WRIGHT B BRACKET: Road to the Elite 8

FIRST ROUND

GATOR BOWL: Virginia Tech [Harnish] vs. Notre Dame [Dave, claimed team]




Dave ended Harnish's first half drive with a luck of the Irish tipped pick, then drove for a field goal to go up 3-0. Harnish turned the game around with this pick, caused by making a key adjustment, hitting the QB, getting the user pick, then going for a ride on the return.

Brandon Harnish:

Yeah. This is my highlight moment of the tournament thus far. I called an audible from a man blitz to a cover 2 just before the snap. I got pressure off the edge with my DE and hit Clausen as he released the ball. I then switched to my FS and hit the awesome L2 feature to turn towards the play, and then hit triangle to grab the errant pass. Clausen was picking apart the zone D so this was a risky audible that paid dividends.

Dave wasn't down for long as his ND TE bulled his way for a 50ish yard TD to go up 10-7.

Harnish ate almost all the time off the clock before bulling ahead with his HB for this run to go up 14-10.

After a great KO R, Dave was in good position, but Virginia Tech's D rose to the occasion. Who knows what could have happen if Dave had hit L1 as he had intended on fourth down.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE [14] (tim, claimed team) vs. MAINE (dave, corey, bharnish,dave 4th.) [21] overtime

Down 14-7 with 1:25 to go, Tiim and UNH took over at their own 37. Able to score a TD with :40 to go to tie it. After a sky high kick, Dave wasn’t able to call fair catch, fumbled and Tim/UNH recoverd. Tim guided New Hampshire all the way to the Maine 13 before throwing a pick at the 4 that forced OT. In overtime, Tim/UNH threw a pick then gave up a quick Dave/Maine TD pass in falling despite a valiant comeback.

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INTERNATIONAL BOWL: Northern Illinois (Brandon, Claimed) vs. Connecticut (Tim)

Uconn just couldn't get their offense gonig as Me'co Brown starred for NIU.

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Ohio (Brandon) vs. Purdue (Corey, claimed team)

Harnish looked to challenge Corey's Purdue in round 1. Keith Smith was all over the field in the opening drive, closing it with this brilliant catch.

Having been stuffed up the middle on third and goal, Ohio looked for the pitch weakside. Purdue CB Brandon King made a brilliant recovery to stuff the play.

TE Kyle Adams gets loose giving them a 14-0 lead in the third quarter.

A whirlwind, hurry-up drive by Harnish/Ohio made it 14-7 early in the fourth.

Not getting the onside kick, the comeback bid failed for Ohio/Brandon.

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Rutgers (Brandon/Corey) vs. Penn State (Tim)

Kordell Young capped a punishing drive for the Rutgers O/Harnish as the Knights led 7-0.

This sack was evocative of the tough Rutgers D, whose stop here led to a tie game at the break

Rutgers's first drive of the second half was ill-fated, as this quick read screen was read by a PSU CB.

Daryl Clark found his big tight end to give Penn State the lead.

With a chance to send the game into overtime, a quick throw ended in disaster with a poorly run route.

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Arkansas State def Tulane

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CSU's QB grimaces as he is smacked on an indisputable, vicious late hit. CSU goes on to win over Idaho.

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UNLV upsets Arizona State with big pick 6

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SECOND ROUND

Maine [Brandon] [0] @ Virginia Tech [Tim] [3]

Tim was spoiled in his wish to pound Maine as Brandon had a chance to go up at the end of the first half, greedily choosing to score a TD for the Bears inside the 10, and failing to do so. Tim's VT offense could only muster a last minute FG to escape.

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Purdue [Corey] @ Northern Illinois [Brandon]

Chandler Harnish got things going right for NIU with a solid opening drive.

With starting RB Ralph Bolden sidelined on the first play, seasoned vet Jaycen Taylor stepped in with a weaving 95 yard TD run to put the Boilers back on top 10-7.

Former NIU LT #50 watches in horror as starting NIU QB Chandler Harnish's collarbone is shattered. The hopeful underdog MAC team lost the game, and their star playmaker. Star scatback Me'co Brown also went down in the second quarter.

Taking a 17-14 lead into the break, this big play but Purdue back up by double digits at 24-14. After getting the ball back, the Boilers could only manage a field goal to extend the lead to 27-14 late in the third.

 

TE Gabe Holmes converts this third down play, enabling Purdue to drain almost all of the clock and kick a clinching field goal, final score 30-21 Purdue.

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Arkansas State (Brandon/Corey) @ Penn State (Tim)

Tim needed a late drive to tie Harnish (ASU) at 7 heading into the break. A late field goal enabled Corey to send it into OT tied at 10, where in the first OT both teams easily scored to tie it 17. After a quick Tim throw from Daryl Clark to his tight end put PSU up 24-17, Corey/ASU was inisde the 10 and secretly hoped to score, fake the extra point, and pick up a cheap upset win. This athletic pick by PSU linebacker Sean Lee was his second of the day, as a first half pick kept Harnish from brining home a first half lead.

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UNLV @ Colorado STate

A great performance by UNLV's QB No.2 spurred a big 14-7 win.

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THIRD ROUND

Virginia Tech [Brandon/Tim] @ Purdue [Corey,claimed team]

 

Tyrod Taylor gets it in the flat to help VT grab the early momentum 7-0.

On the ensuing Purdue drive, Joey Elliot ran in a 17 yard TD to cap a Purdue drive. After another Harnish/Virginia Tech TD drive made it 14-7, Purdue/Corey struck back quickly with this un-Elliot like throw to Aaron Valentin. 

With Tim taking over Tech in the third quarter, Purdue drained most of the third quarter before Elliot hit #2 TE Gabe Holmes for the go-ahead score.

Tim/VT returns the ensuing kickoff back to the house, taking the wind out of the sails of the upstart Boilers, and tying the score at 21.

 Taking a little over a minute to march this far, there was about :45 to play on this 3rd. and 7 play, in which Holmes got yet another huge grab, and had the awareness to go down short of the end zone. After Elliot moved the ball to the center of the field, Purdue kneeled it once then K Carson Wiggs kicked a chip shot field goal as time expired, giving the Boilers an upset 24-21 win.
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Penn State (Tim) @ UNLV (Corey,Brandon)


With Corey's offense inept and putting UNLV in a 7-0 hole at the half, Harnish played an agressive defense that got sucked in on this 58 yard outside run by Evan Royster, which Tim had been trying to get going all game long. Brandon got UNLV's offense going on the ensuing drive with a quick TD score, but couldn't stop Tim from another methodical march which made it 21-7 Penn State early in the fourth quarter.

Harnish went on another furious drive to pull within one score, as QB Omar Clayton hit RB Jeff Robinson on this 15 yard scor.

A dangerously recovered onside kick seemed to have iced it for PSU.

Daryl Clark and PSU marched right back down the field, looking unstoppable, when Harnish used Wayne Chandler to step in front of this throw and take it back 102 yards for the score, unbeleivably tying the game with 1:17 remaining.

Marching right back down the fild, Clark hit little known Anthony Price for a 50 yard strike. Against soft coverage, Harnish was unable to get the yardage he needed in time as Penn State and Tim survived a third consecutive scare 28-21.
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SWEET 16

Purdue (Corey) @ Penn State (Tim)


Purdue got a couple first downs on the opening drive before the Penn State linebackers forced some incompletions and sacks. Tim went on a long drive until a key knockdown by David Pender forced a field goal on fourth-and-four from the 27's right hash. Tim's Caley Wagner pushed the 45 yard kick wide left, leaving the game scoreless. Purdue went on a long drive that came down to this play with :09 to get into field goal range, as Keith Smith's ridiculous catch set up a short Carson Wiggs conversion. 

A long Tim drive again ended with another 45 yard attempt by Wagner, this one short, leaving Purdue up 3-0.

Purdue drove it right back down the field, draining the clock on a very slow drive. This third down conversion to Kyle Adams was essential in keeping the drive going.

Faced with a third down and an opportunity for Penn State to at least have a chance. Elliot hit Keith Smith for the game clinching 17 yard score. Final Purdue 10, PSU 0.