Take the Ags, the Bobcats, the Bison, the Ducks and the Golden Bears
Meanwhile, SEC schools meet a variety of cupcakes from the Bakery League
One of my favorite college football stories that includes one of my favorite college football newspaper headlines, came to mind this week when I realized this is the Saturday when Harvard and Yale will battle in what both schools call simply “The Game.” That may sound a bit arrogant, I suppose, but c’mon, it’s the Ivy League. What do you expect?
The date was November 24, 1968, and Yale took a 29-13 lead into the final minute of the fourth quarter at Harvard Stadium. Game, set, match, Yale.
Yale, after all, was riding a 16-game win streak and had The Game well in hand.
Harvard, however, magically - or maybe miraculously - scored two touchdowns and two two-point conversions in the final 42 seconds and the game ended in a 29-29 tie.
It would be several decades before the NCAA instituted an overtime period for regular-season games.
Not surprisingly, to Harvard fans it seemed almost as if their team had won the game. Similarly, Yale fans left the stadium dejected. It wasn’t so much the final score that caused those opposite emotions, but how it happened.
Several geniuses at the student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, came up with a headline for the game that boldly declared “Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29.”
After some discussion among Crimson staffers over the ethics of running a clearly inaccurate headline, insanity ruled the day and night editor Bill Kutik put it into print.
Kutik credited the paper’s photographer, Tim Carlson, for coming up with the enormously clever headline, but Carlson said he had heard it from a delirious, but anonymous, Harvard fan who had stormed the field after the game.
Noted Kutik years later, “I mean, who’s ever scored 16 points in 42 seconds of a football game?”
That may well have been an unheard of accomplishment in 1968, but just three years later, also on a November afternoon, UC Davis scored 16 points in the final 20 seconds to defeat Cal State Hayward, 30-29, in what has become known as The Miracle Game.
Neither UC Davis nor Cal State Hayward has been invited to join the Ivy League.
This week’s picks are as follows:
HARVARD over YALE ... Harvard’s the one that’s undefeated this year and on its way to the first bid to the FCS playoffs in Ivy League history. This game will not end in a tie.
CAL over STANFORD ... My oldest son, Ted, and my long ago junior high school teacher and lifelong friend, Joe Carey, are both distinguished graduates of Strawberry Canyon University. Thus, Thanksgiving will be much more joyful at our home if the Golden Bears once again win The Big Game. Which they will. Go, Golden Bears.
MONTANA STATE over MONTANA ... On paper, the Bobcats are clearly the better team in what is known in the Big Sky State as the Brawl of the Wild. Unfortunately for MSU, the game will be played not on paper, but on the bright green turf in Missoula, which regularly hosts the biggest crowds in all of FCS football. The Bobcats will handle the crowd noise and the Griz, but both are clearly playoff bound.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE over NORTHERN IOWA ... Can anyone stop the thundering herd of Mighty Bison? Stay tuned.
OREGON over USC ... The Ducks face a rugged final two games at home against the Trojans and on the road against Washington, but this team is up to the challenge.
NOTRE DAME over SYRACUSE ... The Irish were simply brilliant in a lopsided win at Pitt, the last major challenge on their regular-season schedule. They’re likely to become the first team that started 0-2 to make it to the College Football Playoff.
OHIO STATE over RUTGERS ... Tell me again why the Big Ten invited Rutgers to join the conference.
GEORGIA over CHARLOTTE ... Charlotte can’t do it by herself.
TEXAS A&M over SAMFORD ... No one can accuse the SEC of scheduling cupcakes, now can they?
AUBURN over MERCER ... Watch out, War Eagle, Mercer has been on a rampage since that lightning-halted “no contest” against our beloved Aggies back in August.
OKLAHOMA over MISSOURI ... Yet another big challenge for Boomer Sooner.
VANDERBILT over KENTUCKY ... Can the ‘Dores actually make the playoff? Not likely.
JAMES MADISON over WASHINGTON STATE ... James Who? Is that an FBS team? Are they nationally ranked? Are they in the College Football Playoff conversation? Best to keep a close eye on these upstarts from Virginia.
IOWA over MICHIGAN STATE ... After scaring both Oregon and USC on consecutive weekends, the Hawkeyes finally catch a break.
TEXAS over ARKANSAS ... The Longhorns take home the “Disappointment of the Year” trophy hands down.
WASHINGTON over UCLA ... But only if the Huskies aren’t looking ahead to next weekend’s showdown with Oregon.
ARIZONA STATE over COLORADO ... Is this Coach Prime’s final game in Boulder?
SAN DIEGO STATE over SAN JOSE STATE ... Are the Spartans the worst team in FBS football? After last week’s 55-10 loss to Nevada, the former worst team in FBS football, it sure seems so.
BYE over OREGON STATE … If anyone can figure out how to lose a game during a week off, it’s the bad news Beavers.
UPSET OF THE WEEK: Pittsburgh over Georgia Tech ... The Panthers rebound from their Notre Dame no-show and keep their ACC title hopes alive. (Upset record: 3-9).
ROUT OF THE WEEK: Alabama over Eastern Illinois ... The Panthers may have lost six straight games to FCS opponents, including last week’s 42-14 setback to Lindenwood, but ‘Bama needs a game like this to recover from its disaster against Oklahoma. Thank heavens for creative schedule makers. (Rout record: 11-1).
DON’T BET ON IT, BUT: Brigham Young over Cincinnati ... The Cougars continue to make a strong case to the College Football Playoff Committee. (Don’t bet record: 8-4).
FIVE EASY PICKS: This week’s win-at-all costs victors are Clemson (over Furman), LSU (over Western Kentucky), North Texas (over Rice), Toledo (over Ball State) and South Carolina (over Coastal Carolina). (FEP record: 50-5).
CALIFORNIA AGGIES over SACRAMENTO STATE ... Many marbles at stake in this one, but UC Davis is ready for the fight. Take the Ags by a baker’s dozen.
OTHER GAMES: Miami (Fla.) over Virginia Tech, Utah over Kansas State, Michigan over Maryland, Penn State over Nebraska, New Mexico over Air Force, Tennessee over Florida, Lehigh over Lafayette, Villanova over Sacred Heart, Wake Forest over Delaware, Toledo over Ball State, Rhode Island over Hampton, Texas State over Louisiana-Monroe, and Boise State over Colorado State.
Last week: 33-7, season: 441-85, percentage: .838.
Reach me at bobdunning@thewaryone.com