DIII
Shout out to the Ahsland-Norwood 12TD, 10FG, 7OT instant classic that didn't quite make the Top 25 matchup criteria.
Trinity 29 - Coast Guard 27
These two schools may not play in the same conference, but the campuses are only 45 miles apart and if the keep playing games like this they may want to make the rivalry a yearly thing.
The Coast Guard gave Trinity their biggest scare during their undefeated regular season run, even taking a lead into the 4th quarter. 14 points in the last 50 seconds of the 2nd quarter saw Coast Guard knot the game up at 20 heading into halftime. Coast Guard added a TD in the 3rd to extend their lead to 7 but those would be the last points the Academy scored in the game. Senior kicker James Murphy cut the lead to 4 with a late FG in the 3rd and we headed into the 4th at 27-23. Trinity was able to put together a scoring drive to cut the lead to 1 with just a bit over 6 minutes left. Coast Guard finally put together a drive but the usually consistent Carlos Perry pushed his 43 yard FG attempt wide. Trinity looked like they had seen their last gasp fall short on 4th down with two minutes to go but their defense stiffened and forced a three and out. Coast Guard got a sack on the first play and an incompletion on 2nd down but a PI penalty gave Trinity another chance. That was one chance too many for Trinity. A scramble and a completion brought the FG team on to try and win. James Murphy hit 90% of his kicks last season and left no doubt on this game winner.
Box Score: https://www.whatifsports.com/gd/GameResults/BoxScore.aspx?gid=6792691
DII
South Dakota came into this top 10 matchup as the defending champs but with a new coach trying to prove he deserved the job after a rough 3 stop stay in D1AA. Points were not in short supply in this game. South Dakota scored three timesin 4 minutes to end the 2nd quarter and take a 31-24 lead into half. MSM responded after the break and did all the scoring in the 3rd with a TD and two FGs and took a 6 point lead after 3. The teams traded FGs and then TDs in the fourth. South Dakota scored with 2:17 to go and their 2 point conversion stretched the lead to 3 as time wound down. MSM started the ensuing drive on the 25 and 3 completions later they had the ball 1st and Goal at the 8. Standout DL John Montgomery came up with his biggest play of the game with a 1st down sack and a goal line stop on 3rd down forced a FG to tie as the gun sounded.
MSM started with the ball and wasted no time in picking up two quick first downs before Matthew Lester found Alex Trujillo in the end zone for the score. South Dakota thought 4 plays was too slow to score and responded with a toss sweep for 25 yards and the TD.
The 2nd OT started with MSM's defense finally stiffening. A 3rd down completion found South Dakota inches short of the sticks and coach RoyBatty elected to kick the FG. William Green split the uprights and MSM had a chance to win with a touchdown. MSM moved the ball to the 14 on first down but an incompletion and false start penalty forced them into a 2nd and long they were not able to recover from. Dennis McLeod's 6th FG of the game from 24 yards out sent the game into a 3rd OT.
Neither of these defenses had been strong all day and that wouldn't change in the 3rd OT. Once again MSM easily moved the ball and scored in 4 plays. Coach tmelonhead decided 82 pass attempts was enough and called a rare running play for the 2 point conversion. The gamble was successful and they took an 8 point lead into the bottom of period.
South Dakota struggled to move the ball on their possession, finding themselves in 3rd and 6 almost immediately. A sack on 3rd down and the situation looked bleak for the two time defending champs. tmelonhead gambled again and sent this blitz, but this time it didn't pay off. Coleman found Jones at the 7 and he slipped a tackle to score and bring on the tying conversion attempt. Jones would get the call again on the conversion attempt. He would run for 240 yards on 31 attempts on the day, but came up one yard short on this carry and the two time defending champs tasted defeat for the first time in 30 games.
Box Score: https://www.whatifsports.com/gd/GameResults/BoxScore.aspx?gid=6793044
D1AA
Maine 31 - SFA 30
As usual there was no shortage of great games in D1AA (Valpo-Drake, UD-TSU, YSU-UD). This early season Top 10 matchup between SFA and Maine managed to live up to all the hype and was the best game in the division.
Both of these teams have been mainstays in the playoffs and new this could be an opening act to a showdown later in the season.
Maine scored on their opening drive but SFA responded with 3 unanswered TDs and looked like they may run away from the hosts early. Maine was able to sandwich a TD and FG around a SFA FG to trim the lead to 7 at half.
After a 41 point first half the defenses finally found their footing after the break and a SFA FG would be the only score of the 3rd quarter.
Maine opened the final stanza with a critical TD drive to cut the lead to 3. After trading punts SFA's offense finally showed a little life but their best drive of the half would only net a FG and leave the hosts with a 6 point deficit and a chance to win. 2 Maine rushing plays netted -2 yards and a 3rd down completion for 8 yards brought the game to 4th and 4. Coach chetty called his last TO to setup the critical 4th down play. Mark Jackson found George Nicholas heavily covered, but he made the grab and was able to scamper 21 yards after the catch and Maine was breathing again. A 3rd down conversion with under a minute to go moved the ball to SFA's 24 and gave Maine a shot into the endzone. A near sack on 1st down almost ended the game but Thomas was able to throw the ball away. George Nicholas made his 2nd catch of the drive and the game but was unable to get out of bounds. Maine was able to get the 3rd down snap off with 14 seconds remaining. Sophomore Phillip Thomas showed poise beyond his years, going to his 3rd option to find fellow Sophomore Brian Witt open at the 8 for his first catch of the game. With the clock running down Witt had to either score or get out of bounds and the second year player decided to put his head down and be a hero. One broken tackle and an extra point later and the Maine comeback was complete.
Box Score: https://www.whatifsports.com/gd/GameResults/BoxScore.aspx?gid=6792969
D1A
Temple 66 - Syracuse 64
3s were wild this year in D1A as Missouri-Nebraska and Penn State-Minnesota went to 3 OTs along with this Big East flag football game.
Fans knew points would come quickly in this game as both teams had scored over 30 in 13 of 16 games coming in. No one expected the shootout this would become. Under betters were in trouble early as Temple scored on 6 of their first 7 drives and Syracuse netted 4 TDs on their first 5 drives.
Temple capped a 4 TD first quarter with a 98 yard kick return to knot the game at 14. Syracuse scored twice more in the 2nd quarter and was able to twice hold Temple to FGs which were almost as good as turnovers in this offensive affair. Halftime found the Orange up 28-27 and both defensive coordinators updating their resumes.
TDs were the result of the first two drives of the 2nd half before Temple missed a FG and their offense ground to a halt, punting three times in a row. Syracuse took the opportunity to stretch the lead to 11 with the 4th quarter halfway done. The Owls' offense finally woke up and a TD and missed 2 point conversion cut the lead to 5. Temple coach husker111 decided his defense wasn't stopping anyone and elected for the onside kick. The gamble paid off and Temple took over at their 46. 7 plays and a crucial 2 point conversion later and Temple had their first lead since early in the 3rd quarter. Syracuse had 1:30 to play with and in this game the only question was if they would tie or win it in regulation. The Orange moved the ball to the 13 with 30 seconds left, but Coach hookemhorns7 may have cost his team the win by running it on 1st down and then waiting to call his final TO with 4 seconds left. The 22 yard FG tied up the game and sent us to OT.
OT started as regulation finished, with both teams posting TDs without seeing a 3rd down.
FGs were the choice in the 2nd OT with Temple denying Syracuse a 2nd and 2 from the 4 opportunity and then kicking a 42 yarder themselves.
The 3rd OT quickly found Temple at 3rd and 16 and nearly out of FG range at the 31. However, William Howard was able to find TE Dennis Dunn open down field and he waltzed into the end zone. A pass for the 2 point conversion gave the Owls an 8 point lead. The Orange wasted no time in getting a TD of their own with John Love tossing his 5th TD of the game. Timothy Smith had been the workhorse all game long, netting 250 yards on the ground but John Valentine was able to beat the OL off the ball and meet Smith in the backfield before he got back to the line of scrimmage. Temple was victorious 66-64. The two teams totaled over 1300 yards, 73 first downs and 22 scoring drives versus 7 punts. This was a Big East game with a Big 12 feel.
Box Score: https://www.whatifsports.com/gd/GameResults/BoxScore.aspx?gid=6794124