NCAA

Western Michigan Broncos Plays for the Cotton Bowl

8 years ago in NCAA/NFL

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I reported over the weekend that the Western Michigan Broncos deserved the Cotton Bowl appearance and a decision will be made by the selection committee.

As you remember Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck was confident of their chances —

We deserve to be in the gosh darn Cotton Bowl, period. Write it down.

Even though they had a 13-0 record they were still ranked 17th as such Fleck had to campaign and make sure everyone knew they had something special going on. It also helped that Navy lost to Temple as they were still in the running

In preparation for the announcement, Western Michigan Broncos had a watch party

The College Football Playoff selection committee made a decision and Western Michigan University will be playing against Wisconsin (10-3) in the Cotton Bowl scheduled for Jan. 2, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (1 p.m., ESPN). You should start planning to buy your Cotton Bowl Tickets as this is going to be a historic and exciting matchup.

WMU had a strong start for this campaign as they beat Big Ten Teams on the road, Northwestern 22-1 on the 1st week and followed it up on Week 3 against Illinois 34-10.

Fleck on the Bronco’s undefeated record —

First of all, it’s historic. I don’t care what league you’re in. …

If you go undefeated in sports, it’s very special, no matter what. To go undefeated, it takes a ton of resolve, resilience, energy, commitment, trust, belief.

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Western Michigan Broncos Watch Party Cotton Bowl

8 years ago in NCAA/NFL

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The Western Michigan Broncos 13-0 record is reason enough for coach P.J. Fleck to be hopeful for their inclusion in the Cotton Bowl. The announcement is going to be made on Dec. 4 and as such the Western Michigan University football is going to host the watch party on Sunday, Dec. 4, in University Arena at Read Fieldhouse situated on the main campus.

The gates will be open at 1:30 p.m. and General admission is free; and no reserved seating, concessions is gonna be available.

Public parking is on Lot 13 and the parking ramp on West Michigan Avenue across.

After the watch party a press conference will be held mostly in anticipation of the selection, WMU Athletic Director Kathy Beauregard, head coach P.J. Fleck, and student-athletes Zach Terrell and Corey Davis will be on the press conference.

Western Michigan quarterback Zach Terrell knows they have done their best no matter what the announcement is going to be —

Honestly, we’ve done all we can do. Whether or not we’re in the Cotton Bowl, we can’t control that. All we control is winning the games on our schedule, and we’ve done that.

Hopefully P.J. Flecks confidence will bear fruit —

It’s a historic day in Western Michigan history, and we deserve to be in the gosh darn Cotton Bowl, period. Write it down.

Less than a day for Western Michigan’s historic moment.

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Navy Heartbreaking loss against Temple

8 years ago in NCAA/NFL

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Navy Midshipmen had a terrible and forgettable game and offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper has this to say — Mama said there’d be days like this.

This is the first appearance of Navy in the conference title where they got controlled and dominated by Temple from start to finish with a 34-10 score. Navy was gunning on playing in the Cotton Bowl but it looked dim right from the start.

The Midshipmen got defeated physically and emotionally and started the game trailing 21-0, against the Black Knights.

Quarterback Will Worth was injured early in the game when he later said he heard something pop and after that he cannot put any weight on his feet after running just four yards on his 263rd carry. He is the second quarterback for the Navy Midshipmen that had been injured, Tago Smith the starting quarterback tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the second quarter of the season opener, ran four yards on his 263rd carry of the fall.

On Will Worth’s leg — I thought I heard a pop. I tried one more play, but I couldn’t put any weight on it.

On the same play that injured Will Worth, Navy’s offensive captain slotback Toneo Gulley also got injured and has this to say — I felt some pops here and there. He shook his head. Crazy.

Both Will Worth and Toneo Gulley are very important players for the Midshipmen and having them on the bech easily lost their chances. Both of them felt bad about it —
“It was very emotional. For both of us.”

Both players upon x-ray revealed they had broken bone in their foot.

Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo has this to say —

It was just a good old-fashioned butt-whipping. It starts with me as the head coach, and you have to give credit to [Temple Coach] Matt [Rhule] because his team was prepared.

Temple lost 28-13 against Army and allowed them to run 342 yards. Navy was held to only 168 yards.

This is a sweet revenge for Temple, as 19 years ago Temple lost against Navy 47-19 and now they reversed the final results Navy badly beaten.

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Western Michigan Broncos 13-0 Deserve Cotton Bowl

8 years ago in NCAA/NFL

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P.J. Fleck with a 13-0 record with the Western Michigan Broncoshas no plans to watch as the rest of college football’s final weekend before bowl season plays out during the next two days. In his mind, he already knows where his team is headed —

“It’s a historic day in Western Michigan history, and we deserve to be in the gosh darn Cotton Bowl, period. Write it down.”

Michigan Broncos currently ranked 17th won their 13th straights against Ohio 29-23 at Ford Field winning their first conference championship in 28 years, also finishing 8-0 in Mid-American conference.

A 13-0 record is a very strong case and Fleck feels they should be at the Cotton Bowl regardless of what happens with any team over the weekend. Navy ranked number 19 could potentially get ahead of the Western Michigan if they beat Temple in the American Athletic Conference. Although they have lost against Temple, Fleck feels there is nobody to challenge them —

I don’t think there’s anybody to pay attention to. Who are we paying attention to? Why are we paying attention to anyone? We are 13-0. We are the best Group of 5 team in the country.

Western Michigan quarterback Zach Terrell has a positive perspective on the situation —

Honestly, we’ve done all we can do. Whether or not we’re in the Cotton Bowl, we can’t control that. All we control is winning the games on our schedule, and we’ve done that.

Fleck feels that their unbeaten record is proof that they deserve a sport on the five smaller conferences and that he and his staff will recruit over the weekend wearing cotton —

I’m going wear cotton shirts. I’m going to have cotton slippers. I’m going to have cotton earmuffs. I’m going to have a cotton jacket. I’m going to wear everything cotton from here on out.

This afternoon, the College Football Playoff selection committee will release the final rankings.

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Nick Saban Bold Message for College Football

8 years ago in NCAA/NFL

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The Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban have a bold message to College Football

You don’t want the Tide

They are 13-0 and have won their 3rd straight SEC Championship on a score of 54-16 against the Florida Gators team in Atlanta. What is impressive is that the Alabama Crimson Tide didn’t even have a great game but still delivered a 38 point blow out.

The Crimson Tide has been dominating their opponents the entire season and Nick Saban has been obsessive on perfection on every aspect of the field against strong and weaker opponents.

The Alabama Crimson Tide is currently the number 1 NCAA Football team going into the playoffs and would be playing against team number 4 during the College Football Playoff in the Peach Bowl.

No team wants to be on the number 4 spot going up against the Alabama as it is going to be brutal and unforgiving. Clemson is the only team that played well against Alabama but still lost and I am sure they would rather play someone else than Saban’s team.

The defense of Alabama creates too much problem for opposing quarterbacks as they can transition or play both zone and man-to-man, having different number of players on the front continuously confuse the QB to make consecutive good plays.

At this point no team is able to solve the defense of Crimson Tide and at the same time contain their offense.

Crimson’s offensive line include one of the best receivers and tight ends in the college football Calvin Ridley and O.J. Howard respectively. They also have at least five players who are NFL potential talent.

he Tide offensive line is one of the best in the nation, Calvin Ridley is one of the best receivers in the nation, O.J. Howard is one of the best tight ends in the nation, and the backfield goes five-deep with NFL talent.

Nick Saban bold message for the college football has substance and I am sure teams cannot refute this until they have proven they can beat Alabama Crimson Tide.

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All Smiling Ryan Arcidiacono gives a Fun Interview after Wildcats NCAA Win

9 years ago in NCAA

A fun interview on Villanova Wildcats superstar point guard Ryan. The interview is after Villanova won the NCAA Championship 2016 defeating North Carolina Tar Heels thanks to the unselfish play of Ryan as he dished off to Kris Jenkins for the first 3-point buzzer beating shot on an NCAA Men’s Basketball championship.

Ryan is relaxed and fun on this interview as he insists that the Villanova basketball play has won them the title.

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Watch Intense 1.5 minutes of Wildcats vs Tar Heels Championship

9 years ago in NCAA

Villanova won the NCAA Championship 2016 against North Carolina Tar Heels on a historic 3 point buzzer beating shot from Kris Jenkins.

The video shows the last 1 minute and 34 seconds of the game with Villanova leading by 6 points with the score at 70-64. Both teams fought hard on defense and every one of the 17 points scored in the last 1.5 minutes was hard earned.

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Villanova Ends 31-year drought to become NCAA 2016 Champions

9 years ago in NCAA

Villanova Wildcats ended a 31 year title drought by making the first 3 point buzzer winning shot in an NCAA National Basketball Championship game when Kris Jenkins received a trailing pass from Wildcats senior Ryan Arcidiacono to end the game 77-74.

The victory spoiled Carolina’s bid for a 6th title and could have been number 3 for Coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tarheels which would have allowed him to surpass his mention North Carolina Dean Smith.

Arcidiacono showed great unselfish play as he could have opted to drive the ball and take all the glory in.

Villanova Wildcats run by star point guard Arcidiacono had three plays that they are known for:

1. Ryan drives to the basket
2. Ryan kicks off to the wings
3. Pass off a trailing Kris Jenkins

These three play options were run by the Wildcats throughout the season and Ryan had full confidence on a smaller percentage shot from beyond the arc.

Arcidiacono notes — “We knew what play we were going to, We work on it every single day”.

Kris Jenkins has praise for their point guard — “For him to be so unselfish and give up the ball, it just shows what type of teammate he is”

The game was beautifully played with both teams hustling and coming back everytime the other was pulling away. With time remainig of 1 minute and 34 seconds and Villanova leading 70-64, Paige sinks a 3 point shot from the corner closing the gap by 3 – 70-67. With Arcidiacono giving up the ball from a half-court trap, Johnson sinks a bank shot from the inside to the score of 70-60.

Both teams fought hard, trading points and had the score tied at 74 all with an off-balance shot from Paige with 4.7 seconds remaining. With the Wildcats making an inbounds pass from the backcourt it was very likely that the game will go into overtime until Jenkins hit the game winning shot at the buzzer.

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