Tag Archives: college football

MVC VIKINGS TIE NAIA RECORD – As hyped here yesterday the 11th-ranked Missouri Valley College Vikings had a chance to tie the NAIA record for total football victories at 560 and, as luck would have it, were playing against the team that had a 1-win edge over them: the William Jewell Cardinals! As this “What are the chances?” game unfolded, the Vikings actually trailed at half-time 13-10 but went on to win by a score of 40-23. Congratulations to MVC and it will be interesting to watch the Vikings and Cardinals jockey to see who gets to hold the new record week by week. 

Hurlin’ Hewitt Enters The Record Books – In a game played Friday night, Johns Hopkins Blue Jays QB Hurlin’ Hewitt Tomlin became the all-time wins leader for Blue Jays quarterbacks as JHU crushed the Dickinson Red Devils 44-10. Tomlin also had a personal best 4 td passes in the game  and threw for 271 yards. Next week the Blue Jays take it on the road against the 5-0 Ursinus Bears, who currently sit at the top of the Centennial Conference standings. 

Top 25 Upsets – NAIA – Thursday night the unranked Georgetown (KY) Tigers pulled off an upset over the 25th-ranked Campbellsville Tigers 52-21 … In a minor upset the #9 St Francis (IN) Cougars defeated the 8th-ranked Walsh Cavaliers 20-14 … The 12th-ranked McKendree Bearcats were also upset, losing to the unranked St Francis (IL) Fighting Saints 28-24 in the final seconds, with last-second upsets being a Fighting Saints specialty of late … Both the other teams tied for 25th lost to unranked opponents: the Hastings Broncos fell to the Midland Lutheran Warriors 35-23, Midland’s 2nd straight win over a ranked team and the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves upset the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers for the Tigers’ 2nd straight loss to an unranked foe. 

Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 3 – The #17 Eau Claire Blugolds got pummeled on the road by the unranked Platteville Pioneers 35-14 … The 19th-ranked Wabash Little Giants (Am I the only one who thinks they should be called the Wabash Cannonballs instead?) also lost on the road, to the Washington (MO) Bears 24-20 … Completing our Trifecta of ranked teams losing on the road to unranked foes are the St John’s Johnnies, who fell to the Bethel (MN) Royals in a 17-14 Instant Classic.

Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 2 – The 22nd ranked Winston-Salem State Rams, in their 1st year back in D2 after moving down from Division 1, suffered their 1st loss of the year to the St Augustine’s Falcons 40-35 … The #23 Tusculum Pioneers also fell at home to the Newberry Wolves in a 63-56 Mega-Shootout … As proof that “Rock beats Fighting Scots”, the 24th-ranked Edinboro Fighting Scots lost at The Rock of Slippery Rock 28-14 and the #25 CSU-Pueblo Thunderwolves fell to the Colorado Mines Orediggers by a score of 19-16.   

Webber International and Concordia (AL) Rule The World – Two NAIA teams logged wins over Division 2 opponents yesterday. The Webber International Warriors, 1 week after handing the Azusa Pacific Cougars their 1st loss of the year, brought down the UNC-Pembroke Braves, who were ranked #17 in the D2 Poll, by a score of 26-13. Meanwhile, the Concordia (AL) Hornets won on the road against D2’s Stillman (Yawn) Tigers in an 18-17 Instant Classic. Congratulations to the Warriors and the Hornets and here’s wishing that half the college teams called Tigers would be required to change  their names to something less over-used.  

“At Least Put A Color In Front Of Tigers” Dept – D2’s 18th-ranked Tuskegee Golden Tigers were road warriors yesterday, traveling to take on the 20th-ranked Morehouse Maroon Tigers and pulling off a 31-15 win.

It’s A Cliche, But Someone’s “0” Will Go – The NAIA’s Top-Ranked Sioux Falls Cougars (raise your hand if you’re sick of me mentioning that they’re trying to Threepeat as National Champs) won handily yesterday, mauling the Briar Cliff Chargers 66-21. Meanwhile, 1 of the few teams to play USF tough in recent years, the 4th-ranked Morningside Mustangs, obliterated the Dordt Defenders by a score of 71-0. This means both teams go in to next week’s meeting at USF with 6-0 records, adding even extra spice to the matchup in what is sure to be a memorable Victory Sports Network Game Of The Week. “Getcher popcorn ready” as a certain locker-room wrecking wide receiver once said.   

We Went To A Football Game And A Baseball Game Broke Out- This week’s entry for this category would be the game between the Shenandoah Hornets and the Maryville Scots, both from D3. The Hornets won 7-6 in a game where Bud Selig for once didn’t have to worry about bad umpiring.

Lindsey Wilson College Wins Again – Like the Notre Dame College Falcons, the Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders are in their 1st year of intercollegiate football. Yesterday the Blue Raiders got their 2nd win  by defeating the Pikeville Bears in an offensive supernova, 59-52.

Bearcats Tie Their Own Record – The Northwest Missouri Bearcats, ranked #6 in the D2 Polls, tied their own record for consecutive conference wins at 41 by defeating the Missouri Southern Lions 49-21. Coach Tjeerdsma’s boys try to set a new record next week against the Emporia State Hornets.

“Our Division Can Beat Up Your Division” Dept – In this week’s round in the rivalry between the NAIA and NCAA Division 3 things ended in a stalemate. The NAIA’s Southern Virginia Knights kicked around D3’s Guilford Quakers 36-21 but then the Lewis And Clark Pioneers from D3 evened things up by defeating  the NAIA’s Menlo Oaks 31-10. 

How Long, Oh Lord, How Long? – The Marathon Game Of The Week Award goes to the matchup between the Methodist Monarchs and the Ferrum Panthers. The game wound up as a 51-45 win for the Panthers in Triple Overtime.  

Generals Exterminate The Wasps – Insert your own Dalek joke here following that title. The Washington and Lee Generals defeated 1 of the teams that has given them the most trouble over the years, the Emory and Henry Wasps, 45-24. The Generals had 2 backs run for over 100 yds, Luke “The Lambaster” Heinsohn (130 yds; 1 TD) and “Bullet” Brett Murray (121 yds; 2 TD) and a 3rd, Harrison Hudson, “The Hawk” himself, had 95 yds. QB Charlie Westfal, Official Balladeer’s Blog nickname, “The New Canaan Nuke”, was 6 of 9 for 66 yds and 2 TD and added 65 yds and another TD with his legs. (His kidneys had just 11 yds rushing) Washington and Lee is 2-0 in conference play and still hoping to win their 1st Old Dominion Athletic Conference title since 2006. The Generals get to try exterminating another insect team next week as they face the Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets.

We Went To A Football Game And A Basketball Game Broke Out – With Midnight Madness just around the corner, this category doesn’t seem as unusual as in past weeks. This week’s entry is the 84-55 win the Union Bulldogs had over the Bethel (TN) Wildcats.

Top 25 Upsets – NAIA – The 14th-ranked Azusa Pacific Cougars suffered their 1st loss of the season on the road against the Webber International Warriors 13-10. The Cougars are now 4-1 and the Warriors are hoping to be ranked in the next poll…The #21 Dakota Wesleyan Tigers were upset by the unranked Midland Lutheran Warriors 21-19. All in all it was a good day to be an unranked team called the Warriors taking on a ranked foe with a feline mascot.

Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 3 – Just one very minor upset in the rankings on Saturday as the #16 Linfield Wildcats defeated the #15 Willamette Bearcats in a 35-7 beatdown.

Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 2 – The 16th-ranked Edinboro Scots were hammered at home 18-0 by the unranked IUP Crimson Hawks…The #13 Tusculum Pioneers fell on the road to the unranked Mars Hill Lions 45-39 and completing our hat-trick of unranked D2 teams beating ranked opponents are the Humboldt State Lumberjacks who hosted the 12th-ranked Central Washington Wildcats in a 25-24 upset. 

The Notre Dame Falcons And NWOSU Rangers Rule The World – The NAIA’s Notre Dame College Falcons are only in their 1st year of intercollegiate football and this week logged their 1st upset of a higher-division team, and a road upset at that! They beat NCAA Division 2’s Central State Marauders 16-13 in an Instant Classic. The NW Oklahoma State Rangers meanwhile had a much easier win in another NAIA upset of a D2 team. The Rangers crushed the Missouri S&T Miners 43-14 in their own house.   

“It’s Not News If A House Isn’t On Fire” Dept – The Top-ranked teams in the divisions Balladeer’s Blog covers all won big yesterday. In the NAIA the Sioux Falls Cougars had their 1st shutout of the year as they rolled over the NWU  Prairie Wolves by a score of 44-0. The Cougars are 5-0 and continuing their quest to threepeat as National Champs in football…In D3 the Whitewater Warhawks crushed the Platteville Pioneers 49-17. D3’s 2nd-ranked Mt Union Purple Raiders also won big over the 8th-ranked Ohio Northern Polar Bears 27-0.The possibility for a 6th straight Warhawks vs Purple Raiders clash for the D3 title is still very much alive…D 2’s MN-Duluth Bulldogs rolled on the road, eviscerating the MSU-Moorhead Dragons by a score of 56-7.  

Reach For The Brass Lantern – The Cumberlands Patriots get to keep the Brass Lantern for the 5th straight year following a win over the Union Bulldogs (Somewhere the spirit of Joe Hill is weeping) The Brass Lantern is the trophy those 2 intense rivals play for, and this game will be examined more closely in my next Nuggets entry.

Whose Turn Was It To Beat The Clan? – The Dixie State Red Storm became the latest American team to defeat the Simon Fraser Clan. The Red Storm won in a 28-21 Instant Classic in the Clan’s back yard. Simon Fraser is 1 of the Canadian schools that play in the USA‘s lower divisions.  

Bear Market – The Ursinus Bears are off to the quietest 5-0 start I’ve ever seen. Yesterday they stayed perfect by winning at the Gettysburg Bullets 49-39. Their combination of a perfectly apt nickname and really cool helmets have always made them a Balladeer’s Blog favorite!  

We Went To A Football Game And A Baseball Game Broke Out –  This week’s entry is the Muskingum Muskies’ 3-0 win over the Wilmington Quakers. If this season provides us with a 2-nothing game I plan to do a feature article on it! I’m kidding.  

They Shoot Football Players, Don’t They? – This week’s Marathon Game Award goes to the Triple Overtime Instant Classic between the CW Post Pioneers and the West Chester Golden Rams. The Pioneers won by a score of 39-37.  

“Our Division Can Beat Up Your Division” Dept – In the ongoing rivalry between the NAIA and NCAA Division 3 there was only 1 game yesterday. D3’s Whitworth Pirates defeated the Menlo Oaks 20-7.

Top 25 Upsets – Let’s take this division by division. Our New Kids On The Block are the D2 teams so starting with them the 12th-ranked Tuskegee Golden Tigers got spanked by the unranked Albany (GA) State Golden Rams 34-6. *** The #22 Delta State Statesmen  continued to be dream-wreckers for the 17th-ranked Valdosta State Blazers, who lost at home to the Statesmen in a 27-23 instant classic.***In addition to Tuskegee, other ranked teams in D2 losing to unranked opponents were the 15th-ranked UNC-Pembroke Braves, who fell on the road to the Wingate Bulldogs 28-23 and the #19 Winona State Warriors who lost at the St Cloud Huskies 31-26. *************In the NAIA the biggest upset among the ranked teams came when the #16 Cumberlands Patriots got beaten by the unranked and previously winless Georgetown (KY) Tigers by a score of 58-40! The only other Top 25 upset in NAIA was a milder one – the 7th-ranked Ottawa (KS) Braves fell to the 9th-ranked McPherson Bulldogs 56-24.*********In D3 the only upset among the ranked teams was the 15th-ranked Cal Lutheran Kingsmen’s road loss to the unranked Pacific Lutheran Lutes 35-21. 

Crop-Man Forever – St Xavier Cougars’ outstanding quarterback, Anthony “Crop-Man” Kropp was 19 of 21 for 263 yards and 6 touchdowns as SXU trounced the Olivet Nazarene Tigers 56-17. Kropp’s teammate, “M Squared” himself, wide receiver Mike Maher, had 230 all-purpose yards and 3 touchdowns, 1 off a punt return. The defense proved just as super-powered as Kropp and Maher, recording 11 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 3 interceptions and a fumble. To read Crop-Man: Origins (with a teaser about M Squared)  click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/07/22/saint-xavier-cougars-quarterback-anthony-kropp-joins-new-superhero-team/  

The Lambuth Eagles Rule The World Again! – Last Saturday the NAIA’s Lambuth Eagles defeated Division 1AA’s Georgia State Panthers (I’m such a rebel for continuing to say 1A and 1AA) and yesterday they upset Division 2’s 13th-ranked West Alabama Tigers in a 14-13 nail-biter. Rumor has it Lambuth is targeting 1A’s Michigan Wolverines next! (I’m kidding!)  

Comeback Cougars – The St Francis (IN) Cougars, ranked 11th in the NAIA poll (and 1 of 14 teams called Cougars in the Top 25) trailed the St Ambrose Fighting Bees 20-9 going into the 4th quarter, but then scored 22 unanswered points to emerge with a 31-20 win.

How Long Has This Been Going On? – This week’s award for the Marathon Game goes to the D3 matchup between the LaGrange Panthers and the Maryville (TN) Scots. The Scots won 20-17 in 3 Overtimes.

Point Of Pride – Division 3’s UW – Stevens Point Pointers upset Division 2’s Missouri S&T Miners by a score of 29-10. The Pointers were led by Mike Griffin, who rushed for 138 yards and by stellar play on the defensive side of the ball.

We Went To A Football Game And A Baseball Game Broke Out – This week’s game that fits this category was the 7-3 game between the Midland Lutheran Warriors who won out over the Concordia (NE) Bulldogs in a textbook example of a defensive struggle. 

 We Went To A Football Game And A Basketball Game Broke Out – The 20th-ranked William Penn Statesmen beat out the Quincy Hawks 67-58. Statesmen fullback Shawn Davis ran for 166 yards and 4 touchdowns in the game.

Team To Keep A Closer Eye On – The #17 Benedictine Ravens defeated the Central Methodist Eagles 38-14. The Ravens are 3-0 under the leadership of senior QB Ryan Kelly and you can look for them to move up in the rankings.  

“Our Division Can Beat Up Your Division” Dept – Let’s take a look at how this week’s games between NAIA and NCAA Division 3 teams went.  Winners on the NAIA side were: the 19th-ranked Azusa Pacific Cougars, who defeated the Whittier Poets 46-21; the Southern Virginia Knights beat the Ferrum Panthers in their own house 20-17 and the Malone Pioneers, who crushed the Anna Maria Amcats 69-0.  D3’s winners were: the Willamette Bearcats, who defeated the Southern Oregon Raiders 42-24; the top-ranked Whitewater Warhawks beat the Campbellsville Tigers 37-7; the Emory and Henry Wasps over the UVA-Wise Highland Cavaliers 20-10 and the Huntingdon Hawks  who manhandled the Faulkner Eagles 42-10.

Under The Radar Instant Classics – If you’re as into college football as I am, these are some games you may want to catch in archived video or audio form. You can check the scores in my Saturday Scoreboard but to avoid spoiling the outcomes for people who will be checking them out I’m leaving out the scores in this section: the Millersville Marauders hosting the Gannon Golden Knights; the JC Smith Golden Bulls hosting the Brevard Tornadoes; the Upper Iowa Peacocks taking on the MSU-Moorhead Dragons; the Lincoln Blue Tigers hosting the Panhandle State Aggies; the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers at the VCS Vikings; the Jamestown Jimmies hosting the Black Hills State Yellowjackets; the Newport News Apprentice School Builders hosting the Greensboro Pride; and the Christopher Newport Captains at the Frostburg State Bobcats.