Ivy & Lace, Bronze Turkeys & The School That Never Was (NCAA10, PS3)

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WEEK 3 MAC RESULTS

Plainfield (3-0) def. Marshall 65-0
UCF (3-0) def. Army (0-3) 45-0
#24 Chicago (3-0) def. Yale (2-1) 45-38 OT
Delaware (3-0) def. Cornell (2-1) 38-7
Princeton (2-1) def. Michigan (0-3) 23-16
#17 Ohio State def. Vassar (1-2) 44-24
Harvard (2-1) def. Navy (0-3) 45-6
William & Mary (2-1) def. FCS West 21-3
#6 Penn State (3-0) def. #25 Rutgers 39-6
Purdue (1-2) def. Penn (1-2) 23-14
Knox (2-1) def. Iowa State 29-26 OT
Monmouth (2-1) def. Indiana (2-1) 17-10

WEEK 4 MAC RESULTS

Vassar (2-2) def. FIU (1-2) 34-16
Penn (2-2) def. Idaho (1-3) 49-9
Tennessee (3-1) def. William & Mary (2-2) 34-3
Navy (1-3) def. Knox (2-2) 18-17
Harvard (3-1) def. FCS East 56-0
#21 Chicago (4-0) def. Cornell (2-2) 38-7
Rutgers (2-1) def. Army 48-7
Yale (3-1) def. Monmouth (2-2) 41-0
Plainfield (4-0) def. #17 Boise State (2-2) 46-17

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MAC NEWS

HARVARD QB NAMED NATIONAL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Harvard sophomore quarterback Darryl Gold was named National offensive player of the week after a six touchdown performance against FCS East. He was 17 of 22 for 195 yards passing and ran for 141 yards on fifteen carries in the victory for the Crimson.

PLAINFIELD ENTERS TOP 25 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE DECADES

For the first time since 1966, the Plainfield Noreasters have been ranked in the Top 25 in a national poll. The Noreasters were ranked #25 in this week's coaches poll, after four decisive victories to open the season.

They open their MAC conference season at home against William & Mary (2-2) in what they hope will be a breakthrough season for the program.

"We're delighted to see this," said G. Dennis Emerson, the athletic director for Plainfield. "We're pleased to be recognized as a top program, as we comport ourselves to be. We're just believing this to be the beginning for us." The school is in the midst of a quiet, but fervent coaching search after the news that their longtime head man, Skip Hobelitz will be retiring at the end of the season.

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I think, to keep things interesting, that I'm going to let fans (provided there are any..) pick the next head coach. In that way, it'll be like you all are the alumni boosters pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Right now, we run a balanced offense and my personal preference is a spread-option hybrid.

In any case, as I go through the year, I'll be listing coach bios and some backgrounds on the various candidates. I'll let any readers, as prominent boosters to the Plainfield University program, have a say about a particular candidate. It can be for any reason whatsoever. Money talks, so if you decide you don't like a guy and if we hire him, you'll withdraw the support we need to keep this train flying out of the station, it might have an effect on my decision making process, even if I'm big on a candidate.

Oh and also, if you want me to create a recruit for you that'll go through the recruiting process (obviously, I can't control where he goes...) then let me know before the off-season of whatever year and I can do that, too. Might be interesting to have someone else to follow, beyond just the schools, especially if he ends up in the MAC.

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THE COACHING CAROUSEL

Here are the four finalists for the head coach position, at least as far as we know right now.

Billy Hart
Age: 46
Current job: Offensive coordinator, Tennessee Titans

Quick facts: Known for his sense of humor, relaxed demeanor and high octane offense, he helped lead the Titans to the AFC divisional round, with the #3 rated offense in the NFL this past year. A former college head coach at Wyoming before leaving for the NFL. Has recruiting connections to strangely enough, Canada. He played in the CFL for a decade and was instrumental in bringing quite a few diamond in the rough Canadians to Wyoming during his time there.

Geno Reyes
Age: 39
Current job: Head coach, New Mexico State

Quick fact: Was hired by Utah as their offensive line coach at the age of 25 after a super brief pro career as a quarterback. Was offensive coordinator at Utah State before getting the nod at New Mexico State 3 years ago. He's turned that program around. They're current 3-0 this year with wins against UTEP and rival New Mexico and they'll play at Ohio State on Halloween. His big advantage? Recruiting connections in California.

Norris Jackson
Age: 38
Current job: Assistant head coach/DBs coach, Oregon State

Quick facts: Another hotshot who rose through the coaching ranks quickly, though he had a slightly longer pro career in Canada before leaving at age 27, earning a masters degree and latching on at Portland State as defensive coordinator. He left that job after three years and ended up at Oregon State where they're current 4-0 and have only allowed 25 points total in those four games.

He's well-known for his recruiting connections in Texas.

Elliot Williams
Age: 55
Current job: Offensive Coordinator, Northwestern

Quick facts: Has been with the Wildcats for about a decade now, started as wide recievers coach and rose through the ranks. He does not call the plays, the head coach does, however. He's well known as a recruiter in Michigan and Pennsylvania and has been lauded for his attention to detail and patience with younger players

Northwestern is current 3-1, 1-0 in the Big Ten.

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WEEK 5 MAC RESULTS

#25 Plainfield def. William & Mary 51-10
Harvard def. Penn 32-15
Cincinnati def. Navy 31-10
Knox def. Baylor 27-20
Rutgers def. Princeton 35-34
Yale def. Army 42-10
Vassar def. Cornell 24-9

PLAINFIELD'S GREER EARNS POW HONORS
WEEK 5 - Plainfield running back Charlie Greer earned MAC player of the week honors after 135 all purpose yards and 4 total TDs in a big win against William & Mary. The junior from Bethesda, Maryland is reporting weighing out his options on whether to declare for the NFL draft at the end of the season or not and it's believed this award is just another idea to bolster his belief he'll be able to compete successfully at the next level.

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WEEK 6 MAC RESULTS

#23 Plainfield (6-0) def. Knox (3-3) 45-0
Monmouth (3-2) def. William & Mary (2-4) 30-0
Army (1-5) def. FCS East 36-6
Harvard (5-1) def. Vassar (3-3) 31-17
Northwestern (4-2) def. Navy (1-5) 35-28
Yale (5-1) def. Princeton (2-3) 45-20
Rutgers (4-1) def. Cornell (2-4) 14-9

CHURCH EARNS MAC DEFENSIVE POW HONORS
WEEK 6 -- Plainfield University defensive end Donnell Church earned MAC defensive player of the week honors for his performance against Knox College last week. He had 14 tackles (10 for a loss) and 5 sacks in the victory against the Prairie Fire. He's the first Noreaster defensive player to earn the honor this season.

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A prominent booster has given us the inside track on a fifth head coaching candidate, not previously considered.

Wilson Manning
Age: 44
Current job: Defensive coordinator, Mississippi

Quick facts: Manning is well-regarded as a defensive specialist and has #3 Ole Miss flying high so far this season. They're 5-0 and 3-0 in the SEC, his defensive is 2nd in the conference behind Florida in points allowed. Manning is a New Jersey native, who played for the NY/NJ Knights of the WLAF before becoming a coach and has believed to be able to commandeer top recruits from southern states including Louisiana. Some boosters believe that while the Hobelitz offensive schemes have been great for decades, the only way Plainfield will be a serious national contender is if the program gets serious on defense. These believe this guy is the right candidate and have offered a tidy sum of about $1.1 million towards whatever we've already got, if we decide to interview and hire him. It could be, reported, the first of many contributions from this set of influential boosters.

The athletic department and trustees haven't really talked much about it yet, preferring to focus on the successful season we're having, but...it's now on our radar.

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WEEK 7 MAC RESULTS

Notable game this week is the Harvard-Yale rivalry game, simply known as The Game. The series began in 1875.

#22 Plainfield (7-0) def. Cornell (2-5) 49-0
Princeton (3-3) def. Knox (3-4) 24-17
William & Mary (3-4) def. Navy (1-6) 20-9
Harvard (6-1) def. Yale (5-2) 38-7
Rutgers (5-1) def. Delaware (5-2) 21-19
Army (2-5) def. Monmouth (3-3) 31-21
Vassar (4-3) def. Penn (2-4) 34-17

KIRKPATRICK SHINES, NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
No matter how much attention he seems to get, Plainfield senior quarterback Ken Kirkpatrick just keeps on chugging along. He notched another MAC offensive player of the week award for his efficient performance in the game against Cornell. He was 16-19 with 161 yards passing, 43 yards on the ground and a combo of six touchdowns on the day.

Despite being mention on some watch lists as a potential Heisman candidate, Kirkpatrick says he's just working hard and doing his best. "For me, the ultimate prize is when we win. I don't need anything else," said the future NFL QB, in a statement that's sure to make scouts and personnel directors perk up even more than his play already makes them.