Another Great Saturday

I'll get to the football, but let me update you with some other stuff first.

I finally heard back from Key yesterday. Key, if you remember, was the other place where I interviewed in-person this summer. They said, "We thought you interviewed really well and were impressed with your credentials. We were so impressed we thought you were qualified for the position, but overqualified. We thought you would get bored with the position you originally interviewed for, so we forwarded your resume to other departments to see if we could use you. We'd love to have you, but for now, we don't have a place for you."

So basically I didn't get the job haha. I'm not really counting on getting a job in another Key department (it would be great if I did, I liked Key a lot and still do, they're good people). What can ya do??? I had a great interview, they like me, but I'm overqualified. Maybe I shouldn't try so hard next time haha.

Despite this, I have been able to take advantage of a couple of opportunities, and I may (may being the key word) have an inside track to a well-paying part-time job. There is another opportunity I've been able to take advantage of, in regards to having my resume looked at by a favorable firm. If anything substantial comes of it, I'll of course update you.

Of course I'm disappointed. When you get rejected from anything, it hurts. I haven't been rejected this much since Junior Homecoming (0 for 3, but I killed em on the dance floor). But I've moved on. I wasn't expecting much from Key, I had already shifted my focus to things I've applied for recently, seeing if they work out. I'm guess I due for a little rough patch. From the end of March through the beginning of September, I was on a huge roll. Hopefully, momentum comes back onto my side and I can get my roll on again.

Yesterday, my parents had the day off and my bro was back home (fall break at Miami), so we went to lunch in Lebanon, which is about halfway between Dayton and Cincinnati. We ate at the Golden Lamb, an old restaurant/inn that has been around for a long time. Multiple Presidents have visited this historic landmark, including President George W. Bush. If you go there for lunch, I recommend the open-faced beef sandwich, it is delicious. After doing some shopping, the bro and I headed up to Piqua for the Northmont/Piqua game and to do some brotherly bonding. It's always good to have some alone time with him and to see how he's doing.

As for the game, Northmont jumped out to a 21-3 lead, hurting Piqua with its spread passing attack. But turnovers and penalties kept the Bolts from running away with the game, allowing Piqua to come back in the 2nd half. But Northmont held on for a 27-25 win, setting up a huge game with Wayne, who knocked off Centerville 38-0. A Northmont win and they are assured of a spot in the playoffs and a chance of hosting their 1st round playoff game.

Alright, to today and what a day it was:
Miami 51, Akron 23. It didn't look good early for the Redhawks, as the Zips scored 17 points on their first 3 possessions, leading 17-7. And they took the early lead by running the football, something they're normally not good at. But the Miami attack got rolling, coming back to lead 23-17 at the half. Then, the 2nd half was all Miami, scoring 3 TDs in 25 seconds to turn it into a rout. Josh Betts threw for 332 yards and 3 TDs, Brandon Murphy ran for 184 yards and 2 scores, and Martin Nance and Ryne Robinson both had 100+ yard receiving games. But the defense was the difference maker, only giving up 120 yards in the 2nd half, forcing 6 turnovers in the game. Miami plays at Eastern Michigan next week. If Miami wins the rest of their MAC games and Bowling Green loses to Toledo, Miami wins the East.

Ohio St. 35, Michigan St. 24. The Buckeyes can thank the Michigan St. coaching staff for this one. It was all Sparty until they tried to kick a field goal in the waning seconds of the 1st half without spiking the ball to stop the clock. MSU didn't have enough players in, the field goal was blocked, OSU returned it for a TD, and instead of it being 20-7 at the half, it was 17-14. In the 2nd half, OSU got big plays, or missed tackles by the MSU secondary, that led to TDs from Ted Ginn and Santonio Holmes. Michigan St. dominated the game statistically, but lost. OSU is still in the hunt for the Big 10 title.

USC 34, Notre Dame 31. I'm trying to think of a better college game that I've seen, and right now I can't think of one. The Miami/OSU national championship game was good, so was last year's Texas/Michigan Rose Bowl, but they weren't better than this game. A buddy of mine compared this to the Duke/Kentucky basketball game, and I think it's a fair of comparison. Just like Duke, USC showed their true grit by finding a way to win the game when it looked like ND had pulled it off. As lucky as those green jerseys have been for the Irish, it was some bad luck that hurt them in the end. If the ND cornerback turns around a half-second earlier on the 4th down pass, he knocks it away and the game is over. If Matt Leinart doesn't fumble the ball, he gets tackled in-bounds, the clock runs out and the game is over. If the ball gets knocked out and goes through the end zone, it's a touchback and the game is over. Finally, it appeared Reggie Bush helped Leinart into the end zone. That's a 15 yard penalty in college football, so at the worst, the game would've gone into overtime. But credit to USC. Reggie Bush was electrifying, Matt Leinart made a great audible on the 4th down play, Dwayne Jarrett made a great catch, and USC has won 28 in a row.

Now for the Top 10:
1. USC. The Trojans should be encouraged that they were able to win despite LenDale White being held in check. He's usually the x-factor offensively for SC. The Trojans should get a break with Washington next week.

2. Texas. In their 42-17 win over Colorado, Vince Young was 25/29, 336 yards and 2 TDs. He also rushed for 3 TDs. Next up is pass-happy Texas Tech and gunslinger Cody Hodges. Hodges threw for over 600 yards vs. Kansas St. today. The Red Raiders are coming in also undefeated, but haven't been seriously tested. Texas should win big; I don't see the Tech defense stopping Vince Young. Tech may let Texas score so the Tech offense can get the ball back and try and score with them.

3. Virginia Tech. Dangerous Thursday night game at Maryland this week. Maryland usually gets better as the season wears on. They'll also have last year's meeting on their mind when they gave up in Blacksburg and got steamrolled.

4. Georgia. DJ Shockley threw for 298 yards and 3 scores in their 34-17 win over Vandy. The Dawgs are still sneaking around, undefeated, as they host Arkansas next weekend.

5. Alabama. The Tide were lucky to escape with a win. Both teams were dreadful in the Red Zone, especially Mississippi. But Brodie Croyle made the plays when needed to and the Tide survived, which is what you try and do at this point in the season. Next up is Tennessee in Alabama.

6. UCLA. They might be overrated here, but 6-10 is a tossup. UCLA has a great offense. Drew Olson came up big tonight in their 2nd straight 4th quarter comeback win tonight. He has big targets to throw to, and it doesn't hurt when you can hand the ball off to Maurice Drew, my Heisman favorite. UCLA is suspect defensively, especially in the secondary. But they make the plays when needed. Credit to coach Karl Dorrell for putting the Bruins back on the map.

7. Florida St. The Noles didn't bring their A game to Charlottesville vs. Virginia, and they're no longer talented enough to get away with it. Drew Weatherford threw for 373 yards, but 3 INTs were part of his 58 attempts. What happened to the vaunted FSU running game? And the FSU defense let Marques Hagans go nuts, throwing for a career-high 298 yards, spreading the ball to 11 different receivers. Booker and Washington must reappear in the FSU offense for them to win.

8. LSU. Hey, they're one botched field goal try from being undefeated most likely. They somehow survived 5 turnovers to beat the Gators. The LSU running game was in high gear, and the defense was superb, holding the Gator spread to 206 yards.

9. Miami. The Canes' starters played the 1st quarter at Temple, went up 27-0, then sat the rest of the afternoon. They might get to play the whole game this week vs. Georgia Tech. Still don't know how much they've improved since the opener.

10. Notre Dame. Hey, they're 2 plays from being undefeated and #1. Notre Dame did what they wanted to offensively, and they hung in defensively, making plays when needed. The Irish should win out, with their lone remaining test being Tennessee in South Bend. If they go 9-2, they'll make the BCS.

On the verge: Texas Tech (first real test at Texas this week), Penn St. (the busted coverage on the last play showed their youth), and Boston College (great comeback, only loss to Florida St., but overrated here possibly)

Alright, I promised my Final 4 and Sweet 16, so first are my Sweet 16 (then my Final 4):
Louisville. Taquan Dean and Larry O'Bannon will light it up from deep and look for Juan Palacios to have a breakout year.

Kentucky. Rajon Rondo will have a big year. I was really impressed with him in Indy at the NCAAs last year. UK has plenty of backcourt firepower, but they're lean inside. When Randolph Morris comes back, it will help inside, but he needs to live up to the hype.

Memphis. If Darius Washington makes some free throws, Memphis might've made a Sweet 16 run last year. This year, he and Rodney Carney are back, and John Calipari seems to have gotten rid of all the distractions.

Maryland. The inconsistent play of John Gilchrist is gone, and DJ Strawberry is back from a knee injury. Travis Garrison needs to have a big year.

Syracuse. The Orange will go as far as their junior class takes them. They can defend, but can they make anything other than layups.

UCLA. Ben Howland has turned the program around, and his hard-nosed style is in place. They aren't very deep inside, but getting guard Cedric Bozeman back from a knee injury gives the Bruins a multi-dimensional threat on the outside.

Indiana. If Mike Davis doesn't get it done this year, he's gone. They've got the depth inside, and have the shooters outside. Can they live up to the pressure of having to produce?

Nevada. Nick Fazekas is back, along with basically everyone else from a team that made it to the 2nd round last year. Ramon Sessions really impressed me in Indy last year. Look for the sophomore guard to have a good year.

NC State. Julius Hodge is the only key loss from this team. A 100% Tony Bethel will help offset that loss. I like the way Andrew Brackman plays inside.

Iowa. They're not physically impressive, but they play you tough, which is Steve Alford's style. If Jeff Horner can stay healthy, they'll be tough in March.

Arizona. Mustafa Shakur and Hassan Adams are good enough on the inside to carry this team. Isaiah Fox can be a force on the inside.

Boston College. Everyone returns to run the flex offense. It will be interesting to see how other teams play the Eagles and their stars, Dudley and Smith.

And the Final 4:
Texas. Daniel Gibson is my preseason Player of the Year, PJ Tucker is back, LaMarcus Aldridge is healthy, and Brad Buckman continues to improve. If Gibson can get some scoring help in the backcourt, this team has the inside depth to win it all.

Villanova. If I had to pick a team to win it all, I'd pick Villanova. Mike Nardi is the leader at the point, Allen Ray and Randy Foye fill it up on the wings, Jason Fraser provides the inside presence on the boards, and Curtis Sumpter is a lottery pick with his inside-outside play. In addition, Kyle Lowry provides instant offense off the bench. It's all there for the Cats to make a run.

Michigan St. I think not being as deep will help because guys won't have to worry about playing time. Drew Neitzel did a great job running the point last year, he should only get better this year. Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager can shoot and/or take you off the dribble, and Paul Davis is ready for a big senior year. Sparty will need some of their young guys to produce, but the experience is there to go deep.

Duke. JJ Redick and Shelden Williams are back, along with the best freshmen recruiting class in the nation. Duke will play most, if not all of their freshmen, giving them more depth, allowing them to run and play more pressure D. Duke's only concern is at point guard, where they need Sean Dockery to step up. If he doesn't, Greg Paulus, freshman, will take over.

I'll have the recap of The Contender Rematch tomorrow. There will be a second season, starting next spring on ESPN, which I'm psyched about.