NJIT Upsets Michigan: Yeah, We Didn't Have That One, Either

((HT: BTN))

After Yale knocked off UConn yesterday, the HQ thought that this end of the college hoops season might be one of THOSE college basketball seasons.

We might be right...

NJIT (the New Jersey Institute of Technology) has been a traditional doormat since they promoted themselves up to Division I athletics. They've been around D1 since 2006-07 and, at one point, lost 51 in a row in their transitional phase. But the losing streak doesn't count in the stacks because of the classification.

As the only independent in D1, they have to take a lot of road game paychecks- one of them is the game at Crisler Arena against Michigan this afternoon. The end result comes up as one of the early season shockers.

Josh Lewin and Stephen Bardo have the recap


When you hit almost 60-percent from the floor and you're good from three-point, this is what you get sometimes...

Good for the Highlanders...

Here's how the voice of the Highlanders Matt Provence called the end of the game.

In A Day Of CFB Upsets #8 UCLA Gets Stunned By Utah

In a week of college football upsets that began out West Thursday night in Eugene, Oregon it ends
down the West Coast in Pasadena, California.

"We said, ‘Hey, have you seen what’s going on last Thursday with Arizona and Oregon, and the upsets that were taking place?’" Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We have a chance to be right in that same conversation. Our players knew it. They knew that there were upsets going on.”

The Utah Utes came to the Rose Bowl and thanks to an Andy Phillips 29 yard field goal with 34 seconds left shocked UCLA 30-28 capping off a week where the college football spun out of control.


“I’m proud of our players and our coaches." Whittingham said.  "That was a gutsy performance. It was a tough, hard-fought win."

"Obviously, this is a disappointing loss." UCLA head coach Jim Mora said.  "My hat is off to Utah. They played a great game and beat us. We all take responsibility for that loss."

UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns.

In a close game Utah was able to put together the final scoring drive late in the fourth quarter.

Behind the rushing of Kendal Thompson and Devontae Booker the Utes were able to put together a 10 play 63 yard drive that took just under four minutes to set up game winning kick by Phillips.




"I’m trying to put our guys in position to win." Whittingham said.  "It’s a great job by our players. I can’t say enough about them."

“And Andy Phillips, I mean, what more can you say about him? He’s got ice water in his veins."  Whittingham said.

ICYMI: The Dirty Dozen Gets Scrambled

((HT: ESPN/SEC on CBS/Fox Sports/Northwestern Football)

Did you ever have one of those days where absolutely everything you thought was an absolute lock came crashing down around your ankles and left you in such a state that your pants wouldn't fit anymore...???

Let's face it... all hell broke loose at the top of the rankings (whether you choose to look at Brother Phil's Dozen or some other source) and sent it all in the blender for the foreseeable future...

Examples...

Starting in Oxford... it was proven once again that Alabama has SERIOUS special teams issues in their loss to Ole Miss where Bo Wallace would keep the football and stash it someplace after the game was over as he tried to escape the throng that stormed the field.
Oklahoma decided that a road game against TCU in their new digs was a great idea... It wasn't...and plays like this one Gary Patterson pulled out of the back of the playbook help. What kind of flaws do USC have...??? There seems to be the one glaring one right now... Late game focus... it came into play as Arizona State came from behind to surprise them Some would think that Miss State's win over Texas A&M was an upset... The HQ doesn't think so as their suspect defense was exposed and Dak Prescott went off in a 48-31 win But here's one last one for you to think about as we head to Sunday... Northwestern hosted Wisconsin and they weren't good hosts- beating the Badgers 20-14 in a bit of a mucker it looks like...

Maybe Oregon Should Stop Playing Arizona When They're Ranked (UPDATED W/Locker Room Reax)

((HT: Pac-12 Network))

You could see the signs early on...

Constant pressure in Marcus Mariota's face and keeping all the receiver activity in front of the secondary. In addition to that, the Arizona defense made sure that Mariota didn't get loose in his own and break off a big run.

Arizona traded punches with Oregon and won in Autzen Stadium- again...

Whaddya want to bet that folks ni Michigan are REALLY rueing the idea that Rich Rod ended up in Tucson and wasn't around in Ann Arbor for all this Brady Hoke mess...


Great strip and steal by Scooby Wright and:

WHAT IS UP WITH THOSE UNIFORMS???!!!

Yes, the HQ knows despite their hideousness, they will sell out and some of the proceeds will hopfully go to a great cause.

Here's the reaction in the Arizona locker room...
((HT: Arizona Wildcats their own selves))

Yes, We're Showing Yale Highlights...

((HT: WTNH-TV))

This wasn't really one of those games that comes up and bites you as a reason to be shown under a normal circumstance

But, it turned out to be one of the games of the day
John Pierson has the context


The HQ has always been one of those groups that enjoys telling the story of the underdog- and when a Division I-AA squad knocks off a Division I squad... doesn't matter who, where, or when... we'll show it...

It's also the 100th anniversary of the Yale Bowl, so it gives us another reason to tell the story of Coach Reno and what he and the Elis pulled off yesterday.

How About Another FCS Win Over FBS...???

((HT: Patrick Netherton his own self))

We include this one because we can...

P-Netherton is the pay-by-play voice for the Northwestern State (LA) Demons and they were on the road last night at Joe Aillet Stadium to take on Louisiana Tech.

All we needed was a last-second field goal for the upset
The HQ got it...


Well called, sir... congratulations...

And that win puts a big dent in the La Tech bowl ideas...

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))

Has Brady Hoke Reached Turbo-Fired Status Yet...???

((HT: Pac-12 Network))

So, just how fired is Brady Hoke right now...???

We ask because after a 26-10 loss to UTAH... yes, UTAH!!!

Rich Rodriguez is 4-0 and Michigan is not...

Here's the big story from the Big House


So, the HQ guesses you could say both the weather and Utah stopped the Wolverines.

How Does This Happen? Indiana Beats Mizzou in Mizzou

No, really, this happened today. We aren't making it up to make the Little 10 and Jim Delany happy.

Somehow,  the lowly Indiana Hoosiers pulled off the first Big 10 upset...or victory of significance this season.

The Hoosiers disposed of a stunned group of Missouri Tigers 31-27 Saturday afternoon.

Tevin Coleman ran for 132 yards and a touchdown, but aside from that, nobody did anythings significant in this game to turn it one way or the other.

There was only 1 turnover and Missouri had the ball for over 33 minutes, yet the 18th-ranked Tigers still lost.

The Hoosiers were coming off a disheartening loss to Bowling Green, yet they had enough to beat the defending SEC East Champs. Setting off tons of head shaking amongst the SEC acolytes who cannot conceive of a Big 10 team beating them.

Yet it happened...

--shrugging shoulders-- Maybe this will be the game that turns the corner for the Little 10, Michigan was again getting beat, search parties are still looking for Ohio State. Only Michigan State left one of the so-called "Power 5" conference teams with any hope of getting to the College Football playoff.

Here's the game-winning TD by D'Angelo Roberts with :22 left in the game.

OSG CFB: Can We Put The MAC In The "Power 5" Now...???

((HT: Falcons Athletics their own selves))

Bowling Green had not hosted a Big 10/12 squad since 2008, and after today, it might be a long while before it happens ever again.

The Falcons beat a 10/12 team for the first time at home in their win over Indiana, 45-42.

QB James Knapke went 46-for-73 on the day and the Falcons had another 40 plays besides those involving their QB.
The two teams combined for 1,153 yards of net offense- 742 yards of that was passing yards.
Bowling Green only punted once...

Here's the highlights from BGSU's point-of-view


For the record, Bowling Green will continue their walk through the Big 10/12 Legends Division (or is it the Leaders Division???) with their trip to Madison to play Wisconsin next weekend.

Here's head coach Dino Babers discussing his walk through the power conference not called the MAC

OSG CFB: Can You Say "Blacksburg Letdown?"

((HT: ACCDN))

It was one of those thoughts in the back of your mind...

Admit it...

After Virginia Tech had one of THOSE wins last week in Columbus taking advantage of a freshman quarterback thrown into the fire, today's game against a very bracket-bustery East Carolina squad had all the looks of a slip.

Sure enough...

They would have had to come back from the largest margin in Frank Beamer's history for a win against the Pirates.

Didn't happen...

Here's the good stuff for East Carolina to hang on their mantle for a quality win


“As good as we were last week playing the deep ball, we were equally as bad this week,” Virginia Tech DC Bud Foster said after the game. “We had a good plan, we just couldn’t make a play on a deep ball all day. They had a freakish play on their first drive that got things going and then they made a couple big plays, but from that point until their last drive, we played our tail off.”

Next week, Virginia Tech will host Georgia Tech in their ACC opener- the Wreck survived their game against Georgia Southern (much to Brother Phil's dismay) 42-38 in Atlanta Saturday afternoon.

OSG CFB: Wahoos Get 1st Win Vs. Ranked Team Since 2011

((HT: ACCDN))

It took a while, but Virginia beat the Fighting Petrinos for their first win against a ranked team in three seasons.

The biggest points for Mike London and his job came with a little under four minutes left in regulation from the foot of Ian Frye


The conference first for Virginia against a ranked team since the 14-13 win in Tallahassee November 19th, 2011, and was their first in their last 11 games against ACC competition.

Virginia and Louisville are both now 2-1 on the season with the Cavaliers 1-0 and the Cards 0-1...

Just How Bad Is Texas Football Right Now...???

And by "Texas," the HQ means specifically the Longhorns...

We get that Charlie Strong is disposing of a lot... No, A LOT!!!... of Mack Brown's recruits in a cleaning house of massive proportions- 8 so far with four more players that were "suspended" for the game against BYU Saturday night...

The larger questions was: Just how many guys were left to chase after Cougars QB Taysom Hill...???

Answer: Not enough...

It was ugly and it was the most points allowed by a Texas team since they gave up 66 to UCLA

Charlie Strong took the blame for the "embarassment..."
((HT: KVUE-TV))
KSL-TV's Alex Kirry gives the game-day grades, and the HQ imagines they're a lot of "A's"

Cupcake Saturday: Can We Swap #MACtion For The Big 10...???

((HT: Big Ten Network))

It was ugly...

Michigan State lost to Oregon as the Ducks scored the last 28 points in Eugene
Notre Dame shut out Michigan
Virginia Tech took care of Ohio State in front of the largest crowd in the history of the Horseshoe

But, it was silly elsewhere...

Rutgers beat Howard
Nebraska needed a late TD to beat McNeese
Penn State barely beat Akron
Minnesota beat Middle Tennessee
Maryland turned the ball over six times but a blocked punt gave them a win over South Florida

The bigger news came from two MAC teams that held on...

Central Michigan sprinted out to an early lead over Purdue in Lafayette and beat the Boilermakers- who are living up to the old nickname of "Pur-don't..."
((HT: CMU Sports))


The other not-so-shocking shocker was Northern Illinois taking care of Northwestern
Defense from guys like Paris Logan helps


So, in a day that could have solidified the Big Ten/12 as one of the power conferences this season, all Saturday did was confuse the issue and give one conference a big "I told you so..." for scheduling prowess. It proved that some teams are bad, some need work, and some just aren't there yet.

This Didn't Go Over Well: Iowa Sportscaster Slams NDSU Before Iowa State Game

((HT: WHO-TV/96.5TheFox))

If anyone understands the value of the face and heel relationship, it's the HQ...

So, Week 1 is always reserved for the paycheck games mostly... and a lot of folks in the midwest stared at North Dakota State visiting Iowa State as one of those games that was supposed to be chance for the Clones to get the duke. NDSU lost their head coach Craig Bohl to Division I- even as one of the powerhouse schools in I-AA they still had a lot of losses to graduation.

And this came across the airwaves in Des Moines, courtesy of Andy Fales and WHO-TV
Fales wasn't a fan of this game being played period.


A lot of good that did as NDSU pounded Iowa State by 20.

The HQ gives Fales credit for fanning the flames and waving the flag for the home team- even if he was way off...

OSG Prem: Manchesters And Everton Have Rough Days

((HT: BPL on NBCSN))

It was just one of those days... and that's what makes the premier League what it is...
Just when you think you have everything figured out- forget it...

First, Burnley was hosting Manchester United- Easy one for the Reds, right...???
Nope... a goalless draw...

Maybe van Gaal was right. It might take a year...
((HT: Beanyman Sports))


City didn't do any better on a day where they could have had SERIOUS bragging rights. Mark Hughes returned to his old haunt coaching Stoke against the Citizens and he came away with the 1-0 win. Once again... shocking...


The best squad money can buy is pitting up some serious numbers already. So much for Diego Costa being out for as many as six weeks with that hamstring he hurt in training. The Blues put up 6 against Tim Howard and Everton. Costa put in two on his own...


Elsewhere, a really mad Harry Redknapp lost Loic Remy in a sale before the transfer deadline. But QPR got the 1-0 win today over Sunderland.
Neil Warnock and Crystal Palace went toe-to-toe with Newcastle- both teams left with a point after a 3-3 draw.
Nathan Dyer put two on West Brom and the Swans added another just because in a Swansea City 3-0 win.
Southampton found some offense somewhere and won 3-1 over West Ham...

UTSA Roadrunners Race Past Houston

The University of Houston was all ready to unveil their brand new TDCEU Stadium but the Texas-San

Antonio Roadrunners ruined it by having the audacity to win the game.

And win it in a blowout defeating the Cougers 27-7.


"Everyone has big wins but this being a good Houston team, close to home, and we have 15 players from this city on our team, it feels good to have this win." UTSA head coach Larry Coker said.

UTSA forced six Houston turnovers, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries.





Plus the Cougars had a tough time moving ball on the Roadrunner defense on gaining 208 yards of total offense.

"I give UTSA credit."  Houston head coach Tony Levine said. "They out coached us, they out played us, they out executed us and we have some work to do."

OSG Prem: van Gaal Now Says It Will Take A Year

((HT: Sky Sports))

It was weird to say the very least...

Manchester United got bounced from the Capital One Cup yesterday. Which, in and of itself, may not have been a surprise at some point but it was the manner in which they got bounced.

The loss was to League One side MK Dons 4-0...

Yup... 4-0...

And while Manchester United were without a lot of its stars in that line-up, it's still the principle of the thing.


So, we have gone from a third of the season to a full year...

That can't be good...

Bellis Wins In Flushing At The Age of 15

((HT: ESPN/USTA))

CiCi Bellis became the youngest winner in the US Open since 1996 with her three-set win over 12th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova

Here's the highlights


She rallied from down a break in the third set for a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win. Anna Kournikova was 15 in 1996 and not since Mary Joe Fernandez was that age in 1986 had an American won at such a young age.

Wild Day At Wimbledon: Nadal, Sharapova, And The Williams Sisters Gone

((HT: Wimbledon/Shane B's Vine))

First, Maria Sharapova got bumped out in three sets by Angeline Kerber. The 19-year-old Aussie Nick Kyrgios has taken another huge, ranked player down in Rafa Nadal.

After saving 9 match points in his win over Richard Gasquet, Kyrgios took out the 2-time champ in four sets: 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. He hit 37 aces and he's the first to get to the quarters in his tourney debut in a decade.


Obviously, Kyrgios, the 144th-ranked player in the world won't forget this moment at the All England Club


And, then, a very wobbly Venus Williams was encouraged to withdraw her sister-pairing in women's doubles
Evidence below


She was diagnosed with a viral illness.