Option offenses make Army-Navy game worth watching

Everyone knows I love the option offense (disclaimer: except when it’s being run against my team). Everyone knows I especially enjoy watching the Navy Midshipmen run their version of the triple option offense. So, today is like a football dream for me. When Army and Navy square off in Philadelphia for the 111th time in their history, I’ll be tuned in.

Even though Navy’s head coach Ken Niumatalolo has been rumored as one hot candidate for coaching vacancies from Minnesota to Vanderbilt, he’ll lead the Middies into the fiercest rivalry matchup in college football today, having beaten Army each time he’s been the head coach.

In fact, the last time Army beat Navy was 2001. But, Niumatalolo isn’t taking Army lightly. “This is a new year, a new team,” he said. “They’re bowl eligible. We know they’re much better. Their seniors want to go out on top, too, so anytime we play a service academy, you throw out your record, you throw out anything prior to that game and just get ready for the [game]. That’s all that’s going to matter.”

Navy will be led by senior quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who, at the beginning of the year, was a darkhorse candidate for the Heisman trophy, and fullback Alexander Teich. Army counters with sophomore Trent Steelman at quarterback. Steelman is good, but doesn’t quite have the explosiveness that Dobbs has employed the past two seasons under center in Annapolis.

If you can find a better quarterback suited to run Navy’s triple-option offense, call me and let me know. Ricky Dobbs is the X-factor in this game, but over the past season and a half he has been slowed by injuries. If Dobbs is too injured to go in this game, his backup Kriss Proctor will fill in. Proctor started against Central Michigan and ran 20 times for 201 yards and one touchdown.

There’s no question Army has improved and will give Navy a run for their money, but in the end (and I know I’m horribly biased) I think Navy will pull this one out. Dobbs and Teich torched the Notre Dame Fighting Irish earlier this year (in a game I predicted when my former head coach took the job in South Bend 365 calendar days ago) and there’s no reason they won’t bring their ‘A’ game today to Philadelphia.

Look for Navy to Represent the Sea (a modified phrase you may have heard before) and beat Army for the 10th consecutive time.

I’ll be tuned in. Will you?

Navy defeats Notre Dame 35-17

In my weekly preview of Big East football (located below this post) I noted that Navy’s lone chance of defeating Notre Dame, and my previous head coach at Cincinnati, Brian Kelly, would be to hop out early on the poor schemes of Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, get ahead of the Irish, and hold on for dear life.

As it turns out, they wouldn’t even have to hold on that tightly.

Navy, a team that had lost 43 straight games before 2007 to Notre Dame, has now won 3 of their last 4 against the Irish. I don’t want to gloat, but I could have called this one. Unfortunately my faith in Navy’s defense was low yesterday. But the Midshipmen held up on all ends in the 35-17 win.

“You get what you deserve,” said Kelly. “We got beat today. Navy was the better football team today.”

ESPN.com’s Brian Bennett, who reports on the Big East and Notre Dame, made some great points about the game yesterday. “Of course, not all the talent was available, as receivers Michael Floyd and Theo Riddick didn’t play. That certainly didn't help. But neither of those guys play defense; neither did Notre Dame, for that matter.”

Ouch. It seems to be a common theme for Brian Kelly coached teams. Look at the second half of the 2009 season in Cincinnati. Teams like Connecticut, West Virginia and Pittsburgh ran, ran and ran some more on the UC defense. Luckily, Kelly’s brilliant play-calling and offensive genius was able to make up for the lack of defensive play.

Maybe Kelly should think about building defense before his high powered offense? Or maybe not. On Notre Dame’s first drive, the Irish employed a balanced, methodical approach, taking time and slowly driving down the field on the Middies. Then, on fourth and goal from inside the one, quarterback Dayne Crist was stoned on a sneak attempt.

“We outman 'em by 70 pounds on an average up front,” Kelly said. “If you can't get a foot on the one-half yard line, you get what you deserve.” Navy responded by going 99 yards and scoring on a 31-yard touchdown pass (one of only two passes Navy threw on the day—both passes were completed).

Kelly also, “My hat goes off to coach Ken [Niumatalolo] and his staff. We had no answer for them today.”

Well, that beats the heck out of what one Notre Dame coach said about Navy after losing in 2009.

Post game last year, Ken Niumatalolo, Navy’s head man, said, “I think the one thing that helped us, and I really hope this doesn't come across wrong, but I think the thing that helped us this year was last year because we knew that they'd line up the same way.”

Then-Irish defensive coordinator Corwin Brown replied, “I thought it was very disappointing what the Navy coach said after the game. He didn't want something to be misconstrued, then he said it regarding how we prepared and what we prepared to do.”

At least Kelly is man enough to know what he needs to fix. And, if I may interject some opinion here, I believe firmly that it starts on defense. Get rid of Bob Diaco, consider switching to a 4-3 scheme, and then, maybe then, you’ll beat teams you’re supposed to beat.

The only thing Notre Dame can take away from this week’s loss to the Naval Academy is that they’ve given Army—who runs a similar triple option attack—a blueprint on how to defeat their defense.

Navy is now 5-2 and Notre Dame is 4-4. As Kieran Darcy of ESPN’s New York sector wrote after the game yesterday, “Notre Dame still leads the overall series with Navy by a lopsided record of 71-12-1. But on this day, Notre Dame wasn't in the United States Naval Academy's league.”

Trust me Notre Dame fans, it will all get better with Kelly running the show. I know this for a fact. But it doesn’t stop me from reveling in the win by my second favorite team yesterday.

Happy July 4th

Independence Day is here and with it comes all the food, fun, family and fireworks. The sports stations are playing replays of Army/Navy football games—maybe my favorite sporting event of the year (behind a certain NASCAR race in Indianapolis) and everyone is thanking the men and women in the Armed Forces who keep us safe.

Happy Birthday to America, and my mom.

Have a safe 4th of July everyone. I’ll be back tomorrow to start the Brickyard 400 countdown in earnest.

The spotlight is on Brian Kelly at Notre Dame: Will he succeed?

I came across a few good articles about Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame football program last weekend. The only reason these pieces jumped out at me was because of a few things Brian Kelly had mentioned in the articles.

First thing is first, I have written numerous times about how the way BK left here wasn’t exactly the best way to pull it off, and it’s tough for me to harbor any ill feelings toward him. But I know come October 23rd I’ll be rooting hard against him, and for the Naval Academy. And Dave Curtis of the Sporting News noted, “The goal is to win national championships and graduate NFL draft picks/Nobel Prize candidates (though these days, beating Navy and USC would suffice).” See, I’m not the only one thinking it.

I still remember the first time I met Brian Kelly. He walked into the video office and introduced himself to me. He made sure to get the background on me, and noted that I shouldn’t wear so much Elder purple anymore. He was glad to see my Bearcat shirt on.

In three years I grew to know the ins and outs of the Brian Kelly way—the five minute periods for practice that never went longer than two hours. The constant pressure to get everything right, and his occasional smart aleck remarks that kept us laughing.

Enough of the personal narrative, let’s get down to business.

Now that he’s in South Bend, the pressure is on him to elevate the school he grew up rooting for back to national prominence. He’s starting by cutting all ties to the previous regime. “Everybody looks at Notre Dame and assumes it's special,” Kelly told Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun Times.

“I'm still defining 'special.' It's about team, team, team. I'm trying to get it to where they understand this is about Notre Dame, your teammates, your family and then yourself. I think they had it flipped the other way. It started with 'me,' and Notre Dame was at the other end.”

Kelly noted too that the previous Notre Dame coaching staff often promoted an NFL future to recruits, which was alluring, but the former UC Bearcats head man says he knows what it take to win at this level, and that’s what’s important right now. “[Weis] had great credibility to do that,” he said in an SI.com story. “I can't pitch that because I don't have that background. Mine is, 'I know how to get you to a BCS game.’”

Brian Kelly received much of the credit for guiding UC to the Allstate Sugar Bowl in January, but he left for Notre Dame before the game, leaving a sour taste in many Bearcat fans' mouths

And as someone who has attended two BCS games partly because of Brian Kelly, it’s tough to argue with that fact. But Coach Kelly made a comment that made me think about the way he left Cincinnati. He said this about the kids he’s now coaching in South Bend: “My impression, in the short amount of time I've been here, is that guys were playing for themselves,” he told SI.com. “‘Selfishness’ and ‘entitlement’ are two words that would be apropos.”

The first BCS Bowl BK and UC went to in 2008, the 75th Orange Bowl, didn't go as planned. UC lost to Virginia Tech 20-7

To be fair, wasn’t Kelly’s departure from Cincinnati about selfishness and entitlement? I loved Brian Kelly, and I loved the way he ran his football program while here in the Queen City, but the way he left town made a bad impression on a lot of people.

I’m sure this won’t be the last time I write about BK, and knowing a lot of the coaches who are up there, I’m sure I’ll pay attention to the Fighting Irish, but the question is, can I root for them? I know on at least one occasion I won’t be. Go Navy.

Odds and Ends on March 29th

Over the past week UC students had a break from classes and school work, and today that all changes. The ten-week spring quarter has begun and it’s back to work for college students here in Cincinnati, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to neglect my thoughts here. So for some tidbits of fun, here’s a few thoughts to get rolling for spring.

Moeller basketball ends up short in state title game
The Moeller Crusaders ran through the GCL South and the Cincinnati region before heading to the state semi finals on Friday evening. They faced Mentor in the final four game and withstood a state record for three point attempts. In overtime the Crusaders pulled away and clinched a spot in the state finals, defeating the Cardinals 66-59.

I had a seat courtside for that game as well as the state championship game the next evening where Moeller took on the Massillon Jackson Polar Bears. Jackson led 20-15 at halftime and opened the game up with a 24-5 advantage in the third quarter. Jackson won the game handily 57-34, denying Moeller the chance to win its fourth state title since 1999.

Through my current internship at Fox 19 in Cincinnati I got to witness both games, and from my vantage point nothing was more awesome than watching high school basketball up close and personal. The men of Moeller gave it their all, and even in winding up just a little short, they showed true heart and a spirit that made me proud to support a fellow GCL South school.

Check out this fun story on the Moeller cheering section, which exemplifies the spirit of an all-male cheering section, like any other GCL South school: http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/20100328/SPT01/3280308/Moeller+students+give+team+an+extra+lift

Almost Heaven, Indianapolis?
West Virginia is headed to the Final Four—the real one—in Indianapolis this upcoming weekend, and who would have picked that? While the popular picks for the national title were Kansas and Kentucky, my unconventional wisdom went with fellow Big East member West Virginia and former UC head coach Bob Huggins.

Turns out it could help my mom win her pool as only we have West Virginia cutting down the nets one week from today, but a WVU loss on Saturday evening could put us in second or third place. I’ll take my odd picks, and the bragging rights that come with picking a national champ.

Rainy days in Martinsville
Rain canceled yesterday’s running of the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 in Martinsville, Va., pushing the start of the race to this afternoon, a few minutes past midday. Tons of storylines to follow at NASCAR’s shortest track, so tune in if you have the time.

Mark Martin paced practice on Saturday morning, and he starts 16th today in Martinsville. Will he visit Victory Lane and bring home a grandfather clock? (NASCAR.com photo)

Spring football starts across the nation
UC got kicked off under new head coach Butch Jones two weeks ago before taking the last week off, and the two-time defending Big East champs will re-fire their engines tomorrow morning. The spring has brought a completely new style of practice to Nippert Stadium, but it’s just as intense as it was under the previous regime.

And part of the previous regime, most notably head coach Brian Kelly, got kicked off in South Bend last week. Kelly’s uptempo, energetic style of offense and practice surprised some Notre Dame players. It’s something the players at Cincinnati are used to, but at Notre Dame it’s all new, and it’s going to take some time for players to get used to everything.

While the head coach at UC, Kelly ran very high paced practices, a practice he has brought with him to Notre Dame (Photo from Twitter.com; Tom Gelehter)

One of Notre Dame’s opponents this season got kicking this morning in Annapolis, Md. Ken Niumatalolo and the Naval Academy Midshipmen got the ball rolling on spring practices with one of the most underrated players in all of America leading the charge under center, junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs. The Georgia native led the Middies to a huge win in the Texas Bowl last season 35-13 over Missouri, and captured ten wins for the Academy.

David Fox of Rivals.com says that Dobbs, “could end up being the academy’s top QB since Roger Staubach.” Pretty high praise for the best throwing Naval Academy quarterback in years. Dobbs’s threat to run and throw will keep defensive coordinators guessing all season long. It’ll be fun to watch Navy take on former UC defensive coordinator Bob Diaco when Notre Dame and Navy meet up on October 23 in East Rutherford, N.J.

I know who I’ll be rooting for.

More personal odds and ends
The girl’s basketball season is reaching its conclusion and although we’ve only won one game this season we’re trying to make some progress toward getting better for next season. As girls basketball winds down boys volleyball begins and I begin my fourth stint as an official.

I got to officiate two matches yesterday and although the kids seem to change from year to year very little changes at each school. It’s fun to think back to when I was a young kid running around the gym at St. William, learning all the skills necessary to become a decent volleyball player and have a little fun too.

The Beatles and I agree today, “How I long for Yesterday…”

Have a good one today, and stay dry if you’re stuck in the rain.

Army Navy game is a spectacle unlike any other

When people ask me if UC wasn’t my team who would I root for, I simply answer, “The Naval Academy…Until we have to play them.” I enjoy watching their offense. When the “flexbone” triple option clicks at the highest level it truly is a thing of beauty, as Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said in October. (http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2009/10/pigskin-plenty.html)

I got catch a little bit of the Army-Navy game on Saturday afternoon, and while both teams looked sloppy, it was a terrific day for football in Philadelphia. There’s almost nothing better than the Army-Navy game, nothing.

People in the Midwest will argue that Ohio State-Michigan is the premier rivalry in America, while the Southeast will argue an SEC matchup like Florida-Alabama carries more clout. I disagree, respectfully. Nothing compares to the Army-Navy game. While people joke about how often the TV announcers make clichéd remarks about thanking the troops and how this game means nothing more than brothers fighting brothers, they are very truthful remarks.

Truthfully though, I try to watch football, and try to not worry about everything after football. And this Army-Navy game—the parts that I was able to watch—was another impressive showing by Navy’s offensive unit.

Although it took nearly eight minutes for the first pass to be thrown and Navy did not throw the ball for almost one whole quarter, I found it exciting. While others I work with find this offensive gameplan to be, “boring as watching paint dry,” I find it thrilling and exciting. You never know what Navy will go to next.

Will they run their traditional triple option or will they gash you up the middle with their “midline” option play (a play that both Ohio State and Notre Dame had trouble stopping)? Navy also features quick hitting pitch plays to wing backs already sprinting in motion around the end and occasionally sprinkles in play action passes trying to hit the defense for huge chunks of yardage.

It is a very scary offense when it clicks, and although I loved former Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, I think current Navy signal caller Ricky Dobbs might be better at running the offense. And that’s why when people say Navy is a bad team I remind them of a close call at Ohio State at the beginning of the year, and of course the systematic dismantling of the Fighting Irish in South Bend.

And hey, if Coach Kelly wanted to call me to get my thoughts on stopping Navy next season, well, I might not be able to help him with that, but I’d just have to ask him for tickets to the game anyway. One time a very inebriated man offered me tickets to the Army-Navy game. While I knew he wasn’t serious, and a scheduling conflict would have kept me from attending anyway, I know that if there’s one more thing I need to add to my bucket list, it’s attending an Army-Navy game.

Anyone want to help me out with that? (I do get to see Florida play UC, so we can scratch that off the “list”)

While all the talk in Cincinnati has been about coaching transitions and Brian Kelly’s departure, my focus has been taking a few days off from football and getting ready for two weeks of work and fun, work and fun, and traveling to New Orleans for work and fun. More on UC-Florida as the week progresses, and of course I have to tell you all about the year 2009 as the year comes to a close too. Stay tuned.

Notre Dame Coach unhappy with Navy

I read an article earlier that confused the heck out me, so much so that I feel compelled to write about it. That’s not saying much, since I could write about a lot of things right now, but when one coach accuses another of being “dirty” and “malicious,” it’s too good not to write about.

Disclaimer: I love Navy football. If you’re a fan of football, it’s tough to not root for a team that methodically reduces its opponent’s defense to nothing as they run up and down the field. The triple option, it’s almost as awesome as football itself. Call me crazy, but I love the Naval Academy’s triple option attack.

Until that attack is being run on my team. But, since that probably won’t happen for a while, I think it’s safe to say I love watching Navy football. I found out that one man in South Bend doesn’t though.

Notre Dame associate head coach Corwin Brown took umbrage with something that Navy Head Coach Ken Niumatalolo (nee-uh-mah-tuh-low-low) said after Navy beat Notre Dame 23-21 on Saturday.

Post game Niumatalolo said, “I think the one thing that helped us, and I really hope this doesn't come across wrong, but I think the thing that helped us this year was last year because we knew that they'd line up the same way.”

Correct me if I’m wrong football fans, but I translated Niumatalolo’s comments as saying, “We planned on Notre Dame not changing the way they played defense, and we guessed right.”

Brown was less than happy, saying, “I thought it was very disappointing what the Navy coach said after the game. He didn't want something to be misconstrued, then he said it regarding how we prepared and what we prepared to do.”

Ok, fair enough. Brown feels that Niumatalolo shouldn’t have said what he said. But, isn’t part of football game planning to defeat your opponent? Should Notre Dame have learned from last season, or the season before that, or the 43 times before that when Notre Dame beat Navy?

It would be akin to Brian Kelly saying after beating UConn last weekend, “Well, we knew they’d line up the same way, so we used a similar game plan.” Would Randy Edsall or one of his assistants get angry? Good question. They’d probably take their lumps and say, “Hey we need to get better and fix this.”

Now I understand why Notre Dame fans are growing restless with the current coaching staff, including head man Charlie Weis.

Brown also called Navy’s offense “unimaginative.” Not sure that a lot of the people I know wouldn’t disagree with that, but it certainly works. It worked for the Academy on Saturday.

The saddest part of Brown’s little tirade was that it took place on Veteran’s Day. What a day to attack one of our Military Academies.

Brown was also angry at the way Navy used, and I quote, “malicious illegal cut blocks.” I know, I know, you’re thinking, but, cut blocks are legal and Navy uses them masterfully to eliminate defensive linemen. Well, apparently in South Bend it’s illegal.

Gosh I hope the Big East officials get reprimanded for not calling the legal blocks illegal. (What is this, the SEC?)

Maybe I shouldn’t have wasted my time reading and writing about Brown’s ridiculous attack on Niumatalolo. But it seems that when Notre Dame is involved, the Catholic in me comes out. And comes out swinging it seems.

Pigskin a Plenty

That title sounds like some deal a restaurant should be running. I'm like the Kanye West of marketing. A genuis...

The Cincinnati Bearcats beat rival Louisville 41-10 on Saturday, handily keeping control of the Keg of Nails rivalry trophy for the second straight year. However, the joy of winning the game was quickly dampened by news that Texas Christian jumped the Bearcats 24 hours later in the USA Today Coaches Poll, which makes up part of the BCS standings.

Well, it isn’t even Halloween yet. So, I’m not too worried. Sooner or later this whole BCS conference thing will help us out. More on this week’s upcoming matchup against Syracuse later on this week.

-Pittsburgh is 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big East. They throttled USF on Saturday 41-14. Everyone remembers how fellow football fan, Pitt student and guest blogger Jake Meyer said the Panthers would go 4-1 in their non-conference games, right?

Well, I guess they’ll have to take care of business the day before my birthday against Notre Dame to take care of that. Oh, and I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I did say they’d lose to NC State at NC State. It’s rare that I’m right, so I’ll make sure to point it out. (http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2009/03/big-east-football-schedules-pittsburgh.html)

-It was well noted by Rivals.com’s Mike Huguenin that the Naval Academy didn’t throw the ball once in their 13-10 win over Wake Forest on Saturday. They ran the ball 64 times for 338 yards. “The last time a FBS team didn't attempt any passes in a game?” he asks. “It was almost a year to the day: Navy did it last season, on Oct. 25.”

Everyone knows how much I love Navy’s system, but little did I know that Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano—whose Scarlet Knights faced a similar attack from Army on Friday night and defeated the Black Knights by 17—would like to run it one day as well. (Read more: http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2009/10/rutgers_coach_greg_schiano_adm.html)

“I enjoy watching it,” he said last week. “It is definitely a science. There is no doubt about it. I enjoy watching it. I really do. Maybe when I am all done and ready to go coach some high school, I will employ that offense, I don’t know. I think it is very good. It really is a joy to watch.”

If you ever hear me talk about Navy and Georgia Tech, you’ll hear the same thing. I love the offense, I enjoy watching it run to perfection, but I’d hate playing against it.

Also, Georgia Tech (coached by former Navy head man Paul Johnson) is quietly sneaking up in the rankings. They beat Virginia on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets had three players rush for over 80 yards including two who gained over the century mark on the ground.

-In news that made former Ball State walk on wideout and UC video coordinator John Sells happy, the Cardinals won their first game this season. In other MAC news, the Miami Redhawks lost, again. You know how much that is hurting UC’s Strength of Schedule? A lot if I’m not mistaken.

-Oh, and one quick note about the BCS before I get going. USC beat Oregon State 42-36 at home on Saturday. UC beat Oregon State 28-19 in Corvallis earlier this year—in fact, on the same day that USC lost to Washington. UC has yet to lose. Who is ranked higher? USC. Makes sense right?

All I’m doing is prepping for the December 6th argument. Just getting my homework done ahead of time.

-And one quick note about NASCAR. Is it really over? That quickly? Jimmie Johnson won another Chase. Well, I’ll be starting my countdown to Daytona within a week or two. Wait, there’s still one more race? Well, we’ll see…

Navy visits Ohio State to open college football Saturday

Let’s get a few things straight: I love the Naval Academy’s triple option offense. I don’t like Ohio State. And, this Saturday should be a interesting matchup in Columbus between the two teams.

Ohio State will be heavily favored in the game which kicks off at noon on ESPN. The #6 ranked Buckeyes should win the game. After all, they’ll have 105,000 fans behind them and what some people consider to be one of the best quarterbacks in America, sophomore Terrelle Pryor, leading the show for his second year.

On the exact opposite end of the spectrum is the Naval Academy, led into battle by second year head coach Ken Niumatalolo. They’ll be led under center by junior Ricky Dobbs, who will be making his second start. He takes over for former Navy great Kaipo Noa Kaheaku Enhada, who left Navy after a few great years of leading the Middies.

Ohio State is worried about replacing all but two starters on offense. The only returning players that started at their position last season are Pryor and center Mike Brewster. The Buckeyes replace four starters on defense. Navy replaces Kaheaku Enhada and six other offensive starters and like the Buckeyes they must replace four defensive starters.

I love watching every Navy game that I can only to watch that offense grind out yardage on the ground, in an old fashioned style rushing attack. Navy’s defense has been suspect the past few years, and I expect Ohio State head coach and playcaller Jim Tressel and Pryor to exploit those Naval Academy weaknesses.

I don’t expect Navy to win, let’s get that straight. But, Navy could scare Ohio State with the combination of speed and quickness that has given the slower Buckeyes headaches over the past few years. Add in the fact that it’s tough to prepare for the triple option attack that the Midshipmen will bring to the table, and it could be a tough day for the Buckeyes.

And Tressel feels the same way. Yesterday he told reporters,

“Whenever you play someone like Navy it raises the urgency because you can’t look at them and say, ‘Well, I know what they do. Yeah, this is what they run. We know how to stop that.”’ he said. “Plus our guys have a tremendous respect for the people who choose to go into that particular world. You’ve got to be courageous and our guys know that. … It’ll be an eye-opener for us.”

One year ago Ohio State had trouble dismissing in state rival Ohio University on this same weekend in September. Although the Buckeyes pulled away they have had trouble defeating lesser opponents in the past. They won’t overlook Navy in favor of a prime time rematch with USC next Saturday.

Ohio State offensive guard Bryant Browning said, “First off, those guys have won a lot of games. They go to bowl games, and they win. We’re usually facing, I guess you could say, a lesser opponent sometimes—you could say it that way. But Navy is not one of those teams. They’re going to come in here looking for a big upset.”

And if they do, well, expect me to be one happy guy.
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Tomorrow I’ll let you in on the first time I heard a phrase that became a household saying last year at UC. I’ll tell you about the 2007 trip to Piscataway, New Jersey where the UC Bearcats beat the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. As always, I’ll include some photos of the trip. Friday will be a two part bonus post including NASCAR and UC football (only because my line of work is involved, check back later for more).

Have a great Wednesday and thanks for reading.