The Cinderella story continued for the No.3 ranked Boise State Broncos as they defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 33-30 during the fourth quarter. Kellen Moore TD passed to Austin Pettis for a 13 yard score at 1:09 left on the clock to give the Broncos their 15th regular season win on Labor Day at Fed EX Field, home of the Washington Redskins since 1997.
With a 17-0 lead in the first quarter by the Broncos, the Hokies dominated through the second quarter and on, but couldn’t hold on in the end. This was the first time both of these schools faced each other in the regular season in a span of 42 years.  In front of 86,587 people, which was pro Virginia Tech even though the game was played at a neutral site,  Moore, junior quarterback for Boise State, was able to hold his composure and lead his team down the grid iron for an exciting victory. This victory was perhaps the biggest win in regular season history for Boise State.  “We are certainly proving people right now,” he said, according to ESPN.com.  “You should gain a little respect by beating Virginia Tech out here.  You’re basically playing a road game; you’re having one heck of a game with them, just fighting back and forth.”  Moore is now 27-1 as the starting Quarterback, going 23 for 38 with 215 passing yards and throwing for three scores.  What makes him so effective?  He’s a football aficionado and is a great game manager.  He’s a major student of the game and knows how to utilize the weapons around him.  Moore makes good decisions, but, more importantly, he avoids making stupid mistakes.

Austin Pettis, Broncos’ wide receiver, made Moore’s and the entire Boise State University’s night by giving them a reason to believe that they were BCS National Championship material.  “We know how much was at stake for us, so it was kind of like a bowl game,” he said according to ESPN.com.  “There’s a lot we need to work on too because there were a lot of mistakes we made.  We can’t afford any slip-ups especially after setting up ourselves like this.”  Credit has to go to the Broncos Head Coach, Chris Petersen, whose in his fifth year with a 50-4 record and is taking each game one at a time.  “Game 1 and that’s what it is,” he said on ESPN after the game.  “We’re just pleased to get out of here with a W.”  The Broncos are highly talented and so well-coached, making them such a dangerous opponent to play against, especially since they are proving people right.  They were 6 for 15 in 3rd down conversions and had 215 yards passing, 168 yards rushing, giving them a total of 383 yards.

As for the Hokies, they have fought valiantly every step of the way, but their chances of getting in the BCS hunt are over.  The Hokies fell 0-22 against Associated Press’ top-5 teams away from home, 1-26 overall.  It was the first time since Dec. 2007 that Virginia Tech lost a regular-season game when scoring 30-plus points.  Head Coach of Virginia Tech, Frank Beamer, who is in his 24th season with a 187-93-2 record, said the following after the game:  “When it’s all said and done, we were one first down from winning that football game,” according to ESPN.com.

Now, the debate begins with Boise State becoming the first team from a league without an automatic BCS bid to play for a national championship if they go undefeated.  The Broncos, starting from 2002 to 2009, have been unbeaten at home with a 51 game winning streak and are absolutely unbelievable.  Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is clearly dominated by the Broncos with a (71-9) record, a total of 89%, the highest winning percentage in the conference, a total of 15 conference titles, and being 4-1 against teams in the AP top-10 since 2000.  The USA Today’s coach’s poll had the Broncos ranked fifth, the AP had them ranked third, and the NCAA had the squad ranked second.  Talk about the amount of public interest they’re getting. Maybe the Broncos can get the respect they so desperately want right now after one game against a quality Virginia Tech team.  They are America’s underdog in all of college football.  Are they BCS Championship worthy?

Right now, the Broncos are in the discussion with other teams like Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, TCU, South Carolina, Iowa, Florida, Ohio State, etc.  They still have to beat Wyoming, Oregon State, Fresno State, and Nevada to become more worthy.  The enormous factor in all of this is the strength of schedule. Teams like Alabama play stronger opponents and are in a super conference with much more competiveness.  The Broncos would have to be ranked No.1 and be the only team undefeated to get a shot at the National Championship, but the problem with college football is that there’s never going to be a playoff system.  Also, if Alabama and Ohio State go undefeated or a team out of the SEC Conference, like South Carolina, wins out by leap frogging the Broncos out of title contention, the Broncos will be in trouble.

There’s a lucrative solution to this issue. The answer is that they should decide the National Championship the same way other teams do in the NCAA, which means having a 16-team playoff.  The Broncos would have to beat three elite opponents to get to the national title game, eliminating all concerns about the schedule.  Until that happens, this debate will keep raging on.  Making teams earn their stripes and prove to the world why they’re the best teams in college football will make things more fair overall.

The Alabama Crimson Tide sprinted down to the gridiron as they crushed the Penn State Nittany Lions (24-3) at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with 101,821 fans in attendance to see the Tide cap their second win of the season.

Mark Ingram, the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner and the only one to win the award in Alabama University history, had a left knee injury and didn’t participate in this contest. He also didn’t see any action to begin the 2010 regular season.  Ingram’s stats through 2009 are 414 carries, 2,386 rushing yards, 388 receiving yards, and 29 touchdowns.  Ingram will return to action at Duke on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.  Also, the Tide didn’t have defensive end, Marcell Dareus, who has been declared as ineligible and suspended for the first two games, accepting nearly $2,000 in improper benefits during two trips to Miami.  Dareus was ruled ineligible for receiving preferential treatment and agent benefits, including airfare, lodging, meals, and transportation during Miami trips.  The NCAA ordered Dareus on Thursday to pay $1,787 to a charity of his choice before regaining eligibility. So far an agreement has not been reached yet. A question remains whether he will be returning against the Duke Blue Devils.

Trent Richardson, running back for the Crimson Tide, had an exceptional game.  He had 22 carries for 144 yards and one score.  However, Richardson had 102 of those yards against the Nittany Lions, who had gone the previous 17 games without a 100-yard rusher in the first half. (Iowa’s Shonn Greene gained 117 yards on Nov.8, 2008.)  “This will be something I remember for a long time,” Richardson said, according to Yahoo Sports. “I tried to put the offense on my back and run with it.”  Head Coach of the Alabama Crimson, Tide Nick Saban, explained the importance of Richardson’s role.  “Trent Richardson played a fantastic game,” he said, according to Yahoo Sports.  “He’s the first one to get 100 yards against the defense in a long, long time, which says a lot about their defense, but it also says a lot about Trent.”

The Crimson Tide had a total of 409 yards, 229 passing, and 180 yards rushing.  Greg McElroy, Senior quarterback for the tide was 16 for 24 and threw for 229 yards with two touchdowns.  The game didn’t live up to the rivalry’s history. The Nittany lions were completely out-manned by this Alabama defense.  Robert Bolden, freshman Penn State quarterback, ran into trouble because he is still very inexperienced in this position. The same goes for their defense. Bolden was 13 for 29 with 144 yards passing with two interceptions.  The Tide’s defense was able to come up with three interceptions and take advantage of two Penn State turnovers at the red zone.

“A tough crowd and a tough football team,” Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno said, according to Yahoo Sports.  “That made it tough on, Bolden.  We didn’t do a good job coaching and getting him ready for this one.  I think [we’ve] got a long way to go to be a good football team.”

Paterno also explained about his visit to Alabama in week two.  “I didn’t think about being back in Alabama,” he said, according to Yahoo Sports.  “I was just thinking about whether we have a little better of a football team then we showed today.”

Credit also goes to the Tide’s defense for shutting down the Lions running game, which consists of Evan Royster, who had nine carries for 32 yards and Silas Reed who had five carries for 26 yards.  These two schools were ranked in the top ten at least six times throughout the fourteen times they faced each other.  Alabama has outscored Penn State with a total of 227-174.  Nick Saban’s record is 35-8 in his fourth year with the Tide.  Last season they were 51 for 59 in the red zone, which is 86.44%. Their total offensive last year was consisted of 947 plays for 5,642 yards total.

It’s been more than 20 years since the last time Penn State and Alabama faced each other.  The Crimson Tide’s squad is insurmountable and the Nittany Lions need to turn their season around in a hurry if they want to get to a big bowl game.

The most exciting quarterback in all of college football has to be Denard Robinson, because he scored the game winning touchdown with 27 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter this Saturday afternoon, to give the Michigan Wolverines a 28-24 victory against Notre Dame at South Bend.

Quarterback Denard Robinson

In front of 80,795 people in attendance, Robinsons’ most electrifying moment came late in the second quarter when he went to the right side and sprinted right pass the Irish defense for an 87-yard score, making it the longest run in Notre Dame Stadium history. (Dick Panin broke off an 88-yarder for Michigan State in 1951, the longest run ever at Notre Dame Stadium.)  Robinson obliterated his three records at UConn last week, where he had 186 yards passing, 197 yards rushing, giving him a total of 383 yards.  Now, these records include 244 passing, 258 rushing and 502 total yards.  He was 24 for 40 passing as well.  Also, Robinson was the ninth quarterback in NCAA history to rush and pass for 200 yards.  “Man, I didn’t even know that,” Robinson said, according to ESPN.com.  “I just do whatever it takes for the team to win.  I don’t look at the stats.”  Robinson broke down the last drive of the game.  “I’m speechless right now,” he said, according to collegefootballrivals.com.  “The offense came together.  Everyone was ready for the drive.  It was time to put it away.  We had let them stick around for too long.”

The Wolverines improved to 2-0 and Head Coach, Rich Rodriquez, who is 2-1 lifetime against the Irish, had more to say on NBC after the game.  “There were a lot of ups and downs in this game,” he said.  “Lot of momentum changes, and I’m proud the way our players played.  We will enjoy this win for the next 24 hours, and it is on to the next one.”  Rodriquez explained the importance of Robinson’s role.  “Needless to say, our quarterback was special today,” he said according to collegefootballrivals.com.  You would be happy to if you had Robinson.  I don’t know if I ever have had a quarterback account for that many yards in a game, and I have had some good ones.”

“He’s a tough kid,” said Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly, according to ESPN.com. “We hit him hard.  You run a quarterback 25 times, you got to have toughness.” Kelly also said, according to NBCsports.com, “We have a lot of things to cleanup. We were one play away.  Our offense needed to give us a chance to win this game.  It was a good game.”  Coach Kelly’s Fighting Irish squad dropped to 1-1. This was the first time Kelly experienced a rivalry just like quarterbacks Tommy Ress and Nate Montana, who is the son of Hall-of-Famer quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, Joe Montana.

Is Robinson Heisman trophy material?  Robinson has a total of 885 yards in his first two contests, 455 rushing yards, and 430 passing yards.  He’s an unflappable quarterback and has great intelligence of what defenses are coming, whether it’s a blitz, sending eight men in the box, and a cover. He has a keen ability to escape that the opposition’s defenses are always one step behind.  Additional skills include him having a great pocket presence, knowing where to find his wide receivers and also knowing when it’s time to run the ball when the play-action pass is taken away.  This will be Coach Rodriquez’s ultimate weapon to get a shot at the BCS Championship if his performance continues like this; he will be the leading candidate for the Heisman.  Robinson certainly belongs in the discussion because he can back up his performances with a bunch of victories.

The Michigan and Notre Dame clash began in 1887 and this matchup was the 38th time these schools met each other in the regular season.  Wolverines outscored the Irish 802-637.  They lead the overall series 22-15-1.  Both schools have a combined total of 21 national titles: 10 titles for Michigan and 11 for Notre Dame.  Some of the biggest moments in the epic rivalry history for both teams were Harry Oliver’s game-winning kick for 51 yards in 1980, Reggie Ho’s four field goals in 1988, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail two touchdown returns in 1989, Desmond Howard’s catch in 1991, and “the tie” in 1992. Now you can add Robinson’s 502 yards performance for 2010, with the Wolverines having 533 yards as a team. Robinson became the entire offense that day.  Just like all these other memorable moments, Robinson will cherish this game for the rest of his life.

WEST HAVEN – The University of New Haven baseball team has jumped back into the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Poll at No. 22 this week. The Chargers also stayed in the No. 2 spot in the NCAA East Regional Rankings and the NCBWA East Region Poll.

The University of New Haven baseball team has jumped back into the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Poll at No. 22 this week.

The Chargers, coming off a 4-0 week, won another game yesterday and now hold a nine-game winning streak. Tonight’s non-conference game at Post University has been cancelled, but the Chargers will return to action tomorrow afternoon against Assumption at Frank Vieira Field.

Last week the Chargers moved into the second spot in the region and received votes in the national poll. Earlier in the season, the Chargers broke into the national poll in the No. 22 spot after winning 11-straight games during their Florida trip.

For the complete NCBWA national poll, visit http://sportswriters.net/ncbwa/div2poll/index.html?DB_OEM_ID=18900.

NCAA East Regional Rankings
1. Southern Connecticut State 31-9-1 31-9-1
2. New Haven 28-9 28-9
3. Franklin Pierce 31-11-1 31-7-1
4. Adelphi 29-12 28-11
5. C.W. Post 25-11-1 25-11-1
6. Stonehill 22-16 22-15
7. Massachusetts-Lowell 24-19 23-18
8. Wilmington (Delaware) 25-13 23-12

NCBWA East Region Poll
1. Southern Connecticut State (6) 31-9 60 1
2. New Haven, Conn. 28-9 50 3
3. Franklin Pierce, N.H. 31-11 48 4
4. Adelphi, N.Y. 29-12 47 2
5. Wilmington, Dela. 25-13 32 5
6. C.W. Post, N.Y. 25-11 30 6
7. Stonehill, Mass. 22-16 26 8
8. Dominican, N.Y. 22-15 14 7
9. UMass Lowell 24-19 12 RV
10. Molloy, N.Y. 24-19 6 T9

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Following a 4-3 week, the University of New Haven baseball team stayed at No. 3 in the most recent edition of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association East Region Poll.

Following a 4-3 week, the University of New Haven baseball team stayed at No. 3 in the most recent edition of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association East Region Poll.

The Chargers, who ranked atop the poll three weeks ago, split a doubleheader at Franklin Pierce University last Monday and followed that with a non-conference victory over Dominican on Thursday. The Chargers then swept a doubleheader from Pace on Saturday and dropped a pair to Southern Connecticut on Sunday.

This week the Chargers host Southern Connecticut State on Wednesday, April 14 at 3:30 p.m. They follow that with a doubleheader at Merrimack on Saturday and a single game against American International on Sunday.

2010 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association

East Region Poll (April 12, 2010)

Rk. School Pts Record
1. Adelphi (N.Y.) (4) 58 23-7
2. Southern Connecticut State (2) 56 23-7-1
3. New Haven (Conn.) 44 21-9
4. Franklin Pierce (N.H.) 43 22-10
5. Wilmington (Del.) 36 21-7
6. C.W. Post (N.Y.) 32 18-9-1
7. Concordia (N.Y.) 22 20-13
8. Assumption (Mass.) 15 18-13
9. Stonehill (Mass.) 9 14-11
10. Dominican (N.Y.) 6 14-10
UMass Lowell 6 19-15
()-first place votes
Receiving Votes: Molloy (N.Y.)-3 pts.

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – After going 6-0 over the past week, the University of New Haven softball team (14-2 overall, 4-0 NE-10) made moves in the polls. Ranking No. 24 in the last week’s NFCA Div. II National poll, the Chargers jumped up to No. 15. In the first installment of the NCAA Regional Polls, New Haven took the top spot in the East Region.

After going 6-0 over the past week, the University of New Haven softball team made moves in the polls.

In the East Region rankings, the Chargers are ahead of Northeast-10 foes, Southern Connecticut and Adelphi who were ranked fifth and tenth, respectively.

UNH returns to the diamond on Friday for a doubleheader with the Adelphi Panthers. The first game is set for 3:00 p.m. at the UNH softball field. The Chargers will then host Pace in a conference doubleheader on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.

View sports sports standings and points for the week of September 13, 2009 by clicking here!