Tag Archives: UCLA

Damage Report: Big 12 Refs and Mississippi

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Saturday is finished and we learned quite a few things this week in college football. Such as to never go for it on 4th and 3 in a tied game after burning two time-outs to think about it. That was for you Gary Patterson. Here are winners and losers from the past 24 hours.

How UCLA fans felt today.

How UCLA fans felt today.

Winner: Mississippi State and Ole Miss

Honestly, I thought both Mississippi teams would get carried away with their top rankings and have a bad game. That didn’t happen as Mississippi State jumped on No. 2 Auburn with a 21-0 first quarter lead and never looked back. Ole Miss was in control of No. 14 Texas A&M the whole way and led 21-0 at the half. The Egg Bowl has never been so enticing in October.

Loser: Big 12 Referees

The zebras called pass interference on TCU corner Corry O’Meally placing Baylor in field-goal range in the final minute with game tied at 58. Baylor would kick the game-winning three points to end the bout 61-58. Problem is the flag was bogus. Replay showed O’Meally made contact as the ball reached the Baylor receiver and even turned his head to find the ball. It was a shame that a great game ended on the result of a bad call from the refs. Then again, if TCU had simply punted instead failing on 4th and 3 maybe this would not have happened at all.

Winner: Duke

The Blue Devils knocked of the ACC Coastal leading Yellow Jackets on the road 31-25. Duke is now in great shape to repeat as division champions. With Florida State in the news for all the wrong reasons there is a legitimate possibility Duke could win the ACC in football. Yeah, I said in football.

Loser: UCLA

The Bruins went from being a playoff favorite to dropping two-straight at home. Unlike last week’s close game with Utah, UCLA was lifeless against Oregon. Don’t let the 42-30 score fool you. It was 35-10 after the third quarter. UCLA has plenty to fix.

Winner: West Virginia

Trailing Texas Tech on the road 34-20 with less than eight minutes to go it looked bleak for WVU. The Mountaineers would score two touchdowns in drives lasting only 1:37 and 2:37. They even had time to set up a 55-yard field goal for kicker Josh Lambert. The sophomore kicker drilled the field-goal to crush the hearts of Texas Tech fans everywhere. At 4-2, West Virginia has plenty to play for while Texas Tech is going to need a miracle to reach bowl eligibility at 2-4.

Loser: Fresno State

The Bulldogs were a contender to repeat as Mountain West champions but that took a hit Friday night in Vegas. Fresno lost UNLV in overtime 30-27 who was previously 1-4. The Rebels had been torched this season with a minus 131 point-differential. It was Fresno State’s first Mountain West loss who fell to 3-4, and 2-1 in conference. Instead of making a run at the conference crown, the Bulldogs will have to fight to just finish 6-6 after the bad loss.

What Not to Miss on Labor Day Weekend

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Not a math major but it seems like something is not right here.

Not a math major but it seems like something is not right here.

With all the football going on this weekend here are some events to keep in mind during one of the busiest times on the college sports calendar.

FootballObscurity Report new

Talk is swirling that Hawaii is considering a move to drop its football team. If that is the case then be sure to watch its late night home opener against Washington. Will be interesting to see how the Rainbow Warriors fight a superior team with all the negativity going on. Coming off a 1-11 season doesn’t help either. The marketing department appears desperate as season tickets are less than the price of two single games. Even their promotional video shows plenty of empty seats at the 20 second mark.

A Hawaii upset would be the story of the week in my opinion. Stay up just in case it’s close.

Men’s Soccer

Down in Bloomington, Indiana, the defending champions and No. 1 Notre Dame will be taking on two top 12 teams this weekend in the IU Classic. Today at 5 p.m. will be No. 12 Marquette with No. 9 Georgetown Sunday at 11:30. Both the Golden Eagles and Hoyas lost in the third round of the tournament last season and will test the Fighting Irish.

Women’s Soccer

No. 1 UCLA is also defending its championship and will host the 2012 champion, No. 9 North Carolina Friday night. The Bruins are on 23-game winning streak but the last team who beat them were the Tar Heels . UCLA is 1-9 all-time against UNC but won where it most mattered last season in the NCAA quarterfinals 1-0. In its first two games, UCLA hasn’t even allowed a single shot on goal or corner kick. So good luck against that defense North Carolina. Maybe UCLA can take a break from practice with a win.

Women’s Volleyball

No. 3 Stanford travels to No. 7 Nebraska Sunday as the women’s volleyball season gets underway. This is a big test for Stanford as it will host defending champ and No. 1 overall Penn State next week. Both the Cardinal and the Cornhuskers lost in the quarterfinals last season with Stanford losing to Penn State in five sets. Stanford was the only team to take Penn State to five in the tournament so look for the Cardinal to be confident going into the season. One thing’s for sure, the team knows how to manipulate the camera.

L.A. is the Tennis Mecca

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Now they just need to fight the USC men's team to the death.

Now they just need to fight the USC men’s team to the death.

Congratulations Los Angeles. You are the epicenter of collegiate tennis.

On Tuesday the No. 5 ranked UCLA women claimed the title defeating No. 7 North Carolina 4-3 in an all sky blue battle. The women’s bracket was all chalk for most of the tournament until the quarterfinals. At the end of it was UCLA claiming their 2nd title in women’s tennis and 111th championship in school history.

USC men won their fifth title in six years defeating Oklahoma 4-2. The bracket held to form as the top seeded Trojans tangled with the No. 2 Sooners. USC won their 21st title in men’s tennis and yes that’s more than anyone else. More importantly it was the school’s 100th national championship overall. USC won despite losing the double’s point. Something that rarely happens.

So congratulations UCLA and USC, you are better at a typically outdoor sport than the Big Ten. What a shock.

Fighting the media black hole of the Super Bowl

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With the Super Bowl this weekend the majority of college sporting events are trapped in anonymity. Here are some things you might miss.

Men’s basketball: Utah Valley at New Mexico State, Saturday 10 p.m. ESTObscurity Report new

The two best teams in the WAC will meet for the first time this Saturday night at New Mexico State. One of these schools will get an automatic bid come March. The other will be extremely bitter.

I know very little about Utah Valley’s basketball history and it turns out Wikipedia doesn’t know much either.

The Wolverines do have a perfect 7-0 WAC record, but the Aggies have only lost one home game this year (New Mexico No. 30 RPI). New Mexico State is the only WAC school with a Top-100 RPI at No. 71. Utah Valley is a distant 148 and is a bland 4-6 on the road. I’m taking New Mexico State in this one but the WAC Tournament Final is where it will get serious.

Men’s basketball: Toledo at Ohio, 7 p.m. Saturday

Toledo is having an impressive season at 18-2 and a RPI of 36. A win over Boston College and a hard-fought loss at Kansas is impressive but a loss at Ohio may cripple any at-large possibility.

Like the Rockets, the Bobcats have built an impressive record of 15-5 and a Top-100 RPI at No. 81. This is a coin-flip game as Ohio is 8-3 at home. Check out this blackout promo the Bobcats have.

I’m picking Toledo to win and play with urgency as this might the most difficult regular season game it has left. The MAC should be viewed as a multi-bid league with four teams in the RPI Top-100.

Women’s basketball: Notre Dame at Duke, 2 p.m. Sunday

Looking for something to do before the Super Bowl Sunday? Check out this top-3 duel between undefeated and No. 2 Notre Dame at No. 3 Duke. With Notre Dame in the ACC I’m sure No. 1 UConn is happy it no longer has to play this juggernaut in conference any more. The Fighting Irish is your problem now Blue Devils.

Look for these two to play a third time in the ACC Tournament Final. Whoever can take two out of the three meetings will more than likely secure a No. 1 seed in the big dance. I expect for Duke to hold serve at home thanks to $3 tickets.

If Duke wins I hope this player on the right will be a little bit more excited in her press conference.


Men’s Tennis: UCLA vs. Georgia, Sunday, 2 p.m. EST

Yes, we have our first ever men’s tennis mention here at the NC2A Nerd as No. 2 UCLA squares off against No. 3 Georgia.
Technically, this match is at a neutral site because they are playing at USC. Since that’s still in Los Angeles I have to call it a home match for the Bruins.

This match has the prestigious 10 a.m. local start time so it’s fair to question whether UCLA will be awake. I know I wouldn’t be. I’ll pick UCLA because I’m sure it’s a far better recruiting destination for international players. Los Angeles versus Athens is not a fair fight for some European tennis player looking to play in the states.