Sunday’s weather was gray and gloomy with the tears of Buckeye Nation pouring from the heavens, reflective of a State in mourning following Michigan’s second-half domination of THE Saturday at the Horseshoe. The Game was closely contested for the first two quarters with fireworks and counter-punches from both teams as Ryan Day’s crew took a 20-17 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Wolverines completely outplayed the Eleven Warriors after intermission with stout defense and an explosive offense producing five plays of over 45 yards including four TDs of 69 yards or longer, outscoring THE 28-3 on the way to a 45-23 win and the Big Ten East title.
Highly touted Buckeye defensive coordinator Jim Knowles clearly had no answer to Michigan’s attack in the second half as quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Donovan Edwards turned into superheroes for the Maize and Blue. Even TBDBITL seemed dispirited as the Buckeye Battle Cry rang hollow late in the game!
Michigan moves on to the Big Ten championship game Saturday versus Purdue, surprise winners of the wild and wacky Big Ten West, and most likely a spot in the college football playoffs. THE has to hope for Kansas State to defeat TCU in the Big 12 title game and for Utah to knock off USC for the PAC 12 championship if the Bucks are to have any hope of being included in the playoff picture.
Want to know how much pressure there is being the head coach at THE? There are already howls for Day’s scalp even with a 45-5 record, 31-2 in conference play—unfortunately those two losses are both to the School Up North and that doesn’t sit well with OSU fanatics!
Staying with football, how about OSU alum and UC head coach Luke Fickell taking over at Wisconsin after compiling a 57-18 record with the Bearcats and earning a playoff berth last year!
Big wins for both the Bengals and Browns Sunday with Cincy beating a tough Titan squad in Nashville and Cleveland defeating the Bucs in overtime. The Bengals (7-4) moved into a tie in the AFC North with the Ravens, upset losers by a count of 28-27 to the Jaguars, who made a gutsy two-point conversion with 14 seconds left in the game.
Finally Tipp City from the MVL fell in the D-III high school state semifinals while New Bremen and Marion Local will represent the MAC in title games this weekend, the Cardinals in D-VII and the Flyers in D-VI.
Switching to basketball, the Flyer Faithful are in a state of shock after UD dropped three in a row in the Bahamas in the Battle for Atlantis tournament—as one fan so eloquently stated, the Bahamas should be renamed “disaster island”! Also, how about Kansas and North Carolina both going down to defeat over the weekend while Purdue knocked off Gonzaga, delighting Boilermaker fans already celebrating a football win in the Old Oaken Bucket rivalry with IU and, as previously mentioned, a Big Ten West crown.
In high school hoops play, Rachel Kerns’ Lady Wave suffered two tough losses, losing to Eaton in the last minute and to Troy in overtime. The girls open the home portion of the season Monday evening against Indian Lake looking for win number one (it’s a scene you should make, with apologies to the Cowsills!).
Meanwhile Arcanum spoiled the head coaching debut of Greenville’s Matt Hamilton as the Trojans dominated the inside in the second half on the way to a 56-38 win over the Wave. A road trip to Troy looms as MVL play begins Tuesday night, the first of eighteen league contests.
World Cup play continues in Qatar for futbol fans around the world. Defense evidently dominates as through the first 28 matches three games ended 1-1, four were 1-0, and five were scoreless ties (or in soccer language, nil-nil). The United States team looks to move on to the “knockout” stage but needs a win over Iran to do so. Tim Weah scored the team’s only goal in a 1-1 draw with Wales and a 0-0 tie with England. Here’s a little known fact—Weah’s father, a former professional soccer player, is currently the President of the African country of Liberia!
Finally, high school wrestling, swimming, and bowling all get underway shortly. These young competitors are often overlooked and under appreciated so let’s get out and support their efforts at the various venues! Until next time, stay healthy and active!
