The 2008 Year-in-Review thread

[FranElia]

An interesting stat from last weekend's Cortland-Kean game that I didn't really take notice of until somebody pointed it out to me today. Cortland kicker/tight end Jeffrey Lang recorded a touchdown, a field goal, a two-point conversion and three PAT kicks in the game. He is the first player at Cortland since at least 1964 to register each of those four stats in the same game (in fact, no Cortland player has even had a TD, FG, 2-pt conv. and PAT kick in the same season, let alone one game).

The records I have here only go back to 1964, so I have to eventually check archives for games from 1958-63 to see if Lang is the only Cortland player ever to record all four of those scoring plays in a game (the NCAA started two-point conversions in 1958).

I don't know if this worthy for end-of-the-year review, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case.

Fran Elia
Cortland SID

[PA_wesleyfan]

Wesley had a player who scored a td almost every conceivable way in one year. He scored on an interception, a kickoff return, rushing ,receiving, and recovering one of Wesley's kickoffs in the end zone on a ball that evaded the receiving team. I don't recall if he returned a punt for a td or not.

[redswarm81]

As mentioned on the front page, Hartwick's 31 - 28 win at St. John Fisher raises the possibility of a three-way tie in the Empire 8, between Hartwick, St. John Fisher, and Ithaca.  Thus, yesterday was a potential 2008 Year-in-Review moment.

Potential.  Although the H/SJF/I 3-way tie is a real possibility, there are a gazillion scenarios that could derail the blessed event.  First off, there are two undefeated teams in E8 conference play:

• Utica (1-0 E8) wins out, uncontested E8 Champion.  Seems unlikely though, with Utica's 1-3 overall record.
• Alfred (2-0 E8) wins out, uncontested E8 Champion.  Hardly impossible, as Alfred's playing well.

Were one of the above to happen, we'd be left muttering "never mind," a la Emily Litella.

The fun starts if either Alfred or Utica beats 1 or 2 of Hartwick, St. John Fisher, and Ithaca.  If Utica loses to all three and Alfred beats only 1 of H/SJF/I, then there's a tie between the remaining 2, but one that would be broken by head to head competition.  For example, if Alfred beats Hartwick but loses to Ithaca and SJF, then SJF has a head-to-head win against Ithaca, so SJF is champion (as long as head-to-head is a tiebreaker).

Thus, if this scenario happens, three more potential 2008 Year-in-Review moments loom: the moment that Alfred breaks the potential H/SJF/I 3-way tie in the E8.

At the same time, it shows Alfred (and Utica) how it does them no good at all to beat only one of Hartwick, Ithaca, and St. John Fisher.  So, what happens if Alfred beats two of the three, and Utica again loses out?  In that case, the team that beat Alfred head-to-head wins the 2 team tie that includes Alfred.

So beating two of Hartwick, Ithaca, and St. John Fisher also does Alfred (and Utica) no good.  In order to break the H/SJF/I 3-way tie AND win the conference, Alfred (or Utica) has to run the gauntlet and win all three games.  That's a heck of a gauntlet to run.

There are other potential 2008 Year-in-Review moments if both Alfred and Utica beat one or two of Hartwick, St. John Fisher, and Ithaca, but I'm going to need to get in a good pre-analysis brain stretch before I start playing that what-if game.

[Ralph Turner]

As mentioned on the front page, Hartwick's 31 - 28 win at St. John Fisher raises the possibility of a three-way tie in the Empire 8, between Hartwick, St. John Fisher, and Ithaca.  Thus, yesterday was a potential 2008 Year-in-Review moment.

Potential.  Although the H/SJF/I 3-way tie is a real possibility, there are a gazillion scenarios that could derail the blessed event.  First off, there are two undefeated teams in E8 conference play:

• Utica (1-0 E8) wins out, uncontested E8 Champion.  Seems unlikely though, with Utica's 1-3 overall record.
• Alfred (2-0 E8) wins out, uncontested E8 Champion.  Hardly impossible, as Alfred's playing well.

Were one of the above to happen, we'd be left muttering "never mind," a la Emily Litella.

The fun starts if either Alfred or Utica beats 1 or 2 of Hartwick, St. John Fisher, and Ithaca.  If Utica loses to all three and Alfred beats only 1 of H/SJF/I, then there's a tie between the remaining 2, but one that would be broken by head to head competition.  For example, if Alfred beats Hartwick but loses to Ithaca and SJF, then SJF has a head-to-head win against Ithaca, so SJF is champion (as long as head-to-head is a tiebreaker).

Thus, if this scenario happens, three more potential 2008 Year-in-Review moments loom: the moment that Alfred breaks the potential H/SJF/I 3-way tie in the E8.

At the same time, it shows Alfred (and Utica) how it does them no good at all to beat only one of Hartwick, Ithaca, and St. John Fisher.  So, what happens if Alfred beats two of the three, and Utica again loses out?  In that case, the team that beat Alfred head-to-head wins the 2 team tie that includes Alfred.

So beating two of Hartwick, Ithaca, and St. John Fisher also does Alfred (and Utica) no good.  In order to break the H/SJF/I 3-way tie AND win the conference, Alfred (or Utica) has to run the gauntlet and win all three games.  That's a heck of a gauntlet to run.

There are other potential 2008 Year-in-Review moments if both Alfred and Utica beat one or two of Hartwick, St. John Fisher, and Ithaca, but I'm going to need to get in a good pre-analysis brain stretch before I start playing that what-if game.

+1 redswarm81!   


That post is Prime A #1 D3 geek-dom!  (Use of BBC posting aids and everything!)      8)

[K-Mack]

I wish I had read that post before recording the podcast.

Awesome stuff.

[muledaddy]

Ralph,

You rock.....GO ALFRED

[redswarm81]

As originally reported by

Susquehanna, once down 28-7 with over 9 minutes left in the 3rd quarter to the Merchant Marine Academy, rallies for 23 points in the 4th quarter -- at one point, the score was 35-34 with :22 left in favor of USMMA, when Susquehanna missed an extra point.  Susquehanna, instead of onside kicking normally, kicked deep as USMMA had nobody deep and beat USMMA to the ball.  Susquehanna had the ball on the USMMA 10.  Pass interference from the endzone made it 1st & Goal from the 2 with :17 left.  Susquehanna ran the ball for no gain but spiked the ball with :01 left.  The ensuing 19-yard field goal was good, leading to a 37-35 final in favor of Susquehanna.  Unbelievable finish.

This has made the front page, and I think that the comeback alone might be worthy of inclusion on the 2008 "highlight reel," but that pooch kick and recovery was brilliant coaching and execution.

Speaking of front page, . . .

[redswarm81]

. . . not the kind of Year-in-Review moment you want to see in the headlines:

7 (Including 5 Salisbury U football players) Arrested in Salisbury Nightclub Brawl

Keith, since this is your board--and given your profession, you might know a good copy editor that they could use down at WBOC-TV 16, the DelMarVa's News Leader?   

[Toby Taff]

. . . not the kind of Year-in-Review moment you want to see in the headlines:

7 (Including 5 Salisbury U football players) Arrested in Salisbury Nightclub Brawl

Keith, since this is your board--and given your profession, you might know a good copy editor that they could use down at WBOC-TV 16, the DelMarVa's News Leader?   

I just read the story and then looked at the schools web site.  3 of the 5 started on Defense in the Del Valley game and a 4th had 5 tackles in the game.  That is a serious blow to the defense.

[K-Mack]

. . . not the kind of Year-in-Review moment you want to see in the headlines:

7 (Including 5 Salisbury U football players) Arrested in Salisbury Nightclub Brawl

Keith, since this is your board--and given your profession, you might know a good copy editor that they could use down at WBOC-TV 16, the DelMarVa's News Leader?   

I just read the story and then looked at the schools web site.  3 of the 5 started on Defense in the Del Valley game and a 4th had 5 tackles in the game.  That is a serious blow to the defense.

I counted four defensive starters and a fifth who got significant burn. Add that to Chandler being out with injury, and ... well if you have depth, this is the time for it to shine.

Red, not sure you want to know what I think of small-town TV news.

While I'm sure these guys were out of line -- what were they doing at the Monkey Barrel anyway? -- the accounts of what happened are pretty uneven, as they often are when football players get arrested.

1) I doubt these guys were fighting themselves ... how come everyone arrested seems to be friendly with each other? No one from the other side was escalating the situation?

2) Oh, the poor helpless officers were attacked by the mean football players! Give me a break. Police from six departments come swarming in to stop a bar fight, certainly with whatever weapons they need to diffuse the situation at the ready, and they're adding on 'assaulting an officer' charges? I wasn't there, but that charge always seems sketchy to me.

3) The one mug shot/glamour shot is comical.

Kudos to Sherman Wood for taking swift action and sending a message to his team and the community that that stuff doesn't fly. While they might or might not be guilty of everything they are charged with, certain being at a bar during the season is exercising poor judgement, and as a player, even though it's in your nature to kick butt, you have to get the heck out of there if you feel things getting out of hand, because you have much more to lose than the drunken townie who likes to start stuff.

To me, college kids drinking isn't really that abnormal, and people who've been drinking getting in fights isn't either. I'm not saying it's excusable, I mean I managed to avoid getting in trouble in college, but I certainly wasn't above a fistfight, so I don't want to sound holier-than-thou either.

If nothing else it demonstrates that football players have to hold themselves to a higher standard than the general student body, and that's not necessarily an easy thing to do. Maybe this is a blip on the screen on a slow-news day if these are just Salisbury students getting in a tussle at a bar/club on a weekend night ... but once it's a football team -- and this goes for everywhere -- it's a story, and frankly the "team players" are generally presumed guilty.

Having been to Salisbury recently, the town of, it also seems like a place where race could ignite a small incident into a bigger one. Not saying that from any particular experience while there, the campus seems pretty cool, I'm not trying to damage their recruiting or anything ... just saying that it reminds me of another small college town in this part of the country that feels the same way.

[Ralph Turner]

Feature at NCAA about the rule changes on the 40/25 clock and safety of the player.

(Archived for future reference.)

[redswarm81]

. . . not the kind of Year-in-Review moment you want to see in the headlines:

7 (Including 5 Salisbury U football players) Arrested in Salisbury Nightclub Brawl

Keith, since this is your board--and given your profession, you might know a good copy editor that they could use down at WBOC-TV 16, the DelMarVa's News Leader?   

I just read the story and then looked at the schools web site.  3 of the 5 started on Defense in the Del Valley game and a 4th had 5 tackles in the game.  That is a serious blow to the defense.

Red, not sure you want to know what I think of small-town TV news.

Hey, who better to save the day, than SuperCopyNerd!^*     Wherever redundancies or oxymorons stand in the way of liberty and literacy, . . . look!  By the pasteboard!  It's a bird!  It's a plane! . . .

^* See Top 25 Board

While I'm sure these guys were out of line -- what were they doing at the Monkey Barrel anyway? -- the accounts of what happened are pretty uneven, as they often are when football players get arrested.

1) I doubt these guys were fighting themselves ... how come everyone arrested seems to be friendly with each other? No one from the other side was escalating the situation?

2) Oh, the poor helpless officers were attacked by the mean football players! Give me a break. Police from six departments come swarming in to stop a bar fight, certainly with whatever weapons they need to diffuse the situation at the ready, and they're adding on 'assaulting an officer' charges? I wasn't there, but that charge always seems sketchy to me.

3) The one mug shot/glamour shot is comical.

Kudos to Sherman Wood for taking swift action and sending a message to his team and the community that that stuff doesn't fly. While they might or might not be guilty of everything they are charged with, certain being at a bar during the season is exercising poor judgement, and as a player, even though it's in your nature to kick butt, you have to get the heck out of there if you feel things getting out of hand, because you have much more to lose than the drunken townie who likes to start stuff.

Good points all around.  I did wonder why there were peace officers from 6 different jurisdictions involved, but ultimately, Coach Wood appears to understand what you describe: these guys had multiple opportunities to avoid this scene, and they apparently chose not to take advantage of a single one, making the wrong choice every time.  Sigh.

To me, college kids drinking isn't really that abnormal, . . .

It's not only normal, it's physics:

Newton's first law of motion states that a body in motion tends to stay in motion.

Newton's fifth law of motion states that a body in college tends to drink beer.

Having been to Salisbury recently, the town of, it also seems like a place where race could ignite a small incident into a bigger one. Not saying that from any particular experience while there, the campus seems pretty cool, I'm not trying to damage their recruiting or anything ... just saying that it reminds me of another small college town in this part of the country that feels the same way.

Does it always have to be about race?  Can we at least be happy that one white boy was partying (and getting busted) with the brothers?   

[K-Mack]

I think I'll respond on the press coverage thread, since that was largely the source of my rant.

[K-Mack]

Capital having 9 turnovers and only losing 13-3 to John Carroll (1 yard in 2nd half?) is YIR worthy.

Some great finishes:
Wabash vs. Witt this week (10 pointsin final 4:30)
St. Thomas in-but-not-in vs. St. John's (who beat their rivals 12-7)

This is from Week 6, not 7, but:

A Loras touchdown by Alex McGrew with 0:00 on the clock gave the Duhawks a 23-21 victory over Coe. McGrew finished with three touchdowns on the day.

[muledaddy]

k-Mack,

this is the week to look at Muhlenberg-, a homecoming battle that will define how good the

Mules really are and whether they deserve to be no 2 in the nation, the AFCA   opinion.Let's

keep an open mind......and not get hung up on the Devils 3 losses....they are a strong team with a good
coach....definitely a test...GO MULES!!!!!!!!