Pac-12 Recap: Turned Into The Wild West For A Day

((HT: Pac-12 Network))

It seemed to be all about comebacks and close ones Saturday...

First, for those of us who play fantasy college football Wazzu's Connor Halliday is usually a solid selection. Last week was no different as Halliday threw for 4 TD's ana orchestrated a fourth quarter comeback as the Cougs beat Utah 28-27.

Here's Ted Robinson and Glenn Parker to discuss


And Cal and Colorado didn't seem to be able to stop each other for an entire afternoon. The game 14 TD passes by the two teams and it took six quarters to decide a game that had 115 total points.

Kevin Calabro and Yogi Roth discuss

OSG NAIA: Edward Waters Comes From 34 Down To Win

((HT: Joshua Jackson))

J-Jacks is a voice in Jacksonville with the Sharks and Edward Waters College- whom the HQ has seen play at Raines High School against Shorter in their NAIA days.

He was around in Pikeville, Kentucky a week and a half ago when EWC was down 48-14 with seven minutes to go in regulation.

What happened was amazing and really cool as they came back to win 49-48

Here's the highlights from the last seven minutes that include a TD pass with no time left on the clock in regulation and a really tough point after touchdown that followed


Admittedly, UPike is in a big transition period this year. Allan Holland, Junior was named interim head football coach in mid-August. Dudley Hilton had to step down for personal and health reasons. The Bears, with the loss, are now 1-3 with another loss this weekend to Lindsey Wilson.

EWC is 2-2 before this weekend's game with Point.

OSG Prem: Okay, Manchester United Isn't All The Way Back...

((HT: BPL on NBCSN))

After the dismantling of QPR last weekend by Manchester United, the HQ had raised an eyebrow thinking that maybe Louis van Gaal had the team going in the right direction.

The HQ may have sold the return a little soon...

After leads of 2-0 and 3-1, Leicester City came storming back at King Power to score FOUR UNANSWERED to beat the Reds 5-3. A lot of people thought the final score was a misprint, but it's not.

In a weekend that was strange to say the very least (like West Brom's win over Spurs also on Sunday), this seemed to be the exclamation point in the whole table.

Here's goal five off a PK reinforcing Ulloa's importance for the Foxes


Louis van Gaal, as you saw at the end of the last highlight, was befuddled and beside himself...
((HT: BBC Sport/Beanyman Sports))

And Then John Brooks Went And Broke Twitter As USMNT Wins

((HT: FIFA/gsports2's Vine))

Ayew scored off a brilliant pass from Gyan to tie the game at ones, but in the 87th minute, John Brooks (the second of three Klinsmann subs) scored on the corner entry from Graham Zusi (the last Klinsmann sub)

And reacted thusly...


Lesson here: Do not question Jurgen Klinsmann and his substutions EVER AGAIN!!!

Team USA beat Ghana 2-1 in their opening rounder...

Next up a Portugal-less Pepe over the weekend...

OSG MiLB: Clinton Comes Back From 17-1 Down For Win

((HT: Clinton Herald))

A seven-run second and nine-run fifth helped the Midwest League's Burlington Bees to a 17-1 lead heading to the bottom of the inning. So, you're thinking, everything is locked up... coast from here... and it's all good...

Not so much... The Clinton LumberKings scored 19 unanswered runs for the 20-17, 12-inning win.

Clinton 2B Lonnie Kauppilla had never pitched professionally and hadn't pitched since high school. He retired the Bees in order in the 12th. Obviously, he picked up his first career save.

Josh Jackson over at milb.com caught up with him:

"Being up by one and knowing I was going to have to pitch when I haven't pitched in five years, I really wanted to get us some extra runs," the Stanford product said. "I was really glad that I was able to get that hit."

Zachary James of the Herald caught up with LumberKings manager Scott Steinemann very early in the morning in Iowa


Just so you know- thinking this is some kind of fluke- Clinton also overcame an eight-run deficit on Saturday, scoring five times with two outs in the ninth inning to beat Wisconsin, 16-13. So there's that history lesson for every other team in the Midwest League.

The official game time was just under 3-and-a-half hours and the recorded attendance of 558 will grow exponentially from this moment forward.

The HQ, actually, will admit to listening to the 12th inning from the Bees point-of-view...

Pretty wild stuff...

One Hell Of A Rally By Marist Red Foxes Scoring 5 Points In Final 7 Seconds

Never underestimate how unpredictable college basketball can be.

With 12 seconds left in the game Siena was leading Marist 64-60 and the Red Foxes needed two possessions to win the game.

What happened in those final 12 seconds was heartbreak for Siena as Marist put together one heck of a rally.

Here's the video: Thanks NCAA College Basketball:


Here's post game and more highlights.  Thanks Red Fox Network

So, This Is How You Start Bowl Season...

((HT: ESPN))

Making up a 22-point deficit in the final three minutes to win the New Mexico Bowl...

Jared Roberts made a 41-yard field goal as time expired and Colorado State beat Washington State 48-45 in the New Mexico Bowl.

But, it took a furious comeback that included a strip on defense and a two-point conversion that caught everyone by surprise...
And one that survived a review...
((HT: CSU Rams Athletics))


Garrett Grayson threw for 369 yards and Kapri Bibbs ran for 169 yards (overcame his turf toe) and 3TD's for Colorado State, who finish 8-6. Connor Halliday threw six touchdown passes (5 of them in the first half, by the way) and finished with 410 yards for Washington State, who finish 6-7.

And should be the early poster child for teams that shouldn't be going to a bowl in the first place...

The HQ would set a rule that any team that could finish the season below .500 with a bowl loss shouldn't go to a bowl...

ICYMI: An Exciting, Imploding Week In The NFC Least...

((HT: NFL on FOX/NFL on CBS))

The Washington Redskins, inexplicably, went for two after scoring a touchdown with less than 20 seconds to go in regulation and pulled defeat from the jaws of overtime- losing in Atlanta 27-26...

QB Kirk Cousins did the team thing and fell on the sword for not getting the two-point conversion done...

“We just didn’t do enough to win,” Cousins said postgame. “Two interceptions that were on me. A fumble that you don’t want to have. The failed two-point conversion. That was on me. Those are four plays right there, that if they go differently, it’s probably a much better result.”

Dead head coach walking Mike Shanahan, decided he had had enough very quickly...
((HT: CSN Washington))


But that doesn't even to cover it...

Dallas was up 24-3 at the half and lost 37-36- the most prolific scorer on the day for the Cowboys was kicker Dan Bailey.

The biggest mistake of all the mistakes the Cowboys made in the second half was also the last mistake when Romo threw a pick that caused Dez Bryant to leave the field with 1:21 left in the game...

See...???


Dead head coach walking Jason Garrett threw his QB under the bus:

"The idea was to run the ball and make them use the clock; run it and if we throw it, throw high percentage passes, keep the clock going, and make them use their time outs," Garrett explained.

Romo changed the play...

"It's a run call that we have," Romo said. "We'll have it up three to five or six times a game. That specific time, obviously when I look back now, you should run the ball, because you throw an interception. You should never give them a chance to have the ball."

"It's something we have accompanying some runs if he gets a bad look; that's what happened on the interception," Garrett said. "It was run call, though, that he threw the ball on."

The fans had a meltdown of biblical proportions...
((HT: WFAA-TV))

Now, all that missing is Shea in Irving...

Conner Shaw Rallies Gamecocks Off The Bench For 27-24 Win Over Missouri In Double Overtime

Conner Shaw after 27-24 win over Missouri

South Carolina quarterback Conner Shaw wasn't suppose to play against Missouri.  A sprained left knee was causing Shaw to watch the game from the sidelines.

Shaw and the Head Ball Coach didn't like what they were seeing.

The Gamecocks committed three turnovers, gave up the ball on down twice and missed a field goal.  

Mid-way through the third quarter Missouri was up 17-0 and Tiger fans were thinking about a trip to Atlanta and the SEC Championship Game on early December.

The Gamecocks' season was on life support.

Enter Conner Shaw.

"I went over and asked him if he could play and he said sure."  South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier said.  "I said we had to make the move now. Dylan was just a little off here and there. I thought he had a few guys open and he zinged them out, but he threw some good balls. It just wasn't his night and Connor gave us a little sharpness in there."

It turned out to be perhaps and season defining move by the Head Ball Coach.  Shaw relieved Dylan Thompson and led the Gamecocks to a pair of touchdowns and a field goal force overtime.

Then on the overtime Shaw led South Carolina to a touchdown and a field goal and that was enough.

Missouri kicker Andrew Baggatt missed a 24 yard field goal off the left upright and South Carolina escaped Columbia, Missouri with their season saved for the time being.




“God is great, man,” Shaw said. “I wasn’t even supposed to be playing this game. Give all the glory up top.”



Shaw finished the night 20-of-29 for 201 yards and three touchdowns.

“It was a game I thought we were dead," Spurrier said. “It just worked out tonight. That’s all you can say, it was meant to be.”



"I thought it was a very courageous effort on his part". Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel said.

South Carolina is back in the race for the SEC Championship.  

It was a stunning loss for Missouri.

"Our guys are certainly frustrated and disappointed, and they should be." Pinkel said.  "They are competitors and we will have to bounce back from this."

Utah Comes From Behind To Defeat Rival Utah State

In the third quarter Utah was down 23-14 to Utah State and it looked as if the Aggies would win their second in a row over the Utes.

That didn't happen.  Utah quarterback Travis Wilson led the Utes to four scoring drives in the second half in their 30-26 win over the Aggies.







“The team responded well tonight" Utah quarterback Travis Wilson said. We never doubted ourselves and kept our confidence up. We were able to make some big plays downfield that set us up well for our touchdowns.”

Wilson threw for 302 yards against Utah State, only the second time in his career.

 Our guys showed resiliency, especially after getting down 23-14, we didn’t fold and kept fighting." Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said.  "In the end it was just enough to get the win.”