Picks

This weekend’s picks:

●NCAA●
Oklahoma at Oklahoma St. – Bedlam, Big XII, and BCS are on the line this Saturday. Two more B’s factor in: OU’s Bradford and OSU’s Bryant. Sooners’ defense is much more impressive than the Cowboys’ D. Playing in Stillwater will be a factor, but not enough. Crimson and Cream 38-27
Baylor at Texas Tech – With the Texas win, the Red Raiders can hope for an OSU victory and save themselves from the mercy of the BCS pollsters. That means there is that much more to play for. Tech 56-14
Kansas vs. Missouri – Border War won’t do a thing this year to decide the Big XII North champion. But the hatred is still there. Neutral site added to the mystique of this one. Daniel has the slight edge over Reesing and has a better cast of characters around him. Tigers 35-27
Colorado at Nebraska – Last chance for Buffs to become bowl eligible. Sorry guys, maybe next year. Huskers 28-14
Kentucky at Tennessee – One more win keeps the Vols to only seven losses on the season. Man, that sounded weird. Phil goes out on top at home. Big Orange 24-23
Auburn at Alabama - #1 team faces its toughest test since assuming that title this year – beating the arch-rival. The Tide will get it done, but the first half will be a struggle. ‘Bama 34-17
Mississippi St. at Mississippi – Last week’s take down of Miles and LSU earned the 2008 Egg Bowl a spot in this week’s picks. And even though Coach Croom really needs this win, the Rebels have too much offense. Wow, that sounds odd. Ole Miss 31-21
LSU at Arkansas – Humility is something that Bobby Petrino has needed for some time. That and honor. LSU helps out with the humility lesson. Tigers 28-21
Florida at Florida St. – The FSU game before an SEC Championship game has posed problems for the Gators in recent years. No problem this year. Tebow shines again and stays in the Heisman hunt to attempt a repeat performance. Gators 42-20
Enjoy the rivalries.

●NCAA Div. II●
Northwest Missouri at Abilene Christian – This will be the second consecutive weekend for a rematch of a 2008 regular season game to take place at Shotwell Stadium. Fortunately for the Bearcats, ACU probably won’t score 93 again this week. Unfortunately, a loss is still a loss. Wildcats 52-37

Oklahomans Will Miss You Too, Phil

I became a Tennessee fan long ago during the Johnny Majors era, but my wife and I really love Phil Fulmer. It’s disappointing to see him go.
Will Shelton has a great perspective of Phil’s time as coach at Tennessee over on the Southeastern Sports Blog. You really should take a look at it.

Not On the Air

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. J.B., Jim, and I won't be on the air this weekend because we'll all be celebrating the holiday.
I'm sure, however, that there will be quite a few posts about the week in sports. You may even be interested in checking out my other site The Crest to see if I'm able to get something up over there, too.

VLA - Season Openers

Friday night was a big night for the Lady Eagles and Eagles. Both teams opened their seasons with wins at home over Dodd City.
The girls won 55-41 and were led by Meagan Woodall, who had 27 points and 8 blocks. Olivia Rustin also had 13 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer at the buzzer ending the third quarter.
The boys won a nailbiter, 56-54, and Cameron Roesler paced the Eagles with 24 points. Tyler McKinney had a pair of baskets outside the arc in the third, cutting a nine point deficit to just three and starting a 20-2 run for VLA.
Here are the box scores:

Girls
DCHS (1-1) 11 10 14 16 41
VLA (1-0) 8 12 17 18 55

DCHS > Samantha McCarty 10, Hailey Spindle 10, Cassidi Rogers 8, Callie Maxwell 5, Morgan Hartnett 4, Syndee Horton 4.
VLA > Meagan Woodall 27, Olivia Rustin 13, Cailee Jones 7, Lizzi Needham 3, Jessi Balentine 2, Cassadi Jones 2, Amber Wright 1.


Boys
DCHS (1-1) 16 10 12 16 54
VLA (1-0) 15 10 13 18 56

DCHS > Ethan Stephens 22, Nathan Roberts 8, Patrick Moore 8, Reed 5, Herndon 4, Jaylen Wallace 3, Renfro 3, Williams 1.
VLA > Cameron Roesler 24, Andrew Cacho 7, Tyler McKinney 6, Cody Furrh 6, Jon Penton 5, Dayton Booth 4, Tony Ramos 2, Trey Weatherly 2.

Observations and Ruminations

What have we learned this week?

► Oklahoma is the hottest team in the country. There was no question as to who was the better team on Saturday night. The Sooners were far superior on offense and on defense. Even the special teams managed the game when they needed to. The bottom line of 65-21 really doesn’t even do the game justice. You really had to watch it to understand the total domination of one team over another.
Sure Texas is still ahead in the BCS rankings, and maybe rightfully so for now, due to the Longhorns’ win in October. But OU is the hottest team in the country. Let’s see what happens this weekend.

► Abilene Christian is the Division II counterpart to the Sooners in that they are also their division’s hottest team. The only difference is that the Wildcats are still undefeated. And they are coming off the first of two rematches in the playoffs. ACU beat West Texas A&M 52-35 in the regular season, but that was nothing compared to the record-setting 93-68 beatdown in Shotwell Stadium on Saturday. 93-68??!! Are you kidding?
I had a chance to see Billy Malone, Bernard Scott, Johnny Knox, and company in person this season. They were ranked #4 in the country then and then I said that I would like to see any three teams in DII that are better than the Wildcats. I still would. I don’t believe that such a team exists in 2008.
The big rematch comes this weekend when ACU faces Northwest Missouri. Abilene dispatched the then-#3 Bearcats 44-27, back in August. Take note: the biggest game in Texas this weekend doesn’t involve Longhorns, Aggies, or Red Raiders.

► The face paint and ridiculous make up and hairdo sure do look a lot better when your team is winning. It just looks really dumb when your team is getting beaten 65-21, and you can’t do a thing about it. Isn’t that right, Brandon Carter? (#76, Texas Tech OL)


The Soapbox

I know that I waited a week for this one, I just didn’t have the time to write last week. So here goes…
Why should I care whether or not Donovan McNabb knows the rules about overtime in the NFL and when games are allowed to end in a tie? Does his blazing ignorance of his own game make those rules somehow invalid?
McNabb has been in the League for 10 years. There was a tie six years ago in 2002. (Pittsburgh vs. Atlanta, 34-34) Did he not keep track of any schedules or scores during this time? Was he in his own little world in Philadelphia and no other of the teams in the NFL mattered to him? And it’s not like when he was in college, where there are over 100 teams in DI alone. There are only 32 teams in the NFL! This makes for, at MOST, 16 games per week; and even less when teams have byes. This is not hard to keep up with.
And, of course this is only for the regular season. There was a classic game back in 2004 when Carolina and St. Louis and fought through regulation and the first overtime and couldn’t settle it. A second extra period was needed. It was Jake Delhomme to Steve Smith for 69 yards and the score, which ended the fifth-longest game in NFL history, 29-23 F/2OT. Did he forget about this game, too? It was a contest that was even more recent and incredibly exciting.
So, even bypassing these two games, (which clearly meant nothing to the star QB of the Eagles) McNabb seems to be dismissive of the fact that ties have happened in the NFL numerous times. This really isn’t even what bothers me.
A] It is his apparent disdain for the ending of a ballgame, when he did not know the rules.
Win the ballgame Big Guy in the sixty minutes that you have and you won’t need an extra 15 or more. And then you won’t garner for yourself a stage to show that you haven’t learned any lessons from Abraham Lincoln: It’s better to be silent and thought a fool…
B] It is also that the media seem to have become enablers to the knowledge-challenged quarterback. Many outlets have played his comments over and over again and seem to be trying to spark debate as to whether or not there should be ties in the NFL now.
You should be having this conversation now? Now? If you didn’t like the rule, did you all collectively think that it would go away or that every ballgame until the end of time would from Steelers/Falcons on out end within 75 minutes? Why does an ignorant, albeit frustrated, second-tier QB push your buttons to decide that this issue really warrants revision?
If you really need to change the rule (and give the Rules Committee members something to do, and therefore justify them being on this committee), do it because it needs to be done. [Quite frankly, I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with a tie in the regular season. If a game is hard-fought and after a reasonable amount of time (75 minutes, including a sudden death period!), end it and go on to the next matchup.] Just don’t alter the rulebook just because someone who has been around long enough to know what he’s talking about finds a venue to dispel that notion.

The Season is Almost Here

Well, it's almost here. The 2008-2009 versions of the Victory Life Lady Eagles and Eagles are about to take the floor. On Friday night, Dodd City, TX, comes to Durant for the VLA season opener. There will be a JV Boys' game at 5:00 and the Varsity games will get underway at 6:30.
And for those who are wanting to know, the seeding meeting for the Rock Creek Tournament took place today. Below are the brackets for girls and boys. The Tournament dates are Dec. 4-6, but the game times haven't been set yet. I'll update the brackets as the days' games are finished.

Opening the New Arena

The Storm men's basketball opened their season on Saturday night in the new Southeastern Arena. A moderate crowd was on hand to witness the first official game, which was unfortunately a loss, 69-60, at the hands of the USAO Drovers.

More about the season later because really the big story of the night was the new building.

Southeastern Arena, or Thunderdome, as J.B. calls it in an incredible facility. Seating capacity is officially 3200 (overall the place holds 3600) and you'd be hard-pressed to find a bad seat in the place. There are just a few that are iffy behind some rails, but none bad.

The arena sports four large scoreboards, one in each corner. And a massive jumbotron screen is in place on the south end.

Everywhere you need or want to be is easily accessed with the main roo of the arena. From the concourse, you can get to concession stand and even the bathroom. You don't have to go to some auxiliary hallway. Everything about this place is user-friendly.

And not only that, it's all high class. This is one of the nicest things that Durant has gotten in years. (It's actually the best thing that I can think of since I've been in town and that goes back to '86.) Really, it's about time that we got something of this caliber in our fine city.

Take the time and make the effort to go see the Storm men or women play this season. You'll be glad you were a part of this inaugural season.

Picks Recap

11 right, 0 wrong.
Yes, that's right, I got them all.
OK, it was a pretty easy week, but still 100% is pretty good no matter what. The only thing is that I actually forgot to pick the Tulsa/Houston game. It's a good thing, too. I would have been big-time wrong.
Overall season record now: 46-13. Nearly 78%!

Season in Review - Part 3

Southeastern by the numbers.


As a team…
► Southeastern finished the 2008 season at 6-5 overall and had a 4-1 record in the North division. Since 2004, SOSU is 20-5 against North division foes. This is the first time in 97 seasons that Southeastern has finished with a 6-5 record.

Individually…
► Brandon McCain – Passed for 2145 yards, which is the sixth best single season passing performance in SOSU history. Went 172 for 296 with 22 TD’s and only 6 interceptions.
► Baylen Laury – Led team in rushing with 148 carries for 764 yards and had 6 rushing TD’s. Longest carry, and also SOSU’s longest carry, was 67 yards (came at Texas A&M-Commerce on Nov. 1, 2008). Caught 22 passes for 300 yards and had 5 receiving TD’s (second most receiving TD’s). Also had 1 passing TD (vs. Eastern New Mexico on Sept. 13, 2008). Led team in all-purpose yards with 1064.
► Daniel Nichols – Led team in receiving with 33 receptions for 797 yards, which is the tenth best receiving performance (yards) in SOSU history. Also led team with 9 receiving TD’s.
► Jerome Hewitt – Returned 26 punts for 308 yards, including a 54 yard TD return. 308 yards is best single season performance in SOSU history. Returned 19 kickoffs for 565 yards. Career kickoff return yardage is now 1513, which is first in SOSU history. Second on team with 879 all-purpose yards.
► Bernard Daniel – Led team in tackles with 78 and had second best total of tackles for loss with 9. Also had 3 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries.
► Alex Moore – Led team in tackles for loss with 9.5.
► Rocky Phillips – Led team in sacks with 5.5 and had 1 safety.
► Cameron Sparks – Led team in interceptions with 6 and has career total of 11.
► Will White – Punted 63 times for 2632 yards, averaging 41.8 per kick. Had 6 touchbacks, 3 fair caught, and placed 19 inside the 20 yard line. 2632 punting yards is best single season performance in SOSU history. Now has 5747 career punting yards.

Picks

This weekend’s picks:

●NCAA●
Oklahoma St. at Colorado – Buffaloes still have two chances to get a sixth win and become bowl eligible. It won’t happen this week. Good luck vs. Nebraska on Nov. 28. Pokes 49-10
Texas at Kansas – Longhorns still have Title hopes and a lot to play for. Sooner fans can hope for a Jayhawks’ win, but it won’t happen today. UT 28-20
Missouri at Iowa St. – A win today and a KU loss gives Mizzou the North title. Congrats Tigers. MU 42-13
Texas A&M at Baylor – Loser gets sole possession of the Big XII South cellar. And still, it’s a much better place to be than the North cellar. The nod goes to Baylor at home. Bears 28-24
Nebraska at Kansas St. – Huskers make it a back-to-back sweep of the Kansas schools. Nebraska 35-21
Mississippi St. at Alabama – Alabama’s offense actually scores a touchdown against the Bulldogs this year. And does it more than once. Tide 35-13
Indiana at Penn St. – The damage has been done, Nittany Lions fans. It would take a miracle for Penn St. to play in the BCS Championship. But enjoy the win today. PSU 31-14
Georgia at Auburn – The Oldest Rivalry in the Deep South looked like a better matchup at the start of the year. Still it’s SEC game I’d watch this weekend. UGA 28-27
South Carolina at Florida – Gators are also still in the Title chase. And even if they weren’t, Spurrier is back in town. Steve wishes he had Tim. Tebows 31-20
USC at Stanford – Trojans are still trying to get in to the big game. This one will help if they win big. Revenge for last year = big win. USC 49-14

●NCAA Div. II●
Central Washington at West Texas A&M – Aggies aren’t ready to end this season yet. They want another shot at Abilene. And Canyon is a tough place for visitors. WTAMU 34-24

Season in Review - Part 2

Southwestern came to town with only one win, but had lost a heartbreaker in the final seconds at Tarleton the week before and appeared ready to compete. Southeastern struck quickly to try to shut down any hope. McCain fired two touchdown passes (one to Ty Hull and one to Laury) and Cole Jones connected on two field goal attempts. The Storm owned a 20-0 lead at the half.
However, the Bulldogs weren’t ready to lay down just yet. Three touchdown passes by Steve Day, assisted by a couple of breakdowns in the secondary, in the next 16 and a half minutes and the SOSU lead became a one point deficit. Momentum had shifted and the season seemed to be on the line.
SOSU went three-and-out on its next two possessions, but Will White stepped and pinned the Dawgs on their own 2. The defense came up big, forcing a punt, which Jerome Hewitt returned 54 yards for the go-ahead score. The two-point conversion failed, but the 2008 season still had life.
Jones made his third FG on the day (his best day of the year) to ice the game. Southeastern won 29-21 and was now 2-4 overall and more importantly 1-0 in the North.
The trip to Edmond to face the rival Central Bronchos had much on the line. The Storm boasted a six game winning streak over the Bronchos, which was not lost on them. A new coach and a new attitude were what the Storm was facing on the road.
SOSU came out early and looked to continue the winning. McCain found Laury for a 31 yard touchdown pass and the Storm were on top 7-0 at the end of the first. And then everything changed.
Central transfer quarterback Brandon Noohi had played his previous seasons in Durant and apparently wanted to let his former teammates know what they were missing. He accounted for five Central touchdowns – three passes and two that he himself ran in. From the second quarter on, the Bronchos scored 41 unanswered points. The final would be 41-7, UCO. Southeastern’s chances of a fifth consecutive North division title were diminished greatly and now the Storm would have to depend upon another North team taking down the Bronchos.

Now 2-5 overall and 1-1 in the North, Southeastern would get to depart from the divisional schedule and travel to San Angelo to regroup before the schedule’s home stretch. It would prove to be just what the doctor ordered.
Angelo St. came into the game 3-4 overall, but had defeated the two teams from the North that they had faced.
The Storm defense, which had been improving throughout the season, was once again a key factor in the game. And the offense found creativity that had been lacking the week before.
Seniors Cameron Sparks and Craig Andrus both led the team with 9 tackles and this would be Andrus’ coming out party. Bernard Daniel had an interception to go with two fumble recoveries and was tabbed as the North Defensive Player of the Week for his performance. It was the second time this season, Daniel had received the honor – he got the nod following the ENMU victory as well. These noteworthy achievements were part of a fantastic overall effort by
the defense, who completely kept the Rams off the scoreboard. Final score: SOSU 35, ASU 0. The shutout was the first for the Storm in nearly two years.

Back to Durant came the Storm again, hoping to generate back-to-back wins for the first time in 2008. Northeastern was in town for Homecoming and SOSU couldn’t have been happier. It was my opinion that Eastern New Mexico was the worst team that the Storm would face this season. I stand corrected. Though this was not Southeastern’s best performance (based upon the potential of the team) the defense did rise to the occasion again and were assisted by poor decisions by nearly everyone in a green uniform.
For the second straight week, the Storm defense held its opponent out of the endzone, allowing only 3 points on the day. Bernard Daniel and Craig Andrus each reached double-digits in tackles, 12 and 11, respectively. And Sparks added two more interceptions bringing his season total to 5.
Brandon McCain topped the 300 yard-mark passing for the first time in 2008 with 301 and had four TD passes. One went to Nichols, who had 129 yards receiving. The other three went to fellow members of the backfield: Laury snagged two and Junior fullback Marcus High brought in his first receiving TD of his career.
Southeastern now officially owned a winning streak with the 28-3 victory and moved to 2-1 in the North.


The Storm then hit the road for the final time as they crossed the Red River once again to face the only North division team on the south side of that river. A rivalry seems to be in the making with Texas A&M-Commerce because of the proximity of the two schools and because of the intensity and competitiveness in recent contests. In the previous three years, the games were decided by a total of four points and in 2007 went into 3 overtimes. A&M-C is also the only divisional opponent to have notched more than one victory over the Storm in the last four years.
With the stage set and both teams still in the running to repeat as North champs, the game did live up to the expectation that it would go down to the wire. It did indeed. The Lions struck first gaining three points from a field goal and the Storm would counter quickly with a McCain to Hull touchdown, which was set up by a 67 yard Baylen Laury run – his longest carry of the season. Each quarter following saw alternating touchdown scored by each team. It would be a case of whichever team scored last would win. The Storm scored last, but the win would be preserved by the defense.
A big defensive stand capped by an interception by Johnny Seals looked like it would seal the deal. But the Storm gave it back on a mishandled hand-off attempt and Commerce would have one more shot with 89 seconds remaining.
The Lions drove inside the red zone and set up shop, first and goal at the 2. The Storm defense had done well on goal line stands in 2008, but none was bigger or more exciting than this one. Four Lions plays would result in minus three yards. SOSU shut down Lions’ QB Terry Mayo’s option look on fourth down with :13 on the clock and secured the 28-24 victory. Now 3-1 in the North, the Storm was also 5-5 overall and at .500 for the first time since the season began. With three straight in the win column, somehow 1-4 seemed like a long time ago and a winning season could still be achieved. Southeastern would go back to Paul Laird Field to close out the campaign.
And the season ender, as it has been for so many years was arch-rival East Central. A piece of the division title was still possible, but really unlikely, as it would depend on Northeastern defeating Central, who was currently on a six-game winning streak and 4-0 in the North. But more than that was on the line: a 6-3 record in the conference and a 6-5 record overall – a winning record; something that eluded the Storm last season, even with the share of the North division title. And far beyond even those motivational factors, this was East Central. You play all season to win this game.
The Tigers led 10-0 at the break and 17-7 midway into the third. It was Rocky Phillips’ sack and safety that started to turn the tide back in the direction of the Storm. Then came the fourth quarter and the outburst of points.
43 point were put up in the final period and the Storm owned 29 of them. Brandon McCain tossed four touchdown passes and even received a pass to convert the final two-point play which would give Southeastern a 38-31 lead with two minutes left. The defense closed out the season appropriately enough when Sparks intercepted ECU’s Marcus Johnson in the endzone and put the win in the books.
Southeastern finished the 2008 season at a respectable 6-5. Coach Richards and his staff claimed their third winning season in four years in Durant. And though Central would win in Tahlequah and take the North this season, 4-1 in the division was very solid.
The Storm closed the book on a up and down season. It was one with more highs than lows. It was a successful year.

On the Air

We’re back on the air this weekend and everyone will be in studio.

Among the topics we’ll cover:
► Durant’s 27-18 loss to El Reno Friday night in the first round of the Class 5A football playoffs
► Preview of Southeastern’s Men’s and Women’s basketball seasons
► The opening of the new arena Saturday night matching up USAO and Southeastern
► And of course, J.B. will pull up some topic that no one expects…

Season in Review - Part 1

The 2008 season for the Savage Storm was definitely an adventure. A casual look at the schedule before the season began and one at the end with the scores in place would both result in the same description: dichotomy. And when all was said and done on the field, the team should come away with, among other feelings, one of success.
The first five games of the eleven game docket would not really set the tone for the season, but would still go a long way toward showing the Storm where they were in the overall scheme and what they would need to do when the games really counted.

Lots of credit has to go to Coach Ray Richards for putting Tarleton State on the schedule and challenging his team. What a tough way to open the season. It’s enough to get the upper echelon of the Lone Star South as a crossover game, but this game didn’t even count toward the conference standings. The Texans seem to have had Southeastern’s number in recent years and playing them in Stephenville is that much harder.
The Storm held its own for about a quarter and a half, but unfortunately things fell apart when, down only 10-7, they got the ball first and goal at the 1. Brandon McCain misfired in the direction of Daniel Nichols on first down and illegal procedure was called on the next down. The Storm couldn’t make it in on the next two plays and were forced to settle for 3 points. The Texans ran back the ensuing kickoff to unleash the barrage of unanswered points and 41 of them later the final score stood at 51-10. Tarleton players were way too strong to go down with just arm tackles.

When SOSU went to Wichita Falls the next Saturday, they would face a team that hadn’t lost to an Oklahoma institution in its last 15 attempts. The Storm kept that streak going, due in large part to turnovers and like the previous week, an inability to convert on third down (1 for 12 this week, 1 for 11 the week before) or tackle.
It seemed as though Southeastern was clearly the better team; they just couldn’t finish. Baylen Laury had a breakout game with 116 yards rushing and three TD’s. SOSU played tight with the Mustangs throughout and Johnny Seals’ interception and 43 yard return set up Laury’s third touchdown which should have given the Storm a one-point lead. But the extra point attempt was botched and the score remained 20-20 as the two teams went to the fourth quarter.
Each team had three full possessions in the final period and MSU finally broke through with the game winning score with only 21 seconds remaining. Midwestern St. 27, Southeastern 20; the Storm was now 0-2. Knowing the Abilene was remaining on the schedule, it seemed at this point as though the playoffs would have to wait for next year.

Finally, the Storm came home to play before a home crowd ready to get them into the win column and Eastern New Mexico provided a team that would allow for just that. The key factors of the day were Defense and Daniel.
ENMU got off to a 14-0 lead which they would take to the intermission, but it was as much of an indictment on the defense as it looked at first. The first TD came from a 32 yard fumble recovery returned for a score. The next points were notched when the Greyhounds FG attempt went awry and Michael Carrsaco picked up the loose ball and ran it across the goal line. Clearly, these were not convention scores and not entirely the fault of the defense, who had stepped it up and were able to stand their ground and finish the tackles. They would hold Eastern New Mexico scoreless in the second half, which was a sign of things to come.
Daniel Nichols also shined in this contest. His 166 yards receiving was enough to be listed as the 12th best single game receiving in Storm history. Nichols had two touchdowns, including one for 73 yards which was the longest play from scrimmage all year.
The Storm scored 29 unanswered pointed in the second half and won 29-14. The first win of 2008 was finally in the books.

Back at home again, Southeastern welcomed to Paul Laird Field the #4 team in Division II, the Abilene Christian Wildcats. After watching Billy Malone and company, I wanted to see the three teams that people thought were better than them.
The Storm seemed to be able to hang with the Wildcats early, but a disheartening turnover changed all that. Down 7-0, McCain and the offense drove 64 yards to the ACU 6. On second and goal, McCain’s pass was intercepted by Mike Kern at the 1 yard line and returned 99 yards for the touchdown. The entire tenor of the game was changed.
Malone was 17-19 passing for 317 yards, 3 touchdowns, and one interception. While Bernard Scott picked up 161 yards on 14 carries. Both should receive Harlon Hill notice.
Southeastern fell 59-10 and fell to 1-3 on the year. It would be time to start thinking about how to win the North again. The only problem standing in the way of those thought was that SOSU would have to first go on the road to face a Division I opponent the next week.

And what more could be said about Game 5 of the 2008 campaign – it was DI vs. DII. Yes the Northwestern State Demons were I-AA (or FCS, if you prefer), but DI nonetheless. And Southeastern was just outmatched.
Northwestern opened the game with a 95 yards kickoff return. They followed that with a rushing touchdown, a passing touchdown, a touchdown off a blocked punt, and an interception returned for a touchdown. With 12:36 remaining in the second quarter, the Demons had scored 5 TD’s in 5 separate ways and led 35-0.
Ultimately, seven different Northwestern players crossed the goal line and the final score was 63-12. History was made for the Storm and it wasn’t good. The 63 points was the second highest point total ever allowed. And it marked the first time in 97 seasons of SOSU football that a team had given up more than 50 points three times in one season.
The one positive was that the first part of the season was now done. At 1-4, frustration levels were rising, but if the boys could keep their heads collectively, there was still much to play for, and North division play would begin the next week.

Weekly Honors

The Savage Storm closed out the 2008 on a high note on Saturday with the 38-31 win over East Central. And finally got some conference recognition for what they’ve done in the last few weeks.
Senior QB Brandon McCain was tabbed as the LSC North Offensive Player of the Week and Junior punter Will White is the LSC North Special Teams Player of the Week.
Read about it here: http://www.lonestarconference.org/sports/fball/2008-09/weekly_releases/fbrelease111008.pdf
With all due respect to Brandon Noohi and the fine season that he has had, five consecutive weeks as the Offensive POW (including the last two weeks, in which he received the Special Teams POW as well) was enough.

All's Well That Ends Well

The 2008 Southeastern football season came to an end this season on Saturday with a 38-31 victory over arch-rival East Central. After a 1-4 start, the Savage Storm closed out the year 5-1. The team’s lone loss came at the hands of Central, who went to finish 5-0 in the Lone Star North and claim the division title. Southeastern’s four-year reign over the North ended, but the season itself was salvaged with Saturday’s win, which pushed the overall record above .500 to finish at 6-5.
Southeastern started out slow on Saturday in their home finale and continued at that pace throughout the first half. Three different defensive backs had passes thrown right at them and the balls simply passed through their hands. Chances like that don’t come along all of the time and the Coach Ray Richards had to wonder if those missed opportunities would come back to haunt them. Especially since a blocked field goal attempt and a missed field goal were among other things that left the Storm trailing 10-0 at the intermission.
Down 10 again with score 17-7 in the third quarter, the tide finally shifted as Rocky Phillips and the defense grabbed a safety for the first time this season and the ensuing possession led to the first of two Brandon McCain to Daniel Nichols touchdowns. This one went for 34 yards. But the two-point attempt failed and SOSU trailed 17-15.

Now at this point, I’m going to take a side trip. Normally, I wouldn’t extol the virtues of East Central players. Though quite frankly, normally the virtues of East Central aren’t presented for me to extol. But the courageous performance of Tiger quarterback Marcus Johnson warrants mention on this site. Any good thing that has come to ECU football this year should have his name somewhere near it. Johnson injured his leg early in the third quarter and it was made much worse later in the quarter. He probably shouldn’t have come back out on the field, but he did. Barely able to walk or even stand, he rallied his troops and kept his team in the game longer than they should have been in it. The tigers scored twice in the fourth. Ultimately, it wouldn’t be enough, but Johnson showed a lot of heart and character.
That first touchdown gave ECU 24-15 lead. The second McCain-Nichols TD connection was 38 yarder and with the extra point SOSU trailed by two again. Later in the quarter, McCain passed to TE Jerrod Temple, who would not be denied and carried defenders more than 10 yards in for the score. McCain found Nichols yet again, though this time it was in the form of the two-point conversion and the Storm found themselves on top for the first time in the game, 30-24, with 4:29 remaining.
The Tigers scored one final time when Johnson led his team 60 yards down the field. The drive was culminated when the quarterback found the 6’5” Justin Heimer above two Storm defenders. ECU snagged its final lead of the day. 2:41 was left on the clock. Plenty of time for McCain and company to take it back.
In fact, Southeastern needed only 36 seconds to 61 yards for the final touchdown and final 27 came when McCain found hometown favorite Bo White who took it in. And it was McCain who crossed the goal line last. On the two-point conversion, McCain pitched to TB Baylen Laury, who took a couple of steps to the right and threw back to his wide open quarterback and Southeastern regained the lead for good 38-31.

With the victory, Southeastern has now defeated their rivals five consecutive years. That streak is second only to the seven games that SOSU won from 1942-1951.
Brandon McCain threw for 300 yards and moved his season total to 2145, which was good enough for sixth place on the all-time single season passing performance list. He wasn’t alone in making a mark in the records.
Daniel Nichols two receiving touchdowns came on a day in which he had 119 yards receiving. This was his fourth 100+ yard performance in 2008 and his season total moved to 797, which stands as the 10th best single season of receiving yards in SOSU history. His 818 yards in 2007 is the seventh best season.
Also, Baylen Laury had 73 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the victory. His 2008 totals include 6 touchdowns rushing, 5 touchdowns receiving, and he even passed for one. The season total of 764 rushing yards is just out of the Top 10 seasons in Storm history.
Southeastern closed out with four straight wins. 4-1 in the North this year is par for the course – SOSU is now 20-5 over North division opponents in the last five seasons.
It’s been an up and down ride for Coach Richards and the Storm, but the victory over the Tigers, closing out with a four-game winning streak and finishing with a winning record again has to leave a good taste in everyone’s mouth. 2008 did in fact end well and the future is bright.

Picks Recap

The percentage of correct picks went up this week, even if the scores in most cases weren’t that close. It was 14-4 for the weekend and now 35-13 overall. I got the entire LSC schedule picked correctly. And for the first time in school history, the Vols lost to a Mountain West team, and have seven losses on the season for only the second time in school history (and the season isn’t finished yet).
Incidentally, the Penn State loss keeps my scenario for an Alabama-Oklahoma national championship intact.

Picks

This weekend's picks

●NCAA●
Oklahoma at Texas A&M – Trap game for the Sooners before the bye week. Can’t overlook the Aggies on the way, because the BCS Championship game is still in sight. Crimson and Cream 50-14
Oklahoma St. at Texas Tech – Cowboys are now on the national scene. Second BIG game of the year south of the Red River. However, the Red Raiders have lots of momentum following the big win over Texas. Tech 59-41
Baylor at Texas – Good Baylor quarterback. Not good enough. Horns are still ticked from last weekend. Texas 56-21
Kansas St. at Missouri – Tigers are still on track to win the North and could still pull off fifth place in the South. Mizzou 45-20
Kansas at Nebraska – The fans will try to stay warm in Lincoln, but the scoreboard won’t help. Jayhawks 35-21
Iowa St. at Colorado – If the bottom two teams from the North play and no one notices, does it still make a sound? Buffs 31-21
Wyoming at Tennessee – Fulmer’s farewell tour begins now. Vols go 3-0 in the season’s final games, starting with a beatdown of the Cowboys. Tennessee 38-14
Alabama at LSU – Saban’s back in Baton Rouge. I’m not expecting any banquets. ‘Bama stays perfect. Tide 31-17
Penn St. at Iowa – Trap game for the Nittany Lions, who aren’t favored by much in Iowa City. State squeaks by. PSU 27-21
Florida at Vanderbilt – Bowl eligibility will have to wait for the Commodores. If you thought the beating of the Bulldogs was bad… Gators 63-28
North Carolina St. at Duke – Normally I wouldn’t pick a Duke game. And this is Duke football! Las Vegas generally ignores Duke football. But David Cutcliffe is there. (You know, the guy that Tennessee should have given a wheelbarrow full of money to before he left to take this position this year.) Anyway, Duke is actually favored in a football game. And so, in the interest of Fair and Balanced, I will favor them also. Just this once… Blue Dummies 24-21

●NCAA Div. II●
East Central Okla. at Southeastern Okla. – It’s the 92nd game in what is known as the “Best Small College Rivalry in the State”. Storm has won four in a row and currently own the all-time series lead 43-42-6. Make it five in a row. Good Guys 35-20
Central Okla. at Northeastern St. – With a win, Bronchos win the Lone Star North outright. No five-way tie for the division title this year. UCO 48-14
Southwestern Okla. at Texas A&M-Commerce – Lions’ season has looked like this: L, W, L, W, L, W, L, W, L. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Commerce continues the trend through season’s end. A&M-C 28-14
Midwestern St. at Abilene Christian – If backup Stewart starts again or all-time ACU great Malone, it doesn’t matter. Abilene runs the regular season table. ACU 30-20
Tarleton St. at West Texas A&M – Attention on Ryan Leaf (and his dismissal) this week doesn’t deter the Aggies. West Texas wins this Top 20 matchup and heads for the playoffs. WTAMU 38-35
Texas A&M-Kingsville at Angelo St. – Garza to Taylor over and over. Rams are ready for basketball season. Javs 38-14
Eastern New Mexico at Okla. Panhandle St. – Greyhounds have to go out of conference to end the season on a high note. A relatively high note. ENMU 28-14

On The Air

OU kicks off in College Station at around 2:30 on ABC on Saturday, which means the normal Saturday morning lineup will be intact again this week.
Of course, we'll be talking about the final week of the high school football season and the huge Ardmore-Durant matchup for the final playoff spot in District 5A-2. And the Best Small College Rivalry in the State of Oklahoma as East Central comes to town to meet Southeastern. Go ahead and pencil in all of the heat that I will take over the Fulmer resignation at Tennessee.
And I would be shocked in J.B. didn't mention Ryan Leaf

Unfortunately, It Was Probably Inevitable

I saw it coming. I didn't want to, but I saw it coming.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3679810

Has anyone talked to David Cutcliffe?

One More Week

The first season is always a challenge, but the Eagles fought valiantly on the football field in their first year in the OSSAA. In fact, they were a play or two and a missed call or two (including a phantom offensive pass interference call at Tipton) from having four or five wins right now. As it stands, VLA is 2-5 in District C-2 and are 2-7 overall. The playoffs are out of the picture, but senior night is coming this weekend. Here’s to one more game in 2008 and to hoping for a victory over Grandfield on Friday.

Better Each Week

The Storm defense had not allowed a touchdown in two games, but their performance Saturday may have been the best one yet. Up only four points at Texas A&M-Commerce, Southeastern held the Lions at bay when they had the ball with a first-and-goal at the Storm 2-yard-line, and less than a minute to go. Four downs later, the Storm was able walk away with a hard earned victory, 28-24.
Southeastern is now 5-5 on the season and 3-1 in the Lone Star Conference North. It’s the first time this year since season’s open that the Storm are at .500.
Brandon McCain has four touchdown passes for the second consecutive game. The senior went 18 of 33 and threw for 263 yards with one pick. He has continued to get better and better as his final Southeastern campaign is coming to a close. This weekend’s contest was another example of how well McCain is managing the game. There were two fumbles - one was costly and one could have been - but there were very few poor decisions
Baylen Laury is starting to come into his own. He’s an incredibly versatile player who now has equaled his 5 rushing TD’s with 5 receiving TD’s. Laury carried the ball 13 times for 138 yards. His one reception of 17 yards went for a score.
And I can talk at length about the effort the defense has put forth over the last three weeks. 24 points showed on the scoreboard at the end of the game, but 7 of them came from a 55 yard touchdown return off one of McCain’s fumbles. Seven more came 2 plays after a blocked punt put the Storm defense on their own 15 to start their stand. They held the Lions scoreless three times out of six trips to red zone. And ultimately when it counted, held on to a four-point lead twice when Commerce took the ball inside the 20 yard line, and then inside the 2.
Recently, Southeastern has played like the team I thought could be this year. And so now, it all comes down to next weekend when East Central comes to town. A winning season and a shot at once again sharing the North division title are on the line. And who am I kidding? It’s East Central…

Picks Recap

The picks were a little better this week; I finished at 11-4.
That's 21-9 since I've started - a respectable 70%.

And here's the bottom line:
Tech is really good. Vols are not very good at all.
Sooners are better than I thought. Missouri may not be as good as I thought.
Nov. 22 and Nov. 29 will be exciting...

Picks

This weekend’s picks:

●NCAA●
Nebraska at Oklahoma – Game of the Century players honored this weekend. This one's good but not quite as close and with a different ending. Sooners 45-31
Texas at Texas Tech – One more tough test for the Horns. Unfortunately, they pass. And in doing so, beat the pass. Colt McCoys 41-38
Iowa St. at Oklahoma St. – Cowboys take out frustrations from last week on the poor Cyclones. Pokes 49-14
Missouri at Baylor – Missouri can still win the North - and will. Tigers roll. Mizzou 42-14
Kansas St. at Kansas – Jayhawks can still win the North - but won’t. Jayhawks get past the Wildcats. KU 31-24
Colorado at Texas A&M – After one of the longest scoring streaks in history came to a screeching halt last week against Missouri, Buffs get back on the board this week. It won’t be enough. A&M 34-20
Tennessee at South Carolina – Carolina has the edge at home, but Fulmer gets one more win over Spurrier. Vols 28-23
Georgia vs. Florida – Gators are still mad from last year’s loss. They’ll be mad again this year. UGA 41-40
Tulsa at Arkansas – Here’s to hoping that Petrino loses again and at some point in his life learns the meaning of the word “honor”. Hurricane 35-21

●NCAA Div. II●
Southeastern Okla. at Texas A&M-Commerce – Last three games have been decided by 4 points and included 3 overtimes. This one is no different. Storm 31-30
East Central at Central Okla. – Tigers’ coach is booted after big win over Southwestern. Go Logic! Bronchos 42-21
Northeastern St. at West Texas A&M – Aggies’ Null could set a school passing record today. WTAMU 56-7
Oklahoma Panhandle St. at Southwestern Okla. – Aggies take their annual beatdown from their former coach. Dawgs 35-14
Abilene Christian at Texas A&M-Kingsville – Javs can give a tough road test, but these Wildcats won’t fall. ACU 45-28
Eastern New Mexico at Midwestern St. – Greyhound fans are looking forward to basketball season. Mustangs 23-14