NCAA 2004 - Canada's University of Western Ontario Joins the NCAA Dynasty

[NoSkillz]

NCAA Shocker: Canada's University of Western Ontario Accepts MAC Invite; Kent State Kicked Out

London, ON (AP) -
The NCAA announced today that the University of Western Ontario, a London, Ontario based school, has accepted an invitation to compete in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) for the 2003 football season. This coincides with the announcement that Kent State would not be offered a position with the conference for the upcoming season and will have to drop to Division 1-AA for the 2003 season. "We've had a long history with the MAC and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed" offered Laing Kennedy, Kent State's Director of Athletics. "We've obviously not played well enough over the last number of years to stay in this league but will work hard to get back in a timely fashion."

"This has truly been a groundbreaking day in the world of collegiate sports", announced Rick Chryst, the MAC commissioner. "We are thrilled with the prospect of having Western compete in the MAC and feel that this addition will add some intrigue and exposure to our fledging conference."

"What a great day for Canadian athletics!", proclaimed Larry Haylor, the newly announced Athletic Director for the University of Western Ontario Mustangs. "I want to thank Mr. Chryst for this wonderful opportunity he's provided for our institution. It is every team's goal to match up against the best that sport can offer and we have been afforded that chance."

The University of Western Ontario is a seven-time National Champion in Canada and a 26-time provincial champion. Haylor was the winningest coach in CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) history with 154 wins but decided to hang up the clipboard and accept the A.D. position with UWO after the decision was made to jump to the NCAA. "I've been a coach all my life but the chance to be the A.D. was something I couldn't turn down", Haylor said. I know we've got a keeper with this kid anyway, motioning toward new Mustang coach Matthew Bosela.

"A dream come true", Bosela answered when asked about his new job. "I look forward to putting a great system in place, a winning system. A system that kids will thrive in; a system they will love playing in." Bosela added "We certainly have a lot of work to do. Recruiting will be very important and we will have to be aggressive with Canadian talent in addition to being creative in recruiting US kids to Canada." Mr. Bosela concluded with the following promise: "These kids will play hard every play, whether its during the game or on the practice field. It may take some time, but the Western Mustangs will eventually be a force in the NCAA."

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

Hi Larry,

As requested, you'll find information on the Mustangs Offensive squad. Our coaches put this info together after our summer training and practice sessions. We ranked all players on a 1-100 scale based on 18 skill attributes.

Quarterbacks -
Shelton Tanner - So(RS) 6'1" 238lbs - 59 Overall
Brandon Hargrove - Jr 6'3" 180lbs - 57 Overall
Fred Hobbs - So 6'3" 215lbs - 55 Overall
Quarterback is a weak position for this team. Tanner is strong and has the best accuracy of the three arms, but Hargrove may be a better choice due to better mobility. We may have to rotate both in and see who wants the job most. Hobbs has the strongest arm of the three but is really green and will need time to develop.

Running Backs -
Jerrell Bearden (HB) - So 6'1" 230lbs - 70 Overall
Randall Briggs (HB) - Sr 5'11" 189lbs - 62 Overall
Ray MacPherson (FB) - So 6'1" 230lbs - 58 Overall
Lorenzo Hanson (HB) - So 5'7" 190lbs - 56 Overall
Lance Westbrook (FB) - Jr 6'0" 237lbs - 54 Overall
Bearden is a quality player and we will rely on him heavily during the season. He's fast, strong and is dangerous catching the ball out of the backfield. Briggs will give us depth and provide Bearden with a breather or two during games. Nothing of note at fullback.

Receivers -
Geoff Kendrick (WR) - Jr 6'1" 180lbs - 64 Overall
Jesse Warren (WR) - So 6'2" 210lbs - 59 Overall
Stuart Foreman (WR) - Fr(RS) 6'0" 185lbs - 59 Overall
Austin Kemp (WR) - Fr(RS) 6'0" 175lbs - 57 Overall
Alfred Rodriguez (WR) - So 5'11" 165lbs - 55 Overall
Damian Suggs (TE) - Jr(RS) 6'4" 227lbs - 50 Overall
Simeon Dangerfield (TE) - So(RS) 6'3" 220lbs - 44 Overall
Not too bad here. Kendrick should be solid for a couple years and Warren looks like he could be formidable running slants and crossing routes. Foreman and Kemp will be future starters. We'll likely redshirt Rodriguez, as five wide receiver sets won't be utilized much this year. The Tight End position doesn't look promising, with both Suggs and Dangerfield weak in both run and pass blocking. A definite must for upgrading in the offseason!

Offensive Line -
Sherman Ball (RG) - So(RS) 6'3" 275lbs - 62 Overall
Bennie Hester (LG) - Jr 6'3" 278lbs - 57 Overall
Marty Earl (RG) - Jr 6'0" 287lbs - 57 Overall
Robbie Parrish (LT) - Jr(RS) 6'6" 315lbs - 55 Overall
DeAndre Rawls (LT) - Sr 6'1" 264lbs - 55 Overall
Wilbert Ratliff (C) - Jr 5'10" 278lbs - 55 Overall
Cody Connor (C) - Fr(RS) 6'4" 301lbs - 55 Overall
Darvin Hicks (RT) - Fr 6'3" 287lbs - 53 Overall
Jess Bates (LG) - So 6'1" 295lbs - 51 Overall
JaMaine Howe (RT) - Jr 6'3" 300lbs - 50 Overall
Ball is our best O-Lineman, with the head and talent to improve into a top-caliber player. Hester will man the left side, with Earl and Bates providing backup. Tackle is a bit weaker, with Parrish and Rawls the likely starters. We have a good one potentially in Hicks and will likely redshirt him. Howe will back up the starters. Offensive line will be addressed at recruiting time for sure.

My next report will provide information on our defensive squad.
M.B.

[tucker342]

wow, looks like you have a pretty crappy team....

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

Hello again Larry,

Here you'll find information on our defensive squad for the 2003 season. Once again, we've ranked each player on a 1-100 scale.

Defensive Line -
Darvin Billings (DT) - Jr(RS) 6'0" 283lbs - 74 Overall
Donald Murray (DT) - Sr 6'5" 272lbs - 70 Overall
Kelly Huff (RE) - Jr 6'4" 248lbs - 58 Overall
Kris Sharpe (DT) - So 6'1" 283lbs - 54 Overall
Anthony Crowell (DT) - Sr 5'10" 248lbs - 54 Overall
Dan Wall (LE) - Sr 6'3" 250lbs - 54 Overall
Robbie Potts (DT) - Fr 6'3" 279lbs - 53 Overall
Norm Robbins (DT) - So 6'1" 245lbs - 49 Overall
Thomas Moore (RE) - Sr 6'4" 246lbs - 48 Overall
Defensive Tackle is a strength of this team, with Billings and Murray among the most talented players on the team. Our incredible depth at tackle will allow us to redshirt two players: Potts and Robbins. Run stuffing will be strong! I wish I could say the same thing about our outside pass rush. We are woefully thin at end and have two seniors, so this will be given huge priority during the recruiting season.

Linebackers -
Roger Person (ROLB) - Sr 6'2" 220lbs - 57 Overall
Fabian Cobb (MLB) - So 6'0" 233lbs - 54 Overall
Collin McClintock (ROLB) - So 6'2" 201lbs - 51 Overall
Rayshun Anderson (LOLB) - Jr 6'1" 225lbs - 50 Overall
Guy Fernandez (LOLB) - Jr 6'2" 240lbs - 50 Overall
Gerren Fox (MLB) - Jr 6'0" 228lbs - 47 Overall
No depth here. Person and McClintock will man the outside, with Cobb patrolling the middle in our 4-3 defensive scheme. I'd love to redshirt McClintock but our current depth won't give me that opportunity.

Secondary -
Sean Smith (CB) - Sr 6'3" 201lbs - 74 Overall
Kevin McGrady (FS) - So 6'1" 180lbs - 64 Overall
Neal McPherson (CB) - Jr 5'10" 184lbs - 63 Overall
Jayson Cochran (SS) - Sr 5'10" 190lbs - 59 Overall
Nolan Weber (CB) - So(RS) 6'2" 196lbs - 55 Overall
Andy Hutchins (FS) - Jr 6'1" 185lbs - 55 Overall
Roberto Jones (CB) - Fr 5'8" 175lbs - 54 Overall
Micky Erickson (CB) - So 5'7" 160lbs - 53 Overall
Smith is a force at corner, with great size and team-leading speed. McPherson will man the other corner, with Weber and Erickson providing backup. We'll redshirt the freshman Jones. We have absolutely no depth at safety but McGrady should develop into a fine player.

I'll provide a report on our special teams in my next report. Hope things are going well in your new position!
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Hey Tucker,

Yeah, we're the proverbial "Cupcake" as far as team ratings go. One Star Prestige. This will certainly be a challenge!

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

Good Evening Larry,

Now on to our special teams.

Kicking -

Bryan Walker (K) - So 6'1" 170lbs - 68 Overall
Harrison Snyder (P) - Fr 6'0" 180lbs - 49 Overall
Well, it'll be an uphill climb this year for sure. I'm very concerned about the punting situation. We will not be a force on offense for awhile and will definitely need a better punter to offset this. As it stands, we're stuck with Snyder for now. Walker has a nice leg and is pretty accurate as well and should be one of our point leaders.

As far as specialists go, I'm inclined to go with our stalwart corner Sean Smith as a Kick Returner. I obviously don't want him to get injured but he's our best bet and we'll need all the help we can get with respect to field position. I will put one of the freshman receivers at the other KR position (likely Austin Kemp). I'll use Kemp at Punt Return as well.
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

Scheduling Information

Hi Larry,

I've been able to sign two-year 'home and home' contracts with three schools.
- Harvard will come to London in our NCAA-opener in week one and we'll visit them next year.
- Prairie View A&M will come to London this year and we'll be visiting their school in 2005.
- We'll visit Youngstown State this year and we'll play host to them next season.
I was also able to sign a deal to play Navy in Annapolis, Maryland in Week Nine. They had no interest in coming to London next year, indicating that they'd like to see how things go this year first.

I talked to MANY teams about UWO, but we'll have to get better before most Division 1-A schools give us consideration for their schedules.

Anyway, here's how the Mustangs schedule looks for 2003:
WEEK OPPONENT
1 HARVARD
2 at Akron
3 PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
4 at Youngstown State
5 OPEN
6 UCF
7 BALL STATE
8 at Marshall
9 at Navy
10 MIAMI(OH)
11 OPEN
12 at Ohio
13 at Bowling Green
14 BUFFALO
15 OPEN
I really see the yearly matchup with Buffalo being big from a rivalry-building standpoint. They're really close to the US/Canada border and their talent level is relatively similar to ours.

I'm getting excited! The season is almost here! I'll prepare my gameplan for you shortly.
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Who's the Man?
Gamble, Ohio State is our pick to win the 2003 National Championship

August 2003 (Sports Illustrated) -
There may be some turmoil in Columbus, with Maurice Clarett likely out for the year. However, we still feel that the Buckeyes will be the team to beat in the NCAA this year, with able leadership from Senior Craig Krenzel and stud CB/WR Chris Gamble.

Here are the rest of the Top 25 in our Preseason Poll:
RANK SCHOOL
1 Ohio State
2 Oklahoma
3 Miami
4 Texas
5 Kansas State
6 Auburn
7 Virginia Tech
8 Georgia
9 USC
10 Michigan
11 NC State
12 Pittsburgh
13 Florida State
14 Washington
15 Maryland
16 LSU
17 Tennessee
18 Virginia
19 Florida
20 Notre Dame
21 Arizona State
22 Alabama
23 Purdue
24 Texas A&M
25 Wisconsin
There is an awful lot of interest in the new addition to Division 1-A football. The University of Western Ontario Mustangs will be in for a tough season but should be able to squeeze out a couple victories this season in their non-conference games. We have them ranked 112th out of 117 in the NCAA based on that easy non-conference schedule. Winning one divisional game would be a great accomplishment for this squad, led by rookie head coach Matthew Bosela.

[NoSkillz]

Is He the Best?
Williams has the Longhorns talking about winning a Championship.

August 2003 (Sports Illustrated) -
Roy Williams, the outstanding Senior Wide Receiver from the Texas Longhorns leads our preseason Heisman candicacy list. Other players to watch include:
- Cody Pickett (QB-Sr): Washington
- Philip Rivers (QB-Sr): NC State
- Ell Roberson (QB-Sr): Kansas State
- Maurice Clarett (HB-So): Ohio State
The X-Factor here is Clarett, as it is unlikely he will play this year. However, we rank him here just in case.

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

*** CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ***

Gameplan Outline

Larry,

Offensively, we plan to run Jerrell Bearden often and we will start Brandon Hargrove at Quarterback to take advantage of his running ability. We will throw a few option plays in the gameplan for him. I also plan to utilize Shelton Tanner for a quarter or two as well to keep the Harvard D off-balance. Harvard uses the 4-3 defense and have a good secondary and decent ends.

Defensively, we'll stick with a 4-3 and play a relatively conservative game, with a few blitzes thrown in. Harvard has a balanced attack, with a pretty good halfback, good receivers and a below average quarterback.

As indicated in an earlier memo, I wasn't happy with our punting situation and decided to use our placekicker Bryan Walker in a dual role for the opening game. He gives us a better shot at decent field position.

I've also decided to go with Sean Smith at Kick Returner, even though the injury chances increase. He is dangerous for the opposition back there.

Larry, the kids are ready and I really think we're prepared to win this game.

Wish us luck!
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Mustangs Fall Short in Opener
Bearden's Effort Not Enough in 28-16 Loss to Harvard

London, ON (Western Gazette) -
The University of Western Ontario Mustangs fell short in their NCAA debut against the Harvard Crimson by a score of 28-16. This despite a 119 yard rushing performance from Sophomore tailback Jerrell Bearden and a 128 yard receiving day from Junior receiver Geoff Kendrick.

Western opened the scoring late in the first quarter on a 21 yard field goal from Sophomore Bryan Walker. Harvard was having a tough time moving the ball early versus the upstart Mustang defense and with 4:46 left in the first half and trailing 3-0, decided a trick play was in order. Harvard kicker Jim Morocco was lined up to try a 42 yard field goal but the Crimson ran a beautiful fake, as backup quarterback Garrett Schires, the holder, threw to a wide open Matt Frato for a 25 yard touchdown. Harvard took a 7-3 lead into the half.

Injury struck one of the top Mustang players on the first play of the second half. Stalwart cornerback Sean Smith suffered a head injury after being tackled on a kick return and would not return for the rest of the game. This seemed to rattle the young Mustang squad, who proceeded to go 3 and out on their possession and punt the ball back to the Crimson. The first play from Harvard in the second half resulted in a 66 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to wideout Rodney Byrnes. Those two hooked up again less than seven minutes later on a 16 yard fade to take a commanding 21-3 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs showed a lot of guts in the fourth quarter. Starting quarterback Brandon Hargrove, ineffective all day both running and passing the ball, gave way to Shelton Tanner, who drove the 'Stangs down the field, culminating in a seven yard touchdown run by Bearden. The missed two point convert made the score 21-9. The reasonable deficit was shortlived, however, as the Mustangs other starting cornerback Neal McPherson went down with an injury and the Crimson took advantage. This time it was Fitzpatrick hooking up with wideout Kyle Cremarosa on an 11 yard score, increasing their lead to 28-9. McPherson would return for the Mustangs but it wasn't enough. Western defensive tackle Darvin Billings (Jr) recovered a Collin Blackburn fumble allowing the Mustangs to drive down the field for a late 10 yard touchdown pass from Tanner to Kendrick. A failed onside kick later and the game was in the books, with the Mustangs first game in the NCAA a notch in the loss column.

"We fought to the bitter end and I'm proud of my guys" proclaimed head coach Matthew Bosela. "We're all disappointed and wanted the win, but Harvard hit a bunch of big plays on us and ultimately deserved that win." Bosela added, "We're not satisfied with competing. These guys want to win and are certainly capable of winning. We'll go back at it and prepare for next week against Akron."

BOX SCORE:
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
Harvard 0 7 14 7 28
Western Ontario 3 0 0 13 16

UWO 1:30 Q1 - 21 Yard Field Goal by Walker
HARV 7:09 Q2 - 25 Yard Pass from Schires to Frato (Morocco Kick)
HARV 12:00 Q3 - 66 Yard Pass from Fitzpatrick to Byrnes (Morocco kick)
HARV 2:43 Q3 - 16 Yard Pass from Fitzpatrick to Byrnes (Morocco kick)
UWO 13:55 Q4 - 7 Yard Run by Bearden (Two Point Conversion Failed)
HARV 9:42 Q4 - 11 Yard Pass from Fitzpatrick to Cremarosa (Morocco kick)
UWO 1:39 Q4 - 10 Yard Pass from Tanner to Kendrick (Walter kick)
Attendance: 6,448

FINAL TEAM STATISTICS HARV UWO
First Downs 20 25
Total Offense 390 369
Rushes-Yards 26-64 40-104
Passing Yards 326 265
Comp-Att-Int 17-34-0 20-54-0
Sacked 2 3
3rd Down Conversions 4-12(33%) 7-19(36%)
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-1
Return Yards 134 159
Punts-Average 5-41.2 5-35.8
Penalties-Yards 3-35 5-30
Time of Possession 24:46 35:14

PASSING -
HARV: Fitzpatrick 16-33 301yds 3td 0int; Schires 1-1 25yds 1td 0int
UWO: Hargrove 3-14 67yds 0td 0int; Tanner 17-40 198yds 1td 0int
RUSHING -
HARV: Tyler 16-58yds; Blackburn 7-18yds; Fitzpatrick 3-(12yds)
UWO: Bearden 26-119yds; Hargrove 3-7yds; MacPherson 3-2yds; Briggs 3-(5yds);
Tanner 5-(19yds)
RECEIVING -
HARV: Edwards 5-95yds; Widman 4-68yds; Byrnes 4-98yds; Cremarosa 2-23yds;
Harvey 1-17yds; Frato 1-25yds
UWO: Kendrick 6-128yds; Bearden 5-34yds; Warren 4-46yds; Suggs 3-33yds;
MacPherson 1-10yds; Briggs 1-14yds
edited for coding error-MB

[NoSkillz]

Mauling the Hapless
Kansas State rips apart Cal in a 61-16 season opening victory

Week One Recap (Sports Illustrated) -
Ell Roberson helped his Heisman chances with a superlative performance in week one versus Cal. Roberson went 11 of 16 for 117 yards, added 126 rushing yards and contributed to 4 touchdowns in the rout for #5 K. State, the only top-25 team in action opening day.

NCAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offense - Ell Roberson (QB) Kansas State (11-16, 117yds, 13 car, 126yds, 4 Total TD's)
Defense - Bryan Hickman (OLB) Kansas State (3 Tkls, 2 TFL, Sk, Int)

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

*** CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ***

Gameplan Outline - Week Two at Akron

Good afternoon Larry,

We got lucky with our top corner Sean Smith last week. He suffered a stinger in the game and we kept him out of the second half for precautionary reasons. The tests came back negative and he is good to go for the game Saturday versus the Zips. Our other corner Neal McPherson is healthy as well so injuries aren't a factor. Tailback Jerrell Bearden and Strong Safety Jayson Cochran (6 tkls, 1 TFL, Sk) were given MAC Player of the Week honors for their performances, but we were the only MAC team in action last week.

Now on to the Akron game. This club is much better than their 4-8 record from a year ago and are much improved. Key offensive players include Charlie Frye, a big, strong-armed Junior and Senior Tailback Bob Hendry, a 1000+ yard rusher last season. They also have a couple decent receivers in Miquel Irvin and Matt Cherry. They play a pretty balanced offensive system and we'll have to respect the run and the pass here. I feel that we'll have to throw some more blitzes into our gameplan against a below average Offensive Line and get a good performance from our secondary if we're to stay close.

Key players on the defensive side for Akron include athletic DE Dwayne LeFall, 2002 tackle leader Chase Blackburn (OLB) and Cornerback Rickey McKenzie. The Zips are weak up the middle and we'll have to exploit that with an inside running game. They're also below average at safety, so we'll compliment that run game with some play action trickery.

We'll start Tanner at Quarterback and go to Hargrove if necessary. I'd also like to get our freshman receivers Foreman and Kemp more involved and will throw some plays in the gameplan for them. Overall, it will be important to win the time of possession battle and avoid turnovers. Cliche, I know, but if this happens, we can steal one here against a more talented opponent.
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Western Lose Heartbreaker in Akron
Also Lose Starting QB in 17-15 Thriller

Akron, OH (Western Gazette) -
The Western Mustangs had a two point conversion attempt fall incomplete in the dying minutes in a 17-15 loss to divisional foe Akron. More importantly, they may have lost starting quarterback Shelton Tanner, who was forced from the game with a rib injury during their final scoring drive.

Western opened the scoring halfway through the first quarter on a 23 yard field goal from Sophomore kicker Bryan Walker. This came on the heels of three consecutive drops by Mustang receivers forcing the attempt for three. The Zips stormed back on their next possession, driving 67 yards on 10 plays and scoring on a 2 yard run by fullback Dan Basch.

The second quarter saw the Mustangs drive down to the Zips 2 yard line but get thwarted with two false start penalties, forcing another Walker field goal, cutting the Akron lead to a single point. The Mustangs would soon force Basch to fumble the ball on the next Zip possession, giving them an opportunity for a late first half score. However, the first play from the 'Stangs saw Shelton Tanner throw an interception to Akron free safety Domenik Hixon, allowing the Zips to convert on a 42 yard field goal with no time remaining in the half. The Zips went into the dressing room with a 10-6 halftime lead.

The second half started innocently enough but inexperience caught up with the Mustangs when the Zips, looking at a 4th down and 8 from the Western 40 yard line, decided to go for it. The Mustangs had their kick return team on the field and didn't call a timeout, allowing the Zips to complete a huge 39 yard completion to Senior tight end Mike Brake. The following play saw Basch go in again for a score, giving the Zips a seemingly insurmountable lead of 17-6.

The Mustangs put another field goal on the board midway through the fourth, with Walker converting a season-long 38 yarder. The Zips were unable to run out the clock on a game Mustang defense, allowing the offense one last chance to comeback. Injury struck Tanner with 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the game after being hit on an option run. Backup quarterback Brandon Hargrove came in and hit three passes in a row, culminating in a dramatic 11 yard touchdown toss to Sophomore wideout Jesse Warren. However, the needed two point convert pass to Geoff Kendrick went incomplete and the Zips were able to recover the onside kick that followed, locking up their first victory of the year.

"We fought hard and really played a tremendous game defensively", coach Matthew Bosela indicated. "Again, they hit some big plays, most importantly the fourth down conversion early in the second half. That play is on me, not the kids on the field." Bosela went on to add "I'm proud of my players. Going on the road into a hostile environment and almost coming out with a win...we're getting better." Bosela showed obvious concern about his starting quarterback. "The doctors aren't optimistic at this point. It looks like broken ribs but the x-rays haven't come back yet. I don't want to speculate any further right now."

Once again, Jerrell Bearden, the Sophomore halfback, stood out among Mustangs with a 104 yard rushing performance. Sophomore cornerback Nolan Weber had seven tackles, including 2 for losses and a sack and was a defensive stalwart for Western.

BOX SCORE:

1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
Western Ontario 3 3 0 9 15
Akron 7 3 7 0 17

UWO 8:03 Q1 - 23 Yard Field Goal by Walker
ZIPS 2:38 Q1 - 2 Yard Run by Basch (Sullivan Kick)
UWO 11:15 Q2 - 26 Yard Field Goal by Walker
ZIPS 0:00 Q2 - 42 Yard Field Goal by Sullivan
ZIPS 12:30 Q3 - 1 Yard Run by Basch (Sullivan Kick)
UWO 8:18 Q4 - 38 Yard Field Goal by Walker
UWO 1:17 Q4 - 11 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Warren (Two Point Conversion Failed)

FINAL TEAM STATISTICS UWO ZIPS
First Downs 17 11
Total Offense 397 278
Rushes-Yards 30-120 32-66
Passing Yards 277 212
Comp-Att-Int 19-46-2 11-30-0
Sacked 0 4
3rd Down Conversions 6-18(33%) 4-15(26%)
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-1
Return Yards 100 164
Punts-Average 6-37.5 8-38.4
Penalties-Yards 6-35 4-40
Time of Possession 33:24 26:36

PASSING -
UWO: Tanner 16-43 235yds 0td 2int; Hargrove 3-3 42yds 1td 0int
ZIPS: Frye 10-28 203yds 0td 0int; Irvin 1-1 9yds 0td 0int; Jerdon 0-1 0yds 0td 0int
RUSHING -
UWO: Bearden 26-104yds; Briggs 3-8yds; Tanner 1-8yds
ZIPS: Hendry 14-58yds; Basch 9-28yds; Plummer 2-8yds; Frye 7-(28yds)
RECEIVING -
UWO: Warren 7-102yds; Kendrick 5-98yds; Bearden 2-17yds; MacPherson 2-6yds;
Foreman 2-43yds; Suggs 1-11yds
ZIPS: Brake 3-61yds; Irvin 3-56yds; Sparks 2-23yds; Ellington 2-56yds; Holderman 1-16yds

[NoSkillz]

Shake-Up at the Top
Check out who's #1 this week

Week Two Recap (Sports Illustrated) -
Miami University is the new #1 team in the nation after a dominating 65-24 victory over Louisiana Tech. Brock Berlin starred for the Hurricanes, going 19 of 26 for 4 touchdowns. There were a couple big upsets in week two, with former #1 Ohio State dropping a 26-20 decision to Washington and North Texas stunned #2 Oklahoma 17-10.

Here is the Coaches' Poll after Week Two:
RANK LW TEAM RESULT W-L PTS
1 3 Miami(34) W65-24 LATECH 1-0 1450
2 4 Texas(22) W58-20 NMSU 1-0 1375
3 5 Kansas State(1) W41-9 TROY 2-0 1302
4 6 Auburn(1) W46-38 USC 1-0 1284
5 7 Virginia Tech(1) W37-14 UCF 1-0 1162
6 14 Washington W26-20 BUCKS 1-0 1128
7 8 Georgia W37-24 CLEM 1-0 1095
8 1 Ohio State L20-26 WASH 0-1 968
9 10 Michigan W35-12 CMU 1-0 965
10 11 NC State W42-10 WCU 1-0 903
11 12 Pittsburgh BYE 0-0 842
12 13 Florida State W28-9 UNC 1-0 784
13 2 Oklahoma L10-17 UNT 0-1 624
14 16 LSU W31-10 ULM 1-0 618
15 9 USC L38-46 AUBURN 0-1 604
16 17 Tennessee W41-31 FS 1-0 566
17 18 Virginia W34-13 DUKE 1-0 516
18 19 Florida W32-23 SJSU 1-0 468
19 20 Notre Dame BYE 0-0 421
20 21 Arizona State BYE 0-0 377
21 22 Alabama W33-10 USF 1-0 334
22 23 Purdue BYE 0-0 292
23 24 Texas A&M W37-7 ARK ST. 1-0 253
24 NR Penn State W51-17 TEMPLE 1-0 179
25 NR Arkansas BYE 0-0 145

NCAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense - Fred Russell (HB) Iowa (24 Car, 147 Yds, 5 Td, 21 Rec Yds)
Defense - Marquis Cooper (MLB) Washington (14 Tkls, 3 TFL, 2 Sks, Td)

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

*** CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ***

Gameplan Outline - Week Three vs Prairie View A&M

Hi Larry,

The bad news is in on quarterback Shelton Tanner - he's out four weeks with broken ribs. We'll go with Brandon Hargrove in his place and rely on Fred Hobbs to back him up. Hargrove was awesome in relief of Tanner and I feel he'll be able to get us going on offense.

Well, we're 0-2 but have had some promising things happen early in the season. Jerrell Bearden has been fantastic, with two 100+ yard rushing games in as many weeks. Our receivers have been pretty good and our offensive line has performed well. Our placekicker has been perfect so far and handled punting duties with ease. We showed tremendous improvement on defense last week and are ranked 14th in the nation against the run, albeit early in the season. Sports Illustrated has us ranked 117th in the NCAA, dead last. I know we're better than this.

Prairie View A&M is on the schedule this week in London. This is a must win game and the kids have a great gameplan to work with. We will run the hell out of the ball this weekend. Expect a big game from Bearden. Prairie View A&M play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and have really struggled over recent seasons. However, this year they have increased the number of scholarship players to the NCAA Division 1-AA maximum of 63 from an average of 16 since the 1997 season. They also have a new head coach in alumnus and former NFL defensive back C.L. Wittington. Our scouts tell us they utilize the West Coast Offense so we'll play a patient system against the Panthers. They don't have any real superstars to worry about on either side of the ball.

Hope to see you at the game Larry.
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Mustangs Stampede Panthers
Dominant second half performance earns UWO first NCAA victory

London, ON (Western Gazette) -
The Western Ontario Mustangs overcame a spirited first half from the Prairie View A&M Panthers in winning their first game in the NCAA by a 45-14 score. The Panthers actually led going into the half but the Mustangs took command in the third quarter with fantastic play on both sides of the ball.

For the third consecutive game, the Mustangs opened the scoring, this time on a 41 yard run by star tailback Jerrell Bearden. A bit of overconfidence must have swept over the 'Stangs, as the Panthers proceeded to march right down the field with their own answering score. Mark Spivey, PVAM's Freshman quarterback, completed 4 of 4 passes on the drive that culminated in an 8 yard touchdown pass to Lorenzo Hayes to knot the score at seven. After a couple failed drives, the Panthers went on a tremendous 16 play 81 yard drive that ended with a 2 yard touchdown plunge from Panther fullback Andrew Bossier. Western added a 26 yard field goal by Bryan Walker at the gun to go into the half trailing by a 14-10 score.

Western got the ball first in the second half but a good drive was foiled by a missed field goal from 32 yards. However, good fortune finally shined on the Mustangs on the following drive by the Panthers, as Senior defensive tackle Donald Murray destroyed Spivey with a thunderous hit, causing the quarterback to lose the ball. Sophomore cornerback Nolan Weber pounced on the ball in the endzone for a defensive score, which ultimately turned the entire game around. The Panthers would go three and out on their next possession and after the punt, Brandon Hargrove hit Jesse Warren for a big 39 yard touchdown score on the first play. Western would force another 3 and out but muffed a punt return and were barely able to recover the ball on their own 1 yard line. However, everything was going right for the 'Stangs in the second half, and they marched right down the field, with Geoff Kendrick on the receiving end of a 32 yard TD pass from Hargrove to finish off a beautiful 99 yard drive.

The fourth quarter saw most of the second teamers get game action, including third string quarterback Fred Hobbs. He would go on to lead two more touchdown drives and lock up the victory for the Mustangs.

"I got to say I'm impressed with our second half but to go anywhere in this league you've got to compete for 60 minutes" said coach Bosela. "Our defence was getting destroyed early in the game but I must say that Prairie View had a good plan in place today." He added "We were forced to make a number of adjustments, most importantly from a pressure standpoint, as Spivey had all day back there in the first quarter. The guys really stepped it up after figuring out that there was a game being played." Bosela concluded by saying "It's nice to finally get the monkey off our backs. Now we can just concentrate on winning football games."

Western visits Youngstown State next week.

BOX SCORE:
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
Prairie View 7 7 0 0 14
Western Ontario 7 3 14 21 45

UWO 11:51 Q1 - 41 Yard Run by Bearden (Walker Kick)
PVAM 10:36 Q1 - 8 Yard Pass from Spivey to Hayes (McCall Kick)
PVAM 6:23 Q2 - 2 Yard Run by Bossier (McCall Kick)
UWO 0:00 Q2 - 26 Yard Field Goal by Walker
UWO 5:40 Q3 - 1 Yard Fumble Return by Weber (Walker Kick)
UWO 4:30 Q3 - 39 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Warren (Walker kick)
UWO 14:25 Q4 - 32 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Kendrick (Walter kick)
UWO 10:35 Q4 - 7 Yard Run by Bearden (Walker Kick)
UWO 4:18 Q4 - 6 Yard Pass from Hobbs to Foreman (Walker Kick)
Attendance: 5,878

FINAL TEAM STATISTICS PVAM UWO
First Downs 13 19
Total Offense 259 426
Rushes-Yards 30-7 42-172
Passing Yards 252 254
Comp-Att-Int 18-34-2 12-22-0
Sacked 5 3
3rd Down Conversions 5-15(33%) 6-13(46%)
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 1-1
Return Yards 109 127
Punts-Average 5-28.6 4-43.0
Penalties-Yards 4-35 6-95
Time of Possession 28:42 31:18

PASSING -
PVAM: Spivey 18-34 252yds 1td 2int
UWO: Hargrove 8-17 187yds 2td 0int; Hobbs 4-5 67yds 1td 0int
RUSHING -
PVAM: Bossier 6-14yds; Holliday 14-11yds; Spivey 10-(18yds)
UWO: Bearden 21-144yds; Briggs 12-37yds; Westbrook 2-8yds; MacPherson 1-3yds;
Hanson 1-0yds; Hobbs 1-(1yds); Hargrove 4-(19yds)
RECEIVING -
PVAM: Hayes 5-77yds; McClelland 3-54yds; Washington 3-39yds; Peters 2-19yds;
Porterie 2-18yds; Douglas II 1-4yds; Hawthorne 1-30yds; Holliday 1-11yds
UWO: Kendrick 5-146yds; Warren 2-56yds; Bearden 1-7yds; Foreman 1-6yds
Dangerfield 1-14yds; Kemp 1-10yds; Briggs 1-15yds

[NoSkillz]

Gamecocks Cruise
South Carolina looks polished in a 34-13 win vs. Virginia

Week Three Recap (Sports Illustrated) -
The South Carolina Gamecocks are fearless after a convincing 34-13 win over Virginia. The complete victory vaulted the Gamecocks into the Top 25. Unbelievably, week three saw no major upsets.

Here is the Coaches' Poll after Week Three:

RANK LW TEAM RESULT W-L PTS
1 1 Miami(36) W51-17 UF 2-0 1452
2 2 Texas(22) BYE 1-0 1369
3 3 Kansas State(1) W56-7 ALCORN 3-0 1309
4 4 Auburn W29-17 GT 2-0 1250
5 5 Virginia Tech W52-24 JMU 2-0 1192
6 6 Washington W42-24 IU 2-0 1135
7 7 Georgia W38-20 MTSU 2-0 1079
8 9 Michigan W64-3 HOU 2-0 971
9 8 Ohio State W46-11 SDSU 1-1 957
10 10 NC State W29-24 WAKE 2-0 918
11 11 Pittsburgh BYE 0-0 866
12 12 Florida State W41-24 UMD 2-0 815
13 14 LSU W27-23 ARIZONA 2-0 716
14 13 Oklahoma W20-9 BAMA 1-1 715
15 16 Tennessee W38-16 MARSH 2-0 622
16 15 USC W38-7 BYU 1-1 610
17 19 Notre Dame W40-37 WSU 2-0 487
18 20 Arizona State W38-24 NAU 1-0 445
19 22 Purdue W27-20 BGSU 1-0 362
20 23 Texas A&M W38-17 UTAH 2-0 322
21 18 Florida L17-51 MIAMI 1-1 258
22 25 Arkansas W35-7 TULSA 1-0 246
23 NR West Virginia W34-14 ECU 2-0 174
24 NR South Carolina W34-13 UVA 2-0 166
25 21 Alabama L9-20 OU 1-1 149
NCAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offense - Ell Roberson (QB) Kansas State (14-21, 175 Yds, 15 Car, 113 Yds, 5 Tot TDs)
Defense - Nolan Weber (CB) Western Ontario (5 Tkls, 2 TFL, 2 Sks, Int, FF, TD)

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

*** CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ***

Gameplan Outline - Week Four at Youngstown State

Afternoon Larry,

What a great week! We get a big win and great national exposure with cornerback Nolan Weber winning the NCAA Defensive Player of the Week Award. He's pretty pumped! We moved up in the SI-117 Polls as well; we're now 108th in the Nation after our victory.

I'm still not completely satisfied, as the defense seemed overconfident and got torched early. We bounced back nicely, however, and the offense was fantastic in the second half.

Simeon Dangerfield, our backup tight end, sprained his elbow in the victory and will not dress for the game against Youngstown State. Shelton Tanner is still a few weeks away as well with his broken ribs. Everyone else looks good, healthwise.

Youngstown State will be really tough, much tougher than I thought. They're very solid at quarterback and have a great tailbacks in Mike Burns and Josiah Doby. They also have an excellent offensive line and will likely run quite a bit. They are not quite as good on the other side of the ball, with their top defensive player being cornerback Sherod Holmes.

It will be key to keep the ball out of their hands for as long as possible - Bearden will have to be a horse. We can throw on them as well but if we try that, I have a feeling the game will really be a high scoring affair. We'll have to see how things go. I've really liked how Fred Hobbs has played the quarterback position in a limited role; I may give him a few series in the game to see how he does in pressure situations.

Should be a fun game, with plenty of scoring. I hope to come out on top.
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Mustangs Overwhelm the Penguins
Western clicks on all cylinders in 38-6 triumph over Youngstown State

Youngstown, OH (Western Gazette) -
Western evened their record to 2-2 with a convincing 38-6 victory against an overmatched Youngstown State Penguins squad. The Mustangs were dominating on both offense and defense, with Junior wideout Geoff Kendrick having a career day, catching 10 balls for 175 yards and 2 scores.

Western dominated from the opening whistle, driving the length of the field after the opening kickoff, a drive that ended with Mustang quarterback Brandon Hargrove hitting Kendrick for a 46 yard touchdown pass. Hargrove soon followed with another big play, this time to Jesse Warren for 44 yards. The Mustangs led 14-0 after one period.

Youngstown State utilized their option ground game to occasional good effect and scored on a 36 yard field goal by Nick Terracina. However, the Mustangs continued to pour it on, with Jerrell Bearden going in to the endzone on a two yard plunge on UWO's next possession. Terracina hit another field goal with 1:01 left in the half. However, Mustang coach Matthew Bosela continued his extremely aggressive gameplan and had Hargrove attack the Penguin defense in the "2 Minute Drill". Hargrove drove the 'Stangs down the field with precision passes and great clock management, culminating in a 3 yard touchdown pass to Kendrick with 2 seconds left on the clock. Bryan Walker's extra point gave the Mustangs a commanding 28-6 lead at the half.

The second half saw more of the same, as Bearden would go in again, this time from 2 yards out and Walker added a field goal from 29 yards out to round out the scoring. Bosela brought out the second and third stringers for the fourth quarter to avoid injuries.

"Just a great game from top to bottom" Bosela opined in the media center. "I'm a bit surprised that Youngstown didn't open up a bit more in the second half", refering to the Penguins insistance on running the ball even when down 30 points. "They've got great runners over there but we played 8 men in the box most of the night and our D was not breaking." When asked if Hargrove's tremendous performance will cause a quarterback controversy, Bosela quiped "We're the 108th rated team in the nation - I'm quite certain that a QB controversy isn't possible given our situation." That being said, it will prove to be very difficult to take out Hargrove if he continues to perform at this high level. Also making his mark in this game was tailback Bearden, who once again went over 100 yards. Defensively, Senior OLB Roger Person had 6 tackles, 2 for losses and 2 sacks while Senior cornerback Sean Smith stood tall with 2 interceptions.

Western has the week off and will heal their wounds and prepare for divisional foe UCF, who they meet in week six.

BOX SCORE:
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
Western Ontario 14 14 7 3 38
Youngstown State 0 6 0 0 6

UWO 9:24 Q1 - 46 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Kendrick (Walker Kick)
UWO 3:05 Q1 - 44 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Warren (Walker Kick)
YSU 12:30 Q2 - 36 Yard Field Goal by Terracina
UWO 7:27 Q2 - 2 Yard Run by Bearden (Walker Kick)
YSU 1:01 Q2 - 19 Yard Field Goal by Terracina
UWO 0:02 Q2 - 3 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Kendrick (Walker Kick)
UWO 0:57 Q3 - 2 Yard Run by Bearden (Walker Kick)
UWO 12:43 Q4 - 29 Yard Field Goal by Walker

FINAL TEAM STATISTICS UWO YSU
First Downs 22 17
Total Offense 448 303
Rushes-Yards 34-149 42-136
Passing Yards 299 167
Comp-Att-Int 18-31-0 11-23-2
Sacked 1 6
3rd Down Conversions 5-11(45%) 7-14(50%)
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-0
Return Yards 55 136
Punts-Average 2-41.0 3-33.7
Penalties-Yards 2-9 4-30
Time of Possession 29:31 30:29

PASSING -
UWO: Hargrove 15-25 263yds 3td 0int; Hobbs 3-6 36yds 0td 0int
YSU: Marshall 11-23 167yds 0td 2int
RUSHING -
UWO: Bearden 21-112yds; MacPherson 2-14yds; Hargrove 2-11yds; Foreman 2-9yds;
Briggs 6-9yds; Hobbs 1-(6yds)
YSU: Burns 20-91yds; Logan 8-29yds; Doby 3-17yds; Petersen 1-8yds; Gonzalez 1-3yds;
Marshall 9-(12yds)
RECEIVING -
UWO: Kendrick 10-175yds; Warren 3-76yds; Foreman 2-12yds; Kemp 2-10yds;
Hargrove 1-26yds
YSU: Larmon 4-87yds; Burns 3-37yds; Roberts 3-33yds; Logan 1-10yds

[NoSkillz]

Tight SEC Battle
The Bulldogs (3-0) steal one from #24 South Carolina 27-24

Week Four Recap (Sports Illustrated) -
The Georgia Bulldogs squeezed by the Gamecocks from South Carolina 27-24 on the strength of a 17 point fourth quarter. In other top 25 action, Texas was barely able to get through a tilt with Arkansas, coming out on top at home by a score of 24-21.

Here is the Coaches' Poll after Week Four:
RANK LW TEAM RESULT W-L PTS
1 1 Miami(32) W65-7 ECU 3-0 1448
2 2 Texas(24) W24-21 ARK 2-0 1398
3 3 Kansas State(1) W45-0 UMASS 4-0 1329
4 4 Auburn(1) W30-24 VANDY 3-0 1271
5 5 Virginia Tech(1) BYE 2-0 1215
6 6 Washington BYE 2-0 1159
7 7 Georgia W27-24 SCAR 3-0 1108
8 9 Ohio State W55-28 NCSU 2-1 980
9 11 Pittsburgh W45-17 BALLST 1-0 893
10 12 Florida State W20-13 GT 3-0 842
11 17 Notre Dame W41-28 MICH 2-0 814
12 13 LSU W43-14 WIU 3-0 793
13 14 Oklahoma W27-14 FS 2-1 696
14 15 Tennessee BYE 2-0 696
15 8 Michigan L28-41 ND 2-1 623
16 16 USC W27-24 HAWAII 2-1 604
17 18 Arizona State W36-7 UTAHST 2-0 559
18 10 NC State L28-55 BUCKS 2-1 557
19 20 Texas A&M BYE 2-0 472
20 21 Florida W56-17 FAMU 2-1 388
21 23 West Virginia W34-6 CIN 3-0 348
22 25 Alabama W38-22 UK 2-1 232
23 22 Arkansas L21-24 TEXAS 1-1 198
24 NR Virginia W31-10 WMU 2-1 125
25 NR Nebraska W35-21 PSU 3-0 125

NCAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense - Tatum Bell (HB) Oklahoma State (18 Car, 188 Yds, 3 TDs, 5 Rec, 55 Yds, TD)
Defense - Rod Davis (MLB) Southern Miss (12 Tkls, 2 TFL, Sk, Int, 2 FF, 2 FR

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

Hi Larry,

We were well prepared for the game against Youngstown State and it showed on the scoreboard. I can't say I'm unhappy with any aspect of that game. Just a great effort from the kids.

We're healing up nicely during our bye week, with QB Shelton Tanner the only player not taking part in practices. Our team doctors say he should be ready for game time in a couple weeks but Brandon Hargrove is holding down the fort with expertise.

We play 1-1 Central Florida in our next game in week six. They are playing in Syracuse this week so I think I'm going to fly down and take in the game. A bit of scouting certainly won't hurt! Alex Haynes, their top running back, is nursing a pulled hamstring and won't dress for the Golden Knights. However, he is expected to be ready for the game against us next week. They are led by Senior quarterback Ryan Schneider and speedy wideout Tavaris Capers on offense while MLB Chad Mascoe and SS Atari Bigby shine on the defensive side of the ball. Should be a good tilt with 1-1 Syracuse.

I'll have some notes on the Golden Knights in my gameplan next week.

Have a good weekend!
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Heart Stopper!
The #3 Wildcats fail to put Marshall away, losing 42-41

Week Five Recap (Sports Illustrated) -
The Marshall Thundering Herd sent shockwaves through the NCAA with arguably the biggest upset in school history, downing #3 Kansas State in week five action. Stan Hill went 24-41 for 344 yards and 5 touchdowns in the victory.

Here is the Coaches' Poll after Week Five:

RANK LW TEAM RESULT W-L PTS
1 1 Miami(30) W48-24 BC 4-0 1446
2 2 Texas(27) W62-7 RICE 3-0 1392
3 4 Auburn(1) BYE 3-0 1286
4 5 Virginia Tech(1) W38-29 TAMU 3-0 1250
5 6 Washington W66-20 IDAHO 3-0 1183
6 7 Georgia W34-17 LSU 4-0 1163
7 8 Ohio State W49-17 BGSU 3-1 1036
8 9 Pittsburgh W35-20 TOLEDO 2-0 1032
9 10 Florida State W43-17 CU 4-0 983
10 11 Notre Dame W45-21 MSU 3-0 934
11 14 Tennessee W21-7 UF 3-0 803
12 13 Oklahoma W35-20 UCLA 3-1 795
13 15 Michigan W42-23 OREGON 3-1 702
14 16 USC BYE 2-1 649
15 3 Kansas State L41-42 MARSH 4-1 625
16 18 NC State W41-13 TXTECH 3-1 567
17 12 LSU L17-34 UGA 3-1 561
18 22 Alabama W30-14 NIU 3-1 395
19 23 Arkansas W24-21 UNT 2-1 347
20 19 Texas A&M L29-38 VT 2-1 320
21 25 Nebraska BYE 3-0 309
22 24 Virginia BYE 2-1 306
23 17 Arizona State L23-28 IOWA 2-1 237
24 NR Ole Miss BYE 3-0 228
25 20 Florida L7-21 TENN 2-2 164
NCAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offense - B.J. Mitchell (HB) Nevada (27 Car, 120 Yds, 2 TDs, 3 Rec, 70 Yds, 2 TDs)
Defense - Jamaal Brimmer (SS) UNLV (9 Tkls, 3 Int, 1 TD)

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

*** CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ***

Gameplan Outline - Week Six vs UCF

Hi Larry,

Explosive. That's the word to describe UCF and their unbelievable performance against Syracuse. The game was tight in the first quarter, tied at 14 when the floodgates opened. If you can believe it, UCF scored 5 consecutive 50+ yard touchdowns! Three scores were one play drives. UCF only had the ball for a little over 19 minutes IN THE GAME and won 49-14! The players I mentioned in last week's memo all played a huge role with the exception of Chad Mascoe. Ryan Schneider threw for 4 TD's, Tavaris Capers had one TD grab and Atari Bigby, the Golden Knights Junior SS, returned an interception for a score. To be frank, I didn't expect the game to be this much of a blowout; in fact, Syracuse came into the game with a better ranking than UCF.

As indicated earlier, Alex Haynes will be in the backfield for UCF this week. He certainly adds another dimension to their big play attack. We'll have to play a lot of nickle D, as they played in the shotgun for the majority of the game. We'll have to be careful with their stingy pass defense, ranked 14th in the nation. Running successfully will be important but UCF showed me they don't need to dominate time of possession to score points.

UCF is now ranked 64th in the nation, while we've cracked the top 100, sitting at 96th. We're well rested and feel we can keep the game close into the fourth quarter. If that happens, we can win this one!

See you on Saturday!
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Big Plays Doom Mustangs
Schneider has his way with Western secondary in 49-31 triumph

London, ON (Western Gazette) -
UCF Senior quarterback Ryan Schneider had a huge game, throwing for 431 yards and 6 touchdowns in a 49-31 victory over the University of Western Ontario Mustangs. The Golden Knights opened it up in the second half against a defence that couldn't match up for 60 minutes against their spread offense.

Once again, the Mustangs came out strong, scoring the first nine points. A brilliant punt by Sophomore kicker Bryan Walker hemmed UCF inside their five yard line, allowing Western to force a fumble on an attempted option play for a safety. After returning the free kick, the Mustangs drove down the field and gambled on a fourth down play from the UCF 5 yard line, scoring on a run by Junior quarterback Brandon Hargrove. The 9-0 lead was shortlived, however, when Schneider hit a streaking Tavaris Capers for a 54 yard touchdown pass, cutting the Western lead to a couple points.

Western had enjoyed some early success with the blitz, forcing Schneider to make some quick, inaccurate throws. However, the Golden Knights made some great adjustments, namely going to a no-back set and hitting quick slants when the Mustangs would blitz. This was the case on a Schneider to Brandon Marshall 71 yard touchdown play to give the Golden Knights their first lead. They'd expand on it a few minutes later on Capers' second TD reception of the day, this time from 9 yards out. Western did not give up, however. Using another fourth down conversion to prolong a drive, the Stangs drove the length of the field and scored on another Hargrove run, cutting the UCF lead to 21-16. Again though, the UCF quick strike offense took over with less than a minute left in the half and scored on their first play in the drive, a crippling 82 yard post hookup with Marshall to take a 28-16 lead into halftime.

To their credit, Western's halftime adjustments were excellent. They only rushed four lineman when seeing the shotgun instead of blitzing, which confused Schneider for awhile and allowed the Mustangs to eventually take the lead. Hargrove hit Jerrell Bearden on a swing pass out of the backfield for an 11 yard score, bringing Western back to within five of the lead. Early in the fourth quarter, Western retook the lead on a great play action pass to Junior tight end Damian Suggs and scored a two-point convert on an option run to wideout Stuart Foreman, giving UWO a 3 point advantage.

That would be it for Western, as Schneider once again adjusted brilliantly to the new defensive schemes and struck big again, this time on a 70 yard pass to Luther Huggins. He would hit Huggins again about 4 minutes later on a 25 yard hookup and Junior tailback Alex Haynes, ineffective for most of the game, ran in a touchdown from 15 yards out, closing out the scoring.

"I want to give UCF coach Mike Kruczek credit" said Mustang coach Matt Bosela. "He had answers for every tactic we tried to employ. The blitz worked early; they adjusted and hit big plays. We went to a passive system which worked for awhile; they adjusted and made more big plays. It's impossible to win ballgames when you're giving up 50 yard plays by the bushel." Bosela concluding by saying "We're going to have to clean up a lot of things on the defensive side of the ball for next weeks game against Ball State if we're to have a chance. It's my job as coach to come up with something that will work - nothing worked today, so this loss is on me. Our players have pride and this performance will not sit well with them. Expect better next week."

Western was dealt a blow early in the game when standout wide receiver Geoff Kendrick was injured. Also going down for the Mustangs during the game was starting defensive tackle Darvin Billings. Their status for next week remains unknown. Western will host Ball State next week.

BOX SCORE:
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
UCF 7 21 0 21 49
Western Ontario 9 7 7 8 31

UWO 6:15 Q1 - Safety
UWO 3:57 Q1 - 8 Yard Run by Hargrove (Walker Kick)
UCF 2:26 Q1 - 54 Yard Pass from Schneider to Capers (Prater Kick)
UCF 12:14 Q2 - 71 Yard Pass from Schneider to Marshall (Prater Kick)
UCF 8:20 Q2 - 9 Yard Pass from Schneider to Capers (Prater Kick)
UWO 1:05 Q2 - 4 Yard Run by Hargrove (Walker Kick)
UCF 0:44 Q2 - 82 Yard Pass from Schneider to Marshall (Prater kick)
UWO 5:48 Q3 - 11 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Bearden (Walker Kick)
UWO 11:15 Q4 - 9 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Suggs (Foreman Run)
UCF 8:29 Q4 - 70 Yard Pass from Schneider to Huggins (Prater Kick)
UCF 4:32 Q4 - 25 Yard Pass from Schneider to Huggins (Prater Kick)
UCF 2:09 Q4 - 15 Yard Run by Haynes (Prater Kick
Attendance: 6,127

FINAL TEAM STATISTICS UCF UWO
First Downs 16 20
Total Offense 483 399
Rushes-Yards 30-52 39-105
Passing Yards 431 294
Comp-Att-Int 13-25-0 19-40-2
Sacked 4 5
3rd Down Conversions 5-11(45%) 8-18(44%)
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-1
Return Yards 181 260
Punts-Average 2-40.5 5-39.8
Penalties-Yards 5-35 5-41
Time of Possession 24:26 35:34

PASSING -
UCF: Schneider 13-24 431yds 6td 0int; Rivera 0-1 0yds 0td 0int
UWO: Hargrove 17-36 257yds 2td 2int; Hobbs 2-4 37yds 0td 0int
RUSHING -
UCF: Haynes 16-58yds; Curry 3-7yds; Rivera 1-(4yds); Schneider 10-(9yds)
UWO: Bearden 21-82yds; Briggs 2-12yds; Hargrove 11-9yds; Warren 1-4yds;
MacPherson 2-3yds; Hobbs 2-(5yds)
RECEIVING -
UCF: Capers 5-112yds; Marshall 3-181yds; Huggins 2-95yds; Sumpter 2-31yds;
Peterson 1-12yds
UWO: Bearden 4-50yds; Warren 4-60yds; Suggs 4-39yds; Kemp 2-24yds; Foreman 2-61yds;
Kendrick 2-47yds; Dangerfield 1-13yds

[NoSkillz]

Testing the Mettle
Longhorns have a tough conference opener with #15 Kansas State

Week Six Recap (Sports Illustrated) -
#19 Arkansas beat up on #18 Alabama 38-14 in week six action. #8 Pitt also won against #20 Texas A&M in more top 25 action.

Here is the Coaches' Poll after Week Six:
RANK LW TEAM RESULT W-L PTS
1 1 Miami(36) BYE 4-0 1452
2 2 Texas(22) W54-7 TULANE 4-0 1387
3 3 Auburn(1) W48-16 WKU 4-0 1323
4 4 Virginia Tech W55-13 UCONN 4-0 1261
5 5 Washington W32-18 STAN 4-0 1200
6 6 Georgia BYE 4-0 1141
7 8 Pittsburgh W38-17 TAMU 3-0 1041
8 7 Ohio State W49-35 NU 4-1 1032
9 9 Florida State W36-14 DUKE 5-0 971
10 10 Notre Dame W44-7 PURDUE 4-0 917
11 11 Tennessee W56-10 SCAR 4-0 865
12 12 Oklahoma BYE 3-1 765
13 13 Michigan W38-7 IU 4-1 721
14 14 USC W35-16 CAL 3-1 670
15 15 Kansas State BYE 4-1 629
16 16 NC State W29-15 UNC 4-1 585
17 17 LSU W36-28 MISS ST 4-1 542
18 19 Arkansas W38-14 BAMA 3-1 518
19 21 Nebraska W24-17 USM 4-0 419
20 24 Ole Miss W24-18 TXTECH 4-0 313
21 25 Florida W28-10 UK 3-2 240
22 NR Iowa W30-10 MSU 4-1 222
23 18 Alabama L14-38 ARK 3-2 199
24 20 Texas A&M L17-38 PITT 2-2 187
25 NR West Virginia BYE 3-1 164
NCAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offense - Craig Candeto (QB) Navy (7-13, 107 Yds, 20 Car, 143 Yds, 5 Total TDs)
Defense - Billy Strother (OLB) New Mexico (14 Tkls, 4 TFL, 2 Ints, 1 TD)

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

*** CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ***

Gameplan Outline - Week Seven vs. Ball State

Larry,

First of all, the good news. Geoff Kendrick and Darvin Billings, both shaken up in the UCF game, practiced this week and will both play in the game versus Ball State. We'll also have Shelton Tanner back for this game, although Brandon Hargrove has earned the starter job in his absence. I'll likely utilize Tanner for a series or two.

UCF was at their 'big play' best last Saturday, effectively torching our secondary. Zones, man-to-man...it didn't matter what we threw at them; they'd adjust. No excuses though - they just beat us up.

This week we play 1-4 Ball State here in London. Ball State is ranked 105 in the nation right now and we seem to match up relatively well against them. They're led on offense by Senior quarterback Andy Roesch, a big, prototypical QB. They have a couple key defensive players in Senior OLB Lorenzo Scott and CB Jesse Avant. They also have a dangerous kick returner in Sophomore wideout Larry Bostic. If anything, their pass defense is their strength, so we'll go back to basics and run Bearden a lot this game while throwing in some play action to confuse the linebackers and keep them honest.

The defense really worked hard this week and I know they'll come out hitting hard against the Cardinals.

I think our gameplan is sound and I expect a close game here. The time is right for our first conference victory. Here's to hoping!
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Mustangs Nab First Conference Win
Turnovers key in 34-20 triumph for Western

London, ON (Western Gazette) -
The University of Western Ontario Mustangs recovered 4 fumbles and picked off two Andy Roesch passes in a 34-20 victory over the Ball State Cardinals. It is Western's first ever NCAA conference victory.

Things started on a sour note for Western when starting quarterback Brandon Hargrove injured his groin on the first play from scrimmage; he would not return. Shelton Tanner stepped in after being out for 4 weeks with broken ribs and lead the Mustangs down the field, ending a great drive with a 13 yard strike to Geoff Kendrick to take the early lead. Ball State Freshman halfback Brad Seiss put the ball on the ground on the ensuing kickoff and Western recovered. They capitalized with a 41 yard field goal from Bryan Walker to increase their lead to 10. After some messy play from both teams that caused turnovers, Ball State finally got on the board near the end of the first quarter. They had a third and long from their own 10 when Roesch hit wideout Larry Bostic on a short post route that he turned into a 90 yard score. Western took the 10-7 lead into the second quarter.

Both offenses stalled in that second quarter, with Tanner looking very rusty in the process. Coach Matt Bosela decided to give third string quarterback Fred Hobbs a shot and he didn't disappoint, leading the Mustangs to a late field goal from Walker to take a 13-7 lead into the half.

The Cardinals came out flying in the third quarter and converted on an impressive 45 yard field goal from Mike Langford to cut the lead back to three. However, later in the half, Hobbs would hit tight end Damian Suggs on a beautiful play action fake from 5 yards out to extend the lead back to 10. Another field goal from Langford cut the lead to 7 and then Roesch was able to hit Dante Ridgeway from 17 yards out to tie the game early in the fourth quarter.

Throughout the game, Hobbs showed remarkable poise for a guy who had only thrown 15 passes in his collegiate career. He drove the 'Stangs down the field after another Cardinals fumble and hit wideout Jesse Warren to retake the lead. Roesch would get picked on his first throw from scrimmage on the next possession and Hobbs made him pay again, this time hitting Kendrick for his second score of the game to close out the scoring.

"Well, it's great to finally get that elusive first MAC win" proclaimed Bosela from the Mustang dressing room. "I was really impressed with the Cardinals run defense, as they really made things difficult for Bearden out there. I must say that Hobbs showed great leadership skills in leading us to victory - Shelton looked a bit rusty out there and we needed some spark. Fred does need to do a better job holding on to the ball, though, and you can bet we'll work on that in practice this week", referring to Hobbs' two fumbles on the day.

Sophomore safety Kevin McGrady had 7 tackles for the Mustangs and MLB Fabian Cobb had a huge game as well, with 5 tackles, 3 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. Offensively, Jerrell Bearden had 120 yards rushing on 31 carries and Geoff Kendrick had another 100 yard receiving day.

Darvin Billings, the Mustangs big defensive tackle, left the game in the third quarter with an arm injury. He did not return and x-ray results weren't available at presstime. Brandon Hargrove's status for Western's game against Marshall next week is also up in the air.

BOX SCORE:
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
Ball State 7 0 6 7 20
Western Ontario 10 3 7 14 34

UWO 10:47 Q1 - 13 Yard Pass from Tanner to Kendrick (Walker Kick)
UWO 9:41 Q1 - 41 Yard Field Goal by Walker
BALL 2:56 Q1 - 90 Yard Pass from Roesch to Bostic (Langford Kick)
UWO 0:06 Q2 - 38 Yard Field Goal by Walker
BALL 12:47 Q3 - 45 Yard Field Goal by Langford
UWO 3:32 Q3 - 5 Yard Pass from Hobbs to Suggs (Walker Kick)
BALL 0:11 Q3 - 41 Yard Field Goal by Langford
BALL 14:54 Q4 - 17 Yard Pass from Roesch to Ridgeway (Langford Kick)
UWO 5:17 Q4 - 14 Yard Pass from Hobbs to Warren (Walker Kick)
UWO 3:29 Q4 - 13 Yard Pass from Hobbs to Kendrick (Walker Kick)
Attendance:

FINAL TEAM STATISTICS BALL UWO
First Downs 10 20
Total Offense 251 351
Rushes-Yards 19-(1) 46-122
Passing Yards 252 229
Comp-Att-Int 13-35-2 16-36-0
Sacked 6 5
3rd Down Conversions 3-13(23%) 7-20(35%)
Fumbles-Lost 6-4 3-2
Return Yards 169 144
Punts-Average 6-46.0 8-38.6
Penalties-Yards 4-35 5-30
Time of Possession 20:39 39:21

PASSING -
BALL: Roesch 13-35 252yds 2td 2int
UWO: Tanner 6-21 69yds 1td 0int; Hobbs 10-15 160yds 3td 0int
RUSHING -
BALL: Blair 7-29yds; Sieman 3-5yds; Roesch 9-(35yds)
UWO: Bearden 31-120yds; MacPherson 2-9yds; Briggs 1-3yds; Tanner 7-0yds;
Suggs 1-(1yds); Kemp 2-(1yds); Hobbs 2-(8yds)
RECEIVING -
BALL: Hahaj 4-84yds; Franklin 3-36yds; Ridgeway 3-29yds; Bostic 2-94yds; Blair 1-9yds
UWO: Kendrick 6-119yds; Bearden 3-26yds; Warren 2-26yds; MacPherson 2-37yds;
Briggs 1-6yds; Suggs 1-5yds; Foreman 1-10yds

[NoSkillz]

Surviving a Scare
Longhorns get a wake-up call against Kansas State

Week Seven Recap (Sports Illustrated) -
In a shocking upset, the top ranked Miami Hurricanes were mauled 30-24 by the West Virginia Mountaineers in Big East play. Backed by a strong performance from quarterback Rasheed Marshall, the Mountaineers were able to unseat the Hurricanes from the unbeaten ranks. In other games, #23 Alabama was able to upset #6 Georgia 31-14 behind a 135 yard rushing performance from Senior Shaud Williams, #2 Texas squeaked by #15 Kansas State 24-17 in overtime and #5 Washington survived a scare from unranked UCLA to win 27-24 in overtime.

Here is the Coaches' Poll after Week Seven:

RANK LW TEAM RESULT W-L PTS
1 1 Texas(33) W24-17 KSU 5-0 1449
2 3 Auburn(23) W21-16 TENN 5-0 1396
3 4 Virginia Tech(2) W52-3 RU 5-0 1294
4 5 Washington(1) W27-24 UCLA 5-0 1233
5 7 Pittsburgh BYE 3-0 1116
6 8 Ohio State BYE 4-1 1005
7 9 Florida State BYE 5-0 1004
8 10 Notre Dame BYE 4-0 950
9 1 Miami L24-30 WVU 4-1 918
10 13 Michigan W34-21 IOWA 5-1 757
11 14 USC W45-31 ASU 4-1 697
12 6 Georgia L14-31 BAMA 4-1 683
13 16 NC State W33-21 GT 5-1 607
14 11 Tennessee L16-21 AUBURN 4-1 603
15 25 West Virginia W30-24 MIAMI 4-1 582
16 23 Alabama W31-14 UGA 4-2 573
17 17 LSU W34-23 SCAR 5-1 562
18 19 Nebraska W36-17 TROY 5-0 515
19 18 Arkansas BYE 3-1 512
20 20 Ole Miss W27-19 UF 5-0 482
21 15 Kansas State L17-24 TEXAS 4-2 380
22 12 Oklahoma L21-28 ISU 3-2 337
23 NR Iowa State W28-21 OU 4-1 269
24 24 Texas A&M W38-35 TXTECH 3-2 266
25 NR Maryland W37-24 CLEM 4-2 203

NCAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense - Hershel Dennis (HB) USC (27 Car, 145 Yds, 2 TDs, 5 Rec, 56 Yds, 2 TDs)
Defense - Kerry Rhodes (FS) Louisville (3 Tkls, 2 Ints, TD)

[NoSkillz]

NCAA Releases 2003 Statistics at Season Halfway Point

Offense -
Passing: TEAM QB RAT COMP ATT YARDS TD INT COMP%
Eli Manning MISS 186.2 105 163 1791 17 4 64
Josh Fields OKST 178.3 91 142 1428 14 2 64
John Navarre MICH 176.3 90 137 1326 14 3 65
Casey Clausen TENN 167.9 65 105 1074 7 1 61
Ryan Schneider UCF 160.7 84 154 1374 17 4 54
Shelton Tanner (#97) UWO 80.6 39 104 502 2 2 37

Rushing: TEAM ATT YARDS AVG TD LG
Shaud Williams BAMA 185 956 5.1 6 56
Keylon Kincade SMI 166 890 5.3 6 20
Michael Turner NIU 137 867 6.3 10 26
Anthony Davis WISC 135 858 6.3 7 80
Darnell Stephens AF 170 840 4.9 9 23
Jerrell Bearden (#16) UWO 146 681 4.6 5 41

Receiving: TEAM ATT YARDS AVG TD LG
Kunle Patrick NU 49 803 16.3 5 50
Rod Wilkerson BYU 46 571 12.4 2 49
Devard Darling WSU 41 637 15.5 6 68
Bernard Berrian FS 41 847 20.6 6 68
FOUR TIED WITH 39
Geoff Kendrick (T#20) UWO 34 713 20.9 6 46

Team Total Offense: TOTOFF PASS RUSH PTS/G
Colorado State 2887 1411 1476 32.8
Kansas State 2842 798 2044 43.5
Ole Miss 2793 2032 761 40.0
Washington State 2778 1887 891 34.8
Michigan 2762 1842 920 40.1
Western Ontario (#23) 2392 1618 772 29.8
Defense -
Tackles: TEAM TKLS TFL Sacks: TEAM SACKS
David Luskey EMU 72 5 Clifford Dukes MSU 8
Kyle Killion IU 64 10 Antonio Floyd ULLAF 8
Pat Durr NU 59 4 Will Smith BUCKS 7
Antonio Floyd ULLAF 59 16 Melvin Williams SMU 7
Joe Siofele ZONA 58 9 Ahmad Childress BAMA 7
Jayson Cochran (T#157) UWO 33 9 Roger Person (T#6) UWO 6

Interceptions: TEAM INT
Eli Ward MINN 6
Etric Pruitt USM 6
Scott Starks WISC 5
TWENTY TIED WITH 4
Sean Smith (T#59) UWO 2

Team Total Defense: TOTYDS PASS RUSH PTS/G
Pittsburgh 984 638 346 18.0
Arkansas 1129 682 447 16.5
Stanford 1271 887 384 18.6
Texas 1272 545 727 14.4
West Virginia 1323 761 562 17.2
Western Ontario (#64) 1964 1640 324 22.3

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

*** CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ***

Gameplan Outline - Week Eight at Marshall

Hi Larry,

Well, we expected the worst with Darvin Billings and got it: he's out for the season with an Upper Arm Fracture. We'll certainly have to suck it up defensively and get some strong play from Sophomore Kris Sharpe, who'll take his place on the line. Brandon Hargrove practiced all week and will start at quarterback. I was really concerned with Shelton Tanner's performance in a backup role last week; I hope it was just some rust after the injury layoff.

A pretty ugly game last week but our defense was really effective in the turnover department. We'll certainly need a huge game to hang with the Marshall Thundering Herd. They come into the game with a 3-2 (0-1) record and are ranked 41st in the nation but they've already knocked off a ranked opponent this year in Kansas State. They love to air it out historically, last year with Byron Leftwich, this year with Stan Hill, who's already thrown for over 1000 yards and for a 10-3 TD/Int ratio this year. Tailback Franklin Wallace has rushed for 536 yards so far this year but the key to stopping their offense will obviously be to nullify their pass game. On the other side of the ball, they have huge weaknesses with their run stopping as they're ranked 112th in the nation in that department. A healthy dose of Jerrell Bearden will be served at the Herd to take advantage.

We'll have to keep their explosive offense off the field, especially with the rowdy home crowd behind them. If we eliminate the big pass plays from their offense, we can keep this one close - if not, it won't be pretty.

Wish us luck...we'll need it!
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Humiliation!
Marshall embarrasses Western 69-17

Huntington, WV (Western Gazette) -
It was never even close. Marshall stormed out of the gate and scored early and often in a 69-17 victory over Western Saturday night. The Thundering Herd piled up 462 yards in the air against the porous Mustang secondary in the victory.

Western's defense actually played strong early, holding Marshall to an opening field goal after a 12 play drive. However, any Mustang momentum ended after a decent UWO drive was thwarted on a fourth down non-conversion. Marshall scored almost immediately after the turnover to take a 10-0 lead. The Thundering Herd would continue to roll, taking a 27 point lead into the half.

Western came out very strong in the second half, sparked by some fine defensive adjustments. They went to a passive system, dropping as many as eight into coverage, which confused Marshall quarterback Stan Hill - for awhile anyway. Western would capitalize on their defense's fine play with a 10 point quarter which reduced the Marshall lead to 17. Fred Hobbs lead the charge at quarterback after Hargrove left for a series with another injury. Hargrove would return in the fourth quarter for a drive but the Thundering Herd started to run away with the game, converting on big play after big play en route to a 42 point fourth quarter.

"We were humbled today by a very good team", a despondent Matt Bosela stated. "I thought we showed some tremendous character to get back to 27-10 in the fourth but their talent really started to shine in the end. They kicked our butt all over the field and we'll have to make some serious adjustments." Western used all three quarterbacks, with former starter Shelton Tanner looking the best of a sorry bunch, going 5 of 9 for 145 yards in a half a quarter's work. Western couldn't get their running game going at all because of the large early deficit, with Jerrell Bearden having his worst game of the season in rushing for only 56 yards. Geoff Kendrick had another great game, going over 100 yards receiving again. Senior SS Jayson Cochran was the lone standout on defense, with 8 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble.

Western will travel to Annapolis, Maryland next week to face Navy.

BOX SCORE:
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
Western Ontario 0 0 10 7 17
Marshall 10 17 0 42 69

MARSH 8:06 Q1 - 21 Yard Field Goal by Lewis
MARSH 0:11 Q1 - 32 Yard Pass from Hill to Watts (Lewis Kick)
MARSH 11:21 Q2 - 25 Yard Pass from Hill to Watts (Lewis Kick)
MARSH 6:08 Q2 - 18 Yard Pass from Hill to Wallace (Lewis Kick)
MARSH 0:02 Q2 - 26 Yard Field Goal by Lewis
UWO 9:17 Q3 - 31 Yard Field Goal by Walker
UWO 6:11 Q3 - 20 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Kendrick (Walker Kick)
MARSH 14:59 Q4 - 2 Yard Run by Wallace (Lewis Kick)
MARSH 12:14 Q4 - 49 Yard Pass from Hill to Watts (Lewis Kick)
MARSH 9:11 Q4 - 12 Yard Pass from Gochneaur to Manns (Lewis Kick)
MARSH 8:21 Q4 - 43 Yard Interception Return by Royal (Lewis Kick)
MARSH 7:15 Q4 - 62 Yard Pass from Gochneaur to Deifel (Lewis Kick)
UWO 0:47 Q4 - 80 Yard Pass from Tanner to Weber (Walker Kick)
MARSH 0:35 Q4 - 44 Yard Run by Charles (Lewis Kick)

FINAL TEAM STATISTICS UWO MARSH
First Downs 19 22
Total Offense 398 572
Rushes-Yards 35-39 25-110
Passing Yards 359 462
Comp-Att-Int 19-43-3 24-43-1
Sacked 7 1
3rd Down Conversions 6-17(35%) 8-12(66%)
Fumbles-Lost 5-2 4-0
Return Yards 346 102
Punts-Average 4-42.0 3-38.3
Penalties-Yards 10-78 10-113
Time of Possession 33:20 26:40

PASSING -
UWO: Hargrove 8-20 145yds 1td 2int; Hobbs 6-13 69yds 0td 1int;
Tanner 5-9 145yds 1td 0int; Walker 0-1 0yds 0td 0int
MARSH: Hill 21-38 376yds 4td 1int; Gochneaur 3-4 86yds 2td 0int;
Watts 0-1 0yds 0td 0int
RUSHING -
UWO: Bearden 17-56yds; Briggs 4-17yds; Westbrook 1-6yds; MacPherson 1-3yds;
Hargrove 8-(7yds); Hobbs 2-(13yds); Tanner 2-(23yds)
MARSH: Wallace 13-54yds; Charles 3-50yds; Hargrove 7-17yds; Hill 1-(4yds);
Gochneaur 1-(7yds)
RECEIVING -
UWO: Kendrick 5-103yds; Dangerfield 4-65yds; Suggs 3-38yds; Warren 2-10yds;
Foreman 2-35yds; Bearden 2-28yds; Weber 1-80yds
MARSH: Watts 9-223yds; Wallace 4-48yds; Davis 3-39yds; Rader 3-33yds;
Guillory 2-20yds; Deifel 1-62yds; Manns 1-12yds; Schroeder 1-25yds

[NoSkillz]

Hot 'n Fresh Rankings
Check out the season's inaugural Bowl Rankings

Week Eight Recap (Sports Illustrated) -
More upsets for week eight as the struggling Oklahoma Sooners defeated top ranked Texas 37-12 to knock them from the unbeaten ranks. Tailback Mark Clayton made 8 receptions for 173 yards in the win. In other action, Auburn defeated #19 Arkansas 41-25 and Notre Dame defeated Pitt 27-17.

Here is the Coaches' Poll after Week Eight:


RANK LW TEAM RESULT W-L PTS
1 1 Auburn(33) W41-25 ARK 6-0 1449
2 3 Virginia Tech(25) W44-17 SU 6-0 1365
3 4 Washington(1) W31-14 NEVADA 6-0 1302
4 8 Notre Dame W27-17 PITT 5-0 1188
5 7 Florida State W27-17 MIAMI 6-0 1165
6 6 Ohio State W33-24 WISC 5-1 1122
7 1 Texas L12-37 OU 5-1 903
8 10 Michigan W37-14 MINN 6-1 903
9 11 USC W30-26 STAN 5-1 848
10 5 Pittsburgh L17-27 ND 3-1 832
11 14 Tennessee W52-17 UGA 5-1 819
12 13 NC State W42-21 UCONN 6-1 751
13 22 Oklahoma W37-12 TEXAS 4-2 684
14 15 West Virginia W28-17 RU 5-1 654
15 9 Miami L17-27 FSU 4-2 584
16 17 LSU W24-17 UF 6-1 567
17 18 Nebraska W52-7 MIZZOU 6-0 565
18 20 Ole Miss W27-10 ARKST 6-0 481
19 12 Georgia L17-52 TENN 4-2 401
20 21 Kansas State W45-28 OKST 5-2 394
21 23 Iowa State W35-25 TXTECH 5-1 330
22 24 Texas A&M W49-14 BAYLOR 4-2 284
23 19 Arkansas L25-41 AUBURN 3-2 258
24 25 Maryland W51-6 DUKE 5-2 255
25 NR Northern Illinois W61-28 CMU 5-1 231
NCAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offense - Terrence Murphy (WR) Texas A&M (7 Rec, 126 Yds, 4 Total TDs)
Defense - Karlos Dansby (OLB) Auburn (12 Tkls, 1 TFL, FF, TD)

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

*** CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ***

Gameplan Outline - Week Nine at Navy

Hi Larry,

An ugly game last week at Marshall. Nothing else you can say about it. Pretty much nothing in the way of positives other than the fact we escaped with no injuries. As I thought in my report to you last week, the big plays weren't avoided and it proved to be our downfall. It was a pretty big crowd in West Virginia last week; certainly the biggest our guys have ever played in front of and they seemed a bit nervous. It'll be my job this week to make sure that doesn't happen this week at Navy.

The Midshipmen come into the game with a 3-3 record and are ranked 85th in the nation compared to our 101st ranking. They have the 4th ranked run offense in the NCAA, averaging an amazing 269 yards per game! Tony Lane and Eric Roberts split the duties in Navy's backfield. Senior quarterback Craig Candeto rarely throws but doesn't make mistakes. Navy has a strong pass defense led by OLB Eddie Carthan but he is out for the season with a broken collarbone. We can run on their 102nd ranked rush defense so Bearden will have to get more touches this week than he did against Marshall.

It should be a fun game in front of a big crowd. I like our chances in this game better than last week with our #1 ranked run defense against an offense that values the handoff. We must be disciplined, eliminate turnovers, and score when we get opportunities.

M.B.

[korme]

This is excellent.

[NoSkillz]

Thanks Shorty!

I didn't know if anyone was even reading! I appreciate the kind words!

[NoSkillz]

Mustangs Lose in OT Thriller
Bearden's fumble costly in the extra period as Western falls to Navy

Annapolis, MD (Western Gazette) -
The Navy Midshipmen pulled out a 20-17 victory over the UWO Mustangs in overtime Saturday afternoon in front of a big crowd in Annapolis. Jerrell Bearden lost the ball in overtime at the Navy 3 yard line on Western's possession after Navy chose defense. Navy's possession only saw them gain three yards but an Eric Rolfs field goal ended the contest for Navy.

Brandon Hargrove started the game for Western and struggled the entire time, throwing 3 interceptions in less than two quarters of play. Navy was able to convert on two of them, first with a 43 yard field goal from Rolfs and then on a one yard option plunge from Senior quarterback Craig Candeto to take a 10-0 lead. Coach Matt Bosela from Western then put Shelton Tanner in the game and he led the 'Stangs on a late 1st half scoring drive that culminated in a 17 yard swing pass to backup tailback Randall Briggs to cut the Midshipmen lead to 3 at the half.

Western controlled the clock in the third quarter, which was highlighted by a 1 yard touchdown run from Sophomore fullback Ray MacPherson. That gave Western their first lead of the ball game.

The fourth quarter saw things go Navy's way. Western would give up yet another big pass play when stalwart cornerback Sean Smith got a bit too aggressive diving for an interception. Navy Junior wideout Lionel Wesley took advantage of this miscue and took off down the field on a 59 yard score to give his team the lead right back.

Coach Bosela made a great strategic move late in the fourth quarter. With the Mustangs down 3 points and stalled at the Navy 48 yard line on a fourth and ten, he decided to punt the ball away and trust his defense. Sophomore K/P Bryan Walker nailed a beauty out of bounds at the 3 yard line to hem the Midshipmen in their zone. Navy would go three and out and would have to punt themselves. The offense then did their part, marching down the field and converting on a Walker field goal from 33 yards out in the waning seconds to knot the score at 17.

Navy won the OT coin toss and gave UWO the first shot on offense. They marched down the field beautifully but just when it looked like they'd score, Bearden dropped the ball and Navy recovered. Navy played smart ball on their possession, gaining only three yards but that's all Rolfs needed, and he made no mistake on the winning field goal. Navy improved their record to 4-3 while Western drops to 3-5 on the year.

"It's my fault" claimed star back Jerrell Bearden in the press room after the game. "I don't lose many but I coughed it up at the worst time. I definitely won't sleep tonight and I just hope the guys in the room stay behind me. I won't let them down again." Bosela had a different opinion, stating "Bearden has been our most consistent player all year. He's tough, he's played hurt and he's one of the most promising players in this league. None of the guys in this dressing room blame him for this loss and I guarantee he'll bounce back in resounding fashion in our next game."

Western will be at home to Miami of Ohio next week in a MAC divisional game.

BOX SCORE:
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH OT TOTAL
Western Ontario 0 7 7 3 0 17
Navy 3 7 0 7 3 20

NAVY 1:57 Q1 - 43 Yard Field Goal by Rolfs
NAVY 4:21 Q2 - 1 Yard Run by Candeto (Rolfs Kick)
UWO 0:51 Q2 - 17 Yard Pass from Tanner to Briggs (Walker Kick)
UWO 4:23 Q3 - 1 Yard Run by MacPherson (Walker Kick)
NAVY 14:47 Q4 - 59 Yard Pass from Candeto to Wesley (Rolfs Kick)
UWO 0:26 Q4 - 33 Yard Field Goal by Walker
NAVY OT - 40 Yard Field Goal by Rolfs

FINAL TEAM STATISTICS UWO NAVY
First Downs 18 11
Total Offense 351 268
Rushes-Yards 41-116 26-53
Passing Yards 235 215
Comp-Att-Int 15-35-3 11-33-0
Sacked 2 3
3rd Down Conversions 6-18(33%) 2-14(14%)
Fumbles-Lost 4-2 3-0
Return Yards 122 91
Punts-Average 7-40.4 9-37.8
Penalties-Yards 7-73 2-20
Time of Possession 37:12 22:48

PASSING -
UWO: Hargrove 4-9 60yds 0td 3int; Tanner 11-26 175yds 1td 0int
NAVY: Candeto 11-33 215yds 1td 0int
RUSHING -
UWO: Bearden 31-110yds; MacPherson 5-17yds; Briggs 1-2yds; Kemp 1-1yd;
Hargrove 1-(6yds); Tanner 2-(8yds)
NAVY: Lane 8-39yds; Roberts 3-11yds; Eckel 7-8yds; Weedo 1-5yds; Mathews 1-3yds;
Candeto 6-(13yds)
RECEIVING -
UWO: Warren 5-81yds; Suggs 5-59yds; Bearden 1-9yds; Foreman 1-11yds; Kemp 1-36yds;
Kendrick 1-22yds; Briggs 1-17yds
NAVY: Wesley 7-174yds; Roberts 1-1yd; Gibbon 1-13yds; Jenkins 1-15yds; Yokitis 1-12yds

[korme]

What level are you playing on, NS?

[NoSkillz]

I'm using the Varsity level and just calling plays in "coach mode". After a LOT of practicing to determine which level came out with the most realistic stats, Varsity proved to be most fair to both the Human and CPU teams. 10 minute quarters, BTW (a bit of simple math to extrapolate the times in my summaries to 15 minute quarters). I forget who's sliders I'm using...maybe GrantDawg??

[tucker342]

Great stuff so far!:)

You know you have a crappy pass defence when Navy passes for 215 yards:D

[korme]

Was going to ask how you get scores with 14 minutes remaining on 10 minute quarters.. ;)

Cool stuff.

[NoSkillz]

Great stuff so far!

You know you have a crappy pass defence when Navy passes for 215 yards

:D Tell me about it! And I get Ben Roethlisberger in the next game. Won't be pretty :(

[NoSkillz]

Upset Saturday!
Seminoles are one of the many upset victims this week falling to Virginia

Week Nine Recap (Sports Illustrated) -
Virginia Cavaliers QB Matt Schaub had a huge day, going 26-37 for 416 yards and 3 TD's to help knock off #5 Florida State 55-34 in Charlottesville. In other action, #18 Ole Miss was also handed their first loss of the season by Alabama 38-28, #8 Michigan was shocked 29-6 at home versus Illinois and #9 USC defeated #4 Notre Dame 40-19.

Here is the Coaches' Poll after Week Nine:
RANK LW TEAM RESULT W-L PTS
1 1 Auburn(59) W37-3 MISS ST 7-0 1475
2 9 USC W40-19 ND 6-1 1130
3 6 Ohio State W43-20 IOWA 6-1 1127
4 7 Texas W25-20 ISU 6-1 1085
5 2 Virginia Tech L24-31 WVU 6-1 967
6 14 West Virginia W31-24 VT 6-1 948
7 10 Pittsburgh W38-35 RU 4-1 914
8 4 Notre Dame L19-40 USC 5-1 878
9 11 Tennessee BYE 5-1 868
10 12 NC State W29-28 CLEM 7-1 824
11 3 Washington L13-38 OR ST 6-1 822
12 13 Oklahoma W42-10 MIZZOU 5-2 763
13 5 Florida State L34-55 UVA 6-1 713
14 15 Miami W50-10 TEMPLE 5-2 674
15 17 Nebraska W48-14 TAMU 7-0 652
16 16 LSU BYE 6-1 644
17 NR Oregon State W38-13 WASH 6-1 568
18 19 Georgia W59-21 VANDY 5-2 510
19 20 Kansas State W34-27 CU 6-2 475
20 8 Michigan L6-29 ILLINI 6-2 396
21 23 Arkansas W38-10 UF 4-2 362
22 NR Virginia W55-34 FSU 5-2 341
23 24 Maryland BYE 5-2 332
24 NR Alabama W38-28 MISS 5-3 331
25 18 Ole Miss L28-38 BAMA 6-1 314
NCAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offense - Trinity Dawson (HB) Toledo (25 Car, 226 Yds, 3 TDs)
Defense - Atari Bigby (SS) UCF (6 Tkls, 3 Ints, TD)

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

*** CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ***

Gameplan Outline - Week Ten vs Miami(OH)

Hi Larry,

Very disappointing. That sums up the result last week versus Navy. I gotta tell you, Jerrell is really upset about the fumble last week. I'm going to give him plenty of opportunities this weekend - he's gotta get back on that horse, so to speak. In the end, it was a pretty good game with some great plays in front of a big crowd. Just a great experience for the guys.

On to our game this week versus Miami of Ohio. They are coming off a loss to Ball State, a team we've defeated this season. I'm worried about this game; Miami is only 2-5 but they have a lot of skill on offense, with Ben Roethlisberger leading the charge at quarterback. They've got two quality receivers in Michael Larkin and Korey Kirkpatrick and a good tailback in Luke Clemens. Their defense has had some trouble this year, however, ranked 108th in the nation overall. They also turn the ball over quite a bit, with a -1.7 turnover differential per game.

I will employ a 'bend and hopefully don't break' defensive strategy this game to avoid big pass plays as much as possible. We've been stung repeatedly this year by quick slants and bombs that have taken advantage of our weak secondary. On offense, we'll go back to Brandon Hargrove and rely on ball control to keep the ball out of Roethlisberger's hands for as long as possible.

This one will be a challenge but that's what I live for. See you after the game.

M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Redhawks too Much
Western can't stop Miami of Ohio's offense in 42-24 loss

London, ON (Western Gazette) -
The University of Western Ontario Mustangs ran into a very mad Miami of Ohio team on Saturday afternoon and ended up on the losing end of a 42-24 score. Even worse for Western was the loss of starting quarterback Brandon Hargrove with a dislocated shoulder.

The game started well for Western, as they were able to take advantage of a missed field goal from Miami kicker Jared Parseghian and march right down the field for a score. Jerrell Bearden was able to pound it in from 2 yards out to give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead. The Redhawks then came right back on a 7 yard pass from star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to Korey Kirkpatrick. Not to be outdone, Western struck quickly, hitting on a big 51 yard pass from Hargrove to Jesse Warren to take a 14-7 lead into the second quarter.

Both offenses played efficient ball early in the game, with Western employing a shotgun offense to positive effect. Miami scored next on a one yard plunge from Luke Clements. The next play proved costly for Western, as Randall Briggs fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and special teams player Darrell Hunter picked it up and returned it for a back-breaking score. Western persevered, however, and drove down the field late in the half, scoring on a one yard dive from Bearden to tie it at the half at 21.

The second half started ominously for Western as Hargrove took a big hit on an option run and left with a dislocated shoulder. He was replaced by Shelton Tanner. Miami would score first in the second half on a 72 yard run from Clemens. Miami followed a Western field goal with another big touchdown, this time on a 64 yard pass from Roethlisberger to Michael Larkin to take a 35-24 lead into the fourth quarter.

Miami played strong defensively in the fourth and scored the only points on Roethlisberger's third touchdown pass of the day, this time to Andre Henderson, making the final score 42-24.

"I thought we competed pretty well today" said Matt Bosela. "You knew they would come out firing on all cylinders after that loss to Ball State and they certainly did. They have a great quarterback over there and even though we forced a few picks, he showed his mental toughness in coming back. We're not there yet as a team but I see signs of improvement and that's all I can ask from a young team.

Jesse Warren had a huge day for the Mustangs with 149 yards on 6 catches while Kevin McGrady was the defensive star for UWO with 8 tackles and an interception.

Western has a bye next week and will prepare for a road game against Ohio in two weeks.

BOX SCORE:
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
Miami(OH) 7 14 14 7 42
Western Ontario 14 7 3 0 24

UWO 6:56 Q1 - 1 Yard Run by Bearden (Walker Kick)
MIAMIU 4:26 Q1 - 7 Yard Pass from Roethlisberger to Kirkpatrick
(Parseghian Kick)
UWO 3:00 Q1 - 51 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Warren (Walker Kick)
MIAMIU 6:55 Q2 - 1 Yard Run by Clemens (Parseghian Kick)
MIAMIU 6:45 Q2 - 21 Yard Fumble Return by Hunter (Parseghian Kick)
UWO 0:15 Q2 - 1 Yard Run by Bearden (Walker Kick)
MIAMIU 7:09 Q3 - 72 Yard Run by Clemens (Parseghian Kick)
UWO 2:20 Q3 - 33 Yard Field Goal by Walker
MIAMIU 0:00 Q3 - 64 Yard Pass from Roethlisberger to Larkin
(Parseghian Kick)
MIAMIU 4:53 Q4 - 17 Yard Pass from Roethlisberger to Henderson
(Parseghian Kick)
Attendance: 4803

FINAL TEAM STATISTICS MIAMIU UWO
First Downs 24 23
Total Offense 572 410
Rushes-Yards 28-177 36-117
Passing Yards 395 293
Comp-Att-Int 23-36-3 20-44-3
Sacked 3 2
3rd Down Conversions 3-7(42%) 9-17(52%)
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 6-2
Return Yards 121 146
Punts-Average 2-34.0 3-42.7
Penalties-Yards 7-47 3-15
Time of Possession 28:18 31:42

PASSING -
MIAMIU: Roethlisberger 22-35 390yds 3td 3int;
Betts 1-1 5yds 0td 0int
UWO: Hargrove 15-30 206yds 1td 1int; Tanner 5-14 87 yds 0td 2int
RUSHING -
MIAMIU: Clemens 13-131yds; Capper 6-36yds; Murray 3-13yds;
Ciborowski 2-7yds; Roethlisberger 4-(10yds)
UWO: Bearden 21-70yds; Kemp 3-35yds; Hargrove 5-6yds; Tanner 4-6yds;
MacPherson 1-1yd; Briggs 1-0yds; Warren 1-(1yd)
RECEIVING -
MIAMIU: Larkin 8-205yds; Henderson 4-40yds; Nance 3-31yds;
Brandt 3-46yds; Kirkpatrick 2-38yds; Robinson 2-29yds;
Clemens 1-6yds
UWO: Warren 6-149yds; Kendrick 4-60yds; Kemp 3-23yds;
Foreman 2-27yds; Suggs 2-10yds; Bearden 2-19yds;
Briggs 1-5yds

[NoSkillz]

Fallen!
Notre Dame is knocked off by rival Boston College 48-41

Week Ten Recap (Sports Illustrated) -
Boston College Sophomore cornerback Larry Lester returned an interception for a touchdown to lead the Eagles to a 48-41 overtime victory over archrival Notre Dame. In other big games, #1 Auburn knocked off #16 LSU 34-24, #2 USC defeated #11 Washington 37-27 and #24 Alabama upset #9 Tennessee 32-22.

Here is the Coaches' Poll after Week Ten:

RANK LW TEAM RESULT W-L PTS
1 1 Auburn(59) W34-24 LSU 8-0 1475
2 2 USC W37-27 WASH 7-1 1368
3 3 Ohio State W39-29 IU 7-1 1277
4 4 Texas W41-7 BAYLOR 7-1 1223
5 5 Virginia Tech BYE 6-1 1168
6 6 West Virginia BYE 6-1 1116
7 7 Pittsburgh W52-21 SU 5-1 1062
8 10 NC State W41-24 DUKE 8-1 920
9 12 Oklahoma W14-0 CU 6-2 813
10 13 Florida State W40-14 WAKE 7-1 779
11 14 Miami BYE 5-2 721
12 11 Washington L27-37 USC 6-2 589
13 9 Tennessee L22-32 BAMA 5-2 562
14 18 Georgia W23-6 UAB 6-2 557
15 19 Kansas State W33-14 KU 7-2 520
16 8 Notre Dame L41-48 BC 5-2 514
17 24 Alabama W32-22 TENN 6-3 511
18 20 Michigan W23-3 PURDUE 7-2 481
19 21 Arkansas W30-3 MISS 5-2 440
20 15 Nebraska L18-23 ISU 7-1 426
21 16 LSU L24-34 AUBURN 6-2 422
22 22 Virginia W37-21 TROY 6-2 405
23 NR Iowa State W23-18 NEB 6-2 388
24 NR Washington State W17-13 OR ST 7-1 323
25 17 Oregon State L13-17 WSU 6-2 295

NCAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense - Wally Lundy (HB) Virginia (27 Car, 165 Yds, 3 TDs, 6 Rec, 81 Yds)
Defense - Steve Burke (SS) Miami(OH) (10 Tkls, 1 TFL, 2 Ints, 2 FF, 2 FR)

[NoSkillz]

Is This His Year?
Kansas State's Roberson is the leading Maxwell candidate at this point

NCAA Special Report (Sports Illustrated) -
The NCAA released the names of all semifinalists for the college football trophies to be handed out at season's end. There are 15 semifinalists for each of these awards and have listed the top three candidates below. For more names, please visit our website at sportsillustrated.com.


Maxwell Award
Ell Roberson (Kansas State) QB
Keylon Kincade (SMU) HB
Michael Turner (Northern Illinois) HB

Best QB
Philip Rivers (NC State)
Timmy Chang (Hawaii)
Matt Leinart (USC)

Best RB
Keylon Kincade (SMU)
Michael Turner (Northern Illinois)
T.A. McClendon (NC State)

Best WR
Rashaun Woods (Oklahoma State)
Michael Jenkins (Ohio State)
Mike Espy (Ole Miss)

Best OL
Brett Waller (Air Force)
Shane Olivea (Ohio State)
Nick Leckey (Kansas State)

Bednarik
Marlin Jackson (Michigan) CB
Eli Ward (Minnesota) FS
Antonio Floyd (UL Lafayette) DE

Best DL
Antonio Floyd (UL Lafayette)
Jonathan Goodard (Marshall)
Andrew Shull (Kansas State)

Best LB
Karlos Dansby (Auburn)
Rod Davis (Southern Miss)
Marquis Cooper (Washington)

Thorpe
Marlin Jackson (Michigan) CB
Eli Ward (Minnesota) FS
Jamaal Brimmer (UNLV) SS

Groza
Nate Kaeding (Iowa)
Michael Braunstein (Washington)
Kirk Ylimiemi (Oregon State)

Coach of the Year
Chuck Amato (NC State)
Tommy Tuberville (Auburn)
Mike Kruczek (UCF)

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

Hi Larry,

We fought hard against Miami of Ohio but they were just a bit too talented for us. That Roethlisberger is going to be a star in the NFL, let me tell you.

We got some great news on Monday regarding starting QB Brandon Hargrove. He had dislocated his non-throwing shoulder in our loss but it turns out he'll be ready for the game in two weeks against Ohio. We'll keep him out of practice during our bye week and just have him study film.

Ohio also has a bye this coming weekend so I'll be doing prep work here in London. I'll have more on this game and our strategies in my report to you next week.

Take care,
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

A Charmed Season?
Buckeyes are looking to stir up some controversy in latest Bowl Rankings.

Week Eleven Recap (Sports Illustrated) -
Buckeyes tailback Lydell Ross ran for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead Ohio State to a 28-25 win over Penn State. In other news, Nebraska shocked #4 Texas 28-14 and #5 Virginia Tech was defeated by #11 Miami 27-3.

Here is the Coaches' Poll after Week Eleven:
RANK LW TEAM RESULT W-L PTS
1 1 Auburn(59) W49-0 ULM 9-0 1475
2 2 USC W26-21 WSU 8-1 1357
3 3 Ohio State W28-25 PSU 8-1 1297
4 6 West Virginia W41-3 UCF 7-1 1134
5 7 Pittsburgh W27-20 BC 6-1 1081
6 8 NC State W35-31 UVA 9-1 1043
7 11 Miami W27-3 VT 6-2 1033
8 9 Oklahoma W29-17 OKST 7-2 973
9 12 Washington W50-30 OREGON 7-2 830
10 16 Notre Dame W55-13 FSU 6-2 814
11 4 Texas L14-28 NEB 7-2 784
12 13 Tennessee W45-10 DUKE 6-2 782
13 5 Virginia Tech L3-27 MIAMI 6-2 771
14 20 Nebraska W28-14 TEXAS 8-1 726
15 15 Kansas State W46-0 BAYLOR 8-2 698
16 17 Alabama BYE 6-3 603
17 18 Michigan W38-7 MSU 8-2 573
18 19 Arkansas W38-0 UK 6-2 529
19 10 Florida State L13-55 ND 7-2 529
20 25 Oregon State W42-17 ARIZONA 7-2 314
21 NR Texas A&M W19-18 KU 6-3 274
22 14 Georgia L3-40 UF 6-3 236
23 NR Marshall W33-27 ZIPS 7-2 218
24 24 Washington State L21-26 USC 7-2 206
25 22 Virginia L31-35 NCSU 6-3 190

NCAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offense - Daniel Davis (HB) Kansas State (41 Car, 243 Yds, 3 TD)
Defense - Calvin Armstrong (CB) Stanford (7 Tkls, 2 Ints, 1 TD)

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

*** CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ***

Gameplan Outline - Week Twelve at Ohio

Larry,

Ohio comes into this game with a 3-5 record but are on a roll, having won 2 in a row. They run a wishbone offense with Fred Ray at quarterback and two decent tailbacks in Ray Huston and Stafford Owens. They are currently 24th in the nation in rushing, averaging over 200 yards on the ground per game. They are second last in passing. This bodes well for our top ranked rush defense and last ranked pass defense. However, we must be careful here: Navy was a run-oriented team and they used an air attack against us so we'll certainly be ready for more throws than the norm from the Bobcats.

Ohio has a pretty good pass defense, ranked 38th in the nation so we'll try to run a bit more with Jerrell Bearden this week. I'm going to be keeping the option run out of our gameplan for the most part this week; I don't need our quarterback to go down again. In fact, I may spell Hargrove for a series or two with Fred Hobbs.

Overall, both teams match up evenly across the board and we will be able to prevail if we win the turnover battle and the time of possession battle. I hope to start a new winning streak with this game!

M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Back on Track
Western pulls out victory on the road against Ohio

Athens, OH (Western Gazette) -
Jerrell Bearden ran for 130 yards and Geoff Kendrick caught 6 balls for 156 yards in a 24-20 Mustang victory over the Ohio Bobcats Saturday night. With the win, Western improves to 4-6 on the season and the Bobcats fall to 3-6.

Both defenses were tough in the early going and posted zeros in the first quarter. Ohio opened the scoring early in the second, on a 28 yard field goal from Greg DiMarino. Ohio would go up by 10 about 5 minutes later, taking advantage of poor tackling on a 63 yard option run by Stafford Owens. This seemed to finally awaken the dormant Mustang offense, as they marched down the field on four plays, culminating in a big 45 yard touchdown pass from Brandon Hargrove to stalwart wideout Geoff Kendrick to pull to within 3 points. The Mustangs would then tie it up at 10 just before the half on a Bryan Walker 36 yard field goal.

Western came out running the ball in the second half and scored on a 2 yard run from Bearden for their first lead of the game. On the next possession, Ohio turned the ball over on downs, giving the Mustangs great field position. However, Hargrove threw an ill-advised pass into triple coverage at the Ohio 1 yard line, where it was picked off by Freshman cornerback Thomas Wright. Wright returned the pick all the way to the house, setting an NCAA record in the process for longest INT return to tie the game at 17. Western coach Matthew Bosela decided to sit Hargrove on the next series for his error and Fred Hobbs quickly stumbled through a three-and-out drive to give the pumped up Bobcats the ball back at the end of the third quarter.

Ohio took advantage of Western's nervous play with a big 38 yard field goal from DiMarino to retake the lead at 20-17. However, with Hargrove back in at QB, the 'Stangs drove right back down the field with confidence and Bearden again dove into the endzone, this time from 5 yards out to seal the game for Western. Ohio would get the ball back on two more occasions but couldn't get down the field to win the game.

"It's certainly nice to break the 3 game losing streak" indicated coach Bosela in the press room after the game. "It's our first road win versus a top-117 team as well, so we'll take this as a big confidence booster and try to build off of it. I think we've gotten away too much from the run in the past month or so and I was really happy that we were able to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides in the second half. They really ran well in the first but our adjustments really were effective in the second." Bosela would add that he was thrilled with the effort from all players in his lockerroom.

Western stays on the road and faces Bowling Green University next week in an attempt for their fifth win of the season.

BOX SCORE:
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
Western Ontario 0 10 7 7 24
Ohio 0 10 7 3 20

OHIO 12:24 Q2 - 28 Yard Field Goal by DiMarino
OHIO 7:11 Q2 - 63 Yard Run by Owens (DiMarino Kick)
UWO 5:48 Q2 - 45 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Kendrick (Walker Kick)
UWO 0:27 Q2 - 36 Yard Field Goal by Walker
UWO 7:32 Q3 - 2 Yard Run by Bearden (Walker Kick)
OHIO 4:29 Q3 - 99 Yard Interception Return by Wright (DiMarino Kick)
OHIO 14:48 Q4 - 38 Yard Field Goal by DiMarino
UWO 8:39 Q4 - 5 Yard Run by Bearden (Walker Kick)

FINAL TEAM STATISTICS UWO OHIO
First Downs 13 12
Total Offense 379 330
Rushes-Yards 36-164 39-187
Passing Yards 215 143
Comp-Att-Int 14-30-1 7-30-0
Sacked 1 4
3rd Down Conversions 4-15(26%) 2-16(12%)
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-1
Return Yards 139 167
Punts-Average 7-41.1 4-36.5
Penalties-Yards 7-50 8-70
Time of Possession 29:33 30:27

PASSING -
UWO: Hargrove 14-29 215yds 1td 1int; Hobbs 0-1 0yds 0td 0int
OHIO: Ray 7-30 143yds 0td 0int
RUSHING -
UWO: Bearden 28-130yds; Hargrove 3-16yds; Kemp 1-15yds; MacPherson 2-5yds;
Briggs 1-yds; Hobbs 1-(5yds)
OHIO: Owens 14-152yds; Young 9-31yds; Fountain 1-3yds; Huston 6-3yds;
Ray 9-(2yds)
RECEIVING -
UWO: Kendrick 6-156yds; Suggs 5-20yds; Warren 3-39yds
OHIO: Ingram 2-55yds; Owens 1-30yds; Young 1-6yds; Maxwell 1-14yds;
Antie 1-16yds; Hackett 1-22yds

[NoSkillz]

Dark Horse
The Mountaineers sneak up to a #3 ranking in the latest Coaches' Poll

Week Twelve Recap (Sports Illustrated) -
Miquelle Henderson caught 2 touchdown passes from Rasheed Marshall in a 31-16 West Virginia win over Boston College Saturday afternoon. The Mountaineers move to 8-1 on the season. In other action, Auburn maintained the only perfect NCAA record with a 38-17 trouncing of Ole Miss, #2 USC was upset by Oregon State 20-13 and #5 Pitt lost big to Virginia Tech 44-13.

Here is the Coaches' Poll after Week Twelve:
RANK LW TEAM RESULT W-L PTS
1 1 Auburn(59) W38-17 MISS 10-0 1475
2 3 Ohio State W34-16 MSU 9-1 1287
3 4 West Virginia W31-16 BC 8-1 1229
4 6 NC State BYE 9-1 1120
5 7 Miami W27-26 TENN 7-2 1086
6 8 Oklahoma W38-14 TAMU 8-2 1015
7 9 Washington W31-24 ARIZ 8-2 953
8 13 Virginia Tech W44-13 PITT 7-2 947
9 10 Notre Dame W48-6 NAVY 7-2 900
10 2 USC L13-20 OR ST 8-2 864
11 11 Texas W42-20 OK ST 8-2 853
12 5 Pittsburgh L13-44 VT 6-2 727
13 14 Nebraska W56-20 KU 9-1 721
14 20 Oregon State W20-13 USC 8-2 694
15 16 Alabama W38-10 MISS ST 7-3 613
16 17 Michigan BYE 8-2 579
17 18 Arkansas W27-16 SCAR 7-2 535
18 19 Florida State W42-3 CLEM 8-2 496
19 12 Tennessee L26-27 MIAMI 6-3 469
20 22 Georgia BYE 6-3 368
21 23 Marshall W48-13 MIAMIU 8-2 341
22 24 Washington State W32-20 UCLA 8-2 305
23 25 Virginia BYE 6-3 261
24 15 Kansas State L20-37 ISU 8-3 244
25 NR Minnesota W24-21 WISC 9-2 237

NCAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offense - Selvin Young (HB) Texas (28 Car, 162 Yds, 4 TD, 4 Rec, 68 Yds)
Defense - Jason Babin (RE) Western Michigan (10 Tkls, 3 TFL, FF, TD)

[NoSkillz]

Memo To: Larry Haylor, UWO A.D.
Memo From: Matthew Bosela, UWO Head Coach, Football

*** CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ***

Gameplan Outline - Week Thirteen at Bowling Green

Larry,

Well, it certainly wasn't pretty, but we got the job done in Athens last weekend. There were a lot of mistakes on both sides of the ball but in the end we were able to wear them down at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. 4 wins is better than most thought we could do in our first season and we've still got an outside shot of a .500 season.

One game at a time, however. Bowling Green is ranked 81st in the nation according to SI and come into this game with a 4-5 record. They run a pro-style offense and Senior quarterback Josh Harris is certainly a handful. He has a good arm, NFL size and can run like the wind. We'll have to have someone spying on this kid all game. P.J. Pope looks to be headed to 1000 yards in their backfield and wideout James Hawkins is a big play receiver. On defense, we'll have to control Sophomore end Monty Cooley who already has 11 sacks this year.

This will be a tough game for us and my goal is to keep the guys motivated throughout the game. It's our 2nd road game in a row and we have the big rivalry game at home next week versus Buffalo so I've had a hard time keeping the focus on this week's game. We'll have to limit mistakes and play hard for 60 minutes to steal this one from the Falcons.

Talk to you next week.
M.B.

[NoSkillz]

Falcons Soar over Mustangs
Bowling Green too much for Western in 35-24 triumph

Bowling Green, OH (Western Gazette) -
P.J. Pope ran for 115 yards and 3 scores in a 35-24 win for Bowling Green over Western Saturday afternoon. Josh Harris threw a couple of touchdown passes in the victory while Mustang Junior tight Damian Suggs caught two TD passes of his own in a losing effort. With the win, the Falcons evened their record at 5-5 while Western drops to 4-7 in their first year of NCAA play.

The defenses forced three and outs on the first two possessions of the game but Bowling Green would be first to score after Western turned the ball over on downs from the Falcon 35. Bowling Green would hit a big play, with Josh Harris hitting James Hawkins for a 58 yard touchdown pass on a slant play. Western was in man coverage and Neal McPherson couldn't catch the streaking Hawkins on the play. As they've done repeatedly throughout the year, the Mustangs would answer on their next drive, which culminated in a Brandon Hargrove to Damian Suggs 3 yard touchdown pass to even things at 7 going into the second quarter.

Hargrove and Suggs connected again, this time from 26 yards out to take a 14-7 lead. On the Falcons next possession, Harris would get picked off by the aforementioned McPherson, who'd return the interception to the Bowling Green 22. However, the Falcons defense held Western to a 40 yard field goal from Bryan Walker. Harris would regroup on the next Bowling Green drive and lead his team down the field before the half, with Pope going in from 3 yards to cut the Western lead to 17-14 at the half.

The momentum swung wildly in Bowling Green's favor in the second half. Pope broke through a huge hole in the line for a 36 yard touchdown score early in the third to give his team the lead again. Shortly after a Western three-and-out, Harris would hook up with Sophomore wideout Charles Sharon for a 6 yard strike to take a commanding 28-17 lead.

Western's offense continued to struggle into the fourth quarter and the Falcons once again showed no remorse, scoring on another Pope run to take a 35-17 lead. Western kept plugging away but time was not their friend on this day. Jerrell Bearden would score from 1 yard out to cut the Falcon lead to 11 but that was as close as the Mustangs would get.

"Our offense certainly had some trouble during the middle portion of the game and it came back to haunt us", said Matthew Bosela after the game. "While 35 points sounds like a poor performance from our D, I must admit I thought they played a spirited game. Again, big plays hurt us but we were very disciplined and made them work for everything." Bosela would add that "their shotgun offense was very intimidating, especially since we came into the game ranked 116th in the nation versus the pass, but holding them to less than 200 in the air is a bit of consolation in defeat. We'll have to take that as a positive into our big game against Buffalo next week, since they employ the same type of offensive schemes."

Western hosts Buffalo in their last game of the season next Saturday. Coach Bosela indicated in the press room that he's planning on starting as many seniors as possible so they can enjoy their last hurrah in college ball.

BOX SCORE:

1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
Western Ontario 7 10 0 7 24
Bowling Green 7 7 14 7 35

BGSU 8:54 Q1 - 58 Yard Pass from Harris to Hawkins (Suisham Kick)
UWO 2:26 Q1 - 3 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Suggs (Walker Kick)
UWO 8:24 Q2 - 26 Yard Pass from Hargrove to Suggs (Walker Kick)
UWO 6:21 Q2 - 40 Yard Field Goal by Walker
BGSU 1:17 Q2 - 3 Yard Run by Pope (Suisham Kick)
BGSU 12:57 Q3 - 36 Yard Run by Pope (Suisham Kick)
BGSU 2:48 Q3 - 6 Yard Pass from Harris to Sharon (Suisham Kick)
BGSU 13:09 Q4 - 6 Yard Run by Pope (Suisham Kick)
UWO 6:57 Q4 - 1 Yard Run by Bearden (Walker Kick)

FINAL TEAM STATISTICS UWO BGSU
First Downs 18 18
Total Offense 341 365
Rushes-Yards 31-56 38-184
Passing Yards 285 181
Comp-Att-Int 18-49-0 12-27-1
Sacked 3 2
3rd Down Conversions 5-18(27%) 4-12(33%)
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0
Return Yards 185 144
Punts-Average 5-41.5 7-38.7
Penalties-Yards 4-20 1-10
Time of Possession 29:53 30:07

PASSING -
UWO: Hargrove 18-49 285yds 2td 0int;
BGSU: Harris 12-25 181yds 2td 1int; Hawkins 0-2 0yds 0td 0int
RUSHING -
UWO: Bearden 20-72yds; Briggs 1-2yds; MacPherson 1-1yds; Kemp 1-(3yds);
Hargrove 8-(16yds)
BGSU: Pope 18-115yds; Burt 6-38yds; Harris 13-26yds; Lane 1-5yds
RECEIVING -
UWO: Suggs 4-80yds; Warren 4-73yds; Foreman 3-49yds; Kendrick 3-35yds;
Briggs 2-20yds; Bearden 2-28yds
BGSU: Hawkins 6-111yds; Sharon 3-36yds; Jarrett 2-16yds; McGrady 1-18yds