this preview did, with a big win.
Wisconsin-Stout @ Wisconsin-Eau Claire – Saturday, September 22 @ 1:00 pm CDT
“I-94 Trophy”
Author: Bristol
Mascot
Wisconsin-Stout – Blue Devils. Gross.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire – Blugolds. Eau Claire athletes are referred to as “Blugolds,” a name coined to reflect the school colors, navy blue and old gold. Previous athletic team names include the Normals and the Normalites (because UWEC was founded as the Eau Claire State Normal School), the Blue and Gold Warriors, the Blue and Gold Gridirons, the Zornmen (in honor of Willis L. “Bill” Zorn, basketball and football coach from 1928–1968), the Golden Zornadoes, the Blue and Gold Squad, and the Blugold Squad.
Advantage – Blugolds. I am sad they did not stick with the Golden Zornadoes, but anything beats Blue Devils.
Best Player Name
Wiscosin-Stout – Tie – Freshman RB Dirk Spence and brothers Hank (sophomore QB) and Reggie (freshman TE) Kujak.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire – Tie – Freshman LB Avery Sega and freshman TE Killy Kitzman. Best impersonation of a smarmy Euro – Alex Plaster. Best impersonation of Zach Galifinakis – Josh Albrecht.
Advantage – Eau Claire. When you have a player named Killy and a kicker/punter that looks like that, you win.
Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)
Wisconsin-Stout – Honorable mention goes to Travis Destache’s last name and ginger happiness and to Shane Konop’s facial hair but the winner is Bob Thomas. Bob was the head wrestling coach, an assistant football and basketball coach and equipment manager until he retired in 1997. He has been a volunteer football coach ever since, currently mentoring the kickers. He has been inducted into 3 athletic halls of fame (UW-Superior as an athlete, UW-Stout as a coach and the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association). He was head coach of the wrestling team when they won their only national championship and works yearly at the College World Series.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire – Defensive line coach Derrick Swanigan. Swanigan played at Eastern Michigan and William Penn and bears at least a passing resemblance to Big from Rob & Big. A search also revealed that he plays for the Chippewa Valley Predators in the Northern Elite Football League. (NEFL, welcome to MegaBracket.)
Advantage – Eau Claire. Bob Thomas’ 3 Halls of Fame were tough to beat, but Coach Swanigan looks like Big and led me to discover a new event for MB. That’s a winner every time.
Location
Wisconsin-Stout – Menomonie, WI. The city center is located at the south end of Lake Menomin, a resevoir on the Cedar River. The town is named after the Menominee tribe of Native American who lived on the site centuries ago. Menomonie was ranked #15 in Smithsonian Magazine’s “The 20 Best Small Towns in America” from the May 2012 publication. Notable natives and residents include television personality Adam Carolla; former NFL player Tim Krumrie; and Harry Miller, “the greatest creative figure in the history of the American racing car”.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire– Eau Claire, WI. Eau Claire is the 8th largest city in Wisconsin and the largest in the northwest portion of the state. The town’s motto is officially in French and means “Here is clear water”. America’s Promise named the city as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People in 2007. The lumber industry drove Eau Claire’s growth in the late 19th century. At one time, there were 22 sawmills operating in the city. The Eau Claire Curling Club has been around for over 50 years. Notable natives and residents include Mary Brunner, the girlfriend of Charles Manson; advice columnists Ann Landers and Abigail van Buren; former Wisconsin and Washington State basketball coach Dick Bennett; former NFL WR Bill Schroeder; and former Minnesota Twins pitcher Brad Radke.
Advantage – Eau Claire again. For the Curling Club and Brad Radke.
Notable Alumni
Wisconsin-Stout – Former Montana State football coach Tony Storti, who led the team to its first national championship in 1956; 1976 Summer Olympics wrestling gold medalist John Peterson; Minnesota Twins hitting coach Joe Vavra; and Evansville women’s basketball head coach Oties Epps.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire – Justin Vernon, founder and lead singer of Bon Iver; actress Laila Robbins (Steve Martin’s wife in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles); actor Mark Proksch (Dwight’s handyman Nate on The Office); Kato Kaelin, witness in the O.J. Simpson trial; NASCAR driver Paul Menard; and John Menard Jr., the founder of Menard’s.
Advantage – Eau Claire once again. Kato Kaelin, the Menard family and the wife from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is more than enough to beat out the Twins hitting coach.
Decision
In what I believe is the first shutout of the year Eau Claire rolls 5-0. The lesson – don’t name your team the Blue Devils.
Undefeateds & Defeateds – Week 5
Posted: September 25, 2012 Filed under: CFB Weekly Picks | Tags: Defeated, Mismatches, Undefeated, Winless Leave a comment »There are 30 fewer undefeated and 28 fewer winless teams than last week. How many of the mighty will fall in Week 5? How many of the meek will rise? As a great band sings, only time will tell.
Undefeated (125 – 155 last week without CIS)
FBS (27; 31 last week)
Alabama, Baylor, Cincinnati, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Iowa State, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, LSU, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Oregon, Oregon State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, Texas-San Antonio, West Virginia
FCS (15; 20 last week)
Alabama A&M, Cal Poly, Dartmouth, Delaware, Harvard, Illinois State, Lafayette, Lehigh, Montana State, North Dakota State, Old Dominion, Samford, Tennessee State, Wofford, Youngstown State
D-II (25; 38 last week)
Ashland, Bentley, Bloomsburg, California (PA), CSU-Pueblo, Emporia State, Grand Valley State, Harding, Henderson State, Humboldt State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, Minnesota-Duluth, Missouri S&T, Missouri Western, New Haven, Newberry, Northwood, Ouachita Baptist, Pittsburg State, Shippensburg, Sioux Falls, Southern Arkansas, Tuskegee, Winston-Salem
D-III (43; 52 last week)
Amherst, Ausburg, Baldwin-Wallace, Bethel (MN), Birmingham-Southern, Bridgewater (VA), Carnegie Mellon, Coe, Concordia (IL), Concordia (Moorhead, MN), Elmhurst, Emory & Henry, Gettysburg, Heidelberg, Hobart, Illinois College, Illinois Wesleyan, Ithaca, Johns Hopkins, Lewis & Clark, Linfield, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Middlebury, Millikin, Millsaps, Mount Union, Norwich, Ohio Wesleyan, Otterbein, RPI, Salve Regina, St. John Fisher, St. Thomas (MN), Trinity (CT), Waynesburg, Wesleyan, Whitworth, Widener, Willamette, Williams, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wisconsin-Platteville, Wittenberg
NAIA (11; 14 last week)
Benedictine (KS), Cumberlands (KY), Dakota Wesleyan, Georgetown (KY), Hastings, Marian, Missouri Valley, Morningside, St. Ambrose, St. Xavier, William Penn
CIS (4; not listed last week)
Calgary, Laval, McMaster, Montreal
Winless (122 – 150 last week without CIS)
FBS (9; 13 last week)
Army, Eastern Michigan, Houston, Idaho, Massachusetts, Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane, UAB
FCS (21; 28 last week)
Austin Peay, Bryant, Central Connecticut State, Davidson, Gardner-Webb, Georgia State, Grambling State, Hampton, Holy Cross, Liberty, Missouri State, Penn, Prairie View A&M, Princeton, Rhode Island, Robert Morris (PA), Sacred Heart, Savannah State, Valparaiso, Weber State, William & Mary
D-II (27; 38 last week)
Azusa Pacific, Benedict, Black Hills State, Brevard, Fort Hays State, Fort Lewis, Lake Erie, Lincoln (MO), Lincoln (PA), Lock Haven, Malone, McKendree, Minnesota State-Moorhead, Minot State, Nebraska-Kearney, North Greenville, Northeastern State, NW Oklahoma State, Pace, Quincy, Saint Anselm, Seton Hill, South Dakota Mines, Southern Connecticut, Southern Nazarene, Texas A&M-Commerce, Western State
D-III (45; 51 last week)
Alma, Anderson (IN), Averett, Bates, Beloit, Bethany (WV), Bowdoin, Buena Vista, Claremont-Mudd-Scrips, Colby, DePauw, Earlham, Geneva, Hamilton, Hiram, Howard Payne, Knox, La Verne, LaGrange, Lakeland, Luther, MacMurray, Maine Maritime, Manchester, Maranatha, Marietta, McDaniel, Misericordia, Morrisville State, Muskingum, Nichols College, Occidental, Olivet, Pomona-Pitzer, Puget Sound, Redlands, Ripon, St. Lawrence, St. Vincent, Stevenson, Tufts, Western Connecticut, Wilmington, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Wisconsin-River Falls
NAIA (16; 20 last week)
Avila, Bethel (KS), Bluefield (VA), Briar Cliff, Campbellsville (KY), Concordia (MI), Culver-Stockton, Dakota State, Dordt, Haskell, Olivet Nazarene, Point, Saint Mary (KS), Sterling, Texas College, Webber International
CIS (4; not listed last week)
Alberta, Ottawa (ON), Saint Mary’s (NS), UBC
Battles of Undefeateds (Record, Point Differential) – [8]
FBS (2)
Texas Tech (3-0, 40.33) @ Iowa State (3-0, 17.33)
Baylor (3-0, 21.67) @ West Virginia (3-0, 25.00)
D-II (1)
Grand Valley State (4-0, 24.50) @ Michigan Tech (3-0, 28.00)
D-III (4)
Bethel (MN) (3-0, 36.00) @ Augsburg (3-0, 15.67)
Trinity (CT) (1-0, 21.00) @ Williams (1-0, 34.00)
Millikin (3-0, 28.67) @ Illinois Wesleyan (3-0, 30.67)
Otterbein (3-0, 24.33) @ Baldwin-Wallace (3-0, 14.33)
NAIA (1)
Dakota Wesleyan (3-0, 13.33) @ Hastings (3-0, 10.33)
Battles of Defeateds (Record, Point Differential) – [14]
FCS (2)
Georgia State (0-4, -27.50) @ William & Mary (0-4, -9.25)
Central Connecticut (0-4, -26.00) @ Sacred Heart (0-3, -12.33)
D-II (2)
Saint Anselm (0-4, -35.50) @ Southern Connecticut (0-4, -14.75)
Black Hills State (0-3, -19.33) @ Western State (0-4, -33.00)
D-III (7)
Stevenson (0-4, -11.00) @ Misericordia (0-4, -53.75)
Wilmington (0-3, -40.33) @ Muskingum (0-3, -25.00)
Alma (0-4, -38.75) @ Olivet (0-4, -27.25)
La Verne (0-2, -35.50) @ Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (0-2, -3.50)
Occidental (0-2, -35.50) @ Redlands (0-2, -20.00)
Bates (0-1, -21.00) @ Tufts (0-1, -21.00)
Knox (0-4, -20.25) @ Ripon (0-4, -16.50)
NAIA (2)
Briar Cliff (0-4, -10.25) @ Dordt (0-4, -27.00)
Saint Mary (KS) (0-4, -10.00) @ Sterling (0-4, -21.25)
CIS (1)
UBC (0-4, -24.00) @ Alberta (0-4, -29.50)
Mismatches – Undefeated vs. Winless (Record, Point Differential) – [21]
FBS (2)
Ohio (4-0, 18.50) @ Massachusetts (0-4, -34.25)
Louisville (4-0, 14.50) @ Southern Miss (0-3, -21.33)
FCS (4)
Lafayette (3-0, 5.33) @ R0bert Morris (PA) (0-3, -27.67)
Grambling State (0-3, -19.33) @ Alabama A&M (4-0, 11.50)
Penn (0-2, 11.50) @ Dartmouth (2-0, 15.50)
Holy Cross (0-3, 9.00) @ Harvard (2-0, 14.50)
D-II (4)
Shippensburg (4-0, 31.75) @ Lock Haven (0-4, -36.00)
CSU-Pueblo (4-0, 16.25) @ Fort Lewis (0-3, -42.00)
Lincoln (MO) (0-4, -25.00) @ Emporia State (4-0, 21,00)
Lake Erie (0-4, -15.50) @ Ashland (4-0, 18.50)
D-III (9)
Marietta (0-3, -20.33) @ Heidelberg (3-0, 45.00)
McDaniel (0-4, -20.75) @ Gettyburg (4-0, 35.75)
Wisconsin-Oshkosh (3-0, 29.67) @ Wisconsin-River Falls (0-3, -18.00)
Amherst (1-0, 24.00) @ Bowdoin (0-1, -24.00)
Middlebury (1-0, 24.00) @ Colby (0-1, -34.00)
Hamilton (0-1, -24.00) @ Wesleyan (CT) (1-0, 21.00)
Buena Vista (0-3, -38.67) @ Coe (3-0, 18.67)
Lewis & Clark (3-0, 15.00) @ Puget Sound (0-3, -24.67)
Hiram (0-4, -27.00) @ Ohio Wesleyan (3-0, 6.00)
NAIA (2)
Olivet Nazarene (0-4, -18.75) @ William Penn (4-0, 33.75)
Culver-Stockton (0-4, -21.25) @ Missouri Valley (4-0, 27.75)
Miscellaneous Notes
- All 3 teams who were scoreless after Week 3 (FCS Savannah State, D-II Fort Lewis & D-II Lock Haven) put up their first points of the season. All three lost to remain winless, but are no longer pointless.
- Teams getting outscored by more than 40 points per game:
- Misericorda (D-III) – 53.75
- Savannah State (FCS) – 50.33
- Pace (D-II) – 47.00
- Haskell (NAIA) – 45.50
- Fort Lewis (D-II) – 42.00
- South Dakota Mines (D-II) – 41.50
- NW Oklahoma State (D-II) – 41.00
- Wilmington (D-III) – 40.33
- Teams outscoring their opponents by more than 40 points per game:
- Widener (D-III) – 59.50
- Mount Union (D-III) – 49.00
- Florida State (FBS) – 46.25
- Wofford (FCS) – 46.00
- Heidelberg (D-III) – 45.00
- North Dakota State (FCS) – 42.00
- Texas Tech (FBS) – 40.33
- Winless teams losing by less than 10 points per game:
- Princeton (FCS) – 2.00
- Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (D-III) – 3.50
- Saint Mary’s (NS) (CIS) – 7.33
- Liberty (FCS) – 8.00
- Manchester (D-III) – 8.75
- Holy Cross (FCS) – 9.00
- William & Mary (FCS) – 9.25
- Undefeated teams winning by less than 10 points per game:
- Oregon State (FBS) – 5.00
- Lafayette (FCS) – 5.33
- California (PA) (D-II) – 5.75
- Ohio Wesleyan (D-III) – 6.00
- Concordia (IL) (D-III) – 8.33
- Lehigh (FCS) – 9.00
- The highest combined point differential in an undefeated matchup this week is 59.33 between D-III Millikin (28.67) @ Illinois Wesleyan (30.67)
- The lowest combined point differential in a winless matchup is 66.00 between D-III Alma (-38.75) @ Olivet (-27.25)
- The largest mismatch in point differential is 67.75 between D-II Shippensberg (31.75) @ Lock Haven (-36.00)
Last Week’s Battles of Undefeateds (18)
FBS (4)
Clemson @ Florida State
Kansas State @ Oklahoma
Arizona @ Oregon
Oregon State @ UCLA
FCS (1)
Harvard @ Brown
D-II (5)
Indiana (PA) @ California (PA)
Findlay @ Michigan Tech
Adams State @ CSU-Pueblo
Bloomsburg @ LIU-C.W. Post
Carson-Newman @ Newberry
D-III (6)
Carleton (MN) @ Bethel (MN)
Macalester @ Lewis & Clark
Johns Hopkins @ Muhlenberg
Hartwick @ St. John Fisher
Birmingham-Southern @ Rhodes
Chapman @ Whitworth
NAIA (2)
Missouri Valley @ Baker
Midland @ Morningside
Last Week’s Battles of Defeateds (14)
FBS (1)
Wyoming @ Idaho
FCS (1)
Wagner @ Central Connecticut State
D-II (4)
Edinboro @ Lock Haven
Lincoln (PA) @ Livingstone
Seton Hill @ West Virginia Wesleyan
Mesa State @ Black Hills State
D-III (6)
King’s (PA) @ Misericordia
Anderson (IN) @ Defiance
North Park @ Olivet
Denison @ Hiram
Union (NY) @ St. Lawrence
Whittier @ Puget Sound
NAIA (2)
Dordt @ Concordia (NE)
Campbellsville @ Belhaven
Last Week’s Mismatches (Undefeated vs. Winless) (22)
* – Winless
FBS (2)
UAB* @ Ohio State
NW Oklahoma State* (D-II) @ Texas-San Antonio
FCS (6)
Prairie View A&M* @ North Dakota State
Dartmouth @ Holy Cross*
McNeese State @ SE Louisiana*
Delaware @ William & Mary*
Lehigh @ Liberty*
Yale @ Cornell (NY)*
D-II (8)
Harding @ Southern Nazarene*
Missouri Western @ Fort Hays State*
Lincoln (PA)* @ Pittsburg State
Minnesota State-Moorhead* @ Minnesota State-Mankato
St. Anselm* @ New Haven
Washburn @ Central Oklahoma*
Southwest Baptist* @ Missouri Southern
NW Oklahoma State* @ Texas-San Antonio (FBS)
D-III (6)
Mount Union @ Marietta*
Heidelberg @ Wilmington*
Ripon* @ Illinois College
Baldwin-Wallace @ Muskingum*
DePauw* @ Carnegie Mellon
Wisconsin-Oshkosh @ Alma*
NAIA (1)
Hastings @ Briar Cliff*
Camel Foe – Week 4, Butler
Posted: September 21, 2012 Filed under: Camel Foe | Tags: Butler, Camel Foe, Campbell, Fighting Camels Leave a comment »After a 70-14 thrashing at the hands of Old Dominion, the Camels return to facing fellow non-scholarships teams as they open Pioneer Conference play by hitting the road to face Butler.
Butler University
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana (population: 829,718 as of 2010 census, the 12th largest city in the United States)
Established: 1855 as North Western Christian University. It was renamed in 1875 for founder Ovid Butler.
Enrollment: ~4,600
Nickname: Bulldogs
Mascot: Blue II is the official live mascot of Butler and is known by the tagline “Butler’s Mascot, America’s Dog”.
Affiliation: Butler is a football-only member of the Pioneer Conference. Except for women’s golf, the rest of its teams are spending their first year as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. Butler left the Horizon Conference in July to join the A-10. The Atlantic 10 does not sponsor women’s golf, so the Butler team will compete elsewhere in that sport.
[Ed. Note: Conference realignment is not just for big-time football as Butler is the 4th straight opponent of Campbell who has undergone or is currently undergoing some type of division or conference shift.]
Random Fact #1: The university was the first in Indiana and the third in the United States to admit both men and women.
Random Fact #2: Architect Minoru Yamasaki, who designed the World Trade Center, designed the Irwin Library on campus.
Random Fact #3: Butler ranked 2nd in the U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges 2010 for Top Midwestern Master’s Universities.
Random Fact #4: Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse also serves as the home to the Indiana High School state basketball tournament as was the site of Milan High’s 1954 title, which served as the loose basis for the movie Hoosiers. Parts of the movie were also shot in the fieldhouse.
Notable Alumni:
- former Nebrasketball head coach and current Butler AD Barry Collier
- Baylor men’s basketball head coach Scott Drew
- IndyCar driver Sarah Fisher
- Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward
- Ohio State men’s basketball head coach Thad Matta
- Bobby Plump, the hero of the real-life Milan High basketball team
- Jim Jones, notorious founder of the People’s Temple and organizer of the 1979 mass suicide of 909 members of his organization
Indianapolis is pretty large – let’s stick with 5 really good people from there.
- former UCLA basketball coach and Basketball Hall of Famer John Wooden
- former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle
- Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson
- actor Steve McQueen
- former NBA player Eric Montross
[Ed Note: For some reason I am reminded of the old Sesame Street song, “One of these things is not like the others”…]
Oh yeah, the Football Team:
- Butler heads into Pioneer Conference play with the same record as the Camels, 1-2
- The Bulldogs opened the season with a 23-15 loss at Western Illinois, defeated Franklin 42-13 in Week 2 and dropped a 35-7 decision to Dartmouth last week
- The series between Butler and Campbell is tied 2-2. Butler won the first two games while the Camels have taken the last two. Last season saw a 38-23 Camel win in Buies Creek.
- In the teams’ only previous game at Butler in 2010, Campbell won by a 27-10 score.
- Butler outgained Dartmouth 416-358 last week despite the four-touchdown loss. They lead the PFL in total offense at 483.3 yards per game.
- Senior LB Jordan Ridley is tied for 8th in the PFL in tackles per game and was named PFL Co-Defensive Player of the Week after last season’s game against the Camels in which he had 19 tackles.
- RB Trae Heeter leads the PFL in rushing at 65.3 yards per game.
- WR’s Derek O’Connor (79.0) and Brendan Shannon (68.7) rank 2nd and 3rd respectively in the conference in receiving yards per game. O’Connor had 164 yards on 9 catches last week against Dartmouth.
- Junior QB Matt Lancaster, a transfer from Illinois State, threw for 267 yards and 1 TD last week and has thrown 92 consecutive passes without an interception.
- Stat Leaders:
- Passing: Lancaster – 60-100, 739 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT (also 153 yards rushing & 3 TDs)
- Rushing: Heeter – 31 carries, 196 yards
- Receiving: Shannon 16 receptions (206 yards) & 2 TDs; O’Connor 237 yards (15 catches)
- Defense: Ridley 26 tackles; DE Jeremy Stephens 3 TFL & 2 sacks; Bryce Barry & Sean Grady 1 interception
- Best Name Nominees:
- JoJo Ciancio, Jayme Szafranski, Trae Heeter, Guy DiBalsamo, Joe Hackett (think Wings), Nestor Porres,
- The winner – Guy DiBalsamo.
Prediction:
Both teams are 1-2 and coming off of blowout losses last week – Butler by 28 points and the Camels by twice that. Despite the lopsided score, the Camels did top 200 yards rushing for the first time this season. Junior QB Dakota Wolf, making his first start for the injured Braden Smith who will miss the rest of the season, rushed for 101 yards on 22 carries to lead the ground attack. Through the air Wolf was 8-16 passing for just 56 yards. Kurt Odom added 53 yards and 1 TD on the ground and had 3 receptions for 16 yards. Lucas Smith paced the defense with 9 tackles while Isaac Scott had a sack and a forced fumble.
The series between these two teams has been evenly matched and this game should be as well. The rest of the conference coaches felt that way also, as Campbell was slotted 5th and Butler 7th in the preseason poll. Two things that seem to tilt this game in favor of the Bulldogs are that the game is being played in Indianapolis and Camel QB Dakota Wolf will be making just his 2nd career start. The Camels have been outscored 38-0 in the 1st quarter so far this year and are averaging just 14.7 point per game. A new QB with pedestrian throwing numbers will be hard-pressed to improve on those numbers. I see Butler snapping their 2-game losing streak to the Camels with a hard fought 27-17 victory.
Undefeateds & Defeateds – Week 4
Posted: September 20, 2012 Filed under: CFB Weekly Picks | Tags: Deafeated, Mismatch, Undefeated, Winless Leave a comment »Here at MB, we can’t get enough college football (except when one of our favorite teams goes down in flames). We also love to celebrate the great and the terrible. Thus, we are combining those two passions into a new segment called “Undefeateds & Defeateds”. Each week for the rest of the college football season we will list undefeated and winless teams as well as games taking place between either two undefeated teams, two winless teams or one of each. The lists are pretty long in some of the divisions right now but will naturally be pared down as the season continues.
Undefeated (155)
FBS (31)
Alabama, Arizona, Baylor, Cincinnati, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Iowa State, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, LSU, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, Texas-San Antonio, UCLA, West Virginia
FCS (20)
Alabama A&M, Brown, Cal Poly, Citadel, Columbia, Dartmouth, Delaware, Harvard, Illinois State, Lafayette, Lehigh, McNeese State, Montana State, North Dakota State, Old Dominion, Samford, Tennessee State, Wofford, Yale, Youngstown State
D-II (38)
Adams State, Ashland, Bentley, Bloomsburg, Bowie State, California (PA), Carson-Newman, Charleston (WV), Colorado Mines, CSU-Pueblo, Emporia State, Findlay, Grand Valley State, Harding, Henderson State, Humboldt State, Indiana (PA), LIU-C.W. Post, Mary, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State-Mankato, Minnesota-Duluth, Missouri Southern, Missouri Western, New Haven, New Mexico Highlands, Newberry, Northwood, Ouachita Baptist, Pittsburg State, Shippensburg, Sioux Falls, Southern Arkansas, Truman State, Tuskegee, Washburn, Wayne State (NE), Winston-Salem
D-III (52)
Albright, Ausburg, Baldwin-Wallace, Bethel (MN), Birmingham-Southern, Bridgewater (VA), Bridgewater State (MA), Brockport State, Carleton (MN), Carnegie Mellon, Carroll (WI), Chapman, Coe, Concordia (IL), Concordia (MN), Elmhurst, Emory & Henry, Gettysburg, Hampden-Sydney, Hartwick, Heidelberg, Hobart, Illinois College, Illinois Wesleyan, Ithaca, Johns Hopkins, Kalamazoo, Lewis & Clark, Linfield, Louisiana College, Macalester, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Millikin, Millsaps, Mount Union, Muhlenberg, Norwich, Ohio Wesleyan, Otterbein, Rhodes, RPI, Salve Regina, St. John Fisher, St. Thomas (MN), Wabash, Waynesburg, Whitworth, Widener, Willamette, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wisconsin-Platteville, Wittenberg
NAIA (14)
Baker, Benedictine (KS), Cumberlands (KY), Dakota Wesleyan, Eastern Oregon, Georgetown (KY), Hastings, Marian, Midland, Missouri Valley, Morningside, St. Ambrose, St. Xavier, William Penn
Winless (150)
FBS (13)
Army, Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Houston, Idaho, Massachusetts, Memphis, Navy, Southern Miss, Tulane, UAB, UNLV, Wyoming
FCS (28)
Austin Peay, Bryant, Central Connecticut State, Charleston Southern, Cornell (NY), Davidson, Furman, Gardner-Webb, Georgia State, Grambling State, Hampton, Holy Cross, Liberty, Missouri State, Nicholls State, Penn, Prairie View A&M, Princeton, Rhode Island, Robert Morris (PA), Sacred Heart, Savannah State, SE Louisiana, Southern, Valparaiso, Wagner, Weber State, William & Mary
D-II (38)
Azusa Pacific, Benedict, Black Hills State, Brevard, Central Oklahoma, Colorado Mesa, Edinboro, Fairmont State, Fort Hays State, Fort Lewis, Lake Erie, Lincoln (MO), Lincoln (PA), Livingstone, Lock Haven, Malone, McKendree, McMurry, Minnesota State-Moorhead, Minnesota-Crookston, Minot State, Nebraska-Kearney, North Greenville, Northeastern State, Northern State, NW Oklahoma State, Pace, Quincy, Saint Anselm, Seton Hill, South Dakota Mines, Southern Connecticut, Southern Nazarene, Southwest Baptist, Texas A&M-Commerce, West Virginia Wesleyan, Western Oregon, Western State
D-III (51)
Alma, Anderson (IN), Averett, Bethany (WV), Buena Vista, Claremont-Mudd-Scrips, Defiance, Denison, DePauw, Earlham, Geneva, Greenville, Grinnell, Hiram, Howard Payne, King’s (PA), Knox, La Verne, LaGrange, Lakeland, Luther, MacMurray, Maine Maritime, Manchester, Maranatha, Marietta, UMass-Dartmouth, McDaniel, Misericordia, Morrisville State, Muskingum, Nichols College, North Park, Occidental, Ohio Northern, Olivet, Pomona-Pitzer, Puget Sound, Redlands, Ripon, St. Lawrence, St. Vincent, Stevenson, Union (NY), Washington (St. Louis), Western Connecticut, Whittier, Wilmington, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Wisconsin-River Falls, Wooster
NAIA (20)
Ave Maria, Avila, Belhaven, Bethel (KS), Bluefield (VA), Briar Cliff, Campbellsville (KY), Concordia (MI), Concordia (NE), Culver-Stockton, Dakota State, Dordt, Haskell, Montana State-Northern, Olivet Nazarene, Point, Saint Mary (KS), Sterling, Texas College, Webber International
Note: 10 D-III teams (Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity (CT), Tufts, Wesleyan & Williams) will play their first games of the season this weekend.
Battles of Undefeateds (19)
FBS (4)
Clemson @ Florida State
Kansas State @ Oklahoma
Arizona @ Oregon
Oregon State @ UCLA
FCS (1)
Harvard @ Brown
D-II (6)
Colorado Mines @ New Mexico Highlands
Indiana (PA) @ California (PA)
Findlay @ Michigan Tech
Adams State @ CSU-Pueblo
Bloomsburg @ LIU-C.W. Post
Carson-Newman @ Newberry
D-III (6)
Carleton (MN) @ Bethel (MN)
Macalester @ Lewis & Clark
Johns Hopkins @ Muhlenberg
Hartwick @ St. John Fisher
Birmingham-Southern @ Rhodes
Chapman @ Whitworth
NAIA (2)
Missouri Valley @ Baker
Midland @ Morningside
Battles of Defeateds (14)
FBS (1)
Wyoming @ Idaho
FCS (1)
Wagner @ Central Connecticut State
D-II (4)
Edinboro @ Lock Haven
Lincoln (PA) @ Livingstone
Seton Hill @ West Virginia Wesleyan
Mesa State @ Black Hills State
D-III (6)
King’s (PA) @ Misericordia
Anderson (IN) @ Defiance
North Park @ Olivet
Denison @ Hiram
Union (NY) @ St. Lawrence
Whittier @ Puget Sound
NAIA (2)
Dordt @ Concordia (NE)
Campbellsville @ Belhaven
Mismatches (Undefeated vs. Winless) (23)
* – Winless
FBS (2)
UAB* @ Ohio State
NW Oklahoma State* (D-II) @ Texas-San Antonio
FCS (6)
Prairie View A&M* @ North Dakota State
Dartmouth @ Holy Cross*
McNeese State @ SE Louisiana*
Delaware @ William & Mary*
Lehigh @ Liberty*
Yale @ Cornell (NY)*
D-II (8)
Harding @ Southern Nazarene*
Missouri Western @ Fort Hays State*
Lincoln (PA)* @ Pittsburg State
Minnesota State-Moorhead* @ Minnesota State-Mankato
St. Anselm* @ New Haven
Washburn @ Central Oklahoma*
Southwest Baptist* @ Missouri Southern
NW Oklahoma State* @ Texas-San Antonio (FBS)
D-III (7)
Mount Union @ Marietta*
Heidelberg @ Wilmington*
Wittenberg @ Wooster*
Ripon* @ Illinois College
Baldwin-Wallace @ Muskingum*
DePauw* @ Carnegie Mellon
Wisconsin-Oshkosh @ Alma*
NAIA (1)
Hastings @ Briar Cliff*
Miscellaneous Notes
- FCS Savannah State (2 games), D-II Fort Lewis (2 games) & D-II Lock Haven (3 games) have not yet scored a point this season.
- Savannah State has the worst per game point differential at -69.50. They have played only Oklahoma State and Florida State thus far. Fort Lewis is next worst at 59.50, having been outscored 119 to 0 in their two games.
- FBS Florida State has the highest at 57.67 with D-III Widener (49.00) and D-III Mount Union (47.50) rounding out the top 3
- The lowest for an undefeated team with multiple wins is NAIA Eastern Oregon at 3.00 in 2 games. D-III Kalamazoo has the lowest for a 3-0 team at 3.33.
- The highest for either an 0-2 or 0-3 team is FCS William & Mary at -2.33, with their 3 losses coming by a total of 7 points.
- The highest combined difference in an undefeated matchup this week is D-II Colorado Mines (44.67) @ New Mexico Highlands (39.00)
- The lowest combined difference in a winless matchup is D-III Misericordia (-59.00) @ King’s (PA) (-19.00)
- The largest mismatch in point differential is D-III Wittenberg (40.50) @ Wilmington (-33.50)
CFB Week 4 “Previews”
Posted: September 20, 2012 Filed under: CFB Weekly Picks | Tags: Montana Tech, Northern Iowa, Rocky Mountain, RPI, WPI, Youngstown State Leave a comment »Ryan and Jimmy are both traveling for their real work this week, so I’m flying solo on the previews.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) @ Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) – Saturday, September 22 @ 12:00 pm CDT
“The Transit Trophy”
Information about the Transit Trophy can be found here and here. RPI leads the all-time series 55-45-5, including a 21-10-1 record since the trophy was created prior to the 1980 game.
Author: Bristol
Mascot
WPI – Engineers.
RPI – Engineers.
Advantage – Fucking smart kids. Let’s move on before I regret picking this matchup even more.
Best Player Name
WPI – Tie – Junior DL Joseph Szerszunowicz, sophomore DL Tom Chub (who has the biggest hickey ever), and sophomore WR Larry McGillicuddy. Honorable mention goes to the length of Gallagher Hogan‘s head.
RPI – Tie – Freshman WR DyQuann White-Salter & freshman RB Nick Schlatz (sounds like a delicious mix of Schlitz and Blatz; also what you would have if you drank that mix). Most obviously a kicker – Andrew Franks. Best mustache – Corey White. Most fitting HS name – Matt Hemm (Bacon Academy).
Advantage – WPI. I didn’t think the Schiltz/Blatz/mustache combo could be beat, but RPI turned its head for a moment and got McGillicuddied.
Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)
WPI – Nothing matters other than Glenn Arnold‘s facial hair.
RPI – Defensive coordinator and acting head coach Bob Bodor. Bodor was a three-time letterwinner on the offensive line for Denison University and has made the following coaching stops since 1991 – Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Penn, Hartwick, Albion, Colorado College, Kapa’a High School on Kauai Island, Hawaii, Colorado School of Mines & RPI. Assistant Coach Andy Sparano was disqualified for being the son of former Miami Dolphins Head Coach, and current New York Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sparano.
Advantage – WPI. Arnold’s face squirrel wins easily. One question for Bob Bodor – why the hell did you leave Kauai when you had a job and could have stayed forever?
Location
WPI – Worcester, MA. Worcester is known as the “Heart of the Commonwealth” and “The City of the Seven Hills”. Worcester was first settled by the English in 1673, although it was re-settled twice, the last in 1713. The town was a center of revolutionary activity before and during the American Revolution. The first American valentine cards were designed and manufactured in Worcester. On October 19, 1924 the largest KKK meeting ever held in New England took place in Worcester. A riot broke out after the after the rally ended. Klansmen were pulled from their cars and beaten and had their vehicles burned and hit with rocks and stones. Shockingly, no further public Klan meetings were held in Worcester. The Worcester Music Festival is the oldest music festival in the United States. People from Worcester include poet Ernest Lawrence Thayer, who wrote Casey at the Bat; 60’s radical activist Abbie Hoffman; actress Jean Louisa Kelly (Yes, Dear & Uncle Buck); actor/comedian Denis Leary; former MLB catcher Rich Gedman; and NBA Hall-of-Famer Bob Cousy.
RPI – Troy, NY. Troy is known as the Collar City due to its history in shirt, collar, and other textile production. At one point, Troy was second in the U.S. to only Pittsburgh in iron production. The city was settled in the mid-17th century with the current name taken from the legendary city of Troy in 1789. The city claims to be the historical home of Uncle Sam via a legend that a local butcher named Samuel Wilson sent supplies to troops in the War of 1812. The barrels were marked U.S. which the troops jokingly took to mean “Uncle Sam”. In 1823, the Troy Sentinel newspaper was the first publisher of the poem The Night Before Christmas. Troy was home to two early major league baseball teams; the Troy Haymakers, who disbanded in 1872 after two seasons, and the Troy Trojans, who moved to New York and eventually became the New York Giants. Notable residents include MLB Hall-of-Famer John Evers of Tinker-Evers-Chance fame; novelist Kurt Vonnegut; and author Herman Melville (Moby Dick).
Advantage – Worcester. A lot of history in the two cities. It was a dead heat between Casey at the Bat / beating Klansmen and Moby Dick / Uncle Sam. But since Troy was home to the team that eventually became the San Francisco Giants, no points are awarded to that city and may God have mercy on its soul.
Notable Alumni
WPI – Robert H. Goddard, the father of modern rocketry; Robert Stempel, the inventor of the catalytic converter; Nancy Pimental, one of the writers of South Park and the person who replaced Jimmy Kimmel as co-host of Win Ben Stein’s Money; and John W. Geils Jr., who dropped out of WPI along with two other students to form the J. Geils Band, best known for their #1 hit Centerfold.
RPI – Brooklyn Bridge engineer Washington Roebling; George Ferris, who designed and built the original Ferris Wheel; Allen DuMont, creator of the first commercial television; Raymond Tomlinson, often credited with the invention of e-mail; inventor of the digital camera Steven Sasson; Hockey Hall of Famer Adam Oates; NCAA President Myles Brand; and director Bobby Farrelly.
Advantage – RPI. They created TV, e-mail and the digital camera, plus the Brooklyn Bridge and the Ferris Wheel. I love the J. Geils Band as much as the next guy, but that’s a hell of a resume, RPI.
Decision
WPI wins it 3-1-1 despite the impressive showing in creative alumni by RPI.
Montana Tech @ Rocky Mountain – Saturday, September 22 @ 2:00 pm CDT
Author: Bristol
Mascot
Montana Tech – Orediggers. Specifically, Charlie Oredigger. Order the inspirational Charlie Oredigger children’s book here. Read this to your kids and the memories (and the nightmares) will last forever.
Rocky Mountain – Battlin’ Bears. No information could be found on why they are the Battlin’ Bears or if they have an actual mascot.
Advantage – Orediggers. Charlie Oredigger has a pickax will bury it in the skull of a Battlin’ Bear. Look at him – he’s done it before. To bears and humans.
Best Player Name
Montana Tech – Sophomore OL Mack Ferko. Freshman QB/K Matt Berg has an amazing mustache.
Rocky Mountain – Tie – Freshman WR Jayc VanZee & junior WR Tyzer Cady. But the pictures, my God, the pictures. Best Beard. Carpet doesn’t match the drapes. Captain Caveman. The next Derek Zoolander. So happy. The happiest. Boogie Nights. All the Product. Sasquatch. WTF.
Advantage – Rocky Mountain. They just won the Internet. Forever.
Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)
Montana Tech – Head coach / defensive coordinator / defensive backs coach Chuck Morrell. Morrell was the leading tackler on the 1996 NAIA National Championship team at the University of Sioux Falls. He also coached at USF for 12 years, helping the team to five national title games and 3 championships. He also spent a year at South Dakota before taking the top job at Montana Tech. He is a native of Bon Homme, South Dakota.
Rocky Mountain – This guy.
Advantage – Montana Tech. Since I can’t even figure out which coach that is from the Rocky Mountain website, Chuck Morrell wins this one.
Location
Montana Tech – Butte MT. The town’s nickname is Butte America (I don’t get it) and the motto is The Richest Hill on Earth. The population peaked at 60,000 in 1920 and is home to 34,000 people now. Butte began as a mining town for gold and silver, but copper turned out to be plentiful in the area. It had a wide-open reputation as a place where any vice was obtainable. The famous “red-light” district was full of bordellos and brothels and was open until 1982, one of the last such urban districts in the U.S. Notable natives include former Washington State and Fresno State football coach Jim Sweeney; Olympic medal-winning cyclist Levi Leipheimer; former Colorado State football coach Sonny Lubick; and daredevil Evel Knievel.
Rocky Mountain – Billings, MT. Billings is the largest city in Montana. It is known as the Magic City and its motto is Star of the Big Sky Country. It was founded as a railroad town in 1882 and was named for a former president of the Northern Pacific Railroad. William Clark traveled through the region in 1806 as part of the Lewis & Clark expedition. He carved his name on Pompey’s Piller, a rock formation named for the son of Sacajawea. The inscription can still be seen today and is the only remaining physical evidence found along the expedition route. Notable people include professional poker player Annie Duke; famed PIXAR animator and Oscar nominee Bud Luckey; frontierswoman Calamity Jane; sportscaster Brent Musberger; and aviator Charles Lindbergh.
Advantage – Billings. You’re looking live at Billings, MT as it defeats Butte!
Notable Alumni
Montana Tech – Ryan Lance, CEO of ConocoPhillips.
Rocky Mountain – actor Jason Earles (Hannah Montana); actor and mime Bill Bowers; former NFL WR Chris Horn; and folk singer Arlo Guthie (did not graduate)
Advantage – Rocky Mountain. Smaller colleges yield smaller lists. Rocky Mountain wins this pillow fight.
Decision
Rocky Mountain wins 3-2. Arlo Guthrie broke the tie, but the RMC pictures rule the day.
Northern Iowa @ Youngstown State – Saturday, September 22 @ 6:00 pm CDT
Author: Bristol
Mascot
Northern Iowa – Panthers. TC, the UNI mascot, has his own website.
Youngstown State – Penguins. Learn more about Pete and Penny Penguin and how YSU became the only four-year institution in the United States with the penguin nickname.
Advantage – Penguins. TC might have a website, but TC stands for “The Cat”. If it stood for “Theodore Calvin” they would have won hands down.
Best Player Name
Northern Iowa – Tie – Senior DB Wilmot Wellington & junior LB Sam Tim. Headbands are all the rage.
Youngstown State – Junior SS Twin Fernandes. Best mustache – Fred Herdman.
Advantage – UNI. Headbands and Sam Tim barely edge out Fred’s stache.
Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)
Northern Iowa – Tough choices here – have to mention three things. First, this guy‘s goatee. Second, former Nebraska DB Daniel Bullocks is a defensive assistant. Bullocks played 5 years in the NFL with the Detroit Lions. But, the winner is tight ends coach Dan Clark. Clark is the brother of former Iowa TE and current Tampa Bay TE Dallas Clark (and former Iowa State LB Derrik Clark). All three played for my high school’s biggest rival and I played against each of them in at least one sport. Clark was a three-year starter at Simpson College and previously coached at Simpson, Iowa Central Community College and Iowa.
Youngstown State – The YSU staff includes former NFL players Tom Sims (7 years as a DT with the Chiefs and Colts) and Andre Coleman (5 years as a WR/KR for the Chargers, Seahawks & Steelers). Coleman was a 2-time Pro Bowl alternate as a return man who named AFC Special Teams player of the month 4 times. He had 5 return TD’s in his career, plus a 98-yard kickoff return for a score for San Diego in Super Bowl XXIX against San Francisco. Former Miami (OH) head coach Shane Montogomery is also on staff, but the winner in this category is Ron Stoops, Jr. Ron is the least famous member of the Stoops coaching family and the only brother who did not play football at Iowa. Ron coached at the high school level for 28 years before joining Youngstown State in 2010. He spent 9 seasons at perennial powerhouse Cardinal Mooney High in Youngstown, where his father, Ron Sr., coached for years. Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini and boxer Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini attended Cardinal Mooney in addition to the Stoops brothers.
Advantage – Youngstown State. Great category this time around. Andre Coleman’s Super Bowl kickoff return and the Stoops family give YSU the edge.
Location
Northern Iowa – Cedar Falls, IA. It was founded in 1845 by William Sturgis and originally named Sturgis Falls. The town was renamed for its proximity to the Cedar River a few years later after the Sturgis family had moved on. However, the family name is still honored during an annual three-day celebration called the Sturgis Falls Celebration. Cedar Falls is connected to Waterloo, where the sister of yours truly lives. Notable people from Cedar Falls include actress Annabeth Gish; actor Michael Mosley (Drew from the seasons of Scrubs that never happened); Robert James Waller, author of Bridges of Madison County; former Nebraska and NFL player (and noted dipshit) Trev Alberts; former MLB umpire Don Dekinger, who made the infamous call in the 1985 World Series; and former NBA head coach Terry Stotts.
Youngstown State – Youngstown, OH. The city was named for John Young, an early settler who established the first sawmill and gristmill in the area. Sitting in the heart of the Rust Belt, Youngstown was a center for steel production until that industry fell into decline in the 1970s. The General Motors’ Lordstown Assembly plant has buoyed the economy since the dip in the steel industry and is the area’s largest industrial employer. Notable people from Youngstown not already mentioned include musicians Robert and Ronald Bell, members of Kool & the Gang; Harry Burt, the creator of the Good Humor ice cream bar; attorney Clarence Darrow; William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States; director Chris Columbus (Home Alone); musician Dave Grohl; a crapload of football players (Maurice Clarett, Bernie Kosar, Paul Warfield and the Browner brothers among many others); and actress Catherine Bach (Daisy Duke from the original Dukes of Hazzard).
Advantage – Youngstown. This category was already a rout before we got to Daisy Duke.
Notable Alumni
Northern Iowa – My sister; U.S. Senator Charles Grassley; John Hall, the founder of the Goose Island Brewing Company; current Creighton men’s basketball head coach (and noted inbound play genius) Greg McDermott; 1995 NFL Defensive Player of the year Bryce Paup; and two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl XXXIV MVP Kurt Warner.
Youngstown State – New Mexico head coach Bob Davie; former NFL executive Carmen Policy; former NFL QB Cliff Stoudt; shoe company marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro; former MLB pitcher Dave Dravecky; former NFL QB and current talking head Ron Jaworski; former Kansas head coach Mark Mangino; and actor Ed O’Neill.
Advantage – Youngstown State. Al Bundy titled the scales in favor of Youngstown State metaphorically after Mark Mangino did so literally.
Decision
A very fun “preview” to write ends up 4-1 in favor of Youngstown State.
Camel Foe – Week 3, Old Dominion
Posted: September 14, 2012 Filed under: Camel Foe | Tags: Cal Bowdler, Campbell, ODU, Old Dominion Leave a comment »The Fighting Camels step it up big time competition-wise this week as they travel to face Old Dominion University (ODU!).
Old Dominion
Location: Norfolk, Virginia (population: 242,803 as of 2010 census)
Established: 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary. It became Old Dominion College in 1962 and Old Dominion University in 1969.
Enrollment: 24,125
Nickname: Monarchs
Mascot: Big Blue won the 2010 Capital One Mascot Challenge and has his own Facebook page, complete with more than 11,600 likes.
Affiliation: ODU is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, which is FCS in football and Division I in all other sports. On May 17 of this year ODU announced it would move to Conference USA on July 1, 2013. The football team, restarted just 3 years ago in 2009, will be an FBS independent for 2 seasons before joining conference play in 2015.
Random Fact #1: ODU derives its name from one of Virginia’s state nicknames, “The Old Dominion”, a name given to the state by King Charles II of England for remaining loyal to the crown during the English Civil War.
Random Fact #2: ODU is one of the nation’s largest providers of online distance learning courses.
Random Fact #3: The ODU Lady Monarchs basketball team has won 3 national titles – 2 in the AIAW (1979 & 1980), the precursor to the NCAA in women’s sports, and 1 in the NCAA (1985). They also reached the 1997 national title game before losing to Tennessee.
Random Fact #4: The school colors are silver and two types of blue, slate and cerulean.
Notable Alumni:
- Ben Bailey, the host of Cash Cab
- former NBA player Cal Bowdler
- Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States (attended but did not graduate)
- Basketball Hall of Fame member Anne Donovan
- Poet Maya Angelou (attended but did not graduate)
- Benjamin S. Grffin, four-star general in the United States Army
- Basketball Hall of Fame member Nancy Lieberman
- Lashawn Merritt, 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in the 400 meters and the 4×400 meter relay
- Oliver Purnell, head men’s basketball coach at DePaul University
- Actress Deborah Shelton (A-Team, T.J. Hooker, The Fall Guy, Cheers and others)
- Justin Verlander, author of 2 no-hitters and the 2011 AL MVP
Good work ODU. Any awesome people from Norfolk?
- Musician & hip-hop producer Timbaland
- MLB baseball players David Wright, B.J. Upton and Justin Upton
- Actor Tim Reid (WKRP in Cincinnati, Simon & Simon, Sister Sister)
- Actor Rob Estes (Silk Stalkings, Melrose Place)
Oh yeah, the Football Team:
- Despite starting football just 3 years ago, ODU is already nationally competitive. They went 9-2 as an FCS independent in 2009 and 8-3 in 2010. Last year, they joined the CAA and went 9-2 in the regular season, earning the program’s first playoff bid. The Monarchs defeated Norfolk State 35-18 in the first round of the FCS playoffs before falling 55-48 to Georgia Southern in the second round in a game that saw 1167 yards of total offense.
- ODU enters the game ranked #6 in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 and #4 in the FCS Coaches Poll. They are 2-0 this season, defeating Duquesne 57-23 and winning at Hampton 45-7 in a weather shortened contest.
- The Monarchs have defeated Campbell in each of the past 3 seasons: 28-17 in 2009, 44-13 in 2010 & 41-14 last season.
- ODU football is sold out for the 4th straight season. Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium holds a crowd of 19,818.
- In the season-opening rout of Duquesne, QB Taylor Heinicke went 41-63 for 492 yards and 4 TDs and ran for 38 yards. He was named CAA and TSN National Offensive Player of the Week.
- The Dukes actually led that game 20-10 at the half before ODU exploded for 47 second-half points.
- RB Tyree Lee leads the team with 131 yards rushing and 3 TDs through 2 games. Blair Roberts is the leading receiver with 13 grabs for 157 yards.
- Craig Wilkins leads the team with 12 tackles, 2 sacks and 4 TFL and has forced 1 fumble. Rodney Hunter has collected 2 interceptions in the first 2 contests.
- Best Name Nominees:
- Fellonte Misher, Connor Mewbourne (Did you say “Meow”), Jason Rexroad (Car RamRod?), Aquante Thornton, Jagger Blehm
- The winner – Jagger Blehm.
- [Ed. Note – If Jimmy has written this, the winner would have been Fellatio Misher, even though that’s not his name.]
Prediction:
Last week, the Camels offense sputtered but the defense shined in their 10-0 win over Virginia-Wise, evening their record at 1-1. Braden Smith passed for 200 yards and 1 TD despite losing a tooth on a first half hit. RB Josh Williams, making his first start, ran for 89 yards on 23 carries and had 4 receptions for 26 yards. Lucas Smith spearheaded an excellent defensive effort with 2 sacks while Matt Farris and Steth Monroe each grabbed an interception. The Camels outgained the Cavaliers 320-175 and recorded their 2nd shutout since reviving the football program.
Unfortunately, none of those positive vibes will do much good this week. ODU has averaged 51 points the first two weeks while allowing 15. The Camels are scoring 15 points per game while giving up 15.5. There are also not any other numbers that indicate this is going to be anything other than an easy victory for ODU. The Camel offense could not do much with the Virginia-Wise defense, so I do not foresee any more luck with the 6th (or 4th) ranked team in FCS. Much like the last 2 seasons, ODU scores early and often while rolling to victory. I’m going to guess a slightly worse beating than last year since the Camels appear a bit weaker and ODU is an FCS force to be reckoned with – 48-10 Monarchs.
CFB Week 3 “Previews”
Posted: September 13, 2012 Filed under: CFB Weekly Picks | Tags: Art Long, Baldwin-Wallace, BEES, Bloomsburg, Burt Reynolds, Calgary, Don Shula, Donk, General E. Rection, Gorilla Monsoon, Hungry Eyes, John Carroll, Kutztown, Manitoba, MST3K, Rochester, Rutgers, South Florida, St. John Fisher Leave a comment »This week we have a fivesome of game “previews” for your reading enjoyment. Both Ryan and Jimmy contributed a preview of their own.
Rutgers @ South Florida – Thursday, September 13 @ 6:30 pm CDT
Author: Ryan
We go DI this week (I was gonna say big time, but this game does not qualify) with Rutgers at South Florida in an intense Big East Battle.
Mascot
Rutgers – Scarlet Knights. They actually have a pretty long history of random ass mascots. Rutgers used to be known as Queens College, and at that time were known as the Queensmen. However, in 1925 they changed to the terrifying Chanticleers. They changed to Scarlet Knights in the ‘50s in hopes of all-around good athletic promise, which apparently has failed. The actual physical mascot of a knight in all red armor on his white steed is actually pretty badass. This version, is not. But good news, you can become the Scarlet Knight for the 2012-13 season.
South Florida – Bulls. When the school first started they picked Golden Brahmans as the official mascot, and then took something awesome and changed to the much more lame Bulls sometime in the 80s. A few years ago they created this – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_the_Bull.
Advantage – Scarlet Knights would never take down Golden Brahmans, but Bulls have no chance. Rutgers.
Best Player Name
Rutgers – Freshman WR Ruhann Peele. And yes, he probably won based on this. And Marcus Thomson looks spectacular in a suit.
South Florida – Freshman TE Jackson Cannon, who should have been a QB. And loves Jersey Shore.
Advantage – Rutgers. The name might be better, but Ruhann is just incredible.
Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)
Rutgers – There may have been someone better, but as soon as I read this it was over. In 2004, Offensive Assistant Devin Fitzsimmons won the Bucknell Football Moxie Award. Done.
South Florida – Being related to Dr. Lou is not a positive here, so I’m going with WR coach Jerome Pathon, a former Colt, Saint and Falcon, who once did this. Make sure to watch the full video for memories of awesome.
Advantage – Rutgers. Anyone who can win the Bucknell Moxie Award is a winner in my book.
Location
Rutgers – Piscataway, NJ. The name stems from the words Pisgeu (Dark Night) and Awa (Place Of). Place of Batman. Awesome. Founded by Quakers – I do like oatmeal. Lots of technological companies are located there, including the Colgate/Palmolive Technology Center.
South Florida – Tampa, FL. The word Tampa has one of two meanings, depending of if the historian is any fun. One is “Sticks of Fire” referencing the many lightning strikes in the area. The other is “The Place to Gather Sticks”, which is also cool, right? Sadly, neither of the names mean Styx. Obviously lots of things are based in Tampa, but most impressive, they are home to the only Yuengling Brewery outside of Philly (but still not close enough to Oklahoma) and Bloomin’ Brands – proud parent of Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill and Carrabba’s Grill. A few movies have been filmed in Tampa, including Edward Scissorhands, Cocoon and Cop and a Half.
Advantage – South Florida. Burt Reynolds and Yuengling. This one was over before it started.
Notable Alumni
Rutgers – Actors James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano), Kristin Davis (the only cute one from Sex and the City) and Calista Flockheart; Adult film star Asia Carrera (she was in Logjammin’ in The Big Lebowski, which is beyond awesome); Food Network Star Mario Batali; many NFL stars including Ray Rice; the band Looking Glass, who had a hit with Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl), formed while there; and Supreme Leader of the NBA David Stern.
South Florida – SI Columnist Don Banks; Gallagher (graduated with a Chemical Engineering degree, which taught him a lot about smashing shit); an odd amount of Soap Opera actors; Tony LaRussa (that’s right, the smartest man in the world graduated from USF); many NFL players including Jason Pierre-Paul; actor Greg Pitts (the O face guy from Office Space); and most importantly, Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Advantage – There is no way I can name a winner here. Dead heat. TLR, Logjammin’, Tony Soprano, Gallagher, Malto Mario and Hollywood Hogan. There is just too much good here.
Decision
Rutgers takes this one on the strength of Ruhann’s hair.
Kutztown @ Bloomsburg – Saturday, September 15 @ 1:30 pm CDT
Kutztown – Oddly enough Kutztown U. is in Kutztown, PA (pop. 5,067 as of 2010 census). Nothing interesting in wiki, but their Chamber of Commerce link did take me directly to a sight trying to get me to buy Viagra and Cialis. Apparently the town isn’t growing but other things are. If you get an erection after reading this call your doctor immediately because you a sick SOB.
Advantage – Kutztown – strictly based on their Chamber of Commerce site trying to get me to buy Viagra and Cialis.
Advantage – Chuck, you were a hell of a coach but General E. Rection is too stiff of competition to overcome.
Kutztown 4-0-1…Let’s face it Bloomsburg never had a shot.
[Ed. Note – If you want to write a future preview that sets the blog record for penis/sex jokes, Jimmy has set the bar pretty high.]
Baldwin-Wallace @ John Carroll – Saturday, September 15 @ 5:00 pm CDT
“Cuyahoga Gold Bowl”
Information from the John Carroll website about the Gold Bowl can be found here, although it appears to have not been updated in a couple of years.
Author: Bristol
Mascots
Baldwin-Wallace – Yellow Jackets. Stinger the Yellow Jacket likes to hang out by buildings. Don’t worry if he touches you with his stinger, he’ll quit when he’s finished.
John Carroll – Blue Streaks. The nickname was adopted in the 1920s after a former player remarked that the team was “tearing around like a blue streak”. Unfortunately, it is not a reference to the movie Blue Streak.
Advantage – Yellow Jackets. Or, more appropriately, BEES!
Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)
Baldwin-Wallace – J.T. Render. Render was a walk-on WR at Penn State who lettered once and was a member of the undefeated 1994 Rose Bowl Championship team. He was worked at Upper St. Clair High School (PA) and Washington & Jefferson College prior to John Carroll. Also, he looks a bit like Jim Carrey from Ace Ventura.
John Carroll – Tom Arth. Arth set 18 school records at QB for John Carroll and was twice named to the Division III All-American team. He spent three seasons in the Indianapolis Colts organization and played for two years in NFL Europe and one in the Arena Football League.
Advantage – Render. SPOILER ALERT – Einhorn is Finkel!
Best Player Names
Baldwin-Wallace – Spyro Spondyl, who is wearing the worst wig ever. Honorable mention to Pat LaGuardia’s Amish beard.
John Carroll – Tie – Buntu Biyana & Patrick Gawryszewski. Best hair – Alex Manos. (Bonus movie reference for fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000.)
Advantage – Biyana & Gawryszewski (pronouned “Williams”), with an assist to MST3K.
Locations
Baldwin-Wallace – Berea, OH. Berea is also home to the Cleveland Browns training facility and the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. The town proclaims itself the “Grindstone Capital of the World” and its symbol is a grindstone. Berea dimension stone was an important building material before concrete came into wide use. Berea was also the home of NFL Hall of Famer Lou “The Toe” Groza.
John Carroll – University Heights, OH. The motto is “City of Beautiful Homes” and the community is closely tied with neighboring Cleveland Heights, sharing a school system, post office, and many other municipal services. The city was originally called Idlewood Village but changed its name when the university moved into the area in 1925.
Advantage – John Carroll. Beautiful homes tops grindstones in the pecking order for towns, Lou Groza notwithstanding.
Notable Alumni
Baldwin-Wallace – Senator George Norris of Nebraska, the creator of the Nebraska Unicameral legislature; model & actress Claudia Jordan, a Barker’s Beauty on The Price is Right from 2001 to 2003; CBS tennis announcer Bud Collins; astronaut Robert Overmyer; Harrison Dillard, the only male runner to win Olympic titles in sprints and hurdles; and sweater-vest wearing weasel Jim Tressel
John Carroll – Tim Russert, the host and moderator of Meet the Press; astronaut Carl Walz; actor Jack Riley (the voice of Stu Pickles in Rugrats); singer Eric Carmen (All By Myself and Hungry Eyes); NFL LB London Fletcher-Baker; and Hall of Fame NFL Coach Don Shula
Advantage – John Carroll in a rout. Jim Tressel isn’t worthy of working as a busboy in one of Don Shula’s steakhouses. Throw in Hungry Eyes and it’s even more of a blowout.
Decision
John Carroll rallies from a Tommy Boy/Ace Ventura 2-0 hole to win 3-2 on the strength of MST3K, beautiful homes, Hungry Eyes & Don Shula.
Calgary @ Manitoba – Saturday, September 15 @ 1:00 pm CDT
Author: Bristol
Mascots
Calgary – Dinos. This is their logo. His name is Rex. Also, for no other reason than because it’s the greatest team photo ever – this. God bless the Internet.
Manitoba – Bisons. You can hire Billy the Bison to make an appearance at your event or just rent the suit. Or you could have a kindergartner make a costume that is just as good.
Advantage – Dinos. Rex will eat Billy. And so would the Unabomber.
Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)
Calgary – Head Coach Blake Nill. Nill played for the Dinos in the early 80s and spent six years in the CFL. He is in his 7th year at Calgary after serving as St. Mary’s head coach for 8 years, winning 2 Vanier Cups.
Manitoba – Receivers Coach Blair Atkinson. Atkinson is a former Bisons receivers who ranks highly in many statistical categories, including tied for most TD receptions in a season with 6. He spent one year on the practice roster for the CFL Winnipeg Blue Bombers and played in the preseason of a second year.
Advantage – Dinos. Playing in CFL > practice roster/preseason for the CFL.
Best Player Names
Calgary – Tie – Doctor Cassama and Alex Ogbongbemiga. Weirdest picture: tie – Tanner Doll and Spencer Duff. Warning labels for pregnant women are not just for show, folks.
Manitoba – Tie – Kienan (and/or Kel) LaFrance and Awot Btseamlak, who is terrifying.
Advantage – Manitoba. Maybe Doctor Cassama can tell me what’s wrong with those other 2 guys, but Kienan (and/or Kel) LaFrance can land a motherfucking plane.
Locations
Calgary – Calgary, Alberta. Calgary is the 3rd largest municipality in Canada and hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics. It was named after Calgary on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. The city annually hosts the Calgary Stampede, the “greatest outdoor show on earth”. The oil and gas industry dominates the economy as it is home to 87% of the country’s oil producers and 66% of the coal producers. Calgary is renowned in professional wrestling as the home to the Hart family and the place where the family trained many future pro wrestlers, including the British Bulldogs. In fact, the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen are named after founding owner Bret “The Hitman” Hart. Other notable residents include Super Bowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien, actress Elisha Cuthbert and actor Tommy Chong.
Manitoba – Winnipeg, Manitoba. Winnipeg is the 7th largest municipality in Canada and got it’s name from the Cree word for “muddy waters”. In 1919, the Winnipeg General Strike saw more than 30,000 people walk off their jobs. The strike ended when Royal Canadian Mounted Police charged strikers in June of that year, killing 2 and injuring more than 30. One of the striker’s leaders went on to found Canada’s first socialist party. Winnipeg is home to the Royal Canadian Mint, which produces all circulating Canadian coinage. The Winnipeg Bear, the real-life Winnie-the-Pooh, was named after the town. The city will co-host the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Advantage – Unlike a lot of the towns involved in these previews, both of these places have a lot going on. However, Calgary takes this one as Elisha Cuthbert and Tommy Chong take down Winnie-the-Pooh and socialism.
Notable Alumni
Calgary – Astronaut Robert Thirsk; 2010 speed skating gold medalist Christine Nesbitt; Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs; and James Gosling, who invented the Java programming language.
Manitoba – Fashion model Meagan Waller, winner of Cycle 3 of Canada’s Next Top Model; Chicago Bears DL Isreal Idonije; former WWE wrestler Don “The Jackal” Callis; and “Lets Make A Deal” host Monty Hall.
Advantage – Manitoba. Not a lot to go on here, but Monty Hall gets the edge.
Decision
Dinos 3-2. That team photo 5-0.
Rochester @ St. John Fisher – Saturday, September 15 @ 6:00 pm CDT
“The Courage Bowl”
The Courage Bowl benefits the children of Camp Good Days and Special Times. Rochester is ending their series with St. John Fisher after the season so SJF will seek another opponent for the Courage Bowl.
Author: Bristol
Mascots
Rochester – Yellowjackets. Rocky the Yellowjacket has a Facebook page and is the one billionth person to do a video to “Call Me Maybe”.
St. John Fisher – Cardinals. The only picture I could find of their mascot is at the very bottom of this page.
Advantage – Cardinals. When does a yellow jacket lose to Fredbird‘s retarded cousin? When the bee smells like Carly Rae Jepsen.
Coaching Staff (Most Awesome Member)
Rochester – Head Coach Scott Greene. A four-time letterwinner and two-time team MVP as a running back at Michigan State. Greene was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 1996 and established a team record for receptions by a running back with 40 in 1997. His bio indicates he was the starting FB for the Colts in 1998, but the NFL’s official stats do not back that up. Career totals include 157 yards rushing and 1 TD and 290 yards receiving and 2 TD’s.
St. John Fisher – Head Coach Paul Vosburgh. Vosburgh has been the Cardinals head coach since 1991, guiding the team into the postseason in each of the last 9 seasons. He was named the 2006 National Coach of the Year. Vosburgh played collegiately at William Penn in Iowa, earning Athlete of the Year honors as a senior. He coached at DeSales Catholic HS in Niagara Falls, NY, William Penn, and Emporia State before taking over the program at St. John Fisher.
Advantage – Greene. Despite the little white lie in his bio, Greene’s resume is still better than playing at Billy Penn.
Best Player Names
Rochester – Tie – Shaquill McCullers, Ugwu Okeke Ewo & Ani Okeke Ewo.
St. John Fisher – Dalton Donk. Best Horace Grant impersonation – MarcAnthony Bucci.
Advantage – Donk.
Locations
Rochester – Rochester, NY. The Seneca tribe lived in and around the area until their land rights were removed. “Their land rights were removed”? Really? I guess that reads better than “until the white people fed them rotten food, gave them small-pox infested blankets, and bought most of New York State for $24”. I don’t care about the rest of the information about your city – that sentence is insulting. Except for notable people, I have to do that: Abolitionist Frederick Douglass, suffragist Susan B. Anthony, golf architect Robert Trent Jones, former NBA players John Wallace and Art Long, PGA legend Walter Hagen, MLB Hall of Famer Charley “Old Hoss” Radbourn, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, and professional wrestlers Chyna and Gorilla Monsoon.
St. John Fisher – Pittsford, NY. Pittsford is an affluent suburb of Rochester through which the Erie Canal passes. “The early history of the town is marked by the punitive Marquis Denonville expedition against the Seneca tribe of 1867”. Punitive expedition? Wonder if that anything to do with “land rights removed”. Pittsford has the highest average household income in New York State north of the NYC metropolitan area. Pittsford is home to Oak Hill Country Club, which has hosted the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and the Ryder Cup. It will be the site of the 2013 PGA Championship as well. Notable residents include model and actor Tyson Beckford, co-founder of Bausch and Lomb Henry Lomb, and women’s soccer play Abby Wambaugh.
Advantage – Rochester. Since they all eradicated the Seneca tribe that doesn’t serve as the deciding factor. At least Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony later fought for some other people’s rights.
Notable Alumni
Rochester – Former NCAA President Myles Brand; Jay Last, one of the eight founders of Silicon Valley; Academy Award-nominated actor Robert Forster (Jackie Brown); Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Brian Daboll; actress Debra Jo Rupp (Kitty Froman from That 70’s Show); and Francis Bellamy, who wrote the original Pledge of Allegiance.
St. John Fisher – Buffalo Bills CEO Russell Brandon; Edward Stack, Chairman and CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods; and former Georgia Tech and current George Mason basketball coach Paul Hewitt.
Advantage – Rochester by a landslide.
Decision
Rochester sneaks away with a 3-2 victory despite the use of Call Me Maybe.
Jimmy Runs a 5k
Posted: September 11, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 Comment »
This post will be written in a timeline in order for dramatic effect or something along those lines.
Two Months Prior to race day: I get an email from my sister asking if I want to run in a 5k with her and my other sister. Being a person that often makes decisions without thinking about them first said, “Sure why the hell not.” I had started up P90X again, surely I could tackle a 5K.
One month and 29 Days prior to race day: Completely forget about saying I would run in a 5k.
One month prior to race day: Pull a muscle or get a hernia or some other excuse that I stop working out until I feel better
One week prior to race day: Sitting outside around a bonfire with the neighbors pounding a few beers when I have an epiphany that I am supposed to run a 5k the next day or maybe the next week. Laugh about it and drink 15 more beers.
4 Days prior to race: Get an email from my sister reminding me of our 5K on Saturday. Me: “Son of a Bitch, well I guess I’m still gonna do this” Call my sister and tell her I’m still in. In the back on my mind I’m thinking there’s no way I can do this.
3 Days prior to race: I decided I better at least try and run a mile. So I wait for the cover of darkness to avoid people seeing the catastrophe that is about to happen. Thirty seconds into the mile I begin to think there is no way I can do this and seriously consider walking back to my house. Two minutes in and I’m still not thinking I’m going to make it. The only reason I don’t stop is that my house a mere 2 blocks behind me seems so far away. So I trudge on thinking what the hell am I doing. Fast forward 10 minutes and 30 seconds and I am back at my house. I’m ecstatic that I made it, but my legs are on fire and I feel like I’m going to pass out. However, I’m convinced I can make it through the 5k
2 Days prior to race: My quads are so tight that I can barely get down the steps in my house. There’s no possible way I’m going to be able to run this race, consider calling my sisters and telling them I’m out. Luckily I have a golf tournament to go to that will help keep my off the impending sense of doom that is creeping into my mind.
Approximately 24hrs till race day: Wake up in the morning and my legs feel like they may actually work today and my second thought is that I’m going to need to eat well today and carb load. The following was my diet for the day:
Breakfast: Skipped…apparently sometime between 7:00 am and 7:30 am I forgot about the whole eating well today. I do manage about 5 cups of coffee at work though between 8:00 am and 11:00 am.
Lunch: Gus comes to my office to see if I want to go out for lunch, forgetting about the salad I was going to have, I say yes. My choice for lunch is a chicken parm sandwich where the cheese consists of 8 fried mozzarella sticks. I’m sure there’s plenty of carbs, but just in case I get an order of fries too.
Dinner: Alright this is the meal where I actually eat something decent today. Well the wife is at a photo shoot, so I make the kids mac and cheese for dinner. Apparently 2 boxes is only enough to feed 3 small children. Not wanting to make anything else I decide to wait for the wife to get home. She wants Panchero’s, which essentially is a 5 pound burrito the size of my head. I say sure thinking of all the carb loading I’ll be doing with the rice, forgetting of the gut wrenching indigestion I’ll get from the extra hot sauce and jalapenos I also decide to get. To top it off I decide I better have few beers with the neighbors before getting a good night sleep.
Race Day Morning: Rise and shine at 6:00 am and down some cheerios for breakfast. Then head to the gas station for as much Gatorade that I can carry. While there I notice they have something called Gatorade Prime that was supposed to give me the vitamins and energy to run this race. I throw it in with everything else and decide to chug it just before the race.
7:00 am: One hour till race time. I decide I need to arrive early to get in plenty of stretch time.
7:59 am: One minute till race. Pandora is on the headphones and I’m ready to rock to this thing.
8:00 am: I’m positioned about mid-pack looking for someone I can keep pace with and the people that I can’t get beat by. Suddenly the gun sounds and we’re off. Holy shit these people are running fast, my sisters immediately distance themselves, so much for keeping pace with them.
8:01 am: I get passed by an little old lady shaped and looking like a plum. What the hell am I really going to get beat by Plum Lady? Oh well I’ve just got to finish this and I’ll save a big kick for the end, I just have to keep her in sight.
8:15 am: Holy shit I’m going to die, this has to almost be over. Plum Lady is beginning to pull away.
8:17 am: Turn a corner and see my wife and 3 kids cheering me on. Not wanting my 4 year to think his dad is going to die, I put on a big smile and give him a high five. There’s no way I’m going to catch Plum Lady and I just got passed by a 7 year old girl.
8:30 am: I’m convinced there’s no way I’m going to finish, but I’ve caught up to the 7 year old girl.
8:36 am: Sweet Jesus the finish line is in sight. In my moment of elation I get passed by a guy in a full on sprint. What the hell, where did this guy come from. Then I realize I just got beat by a guy running the 10k. Holy Shit he is a man or Cheetah.
8:38 am: I did it! My first thought is to scan the crowd for Plum Lady to congratulate her and confirm that she was not a figment of my imagination. Alas she is nowhere to found, maybe she was my giant plum colored white rabbit. Clearly my oxygen depleted brain had been manifesting hallucinations in an attempt push me towards the finish. Hell maybe I had passed out and along the route somewhere. Five minutes pass by when I finally see a small purplish glob prodding towards the finish line…it was the Plum Lady! Some how some way I had passed her, I can only assume she got lost or sidetracked when we passed the yarn store. But alas, victory was mine and I could with a clear conscious crack open a beer knowing that I had not been beaten by the 65 year old plum.
Camel Foe – Week 2, Virginia-Wise
Posted: September 7, 2012 Filed under: Camel Foe | Tags: Camel Foe, Fighting Camels, Virginia-Wise Leave a comment »Providing the opposition this week for the Fighting Camels, and thus the subject of the second Camel Foe of the year, is the University of Virginia at Wise.
Virginia-Wise
Location: Wise, Virginia (population: 3,286 as of 2010 census)
Established: 1954 as Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia
Enrollment: 2,005
Nickname: Highland Cavaliers
Affiliation: UVa-Wise is currently a member of the NAIA and the Mid-South Conference, but will begin the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II next year. They would be an active D-II member in the 2015-16 academic year. They will become a charter member of the new Mountain East Conference which plans to launch in the 2013-14 academic year.
Random Fact #1: It is the only branch of the University of Virginia and the westernmost public college in Virginia.
Random Fact #2: Existed as a junior college until the first Bachelor of Arts degrees were granted in 1970.
Random Fact #3: Boasts the “best small-college intramural program in the Southeast”. Half of the student body participates in some form of intramural activity.
Random Fact #4: UVa-Wise ranks first among public national liberal-arts colleges for students graduating with the least amount of debt.
Notable Persons:
- Holly Kiser, the first winner of Make Me a Supermodel
- Virginia delegate Terry Kilgore
Quite the list. How about anyone from the town of Wise…
- Actor, director & producer George C. Scott
- Former Green Bay Packers WR Carroll Dale
- Glen Roberts, the originator of the jump shot while playing basketball at Christopher Gist High School in Pound, VA
- [Ed. Note: I think there are about 100 people credited with inventing the jump shot. In fact, a book published in 1999 and authored by John Christgau investigated 8 different men who each claim credit for inventing the jump shot. Roberts is among the eight, although Christgau makes a strong case that Ken Sailors was the first in May 1934.]
- [Ed. Note II: The towns of Pound and Big Stone Gap are both located in Wise County, VA. Insert your own joke here.]
Oh yeah, the Football Team:
- The Highland Cavaliers opened the season with a 24-21 overtime win at Bethel University (ranked #11 in the NAIA preseason poll) on August 25 before being routed at home 43-10 by Faulkner University last Saturday
- Last week Faulkner exploded for 26 second quarter points and cruised to victory, outgaining UVA-Wise 558 to 174. The Cavaliers’ only TD came on a 69-yard interception return by Vernon “Major” Payne
- The Fighting Camels lead the series 1-0, winning 20-16 at Wise in 2010
- UVa-Wise looks to start a season 2-0 on the road for the first time since 2008, when it posted back-to-back wins away from home over Kentucky Christian University and Newport News Apprentice School
- Junior Kicker Paul Melshen needs 1 FG to tie the school’s career record of 18, set by Jay Withrow from 1993-96
- Senior LB Derek Comer leads the Mid-South Conference and ranks 6th nationally with 22.5 tackles in the first 2 games
- True freshman RB Connery Swift has run for 185 yards in the first 2 games, 175 of those coming in the season-opening win
- Best Name Nominees:
- Jalani Winbush, Capers Zentmeyer, Shahn Khan, Zaukeus Witcher, T’ontray Billups, Skylar DeJesus
- The winner – Shahn Khan. KHAAAAAAAAN!
Prediction:
Another game that is tough to get a read on as the non-scholarship Camels face another team transitioning from NAIA to NCAA Division II, albeit one that is just beginning the process. The Highland Cavaliers first two games muddy the waters as well – they opened with an overtime win on the road against #11 Bethel but then returned home and lost by 33 to unranked Faulkner. As with most teams, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle, plus we have to factor in that pre-season polls at best an educated guess and at worst a complete mockery. Meanwhile, our Camels turned the ball over 5 times last week against Shorter, including 4 first-quarter fumbles. They still managed to take a 3-point lead early in the 4th quarter before falling 31-20. We look for two questions to be answered this week: 1) Will the real Virginia-Wise Highland Cavaliers please stand up? 2) Can the Camels take care of the football? One man’s highly uneducated call – UVa-Wise’s lackluster offense (262.5 yds/game) will struggle to exploit the inexperienced Camel defense. On the other side of the ball, despite all the turnovers, Campbell had 475 yards of offense (336 passing from QB Braden Smith) last week against Shorter. With Virginia-Wise allowing 481.5 yards per game so far, the Camels should be able to move the ball once again. I foresee a Camel bounce-back this week as they turn the ball over only once and Smith enjoys another big passing day, leading them to a 31-16 victory.
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